The Sword of Shannara

From The World of Shannara

The Sword of Shannara
First hardcover edition (Random House)
Author:	Terry Brooks
Cover Artist:	The Brothers Hildebrandt
Series:	Original Shannara Trilogy
Genre(s):	Epic fantasy[1][2]
Publisher:	Ballantine/Del Rey
Publication date:	1977
Pages:	726 pp
ISBN:	ISBN 0-345-24804-X (First edition)
Purchase:	Hardcover Softcover
Preceded By:	First King of Shannara
Followed by:	The Elfstones of Shannara

The Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy^[1][2] novel by Terry Brooks. The first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, it was followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and historical adventure fiction, Brooks began writing the novel in 1967. He finished it seven years later; after being accepted for publication by Ballantine Books, it was used to launch the company's new subsidiary, Del Rey Books. Upon its release, The Sword of Shannara was a major success and the first fantasy paperback to appear on the New York Times bestseller list. Its success provided a major boost to the commercial expansion of the fantasy genre.

The Sword of Shannara interweaves two major plots into a fictional world called the Four Lands. One follows the protagonist Shea Ohmsford on his quest to obtain the Sword of Shannara and confront the Warlock Lord, the antagonist, with it, while the other shadows Prince Balinor Buckhannah's attempt to oust his insane brother Palance from the throne of Callahorn while Callahorn and its capital, Tyrsis, come under attack from the armies of the Warlock Lord. Throughout the novel, underlying themes of mundane heroism and nuclear holocaust appear.

The novel has received derision from critics who believe that Brooks derived too much of the novel from The Lord of the Rings. Some have accused him of lifting the entire plot and many of his characters directly from Lord of the Rings; others have regarded this more favorably, saying that all new writers, including Brooks, follow in these footsteps.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 History 3 Characters 3.1 Main characters 3.2 Minor characters 4 About The Sword of Shannara 5 Possible film adaptation 6 Sources 7 References

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] History

The Sword of Shannara's events take place 2000 years^[3] after an apocalypse has occurred: nuclear holocaust has wiped out most of the planet. During this time, Mankind mutated into several distinct races: Men, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Trolls, all named after creatures from "age-old" myths. Also, the Elves begin to emerge after having been in seclusion and hiding for centuries. The warring that caused the holocaust is referred to as the "Great Wars" throughout the novel. These wars rearranged the planet's geographical attributes and wiped out most life forms on Earth. As a result of the Great Wars, most advanced technology has been lost, thus most of the events in the Shannara series take place in a medieval setting. However, magic is also back into the world, rediscovered after the loss of the technology.

1000 years before The Sword of Shannara, an Elf named Galaphile gathered all of the people who still had some knowledge of the old world to Paranor in an attempt to bring peace and order to all of the races. They named themselves the First Council of Druids. However, a rogue Druid named Brona and a few followers left, taking the Ildatch with them; this magical tome had subverted their minds and had brought them under its control. 150 years later, Brona began the First War of the Races when he convinced all Men to attack the other races. He almost succeeded in seizing rule of the Four Lands, but the tide turned, and the war ended with his defeat and subsequent disappearance. The Druids divided the Four Lands among the races to reduce interracial tension, and then became reclusive, withdrawing to Paranor because of their shame at the betrayal by one of their own members.

Two and a half centuries after the First War of the Races, Brona returned as the Warlock Lord, now with Skull Bearers as his servants. Chronicled in the prequel novel First King of Shannara, the Second War of the Races began with the destruction of the Druid Order. A lone Druid, Bremen, then forged a magical talisman for the express purpose of destroying the Warlock Lord; it was given to the Elven King, Jerle Shannara. As it takes the form of a blade, the talisman was named the Sword of Shannara. It succeeded in banishing the Warlock Lord, though he was not killed, while his entire army was subsequently defeated by the combined armies of the Elves and Dwarves. Yet peace came at a high price, as interracial tension was renewed and the Druids had seemingly vanished from the land.

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[edit] Characters

[edit] Main characters

• Shea Ohmsford : the protagonist, Flick's adopted brother and the only remaining descendant of Jerle Shannara. Shea must find an ancient magical sword, the Sword of Shannara, and use it to destroy the antagonist, the Warlock Lord. A major theme of this novel revolves around Shea—part of his quest includes finding a belief in himself.^[4] This is a search that every subsequent Brooks protagonist must undergo.^[4]
• Flick Ohmsford : Shea's brother. He helps Shea escape Shady Vale and 'tags along' with the group that goes to recover the Sword. He rescues Eventine "solo"^[4] after Allanon disguises him as a Gnome.
• Menion Leah : a friend of Shea and the Prince of the small country of Leah. He guides Shea and Flick to Culhaven after their escape of Shady Vale and the Skull Bearer. He is the first of many from the House of Leah to befriend a member of the Ohmsford family.^[5]
• Allanon : a Druid who has been alive for around 400 years through the use of Druid Sleep. He guides and mentors the group on their quest to find the Sword. Allanon has been described as a parallel to Merlin from Arthurian legend.^[6]
• Balinor Buckhannah : the Crown Prince of the country of Callahorn and the "charismatic commander of [the] Border Legion".^[4] He left the capital, Tyrsis, after a fight with his insane brother, Palance; upon returning, he was thrown into a dungeon by him.
• Hendel : a "taciturn"^[4] Dwarf warrior. He first appears in the novel when he saves Menion Leah from a Siren, and was part of the company that went to find the Sword.
• Durin Elessedil : the older brother of Dayel and cousin to King Eventine. He was part of the company that went to find the Sword.
• Dayel Elessedil : the younger brother of Durin and cousin to King Eventine. He was part of the company that went to find the Sword
• Stenmin, a traitor to Callahorn now working for the Warlock Lord. He poisoned both Palance and Ruhl Buckhannah, the King of Callahorn, eventually killing Ruhl and driving Palance insane.
• Palance Buckhannah : the brother of Balinor Buckhannah and a prince of Callahorn. He was driven insane as a result of drugs fed to him by Stenmin, and at his urging, took control of Callahorn when his father 'took ill'.
• Panamon Creel : a one-handed "con man"^[4] wanderer whose left hand is now a pike. He saved Shea from a patrol of Gnomes. The inspiration from his character came directly from Rupert of Hentzau from The Prisoner of Zenda, by Anthony Hope.^[7]
• Keltset Mallicos : Panamon's mute companion. He is mute as a result of the Warlock Lord. He saves Panamon and Shea after they were captured by Trolls--he was awarded the Black Irix, the highest honor any Troll can receive, and therefore is considered incapable of treachery. The Trolls then helped them get to Skull Mountain so that Shea could confront the Warlock Lord.
• Brona a.k.a. the Warlock Lord : the former Druid and antagonist of the novel. In days long ago, Brona was a Druid before he was subverted by dark magic. He believes that he is immortal, and so he still lives. When he was confronted with the power of the Sword, "truth", he was forced to see that he was really dead, and immediately disappeared.

[edit] Minor characters

• Acton : one of four Legion commanders. He was locked up by Palance for disputing the Legion's disbandment; after being freed by Balinor, he commanded the cavalry and the left flank until he was killed by a stray arrow.
• Breen Elessedil : the brother to King Eventine. After Eventine was freed, Breen was sent to Arborlon in Eventine's place to mobilize the army to go to the aid of Callahorn.
• Curzad Ohmsford, the father of Flick.
• Eventine Elessedil : the King of the Elves. He was captured by forces of the Warlock Lord, thus paralyzing the Elves and preventing them from aiding Callahorn (they did not want to get their hostage king killed). However, he was rescued "solo"^[4] by Flick, finally allowing the Elves to mobilize in Callahorn's defense.
• Fandrez : the second of the four Legion commanders. He helped Janus Senpre recapture Tyrsis from Palance's control. Later, during the battle for Tyrsis, he shared command of the left flank with Acton until Acton's death; a day later, he was slain as well.
• Fandwick : a Legion veteran. He aided in planning the evacuation of Kern.
• Ginnisson : the third of four Legion commanders. Like Fandrez, he helped Janus Senpre recapture Tyrsis from Palance's forces; he was slain on the third day of the battle for Tyrsis by Rock Trolls.
• Janus Senpre : a lieutenant commander of the Legion who was stationed in Kern. After helping to plan the evacuation of Kern, he journeyed to Tyrsis, where he found Fandwick and Ginnisson. They reassembled key elements of the Legion and seized the gates and army barracks. He was placed in charge of the defense of Tyrsis for his achievements.
• Jon Lin Sandor : Eventine's personal advisor. He was searching for Eventine after he disappeared (not knowing that he had been captured). After being found by Eventine's rescuer, Flick, they watched the battle for Tyrsis and destroyed a siege machine.
• King of the Silver River : an ancient Faerie creature who has been around for all time. He saved Shea and Flick from a Skull Bearer that had been hunting them near the Black Oaks. The character is a "suitably subtle Merlin meshed with faerie", according to Cathi Dunn MacRae.^[6]
• Lynliss : Dayel's fiancee. She does not appear in the novel, but is talked about by Dayel.
• Messaline : the last of the four Legion commanders. He was also locked up by Palance for protesting the disbandment of the Legion; after being freed by Balinor, he commanded part of the defense. He was severely wounded in the fighting, but he was also the only one of the four commanders to survive.
• Orl Fane : a "Gollum-like"^[8] Gnome who "covets the Sword as Gollum does the ring."^[8] He stole the Sword and forced Panamon, Keltset and Shea to track him down. He was driven insane and killed by the Warlock Lord after he took control of his mind and forced him to try to take the Sword.
• Pahn : a Dwarf soldier.
• Ruhl Buckhannah : the King of Callahorn. He was poisoned to death by Stenmin.
• Shirl Ravenlock : the daughter of the ruler of Kern. She was kidnapped by Stenmin to prevent her from reaching Palance, who thinks that he is in love with her. As such, she is the only person who can get through his drug-induced craziness. She eventually falls in love with Menion Leah. She is one of only two women to appear directly in the book, with the other being the Siren.^[4]
• Skull Bearers : "winged black destroyers"^[9] who "sacrificed their humanity"^[9] to become the Warlock Lord's most trusted servants. They fly around at different points of the novel, demoralizing troops. They are usually seen only at night, though one does fly during the day over the city of Tyrsis on the last day of the battle. One found Shea, Panamon and Keltset and almost killed them before Shea could bring the Elfstones to bear.
• Shade of Bremen : once a Druid. He had died many years before, but his 'ghost' or 'presence' has been kept in the Hadeshorn.
• Sheelon : a captain in the Border Legion. Sheelon had not protested the disbandment as much, so he wasn't locked up until he was approached by Balinor. After being freed, he defended the gatehouse until he was slain by traitors loyal to Stenmin, who then proceed to jam the gate's crossbar 'open'.

[edit] About The Sword of Shannara

Main article: About The Sword of Shannara

This article details the following:

• Background of writing the novel
• Major Themes
• Literary Significance
• Reception
• Book Impact

[edit] Possible film adaptation

The rights to a movie adaptation for all of the Shannara novels have been sold to Warner Bros until 2010.^[10] The Elfstones of Shannara, the second book of the Original Shannara Trilogy and the sequel to The Sword of Shannara, is the first planned movie.^[10] It will be filmed and directed by Mike Newell, who also directed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This movie is expected be finished sometime during 2009,^[10][11] and it will probably be followed by an adaptation of The Sword of Shannara in 2010. The sequence of the movies differs from the sequence of the books, but Terry Brooks believes that this is the best starting place for adapting the Shannara novels.^[10]

[edit] Sources

• Brooks, Terry (2003). Sometimes The Magic Works: Lessons from a Writing Life. New York: Ballantine. ISBN 0-3454-6551-2.
• del Rey, Lester (1980). The World of Science Fiction: 1926-1976 - The History of a Subculture. New York and London: Garland. ISBN 0-8240-1446-4.
• MacRae, Cathi Dunn (1998). Presenting Young Adult Fantasy Fiction. New York: Twayne Publishers. ISBN 0-8057-8220-6.
• Tymn, Marshall B; Zahorski, Kenneth J.; Boyer, Robert H. (1979). Fantasy Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide. New Providence, NJ: R.R. Bowker. ISBN 0-8352-1431-1.

[edit] References

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