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Summary: Isle Witch( Voyage of the Jerle Shannara)
Review: Brooks out does himself again!
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Summary: More Please!!
Review: What can I say? I loved this book! It starts out a bit slow, but is still worth it because it devolops the charectors in very indepth way. However the later half of the book moves in such a way that you can't put it down. It has all the elements of a great Shannara story that is Brooks identifying mark. The only downside is that the end will leave you hanging so completly that you only know the fate of 1 or 2 charectors, and after the great devolpment of so many of it would be sad to loose them. This is a must read of any Shannara fan, and Brooks lives up to his prevous Shannara books, there are a few elements simeler to prevous books, but many new and exciting posssiblites! I can't wait for book 2!
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Summary: Show me don't tell me, Terry.
Review: Don't get me wrong.This guy is the reason I read fantasy and Sci Fi. I read the Sword of Shannara in 8th grade and immediately decided that I wanted to be a writer. I own almost all of his books. I went to meet him and snag an autograph last year. I was overjoyed at the prospect of a new Shannara book, mostly because all the best things in Terry's mind happened in that world (IMHO). That said, I think Ilse Witch was sorely lacking in one important area. When something happens in a book, like a conversation between two characters or the introduction of a new character, the author has two choices. Terry takes the route of describing in a couple paragraphs the same event that could be conveyed by a few lines of dialogue. This happens far too much in Ilse Witch, especially between Quentin and Bek. I never got the sense that they were that close, because they never _talked_! There is apparently some romantic potential between Little Red and Bek, but they never _speak_ to one another, and we never _see_ the possibility; Terry just _tells_ us in omnipotent author mode. It kills me, because I love the Four Lands, and there are cool changes afoot in both politics and technology in this story. Part of me wants to believe that Terry is impatient to get past the setup for the Jerle Shannara series and into the meat of the story, but part of me fears that the entire series will be rife with too much description and not enough actual action or dialogue. We'll have to wait and see, and in the meantime I guess I'll review my old Shannara books for clues.
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Summary: Hurry up with the next book
Review: It never fails, The Shannara series keeps me coming back. This book does a wonderful job of introducing the characters and making the relationships back to prior generations. I was a little disapointed in the treatment of their voyage. But if that was a minor part of the series, I am sure I will get over it with book 2.
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Summary: I've Got To Wait For Another Two Books????
Review: This was my first Brooks' book and I read a couple of chapters and was captured. Then I decided to set it aside until I had read some of his earlier "Shanara" books so that I would be more familiar with the world and the setting. I read the "Sword of Shanara" trilogy and enjoyed all three. I would rate each as four or five stars. Happily I went back to Ilse Witch to resume reading. About half-way through I could see that the story was not going to end by the book's end. And it doesn't. It leaves you hanging in the middle of a climactic part and now I have to wait for the publication of the next book (and probably the third book), which may be years from now. It was a rousing good story, but I would definitely recommend waiting until you can read all three at the same time. The Shanara trilogy were all independent stories that became tied together. Brooks has not followed that plan with this series.
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Summary: Good setup for sequels
Review: This was my first Shannara book. I selected it because the "Ilse Witch" part of the title caught my attention and because of the tantalizing jacket blurb, "Brooks embarks on what promises to be his masterpiece". I figured, with a promise like that, it's got to be good! I was only partially disappointed. As a first-time Shannara reader, I was pleased that this book is sufficiently independent of the other Shannara books that I didn't have any problem following the plot. It's about a voyage, by "airship", to search for magic treasure. This book contains many of the usual fantasy elements ... magic, quest for treasure, swordplay, good vs. evil, mythical creatures. The disappointing part is that the first 200 pages, which are dedicated to introducing and assembling the future voyagers, are fairly slow reading in spots. Too many details about the airships for my tastes. Once the voyage was underway, however, the speed picked up and I was hooked for the remainder of the book. I am eagerly awaiting the sequels.
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Summary: I'm itching for the next book to add to the adventure...
Review: The Voyage of Jerle Shannarra is one of Terry Brooks's best books yet! In this book, the druid Walker Boh gathers a crew of sailors, warriors, etc. for a mission the dead elf king appointed him. The mission is to find out what happened to the elf king's brother set out at see to go where no elf has ever been, and to find and retreave the great magic that is apperentlly found there. This is not an easy task. Just to recover the keys needed to reach the island has many complications, not to mention the horrible fate awaiting the crew when they reach the mysterious land...
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Summary: Terry Brooks has done it again!
Review: This has everything in evles, magic, and the basic of good vs. evil. I for one can't wait for the next book to come out. I love all his books. The way his books are written they make you a part of them. I felt I was on the airship with Walker. You can almost hear the swords clash against each other. I could almost feel in wind and the rain against my skin.
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Summary: A solid fantasy novel
Review: Brooks is a pretty dependable fantasy author. His books move along briskly, the lead characters are generally pretty likeable and have a modicum of complexity thrown in. The Voyage of Jerle Shannara is engaging. It presents a simple quest for a mysterious, but powerful magic item, touched off when a nearly dead elf is found at sea, clutching a map written in an ancient language. The scenario is complicated by the background questions such as -- how did this elf happen to turn up so conveniently, and is this all a big trap. The novel ends with a major cliff hanger, which I always find annoying. By the time book 2 comes out, it will be hard to remember where book 1 left off.
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Summary: Impatient for the next one!
Review: This novel started out slowly, but quickly gained speed, rising to the quality of Brooks' previous books. I was almost disappointed that it is a series (didn't notice when I checked it out), because now I'll have to wait a while for the next one! I recommend this book to any fantasy enthusiast.
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