The First Druids of Shannara

About The First Druids of Shannara

Terry Brooks's First Druids of Shannara is a prequel series set at the true beginning of the Druid order, centuries before the events of the Original Shannara Trilogy. Galaphile (2025) tells the origin story of the series' namesake, an Elf who survives the Great Wars as a friendless teenage orphan stranded among Men, and who grows -- under the tutelage of the reclusive mage Cogline -- into the powerful sorcerer who will gather the Four Lands' most learned men and women and found the Druid order at Paranor. It's the last Shannara novel written solely by Brooks: starting with the series' second book, Delilah S. Dawson joins as co-author, with Brooks continuing to provide the storyline and revision notes.

Brona, the second book, continues the story into the next generation, following the sons of Galaphile and his partner Nirianne as they grow up in the peace their father built -- and as the seeds of the corruption that will eventually produce Brona, the legendary dark power haunting the rest of the Shannara saga, begin to take root. As the series' internal chronology, this sits before every other Shannara sub-series tracked on this site, functioning as the true prehistory of the entire saga.

How to read this series

Start with Galaphile (2025), the series' first book and, chronologically, the earliest point in the entire Shannara saga -- no other Shannara reading is required, since this prequel series was designed as a fresh entry point predating everything else. Existing Shannara readers will recognize Paranor and the Druid order's founding as the payoff to references scattered throughout the earlier books, but newcomers can start here with no prior knowledge at all. Brona, the confirmed second book, continues directly on from Galaphile and should be read after it.