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Brooks was born in the rural midwestern town of Sterling, Illinois, and spent a large part of his life living there. He is an alumnus of Hamilton College, earning his B.A. in English literature in 1966. He later obtained a J.D. from Washington and Lee University. He was a practicing attorney before becoming a full-time author and now resides in Seattle, Washington, with his wife, Judine.

Brooks had been a writer since high school, writing mainly in the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction. One day, in his early college life, he was given a copy of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, which inspired him to write in one genre. While Tolkien inspired the genre, Brooks stated at the Charlotte Literary Festival that he credits the inspiration of his style of writing to William Faulkner's works. With this inspiration, he then made his debut in 1977 with his first novel The Sword of Shannara. This novel became the first fantasy book ever to appear on the New York Times bestseller list, where it stayed for five months.

After finishing two sequels to The Sword of Shannara, Brooks moved on to the series which would become known as the Landover novels. Brooks then wrote a four-book series titled The Heritage of Shannara. For the next fourteen years, he wrote more Landover books, then went on to write The Word and Void trilogy. Continuing the Shannara series, Brooks wrote the prequel to The Sword of Shannara, titled First King of Shannara. He then wrote two series, The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara and High Druid of Shannara and recently finished a third, Genesis of Shannara, a trilogy bridging his Word and Void and Shannara series. His latest project, A Princess of Landover, was released in August 2009.Legends of Shannara, a duology taking place after the events of Genesis of Shannara, is in the works. The first installment, entitled Bearers of the Black Staff, is set for release in August of 2010. Brooks is currently working on the second installment of the duology, the title still under construction.

After writing "Indomitable", a short story constituting an epilogue to The Wishsong of Shannara, Terry Brooks declared:

Note: The list below represents Terry Brooks' suggested reading order for new readers.

Shannara series

The Original Shannara Trilogy

1. The Sword of Shannara (1977)
2. The Elfstones of Shannara (1982)
3. The Wishsong of Shannara (1985)
4. Indomitable (2003) (epilogue to Wishsong)
5. Dark Wraith of Shannara (2008) (Graphic Novel, epilogue to Wishsong)

The Heritage of Shannara tetralogy

1. The Scions of Shannara (1990)
2. The Druid of Shannara (1991)
3. The Elf Queen of Shannara (1992)
4. The Talismans of Shannara (1993)

Prequel to the Original Shannara Trilogy

1. First King of Shannara (1996)

Word & Void series

The Word & Void series precedes the action in Genesis of Shannara trilogy and serves as the very start of the Shannara saga.

1. Running with the Demon (1997)
2. A Knight of the Word (1998)
3. Angel Fire East (1999)

The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy

1. Ilse Witch (2000)
2. Antrax (2001)
3. Morgawr (2002)

High Druid of Shannara trilogy

1. Jarka Ruus (2003)
2. Tanequil (2004)
3. Straken (2005)

Genesis of Shannara trilogy

1. Armageddon's Children (August, 2006)
2. The Elves of Cintra (August 28, 2007)
3. The Gypsy Morph (August 26, 2008)

Legends of Shannara duology

1. Bearers of the Black Staff (August, 2010)
2. The Measure of the Magic (August 2011)

Unnamed "Post-Straken" trilogy

According to Brooks' own website, these books will take place after the events in the High Druid of Shannara trilogy.

1. Book 1 (September 2012)
2. Book 2 (September 2013)
3. Book 3 (September 2014)

Shannara related works

• Shannara computer game (1995) by Lori Ann Cole and Corey Cole
• The World of Shannara (2001) (companion book) with Teresa Patterson
• The World of Shannara (Fall 2009) (companion book) with Teresa Patterson
• Indomitable (2003) (short story published in anthology Legends II)
• Dark Wraith of Shannara (2008) (graphic novel)

Magic Kingdom of Landover series

Note: This is not part of the Shannara series.

1. Magic Kingdom For Sale -- SOLD! (1986)
2. The Black Unicorn (1987)
3. Wizard at Large (1988)
4. The Tangle Box (1994)
5. Witches' Brew (1995)
6. A Princess of Landover (August 18, 2009)

Novelizations

• Hook (1991)
• Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999)

Other

• The Guide to Shannara (1986),
• Imaginary Friends (1991) (short story published in anthology Once Upon a Time: A Treasury of Modern Fairy Tales)
• Indomitable (2003) (short story published in anthology Legends II)
• Why I Write About Elves (2005) (short story published as an Amazon short)
• The Writers Complete Fantasy Reference: An Indispensable Compendium of Myth and Magic (Writer's Digest Books, 2000), with Michael J. Varhola
• Lessons from a Writing Life (2003)