The Elfstones of Shannara
core novel 1982 Shannara
Record
| First published | 1982 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.99 (74,835 ratings, collected 2026-09-12) |
| First-edition ISBN | 0-345-30253-2 |
| First-edition date | 1982-07 |
| Internal chronology | 11 |
Synopsis
The second novel of the Original Shannara Trilogy takes place in the Four Lands, where the Ellcrys, an ancient magical tree that maintains a spell called the Forbidding to imprison Demons in another dimension, is dying. As the tree weakens, the barrier holding the Demons back begins to fail, threatening the Elven homeland with invasion. Wil Ohmsford, a young healer and grandson of Shea Ohmsford, carries the Elfstones despite his mixed heritage complicating their use, and is guided by the Druid Allanon, who withholds crucial information from those he leads. Wil and Amberle Elessedil, an Elven princess and member of the Chosen who tends the Ellcrys, set out to find Safehold, a legendary place where a new Ellcrys can be grown from the Bloodfire, while King Eventine Elessedil and the Elven army try to hold back the escalating Demon assault long enough for the quest to succeed.
Where it sits
- Universe: Shannara
- Series: The Original Shannara Trilogy core; position 2 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Terry Brooks
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1983: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 12th.
Notes
- From the series record (The Original Shannara Trilogy): The Sword of Shannara (1977) was the first new novel published by Del Rey Books.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Original Shannara Trilogy: position 2 of 3: previous The Sword of Shannara (1977) · next The Wishsong of Shannara (1985)
- Internal chronology, within Shannara: position 11 of 32: previous The Sword of Shannara (1977) · next The Wishsong of Shannara (1985)
Sources
- Terry Brooks official site
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannara
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elfstones_of_Shannara
- https://www.sfadb.com/Terry_Brooks
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