NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Expect no end of wonders and suspense, no shortage of adventure and enchantment, as Terry Brooks begins the next extraordinary quest in the magical world of Shannara... Twenty years have passed since Grianne Ohmsford denounced her former life as the dreaded Ilse Witch. Fulfilling the destiny predicted for her, she has established the Third Druid Council and dedicated herself to its goals of peace, harmony among the races, and defense of the Four Lands. But despite her devotion to the greater good as Ard Rhys, the High Druid of Paranor, Grianne still has bitter enemies. Even her few allies—chief among them her trusted servant Tagwen—know of the plots against her. But they could never anticipate the sudden, ominous disappearance of the Ard Rhys, in the dead of night and without a trace. Now Tagwen joins Grianne’s brave young nephew, Pen Ohmsford, and the wise, powerful elf Ahren Elessedil on a desperate and dangerous mission of search and rescue—to deliver the High Druid of Shannara from an unspeakable fate. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Terry Brooks' The Measure of the Magic.

Events that began in "Jarka Ruus," Book One of High Druid of Shannara, come swiftly to a head in this second thrilling volume. Alliances are made, trusts are betrayed, and prices are paid. Throughit all, Terry Brooks orchestrates the action with the flawless hand of a master mythmaker- fashioning another exquisite link in his chain of bestselling epics. Loyal to none but herself andlethal even to those closest to her, Shadea a'Ru now holds sway as High Druid of Paranor-her ascension to power all but unchallenged in the wake of Grianne Ohmsford's sudden, mysteriousvanishing. Only Shadea and her catspaw-the treacherous Prime Minister Sen Dunsidan-know the secret fate of the true Ard Rhys . . . for it was they who engineered it, by means of dark magic. And nowGrianne languishes in the fearsome and inescapable netherworld called the Forbidding. Their bloodless coup a success, the corrupt pair, and their confederates within the Druid Council, seeks to maketheir dominion over the Four Lands absolute-with the aid of a devastating new weapon. But it could all be undone if Grianne's young nephew, Penderrin, succeeds in his frantic quest to rescue her.Shadea's airship-borne minions and the relentless assassin under her command continue their fierce pursuit of Pen and his comrades. Eluding death is only half the battle for Pen. To breach theForbidding and bring Grianne back to the natural world means finding the fabled Tanequil . . . and the talisman it alone can provide. That means journeying into the Inkrim-a dreaded region thick with shadows andhaunted by harrowing legends. It also means striking a bargain more dire than Pen could ever imagine. But there can be no turning back. For in her unearthly prison, the Ard Rhys faces a demonic plight too hideous tocountenance...

The High Druid of Shannara trilogy draws to a thrilling close as a young hero nears completion of his trial by fire, a banished ruler fights for her life in a wilderness of dread, and forces of darkness and light square off in a battle unto death for the right to absolute rule. Prepare to be spellbound by the masterly hand of bestselling legend weaver Terry Brooks, conjuring at the peak of his skills. For reasons known only to himself, the King of the Silver River has charged young Penderrin Ohmsford, barely more than a boy, with the daunting task of rescuing his aunt, Grianne, Ard Rhys of the Druid order, from her forced exile in the terrifying dimension of all things damned: the Forbidding. With the noble dwarf Tagwen and the prodigal elven princess Khyber Elessedil by his side–and with the outcome of the bloody war between the Federation and the Free-born at stake–Pen has accepted his mission without question. But not without risk . . . or sacrifice. Because Shadea a’Ru, the ruthless Druid responsible for imprisoning the true Ard Rhys and usurping leadership at Paranor, has sent her agents and assassins in relentless pursuit of Pen and his comrades. And in securing the talisman he needs to breach the Forbidding, Pen has paid a devastating price. Now if the Free-born forces–already decimated by the Federation’s death-dealing new weapon–should fall, Shadea’s domination of the Four Lands will be assured. Nothing short of Pen’s success can turn the tide. But Pen’s challenge grows greater when he learns that his parents, Bek Ohmsford and Rue Meridian, have fallen into Shadea’ s hands. He must try to help them–but once within the walls of Druid’s Keep, where Shadea’s minions and dark magic lurk at every turn, Pen’s survival is far from assured. Yet it will all pale in comparison to the horrors that wait inside the Forbidding–horrors poised to break free upon the Four Lands when the time is right...