Rating: 
Summary: Antrax or not to Antrax
Review: This book by Terry Brooks is a book that cannot be ignored nor can one stop reading as its very captivating and will hold onto you with great vigor and it will take all your might to muster enough strength to put it down even for a moment, so go switch off the TV and put the answer phone on record.
Rating: 
Summary: Easier and Easier
Review: I cut my Fantasy reading teeth on Terry Brooks and JRR Tolkien. So I didn't have a lot of preconcieved notions about Brooks Books being the same as the Tolkien Books, but for a high school kid they were great,BUT to me they haven't evolved into anything greater. I expected the story lines to get more complex and the characters to be more involved. To me they have stagnated to go over the same thing again and again. New characters are the same as Shea.
A big bad guy is coming, a druid comes out of no where, The hero getstricked into going, everyone objects because of those crazy druids , they get elfstones, Sword, or wishsong and go a battling.
I have read several other authors now and they all had great hopes for this new series Antrax,but it revealed that it is more of the same again. the story is fairly interesting and it moves along ok, but all the hipe just barely covers the bland old story. I hope that the coming last book is much improved. The Scions series was at least different, I will still pick up the last book to see Bek use the wishsong on the warlock, the Elessedel prince use the stones on the warlock (then go back and take the throne), the shapeshifter will die, and some how the sowrd will be used to finish the job on the warlock. Probably by the Ilse Witch. Who will take everyone back to fight the bad guy in the end, she just doesn't know it yet. And If I am wrong I will eat my hat.
Rating: 
Summary: Too exciting to have ended as it did
Review: Following the Ilse Witch, first book of the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, the exploring party led by the Druid Walker found themselves on a faraway land. The map which led them there brought them to the site of an ancient ruin from an era bygone.
At the end of the first book, the landing party had been savagely assaulted by strange mechanical devices and subsequently separated from each other. Their ship was also ambushed by the Ilse Witch and taken over. The book had concluded with the first face to face meeting between Bek Ohmsford, heir to the Wishsong, and the Ilse Witch, who was also his long-lost siser Grianne Ohmsford, the only other living wielder of the Ohmsford legacy, the Wishsong.The book Antrax has several separate, sometimes intertwining, threads running at the same time, which is similar to Tolkien's the Two Towers. Bek Ohmsford found himself trying to convince the Ilse Witch that she had been duped by the Mograwr and most of her life was a lie. Truls, the shapeshifter, fought hard to keep him alive and help Bek gain better control over his nascent prowess of the Wishsong when Grianne disbelieved him. Finally, Bek decided that he had to make Grianne face the truth, and allow himself to be "captured" by her. Bek's childhood friend Quentin Leah, along with several elven Trackers, had been separated from Walker in the ambush in the ruins. With Tamis and Panax, they encountered a strange race of natives, the first sign of sentient settlers in that land. The natives had been hiding from the inhabitant of the ruins which they called Antrax. Recovering from their ordeal in the native village, the party learned that Antrax had been sending out mechanical moving machines to kidnap the villagers, disasssembling them and reassembling into part machine part flesh creatures. Quentin and company learned the truth of this when they saw Ard Partnell, an elven warrior who had fallen in the first ambush, being sent after them. Quentin learned the hard way of dealing with these machines. Ahren, the unwanted elven prince, found himself cowering during the ambush. Shamed by his cowardice, he unwillingly escorted Rye Ord Star the seeress to enter the ruins in search of Walker. Unknown to him, both of them were weighed down by guilt of their own betrayals. Somehow, each must find a way to redeem himself and herself from the past. Walker, who knew more about the supposed treasure than he admitted, found himself in a nightmare where an unknown being was siphoning off his magic. He finally realized the truth about Antrax later, and realized that the fabulous treasure could help or destroy the future of the world, and the choice fell on him!
Unable this time to let the people make their own choice, as previous Druids had done, Walker, for the first time, had to make the choice on behalf of the world. A refreshing change in this book from previous books, Brooks as well as non-Brooks, was that the dialogue was more mature. Characters were less narrow-minded and could actually reason things out themselves. The success of Brooks in this case was that he could make them no less distinctive as individuals, each with his/her own sets of fears, hopes and dreams. The background revealed so far was the Antrax was a legacy from an era prior to the Great Wars which obliterated civilisations, wiping out technological achievements of the world. With the mission to protect the libraries of knowledge, Antrax evolved somehow a need to gain more energy and sought this from the magical sources of the Four Lands, which had forgotten technology and had developed magic in its place. The ending of the book was somehow unsatisfying, with cliffhangers for each development thread. For readers who got the book early, the waiting is simply killing.
Rating:
Summary: Reads like the end of the series but its only the 2nd book
Review: This is the second book in the Jerle Shannara series. It reads alot like the conclusion to the second book, though not as rushed as the first. The druid and company make it to Antrax and its mystery is revealed.
More of the relationship between Walker, Bek and the Isle Witch is also explored. I also like the way technology is continued to be played out in this series. I give the book a B.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but
Review: I know there are 50 some odd reviews, but I needed to vent a little. Got this book for Christmas. Been a fan of Terry Brooks for years. Liked book one, and this one is good. It continues the story, and there is plenty of tension to keep you reading. But... you know it was coming... but, The first 150 pages is more review of where things are at. And Brooks tends to over explain what each character is thinking--especially the Ilse Witch. After page 150 or so, things pick up nicely, and the story is great. It's a little slow in going, as though Brooks needed to remind himself of what he wrote in Book 1.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't put it down, but will I pick it up again?...
Review: Okay, this book wasn't bad at all, but I have an eerie feeling that Brooks is still surfing off of the wake that the awesome Heritage series created. Those four earlier books compromised the best fantasy series (i think) since our beloved Tolkein. This Jerle Shannara series is something in itself, but not exactly what I hoped.
Basic rundown: The Druid Walker and his large troup of voyagers are separated in a distant land hunted on one side by the Ilse Witch (who is a magic wielding Ohmsford) and her team of reptilian shape shifters, and on the other side by an ancient artificial intelligence called Antrax. Walker faces Antrax and tries to find the treasure it hides while Antrax attempts to capture him and take his magic. Bek Ohmsford spends the whole book dealing with his sister the Witch, trying to convince her they're related. The others run around with their heads cut off trying to be productive.
My opinions: I should say that I really couldn't put Antrax down, and was sorry when I finished the book too fast. I'm very excited for the next book in the series and will surely pick it up right away. The book did feel a bit too fragmented between the separate characters and plots. Sometimes when a new chapter jumped to a different scene, I moaned and thought "who cares about these guys!", but, to Brooks' credit, a chapter later I groaned when he switched again and wanted to know what would happen next. Thankfully, though, the separate storylines served to slow the story down, so it didn't feel so rushed as Ilse Witch.
Some of the characters seem redundant from previous Shannara books (is any Leah distingishable?), but I like the new twists with the Ohmsfords. Antrax, as a character, was something of a disappointment. I felt no thrill or dread from such an artificial and single-purposed antagonist, and, when it was defeated, I worried, "they did not come all the way over just for that!" And, is it me, or was the Ilse Witch's transition from daunting evil to another confused protagonist almost unnoticable?
Short comings of the book aside, Brooks is an astounding author, and I will forever be a fan. I just have very high standards for him, and crave his glory days again. But Antrax is worth the read, it had a very satisfying ending, and I'll eagerly anticipate the conclusion to the series.
Rating:
Summary: Good but dragging
Review: I have all of Terry Brooks' books and normally I have them finished the day I receive them. For some reason, this story seemed a little slow and overpowering. I'd have to put it down to take a break. Normally I love Terry's stories and can't wait for the next one. It could be because things were a bit technical on this one. I am looking forward to the next one though and having Terry back on track.
Rating:
Summary: The Jerle Shannara adventure continues
Review: Terry Brooks has done it again. Antrax, his latest novel, continues in the typical high paced, action packed fashion that has made Brooks famous. This book picks up where Ilse Witch leaves off. The airship Jerle Shannara has been boarded and taken over by the Millwerts of the Ilse Witch. Some are captured, and some have left to explore Castledown to find the magic books that are hidden there. Bek has just discovered that the Ilse Witch is indeed his sister, Grianne. The Ilse Witch refuses to believe this, and Bek struggles with how to convince her of the truth. Prince Ahren must also deal with his own shortcomings and try to find the missing elfstones. Meanwhile, Walker becomes separated from the others in Castledown and discovers Antrax, a 3000 year old presence which was built to keep the books of magic safe. It survives by feeding off the magic of others. Walker and the others are confused as to how Antrax operates, but eventually the secret of Antrax is discovered. Brimming with action on every page, Antrax is a sure fire hit with fantasy readers.
Rating:
Summary: Better than the first!
Review: This book picks up right where Ilse Witch left off! Of course this means those that try to read the books out of order are really going to be confused. This book is much more fast paced than the first but unlike the first, the reader really doesn't follow one main character - and none of the characters are together. Each character is fighting his or her own battles - literally! Of course this kept me reading and wanting to find out what happened next to all the charcters! Great book and can't wait for the final book out of 3!
Rating:
Summary: 5 Stars for Content - 3 Stars for Leaving Everyone Hanging
Review: This book was the second in a trilogy and I don't understand how an author can suck you in and then leave you hanging like that!!!! I read the first book when I found it in paperback "The Isle Witch" and when I got to the end and found the story was continued I was VERY UPSET, and now I'm even MORE UPSET!!! The author should have gotten these 3 books out closer in time so as not to leave his audience hanging (perhaps it is even a 4 part story)!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the story and can't wait to find out what happens in the end, but I suggest to anyone interested that you wait till all the books are out before delving into this series by one of my favorite authors!!!! I'm sure I'll forget the whole story before the 3rd one comes out!!!!!!!!!
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