The Sword of Shannara
（重定向自Allanon）
![](/Images/godic/202412/18/Sword_of_shannara_hardcover4327.jpg")
![Depiction of the quest party by The Brothers Hildebrandt. Left to right: Menion, Dayel and Durin, Hendel (foreground), Balinor (background), Allanon (background), Shea, Flick.](/Images/godic/202412/18/Shannara_quest_party4327.jpg")
The Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. It is the first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Brooks was heavily influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and began writing The Sword of Shannara in 1967. It took him seven years to complete, as he was writing the novel while attending law school. Ballantine Books used it to launch the company's new subsidiary Del Rey Books. Its success boosted the commercial expansion of the fantasy genre.