Shannara reading order

A plan for the whole series

25 volumes, 10,993 pages, about 200 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 9 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 9, “A Knight of the Word” (by 45%). Plan your break after volume 8, before the series plans it for you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2013. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

14 stages, with 13 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around September 22, 2027, about 9 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 113 h18 daysby November 16, 2026

   • 1. The Sword of Shannara1977 · 726 pages · 13 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 20, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 211 h15 daysby December 5, 2026

   • 2. The Elfstones of Shannara1982 · 609 pages · 11 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 9, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 316 habout 3 weeksby December 30, 2026

   • 3. The Wishsong of Shannara1985 · 492 pages · 9 h
   • 4. The Scions of Shannara1990 · 375 pages · 7 h
6. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by January 3, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 414 h19 daysby January 22, 2027

   • 5. The Druid of Shannara1991 · 386 pages · 7 h
   • 6. The Elf Queen of Shannara1992 · 403 pages · 7 h
8. Short breakThe Importance of Being Earnest · Oscar Wilde · 102 pp. · score 8.22 h, by January 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 517 habout 3 weeksby February 17, 2027

   • 7. The Talismans of Shannara1993 · 453 pages · 8 h
   • 8. Running with the Demon1997 · 448 pages · 8 h
10. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by February 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
11. 6
    Stage 614 h19 daysby March 17, 2027

    • 9. A Knight of the Word1998 · 408 pages · 7 h
    • 10. Angel Fire East1999 · 368 pages · 7 h
12. Short breakA Room of One's Own · Virginia Woolf · 144 pp. · score 8.23 h, by March 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
13. 7
    Stage 716 h21 daysby April 12, 2027

    • 11. Ilse Witch2000 · 454 pages · 8 h
    • 12. Antrax2001 · 405 pages · 7 h
14. Short breakThe Prophet · Kahlil Gibran · 116 pp. · score 8.22 h, by April 15, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
15. 8
    Stage 815 h20 daysby May 5, 2027

    • 13. Morgawr2002 · 401 pages · 7 h
    • 14. Jarka Ruus2003 · 416 pages · 8 h
16. Short breakThe Screwtape letters · C. S. Lewis · 106 pp. · score 8.22 h, by May 9, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
17. 9
    Stage 916 h21 daysby May 30, 2027

    • 15. Indomitable2003 · ≈ 440 pages · 8 h
    • 16. Tanequil2004 · 416 pages · 8 h
18. Short breakSmall Things Like These · Claire Keegan · 112 pp. · score 8.12 h, by June 3, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
19. 10
    Stage 1014 h19 daysby June 22, 2027

    • 17. Straken2005 · 378 pages · 7 h
    • 18. Armageddon's Children2006 · 404 pages · 7 h
20. Short breakNumber the Stars · Lois Lowry · 149 pp. · score 8.13 h, by June 26, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
21. 11
    Stage 1116 habout 3 weeksby July 18, 2027

    • 19. The Elves of Cintra2007 · 431 pages · 8 h
    • 20. The Gypsy Morph2008 · 459 pages · 8 h
22. Short breakThe Richest Man in Babylon · George Samuel Clason · 124 pp. · score 8.02 h, by July 22, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
23. 12
    Stage 1216 habout 3 weeksby August 13, 2027

    • 21. Bearers of the Black Staff2010 · 436 pages · 8 h
    • 22. The Measure of the Magic2011 · 451 pages · 8 h
24. Short breakMuch Ado About Nothing · William Shakespeare · 160 pp. · score 8.03 h, by August 18, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
25. 13
    Stage 1315 h20 daysby September 7, 2027

    • 23. Wards of Faerie2012 · 387 pages · 7 h
    • 24. Bloodfire Quest2013 · 432 pages · 8 h
26. Short breakHamlet · William Shakespeare · 178 pp. · score 8.03 h, by September 12, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
27. 14
    Stage 148 h10 daysby September 22, 2027

    • 25. Witch Wraith2013 · 415 pages · 8 h
28. The end of the series

    September 22, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: it gets better. Readers scored the opening (7.7) below the ending (7.9). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: Armageddon's Children (7.9, 59 ratings). Weakest: The Sword of Shannara (7.1). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 8 and 9: 45%. The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2013. The last volume (7.9) scores close to the series average or above it.