Rating: 
Summary: Fresh new ideas
Review: 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: 
Summary: Same storyline, same great results
Review: This is another of Terry Brook's famous Shannara books. I found this book to contain the same basic premise as all the others: a mission or threat to be dealt with, a small group of defined characters to embark on the journey, action and adventure along the way, introspective self doubt of those who wield magic, the always present Druid, and the evil villains. Basically, it is the same story as the earlier books, just recycled with some different concepts. Yet, I gave this book 3 stars - why? Well, while all of the above is true, it is simply so well done and enjoyable that I can't seem to put the book down, and am now anxiously awaiting the sequel. Terry Brooks is a skilled author who writes stories that come to life and sweep you along. Pure escapism, and while ultimately an empty pleasure, a pleasure nonetheless. One issue is the price of the hardback, I deducted one star for that. I would suggest waiting for the paperback, by then the sequel will be out in hardback and you will only have to by one hardback book instead of two. If you are looking into Terry Brooks and the Shannara fantasy stories for the first time, start with the Sword of Shannara, and work your way into this series from there.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting
Review: I am a big Shannara fan...and I don't think it was like his other stuff but i did find it wonderful...At first it was boring and I thought that it seemed so easy to get the keys on the different islands...It was almost like a video game...but at the end..it all fell in place..questions were answered...but you are still left hanging....
I was so happy to have the ohmsfords and the leah's reunited..I think its a very interesting book...and that if you are a terry brooks fan than this is a good for you....
at the moment I am reading the second book of the series antrax and so far it is making up for anything bad in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but overall unsatisfying.
Review: Terry Brooks' latest story had me drooling in anticipation. The Shannara series is one of my all-time favorite series, and I bought the book the day it was released. Overall, the story is quite entertaining. It contains very imaginative situations, dynamic characters, and a fantastic plot. However, in the end it fails to be anything more than good. Brooks is planning on this being the first in a three book series, and I believe that is the main reason. It spends nearly the entire book setting the scenarios of the second book up. Anyone who has seen Star Wars: Episode One will know what I mean. It's a good read, and I'd recommend it to anyone, but it is by no means Brook's best (read Elfstones of Shannara for that) nor is it anything special. Perhaps the second and third books will revive the Jerle Shannara series into something spectacular.
Rating: 
Summary: Bic Disposable Rangers
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: First 300 pages boring, last 150=A+ (Spoilers at end)
Review: (NO SPOILERS SECTION)
I am torn at how to rate this book. The first 2/3 of this book was some of the most boring reading I have witnessed. The final 1/3 of this book was excellent. When that happens, how do you rate it? The plot is a quest for magic. There is no backdrop of a huge war of races ongoing. The world is generally a quiet place. A map and clues are found. The Druid Walker Boh decides to start a quest. He spends the first 2/3 of the book gathering members for the quest. That's right, the quest for the magic does not begin until after you've read some 250+ pages. The time spent on this preparation is extremely boring as little to no action occurs and the characters are not interesting enough to keep us engaged. The closest thing you get to excitement is when people are arguing over who should get to go on the journey and who should not. Yawn. It took me two months to get myself to soldier through the first two thirds of this book. I can't make this point enough: NOTHING happens. And the fact of the matter is, you don't even know what the magical treasure is. It is not revealed by Walker or anyone else. Not much to help keep you going there. The group is finally convened and they strike out on an airship. If you are a Shannara purist you may bristle at the thought of the adventurers on an airship. There's also some content that is more sci-fi and less Shannara fantasy. Be fair warned. Finally I crested the wave of boredom and came to the final 1/3. This last third of the book took me two days to read. The excitement is more intense and involves the characters more personally. They are fighting to protect other members they care about, while others are fighting to find the truth about themselves. The quest for the truth of oneself is typical fare in Shannara, but it is what we love and the reason we return to these books. Brooks handles "the truth of oneself" with master's hands as he always does. Some of the elements you love from past books will make reappearances (spoilers are below but not in this section of my review). As always, the Druid knows many of the answers but shares few. In this story, the main character seizes his destiny by taking action to seek the truth. I like this approach instead of waiting patiently for the Druid to unfold everything. The friction between the Druid and the one he would keep ignorant is compelling. One last caveat I have for you is: this book has a cliffhanger ending. Nothing is resolved and the action is frozen in time for the next book. If you're looking to read this book as a stand alone, you may be disappointed. For those looking to continue on in the series, this finale does a fair job of making you want to continue on to the next book, called Antrax. So in summary, I liked:
+ the challenges facing the characters in the last 1/3 of the book are really engaging
+ the quest tilts to become a quest for "the truth in oneself" and is something we all love about the Shannara stories, and it is well done here. I disliked:
- the first 2/3 of the book! You could literally start reading on page 300 and not miss anything.
- with no ongoing war of the races, the world seems a pretty boring place
- the characters are not interesting enough to make you read 300 pages of preparation for the quest
- some may dislike the inclusion of sci-fi fare like airships and metal robots My recommendation: Fans should read it, those new to Shannara should start elsewhere (Sword of... or Scions of...),and everyone should skip the first 300 pages! (SPOILERS BELOW!) I write these reviews mostly to myself as a journal of what I have read. That being the case, I will need to review the cliffhanger ending before reading Antrax. The questions at the forefront are these: What will happen as Bek and Grianne face-off for the first time as adult brother and sister? Will the Sword of Shannara come out?
What of the Jerle Shannara ship and its occupants as they drift towards the crushing jaws of the Squirm?
Walker forced his way into the Obelisk, which seems to be a computer control room, but then he was swallowed by a trap door. What is his fate?
What of the romance between Bek and Little Red?
I really like the concept that the Castledown setting is an ancient and extinct civilization, yet it is similar to the one we live in today. It is a battle between the technology of today and the magic of the barren future (faerie past?). What sorts of "truths" will we learn about the Castledown civilization, and could they apply to our civilization today?
Rating: 
Summary: Lost the magic.
Review: I have been reading the Shannara books since I was 12. Having read the latest offering all I can say is that it is probably about time for Terry Brooks to retire. The story is old, the characters have been done. Let us remember you for the great author you once were, instead of the hack you have become.
Rating:
Summary: Not as Good
Review: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, Ilse Witch being the first, is not nearly as good as Brooks' previous Shannara books. The characters are one dimensional at best, the story badly plotted, and there is very little about the "voyage" that makes one want to invest time and energy into the story. If you're a die-hard Shannara fan, then buy and read them; otherwise, check them out from your local library.
Rating:
Summary: Along for the ride
Review: I loooongtime Shannara fan, I hate to say it but Terry Brooks has gone to the well too often. Characters have changed little since the "Sword of Shannara", if at all.
I found lots of flaws with this series. Spent a lot of time talking about mwellrets and how invincible they are. On the contrary, they fall quicker than a temp in a Xena episode. I've also noticed that secondary characters are doomed to the same fate as their counterparts on Star Trek.
Also, I get the point that Druids are secretive and "aren't telling the full story". I'd bet a steak dinner that there are over 1,000 sentences dedicated to that fact throughout the Shannara books.
Finally, did you notice the influence of "Star Wars" in this latest?
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but too straightforward.
Review: This is the first book in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy (before Antrax and Morgawr), set one hundred and thirty years after the events of The Heritage of Shannara tetralogy. Ilse Witch opens with Hunter Predd, a Wing Rider, patrolling the Blue Divide coast on his Roc Obsidian, and finding the half-drown body of an Elf, whose features are hideously mutilated. When Hunter discovers a silver bracelet and a map with strange writings on the barely alive creature, he knows the latter must be Kael Elessedil, the Elven King's brother, gone thirty years ago in search of a ancient, mysterious magic. Could the map lead to it? After bringing the body to the healer's, Hunter hurries off to warn Allardon Elessedil, the King of the Elves. But the healer's assistant is a spy, and soon his mistress the Ilse Witch learns of what has just been found: the directions to a magic which she too covets. In the meantime, Hunter Predd is sent to Paranor to ask Walker Boh for help, as the last of the Druids is the only one who can decipher the map. Back in the Elven city of Arborlon, Walker reluctantly agrees to follow the castaway's map in search of the magic, but not before striking a bargain with Allardon. In exchange for the his help and for sharing whatever he'll find on the way, the King will allow Walker to set up a Druid Council, something they've both been arguing about for ages. The first half of the book describes Walker going all around the Four Lands to assemble a crew of about thirty people for his quest. Among them, the young Highlander Quentin Leah, descendant of Morgan Leah and wielder of the supposedly magical Sword of Leah, if only he knew how to unleash its power. With his best friend Bek Rowe, an orphan adopted by Quentin's uncle, they are sent East, to Anar, to recruit Truls Rohk the shapeshifter, and Panax, a dwarf. As the story flows, Bek starts wondering about his past, about who is parents really were. Coming along are also Hunter Predd and Obsidian, a couple of other Wing Riders and their Rocs, and Ard Patrinell, the former Captain of the Elven King's Home Guard, who will be in command of a small party of Elven Hunters. Ahren Elessedil, one of Allardon's sons, Ryer Ord Star, a young seeress and empath, and a healer called Joad Rush will be joining them too. And to fly over the Blue Divide, Walker will also need an airship, a light-powered vessel now common in the Westland. The Rover Spanner Frew will build the Jerle Shannara, whereas Redden Alt Mer, a.k.a. Big Red, and his sister Rue Meridian, a.k.a. Little Red, will captain it. More Rovers will be necessary to man it. The second half of the book describes the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara and its crew, following the instructions on the castaway's map. Hopping from island to island, first Flay Creech, then Shatterstone, then Mephitic, they're supposed to retrieve three keys. After overcoming many obstacles and fighting the ghastly monsters that guard these keys, they'll finally land near Castledown on the Isle of Parkasia, to open the door behind which lies the legendary magic. As a whole, I'd say that Ilse Witch is entertaining, but not exceptional. The descriptions are enjoyable but not very poetic and rather straightforward, leaving little room for the reader's own imagination. The monsters are a bit grostesque, the characters a bit shallow. However, I must say I liked Bek's shy, unsure and awkward personality. The women seem interesting too, but maybe that's because I'm one too. I hope they'll hold water in the next installments, and that the story will become deeper and maybe, will live up to the previous Shannara books.
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