The Sword of Shannara is one of the most important books in the fantasy genre. In many ways, it helped publishers understand that there was a market for epic fantasy—a market that largely only featured J.R.R. Tolkien.

The story of Shea Ohmsford and his quest to gain the Sword of Shannara is one filled with adventure, magic, friendship, and a very dark evil. It is the beginning of much more, of course, the first novel in the Shannara series.