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Series · epic fantasy

The Fall of Shannara

by Terry Brooks

The Fall of Shannara series by Terry Brooks has 4 books and is best read in publication order, starting with The Black Elfstone (2017).

Books
4 books
First published
2017
Status
completed
Last checked

Start here: The Black Elfstone (2017) — then read straight through in publication order.

Cover of The Black Elfstone, the first book in The Fall of Shannara

Reading order

The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.

  1. The Black Elfstone

    Novel

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  2. The Skaar Invasion

    Novel

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  3. The Stiehl Assassin

    Novel

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  4. The Last Druid

    Novel

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About The Fall of Shannara

Terry Brooks's Fall of Shannara tetralogy was written and marketed as the conclusion to the entire forty-year Shannara saga, bringing every thread of magic, Druid history, and the Four Lands' post-apocalyptic origins to a close. The Black Elfstone opens as a mysterious invading army -- the Skaar, wielding magic that can make soldiers vanish and reappear -- overwhelms the Trolls and moves against Paranor itself, forcing the Druids to use the Black Elfstone to send their fortress into protective limbo, trapping former High Druid Drisker Arc inside. Meanwhile Tarsha Kaynin, a young Wishsong wielder seeking Drisker's training, must contend with her own brother Tavo, driven murderously unstable by an uncontrolled, destructive form of the same magic, while Dar Leah, the Druid order's exiled military commander, tries to warn a Four Lands that refuses to believe the invasion is real. The Skaar Invasion, The Stiehl Assassin, and The Last Druid escalate the Skaar's assault, Tavo's unraveling, and the fight to free Drisker and Paranor into the saga's final, largest-scale conflict.

As the concluding tetralogy, Fall of Shannara resolves plotlines and character lines stretching back through Defenders of Shannara, Dark Legacy of Shannara, and ultimately to the Original Shannara Trilogy itself, closing the story Brooks began telling in 1977.

How to read this series

Read in publication order -- The Black Elfstone (2017), The Skaar Invasion (2018), The Stiehl Assassin (2019), The Last Druid (2020) -- a single continuous story across all four books, building to the conclusion of the entire Shannara saga. Read Defenders of Shannara first, at minimum: Fall of Shannara continues directly from Paxon Leah's generation and the state of the Druid order established there, and benefits from the broader history built up across the earlier Dark Legacy and High Druid trilogies as well. Because this tetralogy was written specifically to conclude the saga, it's best read as the final stretch after working through the earlier Shannara sub-series rather than as a starting point.

Frequently asked questions

What order should I read the Fall of Shannara tetralogy in?

Publication order: The Black Elfstone, The Skaar Invasion, The Stiehl Assassin, The Last Druid — one continuous story across all four books.

Is Fall of Shannara really the end of the whole Shannara saga?

Yes — it was written and marketed as the conclusion to the entire nearly forty-year saga that began with The Sword of Shannara in 1977.

Do I need to read other Shannara sub-series before this one?

Yes, ideally most of them — Fall of Shannara resolves plotlines going back through Defenders of Shannara, Dark Legacy of Shannara, and further, and works best as the culmination of the wider saga rather than a starting point.

Who are the main characters of Fall of Shannara?

Drisker Arc, a former High Druid trapped in limbo with Paranor; Tarsha Kaynin, a young Wishsong wielder; her dangerously unstable brother Tavo; and Dar Leah, the Druid order's exiled military commander.

What is the Skaar invasion?

A mysterious invading army wielding magic that lets soldiers vanish and reappear, which overwhelms the Trolls and moves against the Druids' fortress of Paranor, setting the tetralogy's central conflict in motion.

Reading order last verified .