''The Sword of Shannara Trilogy'' consists of the first three ''

Shannara ''Shannara'' is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with ''The Sword of Shannara'' in 1977 and concluding with ''The Last Druid'' which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, ''First King of Shann ...

'' novels ('' The Sword of Shannara'', ''

The Elfstones of Shannara ''The Elfstones of Shannara'' is a 1982 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to ''The Sword of Shannara'' and the second book in '' The Original Shannara Trilogy''. It expands upon the history of the Elves, w ...

'' and ''

The Wishsong of Shannara ''The Wishsong of Shannara'' is an epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the final novel in the Original Shannara Trilogy, with the other two being ''The Sword of Shannara'' and ''The Elfstones of Shannara''. The story revolve ...

'') by

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 ''New York Times'' bestsellers during his writing career, and has ...

. Though not originally written as a trilogy, the novels were published as ''The Sword of Shannara Trilogy'' by Del Rey Books. The second book was later adapted into a television series titled ''

The Shannara Chronicles ''The Shannara Chronicles'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. It is an adaptation of ''The Sword of Shannara'' trilogy of fantasy novels by Terry Brooks. It follows three heroes as they pro ...

'', created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar. The first season aired on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, following the plot of ''The Elfstones of Shannara''; the second season aired on

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was o ...

, continuing the story with an original plot. The show was canceled after 2 seasons.

Books

''The Sword of Shannara''

The first novel of ''The Original Shannara Trilogy'' chronicles the adventures of the brothers Shea and

Flick Ohmsford ''The Sword of Shannara'' is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book in a titular trilogy. The novel interweaves two major plots into a fictional world called The Four Lands. One follows the protagonist ...

in their quest to retrieve the Sword of Shannara to defeat the Warlock Lord who threatens the

Four Lands ''Shannara'' is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with ''The Sword of Shannara'' in 1977 and concluding with ''The Last Druid'' which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, '' First King of Shan ...

''The Elfstones of Shannara''

The second novel of ''The Original Shannara Trilogy'' follows Shea's grandson,

Wil Ohmsford ''The Elfstones of Shannara'' is a 1982 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first sequel to ''The Sword of Shannara'' and the second book in '' The Original Shannara Trilogy''. It expands upon the history of the Elves, w ...

,In ''

'', Shea was changed to be Wil's father. as he aids the endangered Elven nation, helping it survive a horde of demons coming through from their sealed-off dimension, the Forbidding.

''The Wishsong of Shannara''

The final novel of ''The Original Shannara Trilogy'' details the quest of

Jair In the Biblical Book of Judges, Jair or Yair ( he, יָאִיר ''Yā’īr'', "he enlightens") was a man from Gilead of the Tribe of Manasseh, east of the River Jordan, who judged Israel for 22 years, after the death of Tola, who had ruled of ...

and

Brin Ohmsford Brin may refer to: People * Benedetto Brin (1833–1898), Italian naval administrator and politician * David Brin (born 1950), science fiction author * Irene Brin (1911–1969), Italian fashion journalist, writer and art dealer * Romeo Brin (born ...

, the children of Wil and Eretria, to save the Four Lands from the evil magic within a tome called the Ildatch.

Characters who appear in multiple books

Few characters appear in more than one novel in the trilogy, though many references to previous characters are evident. Those who appear in multiple books include: *

Allanon ''The Sword of Shannara'' is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks. It is the first book in a titular trilogy. The novel interweaves two major plots into a fictional world called The Four Lands. One follows the protagonist ...

(all three books) * Eventine Elessedil (''Sword'' and ''Elfstones'') *

(''Sword'' and ''Elfstones'') *

(''Elfstones'' and ''Wishsong'') * Eretria (''Elfstones'' and ''Wishsong'') *The

King of the Silver River ''Shannara'' is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with ''The Sword of Shannara'' in 1977 and concluding with ''The Last Druid'' which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, ''First King of Shann ...

(all three books)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sword of Shannara Trilogy, The Book series introduced in 1977 Shannara novels Fantasy novel trilogies Del Rey books