Fantasy was not a genre that I grew up reading. I always deemed the fantasy world, with its magic and Elves and witchcraft, far too eccentric for my liking. But then I met my husband – and he INSISTED I read the Shannara Series by Terry Brooks. He knew how much I loved to read and said no matter what genre of books I liked, I would LOVE the writing style of Terry and be swept up by the Shannara Trilogies. Well, suffice it to say, he was 100% correct. The Sword of Shannara Trilogy was the first set I read, but I quickly made my way through dozens of other Shannara side stories and follow-up trilogies.

The Shannara stories take place in a magical world called The Fourlands. It is a world where Druids, Elves, Dwarves and Man try to co-exist (as seems to be a recurring theme in many Fantasy novels and movies).

The novels revolve around the magic of the Elfstones and their ability to defeat the Warlock Lord, who is trying to overtake the Fourlands. In each series, there are descendants of the Ohmsford family (introduced in the first novel). They are the only family line in existence who are able to utilize the magic available in the Elfstones.

The Shannara series develops this magic in each Ohmsford character in such an enchanting way, that it honestly made me wish I had Elven blood. The first Ohmsford we meet is Shea. Raised in the small village of Shady Vale, Shea is shocked to discover his past bloodline and ability to craft a form of magic strong enough to save the world. Shea’s character is fun loving and charismatic, and I easily grew to like him as the main protagonist. He partnered well with the ominous Druid, Allanon. Their partnership set the stage for the bond between the druids and the Ohmsfords for many novels to come.

The story arch for each novel centers around the Ohmsford’s journey to discover their magic, with the help of the Druids. While each journey has an end goal of regenerating the magic of the lost Elfstones and subsequently saving the world (or at the very least, prolonging its demise), the character development and path to retrieve the magic is unique, well-crafted and engulfing.

The Shannara trilogies have been around for a while, and while almost every review of them will mention their likeness to Lord of the Rings, I think it is unique in its plot line and setting. The series had everything I would want in a Fantasy read: good vs. evil, enchanting magic and phenomenal character development. There are moments when the descriptions and details get to be a bit much. I’ll admit I did skim through a few of the epic paragraph descriptions and details of the landscape to get to a bit more action. Outside of these few instances, I loved the writing style and would recommend the series to anyone looking for a new world to discover!

There are some DEFINITE close runner-ups for the best Fantasy books out there for me, but Shannara will always be my first love of Fantasy.

Some close seconds:

The Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop

The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson

And of course, HARRY POTTER!