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Title: Ilse Witch (The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, Book 1) by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0-345-39655-3 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.15 (164 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Fresh new ideas
Comment: This book is Brooks' best (so far). I was surprised to find that Brooks reversed the direction of Shannara somewhat by sending the Druid and his friends (more accurately, the Druid and suspicious half-followers) out against an unknown enemy, and the stakes of this voyage were undefined. However, I thought that was a change for the better. I also liked the way he incorporated some sci-fi into it, by way of airships. These flying boats capture light (I think) through the sails, and the diapson crystals convert the light into energy. The way this book starts off as a voyage into the wild blue yonder, with no clear purpose, changes quickly into a tense airship chase, and has a cliffhanger ending that leaves you wondering and hungry for Antrax is truly amazing.
Character development is, as usual for Brooks, not quite up to standard with other, bigger books, such as The Wheel of Time series, but I think that Brooks actually made an effort give you a good feel for the characters. Not that he succeeded. But also as usual, Brooks' mastery of plot and battles, and also the mastery of making you feel worried for the bland characters, overcomes his aforementioned blandness in character development.
Great read. Buy it.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Harrowing Tale of Danger, Magic, and Action:
Comment: Airships, Harrowing Islands, and a Conflicted Druid! This next book in the long time Shannara series is a slight departure in some ways, but reveals some comforts of the past books that many of us have come to love.
Walker Boh from the 4-book 'Heritage of Shannara' series is back as the new Druid. Although he may be a druid, he lacks virtually none of the characteristics of previous stable, aggressive, covert druids of the past. Instead, he is a conflicted mess of turmoil, doubt, and overt manipulation that some of his journey-mates find quite frustrating. This departure is a welcome rew role for Terry Brooks to write about since it shows the depth of his style and character development as he has matured as a writer. This role is more gritty, more human, and more difficult to communicate than previous main characters in some of his books.
In fact, this is one thing I really enjoyed about 'Ilse Witch': it was darker, grittier, and more harrowing compared to its predecessors. Brooks takes this feel and injects it into a fast paced book with plenty of character development. Traveling further out into the blue divide than he has ever taken us before, the passengers aboard the Jerle Shannara have to pick up keys on three successive islands that will help them unlock secrets at their final destination regarding the "old world" mystery. I think that Brooks is up to something here in opening up the old world information, but the way he gets his characters there is spine-tingling just the same. Brooks dreams up horrors and scares anew that kept me on the edge of my seat and reading into the wee hours.
The airships are a certain departure that is welcome with the pace of the action. Certainly the Ilse Witch herself is a compelling character as she chases the Jerle Shannara in her own airship. Overall, this is an excellent next step in the already classic Shannara series, but this hardcover book, by far, has the most beautiful cover I have ever seen. Buy it for whats inside, but enjoy the outside too.
Rating: 2
Summary: Bic Disposable Rangers
Comment: The first couple hundred pages of this novel are spent gathering characters that even once the journey is started, we barely feel we know. Sure, one of them might get turned into a human robot, but we hardly knew anything about the guy beforehand.
Have you ever watched Star Trek and noticed that the security officers tend to get killed? The 20 or so elven rangers in this book keep getting picked off one by one in various mishaps because they are expendable, meaningless characters. If they are not needed, why are they there in the first place? I certainly got tired of the "They all got away from its grasping tentacles except one of the elven rangers. He didn't even have a chance to scream before he was ripped into pieces and the other members of the group didn't especially care." These rangers that die so easily are supposedly expert woodsmen and warriors while the same cannot be said of all the other members who make it out alive every time.
The journey was terribly slow because each time they land on a new island, they wonder if there's any bad dudes there as if to keep me in suspense. Of course there's bad dudes there! Especially with all those extras to kill.
The new Ohmsford character was *gasp* the standard issue boy scout goody goody kid. C'mon, just cause they share a common lineage doesn't mean they all have to be clones.
One of the few redemptive qualities was the character of Truhls Rohk, whose mysteriousness intrigued me. I enjoyed his presence throughout the series.
Oh, yes. There was an awful lot of talk about the mechanics of skyships. For some reason, even the best radian draw lines have a way of snapping ALL THE TIME.
There were some parts where when I almost put this book down and only continued with the series at the recommendation of a friend. The other two books, especially Antrax, are much better.
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Title: Morgawr (The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, Book 3) by TERRY BROOKS ISBN: 0345435753 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 26 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: First King of Shannara by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345396537 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 29 January, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Talismans of Shannara by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345386744 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 31 January, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Elf Queen of Shannara (Heritage of Shannara, Book 3) by Terry Brooks ISBN: 0345375580 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 23 January, 1993 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Jarka Ruus (High Druid of Shannara, Book 1) by TERRY BROOKS ISBN: 0345435737 Publisher: Del Rey Pub. Date: 26 August, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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