The Sword of Shannara
core novel 1977 Shannara
Record
| First published | 1977 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.77 (103,219 ratings, collected 2026-09-12) |
| First-edition ISBN | 0-345-24804-X |
| First-edition date | 1977-04 |
| Internal chronology | 10 |
Synopsis
This is the first novel of the Original Shannara Trilogy, opening some two thousand years after a nuclear holocaust called the Great Wars left the world transformed into the Four Lands, a realm now populated by humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes and trolls, with magic replacing lost technology. Shea Ohmsford, a young half-elf living quietly with his adopted brother Flick, learns from the Druid Allanon that he is the last descendant of Jerle Shannara and therefore the only person able to wield the legendary Sword of Shannara against the returning Warlock Lord, once the corrupted Druid Brona, and sets out on a perilous quest to reach it before the Four Lands fall.
Where it sits
- Universe: Shannara
- Series: The Original Shannara Trilogy core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Terry Brooks
Awards (verified)
- Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1978: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 5th.
Notes
- From the series record (The Original Shannara Trilogy): The Sword of Shannara (1977) was the first new novel published by Del Rey Books.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Original Shannara Trilogy: position 1 of 3: next The Elfstones of Shannara (1982)
- Internal chronology, within Shannara: position 10 of 32: previous First King of Shannara (1996) · next The Elfstones of Shannara (1982)
Sources
- Terry Brooks official site
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannara
- https://www.isfdb.org
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sword_of_Shannara
- https://www.sfadb.com/Terry_Brooks
← Shannara dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.