OH MY GOD ! OH WOW ! let me just say that ending ?! fucking EPIC !okay, okay, deep breath, exhale and inhale, let's start from the beginning.the book starts with a Wing Rider Hunter Predd finding, after thirty years, the half drowned body of the elven prince Kael Elessedil floating in the seas of the blue divide, the prince who led an expedition in search of a very old and powerful magic, an expedition in which no one survived until now, until the appearance of the half dead prince who has the possession of a map, a map that only one person is capable to read and that's the druid named Walker Boh, but someone else knows about the map and that's the Ilse Witch, a dark young woman who has powers as strong as his and would move earth and mountains to acquire the possession of the magic that the map will lead to.and so starts the voyage of the Jerle Shannara.that was quite a journey ! the book, unfortunately, is very slow paced except when the voyage begins and action starts to happen but that's almost at the ending of the book and that's the reason why it took me so long to read the book but it was gripping nonetheless and I never intended to drop it altogether and not finish the book, however, I ,now, regret the fact that it took me so long to read it because Ilse Witch was just amazing ! as soon as the voyage begins I couldn't, for the life of me, put the book down or keep my jaw locked for that matter.I loved everything about the book, the writing which was simple, amazing and gripping, the world which was fascinating and the characters which I completely looooved !! every single one of them !everyone had a story to tell, a curious history, a remarkable strength, an entrancing mind and way of thinking.I loved how the author didn't make Walker into such a perfect hero who knows the solution to everything and who was completely invincible, no, Walker was flawed, made mistakes besides being gifted with such intelligence.I, personally, was awed by every character from, Truls Rohk which 'till now kept me wondering. was he the spy ? why did he do what he did ?! what was he thinking ? he is such a mystery! powerful, smart and independent, fears no one and impulsive, I loved him !, to Hunter Predd who was the first character that I admired and still do, even though he was rarely mentioned after the voyage starts and I found myself missing him.the rovers ? funny people ! I.. can I say the word love again ? remarkble people !Quentin Leah, Ahren Elessedil , Ard Patrinell, Panax, Morgawr, the Ilse Witch, Cree Bega ... all are impressive, strong characters.and Bek ? man that was quite a surprise ! he was such a surprise, it was impossible to just keep my mouth shut since we knew who he truly was, since then I couldn't keep still, I paced, I gasped in shock, I jumped, I cried, I had to stop reading for a minute, 'cause my eyes blurred and I was simply exhausted and that's how Brooks' writing really takes hold of you and make you live everything like you were there with those characters, in that world, in the voyage, right on board of the Jerle Shannara, my heart was literally beating in fear and I swear my breath accelerated in fear as Bek was and he held the sword of Shannara ? his emotions truly engulfed me and I was left viewing my surrounding oddly thinking people are really not feeling this ?!EPIC, EPIC, EPIC ...that ending ? definetly a cliffhanger !! uuugh how I hate that !!!we know nothing of the fate of any of the fucking characters save Bek !what happened ? I was ... I don't know what I was ! a mess ? what happened to walker ? to Quentin ? to Ard Patrinell ? to Ryer Ord Star ? to the Ahren ? to Big red ? and please don't kill all the characters ! please don't, please don't, pretty please, please. you killed enough ! I mourned every character that died and that's how much I loved every single one of them.all I can remember is me screaming NO! nonstop at the very ending and crying and punching my bed 'til I came to the last page and my jaw hit the floor and I was left with a cliffhanger. I was begging the book not to end and kept making sure that there weren't any hidden pages somewhere, choosing to ignore the last paragraph where it said that here ends book one... NO! Oh god, that was quite a journey, left me exhausted, curious ,sad ,happy , nervous .. everything !any person who dropped the book and hadn't finished it just because it was slow paced ? man either they lack imagination or I don't know but it was really their loss 'cause this book ? PERFECT ! Terry Brooks ? GENIUS !
Ilse Witch, by Terry Brooks, is a very well written book that I enjoyed reading. Published by Del Rey in 2000 it is a fairly new book. Terry Brooks has written many books and published his first book, The Sword of Shannara, in 1977. Before becoming a full time author, Terry Brooks was a practicing lawyer. The book starts out fairly slowly as the characters and the story develop, but has enough excitement to keep you reading. In the book, the last druid makes a journey to a faraway land to recover a very powerful and ancient treasure. But he isn’t the only one who seeks this power; the Ilse Witch, his most powerful enemy will stop at nothing to get her hands on it. I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely recommend it.The Ilse Witch is a very well written book and Brooks really takes his time with character development. The large amount of character development makes the book a slower read at first but lets you understand the characters decisions better, and helps you predict what they are going to do. One thing I like about this book is all of the twists that are thrown in and things you don’t expect happen. Of course there are a few moments that seem a little too perfect, like they just finished building a prototype airship that is exactly what Walker needs right as he asks for it.The setting of the book is in the same world as most of Terry Brooks’ other books but with different things going on in different places. There are a lot of references to some of his earlier books that you may miss if you haven’t read them first, however you can still read the book before the other if you want. Most of the characters in this story are new but there are a few that come from other books. All of the characters that are important to the story are extremely well developed and have secrets that we won’t find out about until later in the book.As I said before, the characters in this book are extremely well developed, and the story has many twists and turns. The setting and descriptions in this book really help you visualise the scene but can make the book seem slow moving. There isn’t anything I dislike about the book, except how everything seems to line up too perfectly sometimes. I would definitely recommend the book to anybody who wants a good book to read, or some time to kill. It is a bit of a longer book so finishing it will take some time.
What do You think about Ilse Witch (2001)?
This novel is the first in the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Trilogy. What first caught my interest in this trilogy was the plot. A crew goes halfway across the sea to investigate an unknown technology. They believe this technology is found in spells and books and therefore can benefit all of mankind. I really enjoyed the suspense element to it and the ties to the "old world". The characters in the novel were quite unique and interesting. I loved reading about the Rovers and the shapeshifter. It was also a nice addition to read more about Walker Boh, to understand how to fulfill a dream he had to become everything he despised. He despised the druids for so long but to complete the druids dream (a druid council) he had to become what he despised. So he lies, tells half-truths and deceives people to get them to consent to his demands or agree to come with him on his journey. Although the book was great it didn't get 5 stars because it felt long and drawn out in certain parts. I felt that the characters were described in just a little too much detail. The novel would have been better if it was 50 pages shorter.
—Monique
I've a mental category for books that make for reliable reading on the beach, or at least outdoors. They're the kind of book I probably wouldn't use to read myself to sleep because it works so well I'd never finish it. But if you've ridden your bike to a park or somewhere with a view, walked to a beach or perhaps rented a cabin with lights but no U-Tube or TV, they're ideal.Among the Canadians I consider reliable reads in the fantasy genre I include Guy Gavriel Kay (although he's been going through a bad patch of late with Ysabel and his China fantasy Under Heaven), Steven Ericson, Dave Duncan and, even if he was only born here, Stephen Hunt.Internationally I particularly like Mark Chadbourn and Paul Doherty, though I stay away from his historical novels if they're written in the first person. Although somewhat of a guilty pleasure I've often turned to Terry Brooks for summer or vacation reading.Mostly I've read his Magic Kingdom of Landover series. They're light, not too moralistic, slightly quirky and standalone. I've been reluctant to take on his Shannara series, though For one thing there are so many of them. For another they're written in threesomes or foursomes."Isle Witch" is first book in "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" trilogy. The titular character is a bad person but she's young and obviously been misled. If redemption is in store for her, which it probably is, well, it's going to take some doing. (Guess that's why it's a trilogy.)You can tell the real bad guys because they're cold-hearted lizard sorts who speak with seriously serpentine sss-sibilance. You can also tell who the good guys are going to be straightaway, who will be providing the cannon fodder (usually the good guy's best buds) and who might survive for at least one book (they're usually female and/or noble warriors). It's a creature-feature, full of predictable confrontations but the monsters are well realized and hungry. It's magic-laden, hence also full of elves, dwarfs, witches, warlocks and at least one seer, a character and an ability I generally disapprove of. Still and all it's unchallenging entertainment; perfect for a relaxing read so long as you're not looking for anything you never seen, or read, before.
—Jim McPherson
This the first instalment of the Voyage of Jerle Shannara trilogy. I will definitely continue with these books. It is the usual Tolkien inspired fantasy affair. A group of mismatched people in a pre-industrial style fantasy land go on a seemingly impossible quest. Old guy with magical powers insists young lad goes on quest even though he doesn't appear to have anything to offer but he turns out to be pivotal to the success of the mission. Good vs. Evil etc. It may be nothing new, but Brooks spins the tale well and it is not so predictable it is spoiled.
—Nzinga Foster-Brown
