- Hardcover: 464 pages
- Publisher: Earthlight; repr edition (17 Sep 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743209532
- ISBN-13: 978-0743209533
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16 x 3.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 743,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Terry Brooks stretches the formula of his Shannara stories in Antrax, the second volume of "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara", travelling far further than usual into morally grey areas. Brooks' villainess, the Ilse Witch, is driven by a ruthless desire to seek revenge for the brother she wrongly believes to be dead. Her brother Bek tries to convince her of his identity but she cannot let herself listen--she has too much invested in revenge, hatred and her own past crimes. Meanwhile, the other members of Bek's party stumble into the grip of an ancient evil--Antrax, the computer guardian of lost science, which has learned to survive in this age of magic by draining those who seek it out. The Druid Walker, the cowardly Elvenprince Ahren and the flawed young seeker Ryer find themselves in serious jeopardy.
Brooks' writing is at its most suspenseful here as his characters confront their demons and find their hidden resources. The dark woods and steel corridors in which they find themselves trapped are both powerfully evoked and precise, if standard, metaphors for mental states.
Like its predecessor, Ilse Witch, this is a far darker and in some ways more interesting take on the world Brooks has assembled. --Roz Kaveney
Review
It's a shame that the title of Terry Brooks' impressive new saga is uncomfortably reminiscent of a highly infectious farmyard disease, as Brooks' imagination is in the rudest possible health. This five-book series has shown a reinvigoration of his immense skills in the fantasy genre, and has all the dash and energy of his earlier books (has he really been writing for 20 years?). Book Two has Walker, Boh and his motley band of elves, dwarves and men arriving at the mysterious city of Castledown. Their search for the ancient magic that Walker has located from a map is conducted in the airship Jerle Shannara, which takes the company from the Four Lands across islands where sinister eldritch forces lurk. But of all the dangers they encounter, Walker's nemesis, the Ilse Witch, is the most dangerous. The new Lord of the Rings film trilogy will hone appetites for such material to an even finer edge, and Brooks is the man to slake those appetites.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Well, after having kept me waiting for what feels like a lifetime for his next instalment, Terry Brooks has not disappointed me! In true Brooks style, at the end of each chapter you are left wanting to start the next one, even if you really haven't got the time to be reading, mainly due to the fact that he splits his characters up and switches from "groups" to "individuals" constantly. Focusing on their quest in Castledown after the long journey to the island, it is now Walker's mission to gain access to this "magic of immense worth" and it is where he comes "face to face" with Antrax. Bek is still trying to come to terms with the news about his past and his true family and as he confronts the Isle Witch at last, you can be sure that she is not going to take that news very well!!! Again, you are left wondering what is going to happen in the next and final episode and you find youself wondering which characters are really who they say they are, if they are truly friend or foe and if they'll ever make it back home alive with what they set out for. Fantastic Terry. Just don't keep me waiting too long for the next bit!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This books carries on from the cliffhanger ending of The Isle Witch with more background on the Isle Witch herself. This book tends to be a bit darker, a bit more focused than most of the previous Shannara books - in style I found it closer to the Word and Void series. There is more introspective commentary from the characters which fleshes them out, giving us a better understanding of why they do things, which is nice.
This book also expands on the history of the world of Shannara by showing us things from the far past and introducing technology for the first time. Thankfully the technological side of things is not explained in too much detail - enough so we can see whats happening but not to much to drown the story in technobable.
We find out much more about most of the characters in this book, the pasts of the Isle Witch, Ryer Ord Star and Truls Rohk coming to full light. The characters develop as we find out about the secret that is Antrax and the treasure it guards, all coming to a number of climaxes which lead to a number of new surprises which bring up interesting questions for the next book.
All in all a great read, pleanty of action and surprises along the way. The only problem I have is having to wait a year for the next one.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I read it in two days, it would have been one if I didn't have to lecture. At last Brooks is back to his best and as other fantasy authors such as Feist and Eddings have had a bad patch, it is a relief to see one of the best return. Hopefully the others will as well. I felt the characters were beautifully developed. However, it was the successful mergence between technology and magic that captured me, the merging in my opinion was excellent, and I am now waiting desperately for the next volume to find out what happens.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wooow
I think this book is the best of the Shannara seris i read it cover to cover in less than day (well about 10 hours)
This book i very unlike any of the other Shannara... Read more
This book i very unlike any of the other Shannara... Read more
Published on 11 Feb 2007 by C. Parrott
Same old same old
I have been a fan of Terry Brooks for years, and I dearly love the Shannara books. This new series started out with some interesting points but from the beginning it felt a little... Read more
Published on 23 Jun 2005 by Steve (Walker of Worlds)
Disappointing reading!
Sadly enough I managed to plow myself through the second book in this series; as with the first book I got dissapointed with a thin plotline, lack of depth in the characters; as... Read more
Published on 3 Jun 2004 by Henry Heiberg Andersen
Enjoyable and annoying at the same time.
This is the second book in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara trilogy (after Ilse Witch and before Morgawr). Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2003 by Stephanie Noverraz
Building to a great climax
Terry Brooks is probably my favourite author and is judged by high standards against his other releases. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2003 by "crusader97"
Very Poor by Brooks standards
After reading the relatively good first installment I was horrified to read this. I had always felt that Brooks expansive timeline was too great to substantiate (200 years between... Read more
Published on 1 Jan 2003 by "gorath23"
Wow
Brooks followed a strong first part of this latest trilogy with a strong second part. I bought the book after finishing the Isle Witch and read it in just over three hours. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2002 by Pig Daddy
gripping and fantastic
the best yet. things are starting to heat up as the race for the old magics esculate. Terry Brooks is really starting to out do himself with this gripping tale. Read more
Published on 19 Sep 2002 by "dlphnu"
Good - but where did some of the plot elements come from.
I am an avid reader (fan really) of all of Terry Brooks writings. I remember buying and reading the original Sword of Shannara when it was first published in paperback - in a... Read more
Published on 25 July 2002 by dazzer
Have I been reading the same book??
.. I have just finished Antrax and can honestly say it was one of the best books I have read in I don't know how long. I just did not want it to end. Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2002
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