Rating: 
Summary: "Death Steals Away All Our Chances..."
Review: "Antrax" (not to be confused with Anthrax, the nasty white powder) is the second book in the "Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" trilogy, dealing with the second great foe that the intrepid crew of the "Jerle Shannara" face. It's also possibly the best of the three books, though as usual suffers from several fantasy cliches, dull characters and predictable situations. Within this trilogy, it seems to me that with the exception of Walker, the antagonists are the main characters - each book is named after one of them, and are certainly a lot less bland than the good guys who spend most of this book on adventures that have little purpose in the overall context of the book, or running around like headless chickens. The archaic super-computer that has long-planned the "Jerle Shannara's" capture and defeat is certainly the star of this book.
In the previous novel "Ilse Witch" the Druid Walker brought together a crew on board a flying airship and set off to discover a treasure of knowledge on a faraway island that is said to belong to the Old World. The way was chartered on a map found on a half-dead elf prince, but it is half way to the island that Walker begins to suspect that their entire voyage has been a carefully plotted trap planned out by the great evil awaiting them. To add to the danger, the crew is being pursued by the dreaded Ilse Witch and her untrustworthy ally the Morgawr, who are also out to seize the treasure and destroy the ship.
After reaching the keep of Castledown, the crew is suddenly and violently separated after the Antrax activates its first weapon - threads of scorching fire. With the Antrax attempting to capture those that have magic, and destroy those that are of no use to it, the company is soon scattered -
Our hero Bek Ohmsford and his protector Truks Rohk are attempting to convince the Ilse Witch that she is in fact Grianne Ohmsford, and that Bek is her brother, whilst simultaneously moving through a strange and unwelcoming land. Walker has gone into the depths of Castledown to find the sought-for books of knowledge that come out of the Old World, whilst the seer Ryer Ord Star and elfin Prince Ahren Elessedil follow; she to rescue Walker, and he to retrieve the lost Elfstones.
Quentin Leah and an elfin tracker named Tamis (she has no last name, so you can tell she's a goner) come up against the robot-zombie figure of their former comrade Ard Patrinell (yes, you read that right, I said robot-zombie). Meanwhile, back on the ship Redder Alt Mer, his sister Rue Meridian and the Wing Rider Hunter Predd attempt to take back the invaded "Jerle Shannara" and then go after the Ilse Witch's own vessel "Black Moclips".
I mentioned these two story plots together simply because they are utterly unimportant to the continuation and completion of the overall story - they come across as padding to make the book a bit thicker. Rue's story in particular has no real meaning - she single-handedly takes "Black Moclips," neither learns nor gains anything of value, and then abandons ship once it heads into a storm. What was the point?! Likewise, the Ilse Witch creates a wolf-like magical creature which had no real purpose, and I'm still wondering why Panax the dwarf decided to come on the trip - he hasn't done anything yet!
There are long-winded paragraphs on the island's locals, the character's internal struggles (they're conflicted, we get it) and Brooks is the master at speeches that become so lengthy that they're funny. Consider this: "Your face is not who you are. You might appear a monster, but you're not. You're my friend. You saved my life. But you wouldn't trust me with the truth about yourself. You hid that truth because you deceived yourself into thinking that it was something else. I would rather know you this way, terrible though it is, than have the truth hidden." People just *do not* talk like this, and every time a character launches into one of these declarations, it is a cause for laughter - and that's not a good thing.
Ultimately the very purpose of the voyage is made null and void, with the discovery that the books of knowledge cannot be accessed - they belong on technological disks that Walker cannot understand. Despite this, I wondered at the possibility of him drawing them out mentally/magically, and then passing them on to the Ilse Witch...but no. When he says that Grianne is the new purpose of the mission it's not because she now carries the ancient knowledge, it's because...actually, we have to read Brook's *next* trilogy "The High Druid" to find out what. Sigh - aren't you glad Brooks has grasped the basics of milking a story for all it's worth?
The Antrax is probably the most interesting part of the book, though your liking of it will depend on whether or not you appreciate the presence of technological remnants in an otherwise entirely fantasy-oriented world. I found that I didn't mind it too much, and although Brooks is frustratingly hazy on what the original purpose of the Antrax *was*, pitting his characters against an incorporeal and virtually unstoppable machine is rather compelling.
I'm being *very* kind when I give this book three stars, especially since the final book in the trilogy "Morgawr" is quite awful. As it stands though, Brooks deserves credit for finally drawing away from writing Tolkien-clones (though he's still copying from his own previous work), and for adding a few splashes of good ideas and originality into this particular book.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than the First
Review: I am a big fan of Terry Brooks. I find his writing easy to read and quite enjoyable. I have always been a BIG Terry Brooks fan,so I had to read the heritage of Shannara series.
The first book Isle Witch I thought was quite disappointing until the very end. Immediatly I went out and bought the second book. I thought it was so much better then the first. I loved the Character development,I think that is one of Brooks best qualities in his books. When a character died,It was done so well and so emotional it almost made me want to cry.
at the moment I am reading the third book Morgawr and it is very impressive so far.If your a Terry Brooks fan I recommend this book. I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: New Ideas in the Fantasy Genre
Review: I found this book to be a great improvement over Ilse Witch. I finally get the feel that I know the characters as each struggles to survive in Castledown and I enjoyed how the author incorporates the old world technology into the fantasy world. The characters confront the power of a machine that seems an eerie reflection of our own and the reader can't help but wonder if our civilization came before the magical present that is Shannara. The whole situation with Antrax was very well thought out and complex. Of course, the whole concept of sinister science reaches melodramatic heights, but it makes for a more compelling 'villain' than exists in most current fantasy. Brooks definitely brought some new elements to his writing in this novel and almost all was to the betterment of his work.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling story told too hastily.
Review: Antrax is the middle novel in the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara series, Brooks' third foray into the Four Lands. The company (never call it a Fellowship!) led by Walker Boh to the lost land of Parkasia has been split asunder by ancient rogue technological weapons controlled by the mysterious entity "Antrax." Meanwhile, the Ilse Witch has trailed the Jerle Shannara to Parkasia and is threatening to act as hammer to Antrax' anvil and crush Walker's companions with her powerful magic. Bek Rowe (nee Ohmsford), Rue Meridian, Ahren Elessedil, and Quentin Leah all undertake individual journeys against various struggles as the book progresses.It sounds like a great story, right? Well, it is, but the implementation by Terry Brooks is sadly underwhelming. My review of Ilse Witch contained the same complaint I voice here: there is far too much narrative exposition and fiddling to really create a compelling story. Brooks still has a knack for creating compelling character relationships and surprise romances, but Antrax' versions all feel incredibly forced. Like Bek's crush on Rue "Little Red" Meridian, we are told in the narrator's voice rather than shown through character dialogue and action. One of the more engrossing chapters, the tale of Ahren Elessedil's bonding with Ryer Ord Star, has the potential to be extremely powerful and emotionally wrenching, and is weakened by Brooks' heavy author's hand. I read this whole series against my better judgment. I'm a devoted fan of Brooks, but I devoured this book with a vague feeling of distaste. Cool and inventive ideas like the hideous cyborg-zombie "wronks" created by Antrax are less impactful than they could have been. Each character's internal monologue seems to doggedly pace a road that could be so much more elegantly expressed as the result of character interaction rather than straight-out narrative, and it's disappointing because, as mentioned above, the premise is good and captivating.
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