Rating: 
Summary: Drooling for more!!!
Review: Man, I just got done reading Morgawr and boy do I want more!!
In the latest installment. Brooks lets us know the outcome of the Jerle Shannara crew. He left the ending with a cliffhanger, so I know there will be more to this story, just under a different trilogy surname.The crew of the Jerle Shannara, stranded on Parkasia, has suffered a crushing defeat and has crashed into a mountainside, crippling their ship, and losing valuable parts through the hull.
THey must find a way to get off the ground. The Isle Witch has gone into a catatonic state since her encounter with the Sword of Shannara, and the Morgawr hunts her relentlessly. Bek Ohmsford tries in vain to bring her out but to no avail. He is new to his power so he cannot fight Morgawr. The relationship between Rue Meridian and Bek continues to develop. Rue does not know what to make of Bek's love for his sister. She has a burning hatred for the Isle Witch that she intends to see Furl Hawken avenged. Ahren Elessedil and Ryer Ord Star are captured by the Morgwr and his rets, and somehow during this capture, he loses the Elfstones, his only protection. Meanwhile Ryer Ord Star becomes the willing accomplice to the Morgawr, telling him where the other members of the crew are. Quentin Leah still searches for Bek, constantly asking himself if he has done the right thing by leaving him. While being pursued by the Mwellrets, he and the rindge, along with Panax, cause a rockfall on a mountainside, but something goes wrong and he is swept away in the slide... All this and the confrontation between the Isle witch and the Morgawr comes to a breathtaking end when Brooks leaves off with such an ending that like me it should leave you "DROOLING FOR MORE!!!"
Rating: 
Summary: Uninspiring
Review: As an avid reader of Terry Brooks for some years, I was disappointed by _Morgawr_, though it was better than the other books in the series. Brooks' strength, in my opinion, has always been characterization. Despite the occasional plot issue, the characters in each of his novels (especially _Angel Fire East_) have been compelling and convincing, which is probably one reason he's written so many best sellers. There's a certain presence they have outside of paper's confines. This has not been the case in _Voyage of the Jerle Shannara_, which tastes more like an excuse for an adventure than a quest. For starters, the need for the journey is never fully communicated--the impact of Old World technology is never fully explored (we just get sci-fi monsters instead), and Walker's desires for the future are never made compelling and poignant. In the end, when the company leaves Parkasia behind, it feels like a fruitless mission rather than a triumphant conclusion. In part, this is because the characters, after being gone for around two years from home, really never develop in our heads. Bek, for all of his experiences, evinces the expected emotions and acts with some inconsistency (leaving Grianne to go with Quentin when he could be killed? Wouldn't a more mature Bek be wary of splitting his loyalties?). The more interesting characters of the series (e.g., Big Red, Grianne, the Morgawr himself) really aren't given as much flesh as they need. Brooks' solution to recovering the Sword of Leah was rather boring and unconvincing. The way that the company reconnects after the events of _Ilse Witch_ and _Antrax_ is too neat. Grianne's sense of guilt is superficial. The scenery for a foreign continent never before seen by anyone this side of the Westland is too sparse and unimaginative. The relationship between Bek and Little Red lacks flair and feels decidedly contrived. The history of the world simply isn't there, and the considerable resources at Walker's disposal for bringing it to us aren't used. The bottom line is that Mr. Brooks spent too much time on action--of which there's a lot--and not enough on characters. At points he moves too quickly, as though he's impatient for the finish, and at others too slowly, perhaps in a mostly futile effort to flesh out the main players, which feel like stock characters more than protagonists. While the series does contain a few surprises and a nod towards the future, that's not enough to redeem it from mediocrity. Though he'll probably remain on the top of my reading list for some time, Mr. Brooks' latest efforts are simply subpar and, in my opinion, a waste of money. Wait for their appearance at your library.
Rating:
Summary: disapointing
Review: a very well written book but still one of terry's worst. I've read all the shannara books and this is one didn't hook me like the elfstones, first king, antrax, isle witch, and sword. The ending to the book wasn't very good and it seemed like terry didn't put much thought in explaining the backround of Morgawr. The final thing i expecially didn't like was little red and omhsford getting together(the age difference was the main reason), it wasn't like in elfstones where the relationship there seemed right. Overall, i think it was still a good book but my expectations from terry seemed higher.
Rating: 
Summary: I really wanted to like this book.
Review: The whole series is not typical Terry Brooks. It features no epic battles with armies clashing and a much more limited landscape of action. That said these things did not bother me. The thing that bothered me was that the "shannara formula" became much more obvious with this limiting set of circumstances. Every resolution in this book is painfully obvious and instead of it being a joy to read it becomes a labor to get to the next non-surprise. If you read the last book, it was painfully obvious at the end that Walker was "passing the torch" and nothing in this last book ever makes you doubt that it is the case. Perhaps some of the blame should go on the trilogy format that Brooks sticks to. Forcing himself to stretch the story over 3 short books (short for epic fanstasy anyway). I couldn't help but think this should hve been two books or a 1000 page volume with some of the fat trimmed. In any case, this book feels less an act of art and more an act of work. A formula book done to fulfill a contract. Spoilers Alert.
Yes, The witch becomes a druid.
Yes, she comes out of her comatose in time to save the day.
Yes, the only people who die are Star Trek ensigns. My biggest beef after finishing the book was the Morgawr himself. An ultrapowerful guy who has been alive for a thousand years who can make an army of drones who just until 20 years before has finally come out of the wilderun. He is just a weak/contrived antagonist. Continuity problems.
The elfstones should at least be able to singe some bird feathers but instead are relegated to being only useful for destroying magical beasts. Allanon appears out of a freaking pond to take Walker into the world of the dead. Not the Hadeshorn, just any old pond. Made me wonder why they go through all that hoopla at the Hadeshorn in every single triogy if they can just go to any puddle and retrieve a druid out of it. I consider myself a huge shannara fan and every author is allowed to have a stinker. Terry, this one's yours. You are forgiven.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing End To A Dud Of A Series
Review: This is the third and last book in the "Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" series set in the fantasy world of Shannara. I'm going to review both the series and the book: 1) I'm a big fan of Terry Brooks because his books are always fun to read. But this latest series was just a big dud. It lacked the magic of the other Shannara books. Bek and Grianne Ohmsford are made out to be the best heroes ever, but they fall far short and really weren't that special. Half the characters were recycled from previous books (an Ohmsford, a Leah, a dwarf, a Rover, a druid, a bad guy, whatever), and the most interesting ones were either barely utilized or abruptly killed off without so much as a word. The old talismans like the Sword of Shannara, Elfstones, and Wishsong were mere shadows of themselves. While the new gimmicks were hit or miss for me. A lot of folks liked the airships, but their technical distractions just gave me a headache. I did like the fact that technology plays a big role in this series. The magic-meets-machine Antrax with its artificial intelligence and Borg-like drones was the most interesting thing in the entire series. And the new but old continent of Parkasia was a welcome addition to the increasingly crowded world of Shannara. 2) The book is one big reason why the series ended up as a dud for me. The first two books weren't that bad, but this book soured me on the whole series. After two of my favorite characters died, I realized how unlikable the main heroes were. The plot was also rushed. Nothing more is done with Parkasia or the forbidden technology of Antrax. Everybody just runs around dazed a bit before finally heading on home. Stopping to battle the bad guy, of course. And what a lousy bad guy the book's namesake, the Morgawr, made. He ended up becoming just another typical evil power-hungry warlock. Nothing really special about him at all. All in all, I have to say this is the only series where I didn't like ANY of the main characters. If you're a die-hard Shannara fan, then stomach it. Otherwise, I wouldn't even bother.
Rating:
Summary: "Your Time for Regret will be Short..."
Review: "Morgawr" is the third and last book in Terry Brook's "Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" trilogy, which concerns the last of the triad of villains that the "Jerle Shannara"s crew goes up against. In the previous two books "Ilse Witch" and "Antrax" the Druid Walker led a range of characters to the faraway island of Parkasia in order to find a great treasure trove of ancient knowledge. Stalked by the Ilse Witch and then attacked by the archaic machinery of the Antrax, the crew found themselves utterly divided. Walker has been fatally wounded by the Antrax after unsuccessfully attempting to gain this treasure, but now bids Bek to save the one thing that they can salvage from the mission: the Ilse Witch.
Bek Ohmsford and the mysterious shape-shifter Truls Rokh are attempting to convince the Ilse Witch that she is not only Bek's sister Grianne Ohmsford, but that her mentor the Morgawr was the one that killed her parents - not Walker as she had been led to believe. After the truth is revealed to her by the magic of the Sword of Shannara, she slips into a state of catatonia that Bek cannot awaken her from. Meanwhile, the elf prince Ahren Elessedil and the seer Ryer Ord Star have retrieved the long-lost Elfstones only to find themselves captured by the Morgawr who seeks to use them in the attempt to trap the rest of the crew.
Everyone else is engaged in fairly dull activities: Quentin Leah does a lot of walking, and Rue Meridian, her brother Redder Alt Mer and the Wing Rider Hunter Predd take control of "Black Moclips" only to abandon it in a storm - a needless and pointless plot line. Panax's presence in the story is still a mystery. With the Antrax gone and the Ilse Witch converted, the story basically follows the surviving members of the crew trying to find one another, flee the island and avoid the Morgawr and his crew of reptilian Mwellrets.
The problem with this is that for all intents and purposes, the voyage is over. They came, they looked for the treasure, they didn't actually get the treasure (making the whole trip fairly pointless) and now they're leaving again. There is no sense of moving forward, only going back, and as such it's less interesting. To make things worse, the Morgawr is a rather humdrum bad guy, with nothing of the Ilse Witch's mystery or the Antrax's incorporeal threat. This is just a bad guy that wants to kill the goodies, because that's what bad guys do.
There are more problems: the love story between Bek and Rue is forced and unconvincing, there are more pointless encounters (including a man-eating plant) and it ends on a silly "here we go again" note. There are endless sermons on the nature of love and loyalty, and often the long-winded dialogue that Brooks gives his characters is painfully unnatural and often repetitive: "They fly no flag, and their crews act like dead men...the ones he could see were men, but they didn't act like men. They acted like machines. They didn't look as if they were alive. They were all still and empty-eyed." This sentence could be boiled down to half this length, without making the speaker sound like a robot and the reader like an idiot that has to have the situation pounded into him a number of times.
Neither Ryer nor Truls is given a satisfactory send-off, and the conclusion of the story screams "sequels are coming!" And in fact they are - Brooks continues his story in a new trilogy called "The High Druid". The fact that the treasure itself ended up being inaccessible and the mission switched instead to Grianne, makes the entire thing seem like one big introduction to this next series of books.
It was a promising start, and an interesting middle, but this final book is only worth reading in order to finish what you started --and see if Brooks can bring himself to let just one Elf Hunter (ie, nameless extra crew-member) to survive. Don't count on it.
Rating:
Summary: I'd Read It Again
Review: I thought this book really was the perfect finish, it had great twists in it, and unexpected events. Terry did himself proud in my opinion!!! After reading The Isle Witch and Antrax I couldn't wait to get started on the third. When I did, I couldn't stop and was disapointed I came to the end so quickly-I couldn't put it down! I found this trilogy refreshing-'The VOYAGE of Shannara!' Loved it, couldn't think of anyhing to criticise it on, except maybe how it pulled you into the book at the saddest parts and nearly had me covering my eyes at the scary bits. Hope this helps!x x x x
Rating:
Summary: predictable, utterly predictable
Review:
****** SOME SPOILERS AHEAD********************
(although, considering how predictable this story is, I'm not sure they qualify as "spoilers")
ok, be honest.
how many of you avid brook's fans out there actually thought that Kian would make it all the way home, the Morgawr might be a challenge to defeat, or that anything would happen to Bek, Quentin and Rue?
The thing is, Brooks hasn't done anything different with his characters since the last series. The Ohmsford, Leah and the various love interests always survive unbelievably adverse conditions and overwhelming personal challenges, while the superbly trained Elven Hunters die uselessly at a moment's notice. They're basically like an advanced warning system for the rest of the company; when an Elf keels over, something bad is about to happen.
Here's a shocker: Druid's keep secrets!!! I get the point! Considering that this book does not even have a Druid, its sickening how many times this is repeated. And what about Panax? When he didn't do anything in the first book, I thought Brooks was saving him up for something special, but nope. He did nothing more significant than scout out trails for the Rindge to follow. Heck, he didn't even manage to get killed, something Brook's characters generally find very easy to do! The only characters I liked were Ryer and Ahren, as they were huge emotional focal points in the book. But even though Ahren feels he was essentially useless in the voyage, Brooks gives him nothing more than the consolation kill of Cree Bega.
********** NO MORE SPOILERS*************
Characters aside, the series was a servicable fantasy. The mysterious old-world technology is even more interesting when it is described as being so similar to ours. Brook's strength is his locations and ability to describe everything in a more than tangible way; events take on a surreal, subliminal and ephemeral quality. I only wish that he had put in more dialogue to flesh out his characters, rather than rely so heavily on long tracts of soul-searching to explain their dispositions.
In summary, the characters were the usual disappointment, but the conflict of magic vs. science kept this series alive. since antrax was pretty much finished in the last book, this one wears a bit thin.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing!
Review: I have always been a great fan of Terry Brooks. I have read all the books written by him and I loved every one of them. However, this last one to the end of the series was very disappointing. The plot was rushed through and the old-world technology was not even talked about. Two main characters in this book died, and one of them happened to be my favorite. Almost all the characters are from the previous books. For example, Rovers, one Leah, one Druid, two Omsfords, bad guy, elves, and a dwarf. The brave elves will sacrifice themselves, the druid will be stubborn, the druid will lead the Omsfords around, and finally the courageous Leah will protect the Omsfords. I did like the fact that technology was brought into this book. The airships were pretty interesting and Anthrax¡¦s artificial intelligence was very interesting. It is fun to read about magic versus science, but I still wished that Brooks would emphasize more on how the technology and old-world people were lost. It is too bad that Brooks didn¡¦t write more about it. The plot was rushed because they didn¡¦t do anything in Anthrax except wonder around getting scared and then leaving the island. Then, stopping midway from home to fight the bad guy who sucked anyways. Morgawr was just a power-hungry warlock that got defeated quite easily, and he himself was very boring and not interesting. Also, the Isle Witch was barely talked about in this book, she was just a tired and withdrawn little girl that does practically nothing in this book. In conclusion, if you haven¡¦t read the Isle Witch Series, don¡¦t read it. On the other hand, if you already read the first two of the Isle Witch Series, go ahead and buy this one, as it concludes the series nicely.
Rating:
Summary: Who wrote this book?
Review: I have been a fan of Terry Brooks and the Shannara series from its beginning. I bought each book read and reread them then lent them to friends. Not so with this latest add-on. Did someone get paid to write 400+ pages out of a story line of perhaps 100? Snore......its unlike these characters to whine and snivel about adversity..but here they seem to bubble over with it. Seems I would read a page or two and then skip a page or two so I wouldnt have to reread all the life stories. The only other books I have ever had to do this with is Swords of Time and White Gold Wielder (you guys know what i mean.."I'm a leaper....")
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