Order of Books For New Reader

[Michael Colton]

Enough people have told me to read Brooks that I thought I would give it a chance. On his official site, it has a section for 'new readers' with the recommended places to start.

Does everyone concur with that? That is the best order to read them in?

 

[Ray McCarthy]

I like the Magic Kingdom books best. Read in Published order.

The three storyverses can be read any order.
Landover / Shannara / Word & The Void
Landover is unconnected.
Do not read the prequel Genesis of Shannara and Legends of Shannara series of books till after The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy and after the Word & The Void series.

I've not read EVERY book... but certainly I have read most. (all actual titles listed here)

Magic Kingdom of Landover Series

1. Magic Kingdom for Sale–Sold!
2. The Black Unicorn
3. Wizard At Large
4. The Tangle Box
5. Witches’ Brew
6. A Princess of Landover

This series is fun and unconnected to any Shannara or The Void & The Word series.
The Shannara series are not all equally good. Read the earliest one published first, read in published order, so the site looks approximately correct.

1. The Sword of Shannara
2. The Elfstones of Shannara
3. The Wishsong of Shannara

Some of the others are not so good, so see how you get on with the first trilogy

Then there is the just after Apocolypse Pre-Shannara, I'd only read them after the "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" trilogy (lots of Shannara books between these two trilogies

1. Ilse Witch
2. Antrax
3. Morgawr

Word & The Void (quite dark stuff, sort of contemporary setting) Can be read at any time, but before the Prequel Shannara below.

1. Running with the Demon
2. A Knight of the Word
3. Angel Fire East

Finally
Genesis of Shannara and then Legends of Shannara

 

[biodroid]

I just wanted to ask are the Shannara books formulaic?

 

[Ray McCarthy]

Some are a bit more of the same.