--- product_id: 20253111 title: "First King of Shannara Mass Market Paperback – January 29, 1997" brand: "terry brooks" price: "109.92 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/20253111-first-king-of-shannara-mass-market-paperback-january-29-1997 store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # First King of Shannara Mass Market Paperback – January 29, 1997 **Brand:** terry brooks **Price:** 109.92 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** First King of Shannara Mass Market Paperback – January 29, 1997 by terry brooks - **How much does it cost?** 109.92 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/20253111-first-king-of-shannara-mass-market-paperback-january-29-1997) ## Best For - terry brooks enthusiasts ## Why This Product - Trusted terry brooks brand quality - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description Full description not available ## Images ![First King of Shannara Mass Market Paperback – January 29, 1997 - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61hoh4AayhL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Prequel to *The Sword of Shannara* Is A Brilliant Example of Epic Fantasy *by M***N on January 24, 2014* After a while, author Terry Brooks decided to do what many fans had wanted him to do, and tell some of the back-story of the Shannara universe. A quick note here, that Shannara does not refer to the world these adventures take place in, but to one of several in-universe families, in this case a legendary Elven family, that the adventures revolve around most often. The world these Shannara stories take place in is actually our own, thousands of years in the future after a nuclear apocalypse has destroyed modern civilization. In the wake of said devastation, man's science and the ancient faerie magic from before man both were revived.In recent years, Brooks has written Shannara prequels a lot, and this trend began, really, in 1996, with the publication of First King of Shannara, which details the back-story of the famous Sword of Shannara, which was forged during the brief “Second War of the Races”, mentioned by Allanon to Flick and Shea Ohmsford during The Sword of Shannara.The interesting thing is that, for those who are big Allanon fans, they will not find him much in this book until the very end. Even when he does appear, his contribution, though important, is quite minor overall. This is not his story, but the adventure of Bremen, his father, and last of the Druids who bequeathed his legacy to his son. Of course, right there in that paragraph are some major spoilers I'm leaving unstated. ;)First King is also the story of Jerle Shannara, the famous ancestor of Sword protagonist, and first published protagonist, Shea Ohmsord (who was adopted by the Ohmsford family, and is really a Shannara). The contrast between Shea and Jerle could not be more profound, yet similar despite all of this. I don't know if these contrasts and yet sameness were accidental, or on purpose with Brooks, but it works. Shea and Flick were smaller than most Men. In fact, they were often called, in Sword, “little Valeman”, and so forth. Jerle is a big guy, athletic, and strong. “Little” could never be used as a word to describe him. Shea was a simple civilian who had little to do with his Elven side, and helped run his adoptive father's inn. Jerle was a military warrior, and eventual king of the Elves, who is Elven through and through.Yet, despite these differences, Jerle and his descendant shared in common important traits. They both cared deeply for their families, friends, and others. They both made mistakes and knew about this, and did their best to defeat the enemy, in both cases the rebel Druid Brona (known as the Warlock Lord). The difference is that Jerle failed and Shea succeeded. Why? We don't know for sure. There could be several reasons. Perhaps Shea was stronger emotionally, or perhaps the pressure of the deaths of those he commanded impacted Jerle, while Shea didn't have this to deal with, or perhaps, as Allanon seemed to suggest in Sword, Bremen handled it in a bad way. Thus, Allanon handled it differently in the hopes (slim, but realized) that Shea would succeed in this way where his valiant ancestor had failed.What I really liked about this novel was two-fold. First off, Brooks did not shy away from the story of the original novel, Sword, while fleshing it out thoroughly. Thusly, he did manage to make the world even less like Middle-Earth, while not giving into those who childishly (and fraudulently, in my opinion) accuse Sword of being too derivative of Tolkien's works. The second part about First King that I enjoyed was how Brooks kept the novel very idealistic. In recent years, he has gone sometimes darker, but here, while he was somewhat dark for the history of the “Second War of the Races”, he still kept things idealistic. If only the more recent books were this way.I really enjoyed this novel, and Highly Recommend it to Shannara fans, and epic fantasy fans in general. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wonderful! *by S***S on May 27, 2025* A beautiful prelude to the original trilogy. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Printed $8.99 on book *by J***W on December 11, 2024* Paid the extra dollar vs list price, and many pages fell out in clumps as I read it. Returned for one that was hopefully glued together better. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/20253111-first-king-of-shannara-mass-market-paperback-january-29-1997](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/20253111-first-king-of-shannara-mass-market-paperback-january-29-1997) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-10-02*