In the fantasy country of Four Lands, good battles evil amid gnomes, warlocks, trolls, dwarfs and elves. The hero is a Druid magician who must find a magic jewel so the elves can defeat the warlocks.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
 
For five hundred years, the survivors of the Great Wars lived peacefully in a valley sanctuary shielded by powerful magic from the dangerous outside world. But the enchanted barriers have crumbled, and the threat of annihilation looms large once more. As he lay dying, Sider Ament, bearer of the last black staff and protector of the valley, gave stewardship of the powerful talisman to the young...

"The first book of the triumphant and epic four-part conclusion to the Shannara series...The Four Lands has been at peace for generations, but now a mysterious army of invaders is cutting a bloody swathe across a remote region of the land. No one knows who they are, where they come from, or what they are after--and most seem content to ignore these disturbing events. The only people who sense a greater, growing threat and wish to uncover the truth...

"Since the death of the Druid Allanon, the Four Lands have changed profoundly, with magic strictly forbidden in the Southland, now under totalitarian rule. Yet Par still has some power of the Wishsong. When he accidentally brings a mythic horror to life, a man calling himself Cogline drives it away. Cogline brings a message from Allanon: venture to the dread Hadeshorn, along with the other Scions of Shannara. For in the future, all life in the Four...

In a devastated world in which only a few imbued with magical gifts stand against the forces of evil, one hero flees Seattle with a group of orphaned street kids, while another leads a group to the Oregon wilderness to meet the long-hidden Elves of Cintra.

In the three hundred years since the death of the Druid Allanon, the mysterious, evil Shadowen have seized control and are ruining the Four Lands. Using Cogline as messenger, the shade of Allanon summons the four scions of Shannara: Par, Coll, Wren, and Walker Boh. To Walker Boh he gives the duty of restoring the lost Druid's Keep, Paranor. For that, Walker needs the black Elfstone, but his search leads him only to a trap. Meanwhile, the King of the...

The quest for the missing Elfstones has gone badly awry. The Druid Order has been decimated, and its surviving leader and her followers are trapped inside the Forbidding - the hellish dimension that imprisons the most dangerous creatures banished from the Four Lands. But the magic barrier that surrounds the Forbidding is crumbling, and an evil horde is poised to break free - unless one young Druid is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. (Bestseller)...

For five hundred years, the survivors have lived peacefully. Now the magic that kept them safe for so many centuries has vanished, and thousands of lives are in danger unless two young magic-wielders can help them.

For centuries the Four Lands have been protected by magic-enhanced borders from the dark dimension known as the Forbidding and the profound evil imprisoned there. But now the unthinkable is happening: The barriers have begun to erode, and generations of bloodthirsty, monstrous creatures are poised to spill forth. Young Elf Arling Elessedil possesses the enchanted means to close the breach. But Arling has fallen into the hands of the Federation's diabolical...