High Druid of Shannara: Jarka Ruus [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

In this book Paranor though revived, is as usual about to succumb to the subtle poison of the forces of darkness. I'm not sure I buy into Shadea, the villainess. When I try to envision her, maybe I see a tall, bulky(stronger than most men), stern woman in loose black druid robes. She's also supposed to be good looking. I just have trouble putting this all together. If she wasn't a super model on the side it would all be fine. Just think! Her arms would be bigger Venus Williams' and her shoulders too!

Perhaps the most rewarding parts of this book involve the continuation of the story of Ahren Elessidil and the revelation to the reader of what lies within Ellcrys tree. I had always wondered a bit what it was actually like in there after a few vague descriptions in Elfstones. To most diehard fans this will come as a treat and keep them engrossed.

Otherwise, some of the happenings in this novel simply have that Hollywood quality to them, such as the supposedly competent evil dwarf Druid who the callow good guys defeat every time through sheer guts and resourcefulness. Not to mention that their pursuer is himself terrifyingly dimwitted for a practitioner of the magical and scholarly arts. Ahren keeps waving his hands and exclaiming "Waaah! I could never beat him. My powers are wimpy and he's a battle druid." I bet that dwarf excelled at everything he ever did until it came time to hunt down an Ohmsford and his companions.

Returning from the previously unknown land of Parkasia, the reformed Ilse Witch inherited the mantle of druidhood, and from the last druid, the charge to reestablish the Order of the Druids in Perennor. The other only other hero to feature here was the elven prince Ahren, half brother to the elven king who had despatched Ahren to get Ahren out of the elven court. The other heroes like Bek Ohmsford were mentioned but did not make an appearance.

Creating a new Druid Council composed of representatives from (almost) all peoples of the Four Lands - humans, elves, dwarves, gnomes and even trolls, was not difficult. Making the Druid Council effective in its work to bring peace and a renaissance was.

Almost right from the start, leaders of two major states of the Four Lands - the Elven Kingdom to the northwest and the human Federation to the south, were personally opposed to the Druid. The opposition were directed more personally at the Ard Rhys, head of the druid council and former Ilse Witch, rather than the Council itself, because of her past. Because the Druid Order practiced open-door policy, the Order accepted many members who were not committed to peace but their own self-interests. The disagreement among the members meant that little could be achieved even though members learned magical prowess and had the capability for impressive feats. Even the chief of the Order could not make any progress because she wanted consensus rather than rule-by-force. She believed that the new order would only be lasting if it avoided tyrannical methods and members mature on their own pace. The picture is an uneasy reminder of the failures of democracy when each group is more concern about its own immediate short-sighted self-interest.

Finally, despite her precautions, her enemies within the Druid Council managed to banish her to another world of existence. Losing no time to seize power and eliminate potential avengers, her enemies despatched forces to seize the Ohmsfords.

The plot development were woven along three main threads. The first followed the Ard Rhys as she strove to discover where she was banished to and tried to survive in the hostile world, and if possible, to return.

The second thread followed her enemies as they sought to consolidate power, and the successor to the head of the Council discovered some of the things that vexed her predecessor as the Ard Rhys.

The third thread introduced the new generation of heroes - Pen Ohmsford and Khyber (nephew to Ahren) as they fled from the force sent to eliminate the Ohmsford and sought for a way to return the Ard Rhys to the Four Lands.

What disappointed me about this is that Terry Brooks couldn't seem to change the geopolitical balance of the world which always weighed so heavily against the heroes. The Federation, which was introduced in the Druid of Shannara series, remained in power and hungry for world domination. After all that had taken place, they should have been out of business long ago.

As the first book of a new series, Jarka Ruus served as little more than setting the stage and introducing the characters. Though it promises to be an exciting new story, I feel a little cheated that the entire book did not reveal more.

However, I am surprised that there is an element similar to Lord of the Ring's first volume - Fellowship of the Ring. A quest is set, and a fellowship of heroes was formed to set on it, but before it could get very far, a major character, and possibly the most powerful member of the fellowship, perished, and the fellowship had to go on, greatly weakened.