The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Antrax: Amazon.ca: Terry Brooks: Books

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From Amazon

Antrax is the second book in the Voyage of Jerle Shannara trilogy, part of an epic started by famed fantasy writer Terry Brooks more than two decades ago with The Sword of Shannara. In this installment, we join the Druid Walker Boh and his companions in the search for Antrax--a powerful and malevolent technological guardian. Walker believes Antrax's magic is potent enough to help restore the Druid council to the Four lands, a struggle that has consumed his life. But while the unlikely heroes journey in the Jerle Shannara across the Blue Divide to the city of Castledown, the Druid's archnemesis--the Ilse Witch--and her band of Mwellrets closely follow in an airship of their own. The race is on, and the prize is the power of Antrax. Meanwhile, Bek Rowe discovers that his destiny is inextricably linked with the Ilse Witch herself.

Mixing several subplots into the main story, Brooks cooks up a satisfying stew of fantasy with just a taste of science fiction. Brooks quickly reels the reader in with nonstop action, and, in classic style, leaves the reader yearning for the third and final installment, Morgawr. --Robert Leavengood

From Publishers Weekly

Continuing the saga begun in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch (2000), bestseller Brooks opens this slick, lightweight fantasy with our band of heroes (Druids, elves, shape-shifters, Rovers, etc.) trapped on an island ruled by the evil artificial intelligence Antrax. Antrax has lured this disparate crew to its underground lair in order to use their assorted magics to expand its influence across the world of Shannara. The expedition's leader, the Druid Walker, wants to steal Antrax's ancient technology, but to gain it, he must engage in deadly combat with the machine. The treacherous seer, Ryer Ord Star, and the young, frightened elven prince, Ahren Elessedil, join the fight. Meanwhile, Bek Ohmsford, a prot‚g‚ of Walker's who's been left mostly in the dark about his own magical potential, must try to convince his sister, the dangerous Ilse Witch, that his version of their shared past is true, as he struggles to keep her from killing him or his friends. Also complicating the plot are the battles of the Rovers to reclaim the group's airship the only means for the adventurers to return home. Some emotionally painful encounters occur with former friends who have been enslaved by Antrax, turned into cyborgs and forced to do the nasty AI's bidding. Brooks's fans are sure to be pleased with this action-packed yarn, which neatly weaves the many plots and characters into a coherent whole. Those readers looking for more depth or less predictability are unlikely to have started on this series in the first place. 12-city author tour.

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Grianne Ohmsford was six years old on the last day of her childhood. Read the first page

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Customer Reviews

91 Reviews

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4.1 out of 5 stars (91 customer reviews)

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4.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down, but will I pick it up again?..., Dec 31 2001

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"w0lf28" (Seattle, Washington United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Antrax (Hardcover)

Okay, this book wasn't bad at all, but I have an eerie feeling that Brooks is still surfing off of the wake that the awesome Heritage series created. Those four earlier books compromised the best fantasy series (i think) since our beloved Tolkein. This Jerle Shannara series is something in itself, but not exactly what I hoped.
Basic rundown: The Druid Walker and his large troup of voyagers are separated in a distant land hunted on one side by the Ilse Witch (who is a magic wielding Ohmsford) and her team of reptilian shape shifters, and on the other side by an ancient artificial intelligence called Antrax. Walker faces Antrax and tries to find the treasure it hides while Antrax attempts to capture him and take his magic. Bek Ohmsford spends the whole book dealing with his sister the Witch, trying to convince her they're related. The others run around with their heads cut off trying to be productive.
My opinions: I should say that I really couldn't put Antrax down, and was sorry when I finished the book too fast. I'm very excited for the next book in the series and will surely pick it up right away. The book did feel a bit too fragmented between the separate characters and plots. Sometimes when a new chapter jumped to a different scene, I moaned and thought "who cares about these guys!", but, to Brooks' credit, a chapter later I groaned when he switched again and wanted to know what would happen next. Thankfully, though, the separate storylines served to slow the story down, so it didn't feel so rushed as Ilse Witch.
Some of the characters seem redundant from previous Shannara books (is any Leah distingishable?), but I like the new twists with the Ohmsfords. Antrax, as a character, was something of a disappointment. I felt no thrill or dread from such an artificial and single-purposed antagonist, and, when it was defeated, I worried, "they did not come all the way over just for that!" And, is it me, or was the Ilse Witch's transition from daunting evil to another confused protagonist almost unnoticable?
Short comings of the book aside, Brooks is an astounding author, and I will forever be a fan. I just have very high standards for him, and crave his glory days again. But Antrax is worth the read, it had a very satisfying ending, and I'll eagerly anticipate the conclusion to the series.

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3.0 out of 5 stars Fantasy by Numbers, July 6 2004

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doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Antrax (Mass Market Paperback)

First of all, this installment from Terry Brooks does have a few unique features, such as a sentient city-sized computer built by a lost civilization, horrifying half-human cyborg killing machines, and somewhat intriguing themes on technology and knowledge. But otherwise, you have to wonder if Brooks keeps cranking out new volumes simply by following a manual called "How to Write a Fantasy Novel." He may have even written that manual himself, as he's deservedly a popular and famous master of the genre. But once again there is little new or unexpected here. Consider the following rules of thumb from the typical fantasy writer's manual.

Build the story around a journey or quest to find some enchanted items like magic stones. Speaking of magic, throw that word around often but don't worry about describing it in too much detail. Add some other magic items, such as swords, that give power to those who know how to use them, but peril to others without that special inner strength. Give the people and places vaguely Celtic or Gothic names like Quentin Leah or Ryer Ord Star or Castledown. Add a bunch of elves and dwarves, and maybe a druid for good measure. Have the characters converse copiously about honor and courage and loyalty, preferably right in the middle of dangerous chases or battles. Show the good guys wracked with fear and indecision, only to dramatically realize their potential heroism in inspirational ways. Make your bad guys unquestionably evil monsters of alien races. And finally, write in the trilogy format, so instead of one large but focused book, you can crank out three inconclusive medium-sized books.

Sound familiar? Fantasy writers have done all this a gazillion times. So has Terry Brooks, and he does it again here without deviating from expectations. [~doomsdayer520~]

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4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the First, Jun 11 2004

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Michele van Sise (Seminole, FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Antrax (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

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Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars New Ideas in the Fantasy Genre
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... Read more

Published on May 15 2004 by Shaun Williams

2.0 out of 5 stars He means well....
I've always been a HUGE fan of Terry Brooks. I loved all of the Shannara books thus far. I found his characters interesting, loveable, and easy to become attached to. Read more

Published on Feb 18 2004 by Steven Muller