The Scions of Shannara
Epic Fantasy High Fantasy Adventure Fantasy Young Adult Fantasy Magic Coming-of-Age Collectible Fantasy Fiction
The Scions of Shannara—first-edition hardcover, 1990, UK Orbis printing—is the pivotal opener of Terry Brooks’s “Heritage of Shannara” quartet and one of the most collectible modern fantasy novels of the last thirty-five years. Set three-hundred years after the original Sword of Shannara trilogy, the story reunites readers with the Ohmsford bloodline as the evil Shadowen tighten their grip on the Four Lands. Brooks shifts from classic quest structure to a darker, multi-strand rescue mission: Par Ohmsford must master the wishsong, Walker Boh seeks the lost Druid keep, and Wren must discover who she really is. The result is a faster, more cinematic narrative that still delivers the sweeping world-building and moral clarity fans love.
For collectors, this Orbis first edition is the scarcest of the three simultaneous 1990 hardcover issues (Del Rey U.S. and Legend U.K.). It carries the same iconic Keith Birdsong wrap-around dust jacket, but on thicker, cream-wove paper that has stayed bright and white when U.S. copies often age to tan. The binding is sewn, not glued, so copies still open flat without cracking—a detail that matters when you’re hunting a high-grade reading copy you don’t have to lock away. Our copy shows only light shelf rubs to the jacket and one tiny edge tear; pages are unmarked, unsunned, and tightly bound—no ex-libris plates, no inscriptions, no book-club blindstamp.
Young-adult and adult readers alike keep Scions in demand because it stands on its own: you can jump straight in without the earlier trilogy, yet the emotional payoff is deeper if you know the lore. First editions in this condition are already scarce; as streaming adaptations move through Brooks’s back-list, prices on the early Heritage titles have risen steadily. Owning a clean, jacketed first lets you read the adventure now and watch the collectible value appreciate while the Shannara renaissance unfolds on screen.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
Buy Now