During the course of his journey, which he begins as a parochial boy (no matter his age), he goes through fear, danger and sorrow to become savior of the world.

Shea Ohmsford, like Frodo Baggins - or Luke Skywalker - is an incarnation of the Hero With a Thousand Faces, to borrow a phrase from Joseph Campbell. Both are tales that take great mythological themes and transplant them into a fantasy setting. However, one might just as well say that The Lord of the Rings is just a cheap rip-off of the northern mythologies from which Tolkien garnered the seeds of his great saga. It has been said that The Sword of Shannara is just a cheap rip-off of Grandpa Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. And so they set out on their quest, to find the fabled Sword and use it to defeat the Dark Lord. In Culhaven, they are joined by other travelers: Balinor, the prince of the border kingdom of Callahorn Durin and Dayel, the cousins of the elven king Eventine Hendel, the taciturn dwarf and finally Allanon. Their flight leads them to Leah and Shea's friend Menion, the prince of that small kingdom, who agrees to guide them to the city of Culhaven where they hope to meet again with Allanon.Īfter a long and dangerous journey, the three travelers reach Culhaven only to find that they must set out again, for a longer and even more dangerous journey. Shea flees in terror with only his brother Flick as a companion. Predictably, Shea laughs off Allanon's tale and goes about his business, until the night that he awakens in alarm to find that the Dark Lord's Skull Bearer is right outside his home. Even now, the minions of the Dark Lord are searching for Shea, Allanon warns, and if he does not leave Shady Vale, he will soon die. He must leave Shady Vale at once and go on a quest to reclaim the fabled Sword and prevent the rise of the Dark Lord.

Allanon tells Shea that Shea is the last descendant of the great elven king Jerle Shannara, and that even though his blood is not pure, only he can wield the legendary Sword of Shannara. Into his peaceful life comes the legendary druid and wanderer Allanon, with an unbelievable tale. Half-elven Shea Ohmsford lives in the isolated, peaceful town of Shady Vale, knowing little about the outside world and caring less. It brought us Star Wars (the movie may be science fiction, but the plot is pure fantasy) and Terry Brooks's first book The Sword of Shannara, which has become a modern fantasy classic. Rambles.NET: Terry Brooks, The Sword of Shannara Terry Brooks,ġ977 was a good year for fantasy.

The sword of shannara 1977