The Measure of the Magic
core novel 2011 Shannara
Record
| First published | 2011 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.07 (9,319 ratings, collected 2026-09-12) |
| First-edition ISBN | 978-0-345-48420-8 |
| First-edition date | 2011-08-23 |
| Internal chronology | 8 |
Synopsis
Concluding the Legends of Shannara duology directly after Bearers of the Black Staff, the story is set five centuries after a catastrophic demon war, among survivors sheltering in a mountain valley whose protective wards have failed, leaving them exposed to an invading troll army. After the death of Sider Ament, the previous bearer of the valley's black staff, the young Tracker Panterra Qu inherits the artifact and must struggle to master its powers as the sole hope for the valley's salvation, even as the wider war between the Word and the Void threatens to tip further toward darkness. The narrative follows the enigmatic figure called the Ragpicker, in truth a demon in disguise, who searches for the staff's new bearer, and Prue Liss, a young woman fleeing a fortress while evading pursuing trolls, as their paths converge amid the collapsing magical balance protecting their world.
Where it sits
- Universe: Shannara
- Series: Legends of Shannara core; position 2 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Terry Brooks
Notes
- From the series record (Legends of Shannara): Set 500 years after the Great Wars; bridges Genesis of Shannara into Shannara-proper.
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 Legends of Shannara: position 2 of 2: previous Bearers of the Black Staff (2010)
- Internal chronology, within Shannara: position 8 of 32: previous Bearers of the Black Staff (2010) · next First King of Shannara (1996)
Sources
- Terry Brooks official site
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannara
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Measure_of_the_Magic
- https://terrybrooks.net/books/shannara/legends-of-shannara/the-measure-of-the-magic/
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