Rating: 
Summary: First of a Series
Review: A half-dead elf is found floating in the sea of the Blue Divide, his tongue and eyes ripped out. He's carrying a bracelet that proves he's the elf-king's brother who's been missing for thirty years. He's also carrying a map. The map outlines a quest that was started thirty years before and from which no one ever returned...until now. But what does the map mean? Only one man can decipher it, the last Druid, Walker. So begins a new quest to find out what happened to the Elfstones, lost thirty years before and what lies on the mysterious islands shown on the map.Terry Brooks has always been able to paint a rich world of elves, dwarfs, goblins, witches, Druids, and what have you. This new world is no exception. Like all ensemble-type novels there are a lot of characters to keep straight in your mind but they are all different enough so that isn't too much of a task. Since the book is the first in a series a great deal of time is spent leading up to the beginning of the actual quest and in my opinion it does drag a little. However, if you read this type of fiction you have to be aware of that's the way it is written. My only quibble is the cliff-hanger ending. It seems to me the book needn't have ended in such a Saturday-matinee type way. This actually surprised me because Mr. Brook's other series didn't end like this. His other books seemed to resolve a problem within each book and yet still leave room for the sequel to work out the next big thing. I personally don't like this cliff-hanger ending and I think it diminishes the book somewhat. Since we probably won't see the next installment for about a year, that's a long time to be kept hanging. Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you already like fantasy. If this is your first foray into this genre I'd suggest you start with something else. Mr. Brook's "The Sword of Shannara" would be an excellent place to begin.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best of Terry Brooks
Review: Don't get me wrong...I love Terry Brooks (most of my copies are autographed), but I don't think this is the best of his books. In reading past novels, you get the impression of a man with a vision of an alternate world. You get the feeling that he took his time to masterfully craft the story. Not here. In a few places in the book, I get the feeling that the author didn't thoroughly reread the work. I don't want to give away anything from the story, but in one instance, a character "absorbs" some sickness and passes out. In the next paragraph, someone is going to talk to them. How can this happen with that person being unconscious? Maybe I am nitpicking, but I got this sense in more than a couple of places. I would still read this book and recommend it for all Terry Brooks fans, but this is not a book for the first time reader of Terry Brooks.
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back to the Four Lands
Review: In my opinion, it's been too long since we were last able to look in on the people of the Four Lands. This book was well worth the wait. Isle Witch had everything you could want out of a good fantasy novel. Heroes and villains, a quest and a nice cliffhanger of an ending. I especially liked the use of the airships. I wasn't sure about that at first, but it did work out nicely. The good thing about Terry Brooks' work, is that you can pick up any first book and move right along with the story. You don't need to go back to the very first one and start from there. Although, little pieces of the history that are given to you, make you want to go back and read. I've read them all, and I was still tempted. All in all, another quality read from Terry Brooks. Only 11 more months until we can find out what happens.
Rating: 
Summary: great book - looking forward for the rest of the series
Review: Terry brooks is possibly my favorite fantasy novelist - or at least right up there with R.A. Salvatore. This book takes off where he left off with the wonderful shannara series. while much of the book delves into character development for the latter books in the series, brooks still introduces you to a rich world filled with wonder and adventure. like the rest of his books, it flows very well and i couldn't put it down until i finished. bravo!
Rating:
Summary: Great book.
Review: In this first of the series, author Terry Brooks brings us back to his world of the Shannara series. When a blinded and muted elf washes up on the coast, carrying a mysterious map, the Druid Walker is summoned. Walker organizes a mission, peopled by an unusual collection of elves, humans, a dwarf, and a mysterious man of unknowable powers. But, an evil witch, the Ilse Witch, with powers to rival Walker shadows the party and dread prophecies bode ill for the mission. Undaunted, the party sets off in a new airship, into the unknown depths of the Blue Divide. Being the first book in a series, this book contains a good deal of character introduction and development. Through it all though, Terry Brooks keeps the story moving, with the pace of the story accelerating as the chapters roll along. His introduction of the magical/technological airships is a fascinating development. Overall, this is a great book, and well worth you time and money.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT!
Review: I loved this book. I just wished publishers would release titles sooner, because now I have to wait at least a year before I see another Shannara title, and that makes me upset. Why do we have to wait so friggin long????????????????? Well, at least Servant of the Shard comes out this month.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: In classic Terry Brooks fashion we find all of the elements neccessary to make this a reader's favorite. Where earlier Shanara books somehow seemed like the same good vs. evil story, with a clear knowledge of who is good and how is evil, "Ilse Witch" follows a different track. I loved it and couldn't put it down. I give the book a 4 star rating however, due to the way in which the book is ended, (Or not ended I should say)leaving the reader yearning for more. I finished, the book, thinking that perhaps I had lost some pages at the end. For those of you that like to be left hanging then this is the book for you. For those of you that need resolution, or at least a definite ending to a book, then I suggest that you wait until the release of the second book of the series before reading the first. Either way with the great story line that Brooks has created you'll love this one as much or more than previous Shanara books.
Rating:
Summary: a new saga
Review: I just finished reading this book today! Let me share that those of us who loved the shannara series will fall in love with this book. The book starts out with the famailiar territories and characters we all know and love or hate. Terry Brooks also introduces new characters that enlighten this book, and a new adventure to pursue. It takes a fine twist about the middle to end of the book, that will leave those who have not read it....want to finish it. It ends with a brother and sister facing one another for the first time in years, and gives us time to think about what is going to happen in the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Pros -- and Cons
Review: Brooks' Shannara stories fall into two distinct categories: 1) Characters must face and defeat "elemental evil" ("Sword", "Wishsong", "Talismans", "First King") 2) Characters must quest for some hidden, magical thing ("Elfstones", "Druid", "Elf Queen") "Ilse Witch" falls squarely into the second category -- ancient and powerful magic must be retrieved from a part of the Shannara world that hasn't appeared on previous book jacket maps. The story reads like a murder mystery. Brooks creates 15 new characters with interesting and unique "powers," puts them all on a flying boat heading to a dangerous place, and lets the reader watch the characters interact and develop. Some live, some die, some are betrayed, some are redeemed, all have secrets that are eventually revealed, etc. etc. You get the idea. It makes for fun characterization, if unsurprising plotting. I found two aspects of Ilse Witch particularly rewarding. First, Brooks begins to fill in a bit of the historical back story of the Shannara universe. Ilse Witch introduces "science fiction-like" technology, and makes interesting references to the mystical/magical framework of his "Running with the Demon," books. Second, Brooks shares Walker's feelings, opinions, and "special druidic knowledge" with the reader. This means that the reader actually knows just as much about what is going on "behind the scenes" as Walker does, which was a refreshing change from the way Brooks used Allanon to hide information. As other reviewers have noted, Ilse Witch "sets up" the series. With the characters introduced, I expect the next books to finally get to the dramatics Brooks does so well.
Rating:
Summary: As setups go, it's fan-damn-tastic.
Review: Some others have said this book was a setup. That much is obvious, but WHAT a setup!!! Brooks lays the beginning work for what I can just FEEL is going to be an incredibly epic story arc. I think he's going to bring the story of the Shannara line to a head here, and also dig REAL deeply into this post-apocalyptic past he's hinted rather strongly at in previous books. I can't WAIT for the next ones to come out. Anyone want to have a go at speculating plot development in this one, email me at star____kruzr@s____tarkruzr.com (remove the ____'s to email me)
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