Original Shannara Trilogy

The Original Shannara Trilogy consists of the first three Shannara novels (The Sword of Shannara, The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara) by Terry Brooks. Though not originally written as a trilogy, the novels were published as The Sword of Shannara Trilogy by Del Rey; however, Terry Brooks' official website lists the books as The Original Shannara Trilogy.^[1]

The Books

The Sword of Shannara

The first novel of The Original Shannara Trilogy chronicles the adventures of the brothers Shea and Flick Ohmsford in their quest to retrieve the Sword of Shannara to defeat the Warlock Lord who threatens the Four Lands.

The Elfstones of Shannara

The second novel of The Original Shannara Trilogy follows Shea's grandson, Wil Ohmsford as he aids the endangered Elven nation, helping it survive a horde of demons coming through from their sealed off dimension, the Forbidding. The rift is eventually closed when the magic tree that guards it, the Ellcrys, is renewed.

The Wishsong of Shannara

The final novel of The Original Shannara Trilogy details the quest of Jair and Brin Ohmsford, the children of Wil, 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 (All three)
• Eventine Elessedil (Sword and Elfstones)
• Flick Ohmsford (Sword and Elfstones)
• Wil Ohmsford (Elfstones and Wishsong)
• Eretria (Elfstones and Wishsong)
• The King of the Silver River (All three)

References