DRC Review: Galaphile (The First Druids of Shannara #1) by Terry Brooks
Release date:Â 11 March 2025
Rating:Â 3.5/5
Synopsis:Â New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks makes his triumphant return to the world of Shannara, delving deep into the origin story of the druid order and its enigmatic creator that will change the face of the Four Lands forever.
One of the most iconic structures in the Four Lands is Paranor, the fortress home of the Druid Order. Legend holds that it was erected by an Elven leader known as Galaphile Joss. But who was this Galaphile, and how and why did he choose to establish this center of magic and learning?
Within these pages we meet the real Galaphile, following him from a friendless teenage orphan stranded in the Human world to a powerful adult and master mage, studying under the infamous recluse, Cogline. We learn of the forces that shaped him—those he loved, and those he lost; those who aided him, and those who stood against him.
Throughout it all, Galaphile’s goal is a noble one: to bring order to a chaotic world, and to make life better for those trying to survive it. To this end, he commences building the citadel which will one day be known as Paranor with the aid of the King of the Silver River. But there is one other who seeks dominion over the Four Lands—and for far less virtuous ends.
For this foe has been corrupted by an ancient evil—one that will not only reach out and touch Galaphile’s nearest and dearest, but also echo down through the centuries, sowing the seeds for some of the darkest times the Four Lands will ever face.
Review
I must preface this review with the fact that I have only read one book of Shannara, The Sword of Shannara, and I have seen the series The Shannara Chronicles from 2016 back when it came out. My knowledge of the Druids in the overarching tale of Shannara before starting Galaphile consisted of about 6 Druids: Allanon, Cogline, The Warlock Lord, Mareth, the Dagda Mor, and Bremen. I always love reading prequel series, especially when they explore origin stories for characters and lore, as I always have internal questions about how many of the side characters in books got their starts and how they came to be the people interacted with by the main characters of later stories. Galaphile answered quite a few questions while creating a few more. I go back and forth between rating this one a 3.5 or a 4; I loved reading and getting to know Galaphile, et al., but for me, the pacing did not flow well. Â
Galaphile’s origins come from humble starts, and I loved that about him. He starts off with a ragtag gang of humans, and very quickly, he rises to master mage. The trouble is, the book only stays in this part in the briefest snapshots for the reader. Galaphile’s youngest years, the years he built the foundation for his morality and skill, really blow by in a blink.. He suddenly finds Cogline and begins training with him, and again, this part of the novel lasts only a few pages. The narrative slows down considerably when he travels and helps folk with their troubles, and then it picks up again. Really, it goes along at fits and starts. More time with Cogline would have been great. More time learning the foundations of the magical lore would have been fantastic as well. Â
The antagonist shows up in this one briefly, too. We don’t have a name for him, and the magic he totes proves just as mysterious as anything else in the book. I suspect we may learn more about him and corruption that influences him in Galaphile in upcoming installments of the series, though I would have liked some more of a backstory here.  Eventually, we arrive to the end of the book and have a boss fight, but the exact details escape me because my eyes glazed over a bit from the sloggish slowdown before the showdown. Â
In the end, I love the lore enough to continue with this series, but I hope the pacing tightens up significantly. Â
My thanks to Del Rey via NetGalley for the DRC, for which I willingly give my own, honest opinion.
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