The Morgawr is the third book of the trilogy "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara": 30 years ago a expedition of elves tried to follow the dream of a seer: To find the fabled "magic" of Parkasia a far away island never visit from anyone from Shannara before. The expedition never returned. The only one found is the battered body of Allardon Elessedil's brother. This triggers a new expedition with Druid Walker Boh as leader. The second book describes the discovery of Parkasia and all its dangers. It also shows the pursuit of the expedition by the Ilse Witch who tries to destroy Walker Boh and gain the magic of Parkasia. She does not succeed but got changed through the power of the Sword of Shannara while Walker dies. Unknown to all of them the Morgawr the former mentor of the Ilse Witch and a sorcerer of great power has followed them too. He wants to destroy the Ilse Witch as she has become his equal and wants to gain the magic of Parkasia. What he does not take into consideration is her change which gives her allies. Even though she is traumatised by knowing the truth about herself and has retreated into her own mind she helps the expedition to get away and destroy the Morgawr. She will become the successor of Walker Boh and create a new Druid council. The Morgawr is a solid Terry Brooks novel but for some strange reason I could not get as close to the characters as I did with the "Heritage of Shannara" Characters Coll and Par Ohmsford, Wren Elessedil and Morgan Leah. Of course there is Walker still which I found the most interesting character in both trilogies as he struggles so much with his heritage of being a Druid. It is a bit disappointing that he had to become what he once despised: A Druid who seems to play with the lives of those who follow him for the sake of saving the world. But this was expected somehow and at least he found some peace in the end. With the whole Trilogy of the "Voyage of the Sherle Shannara" I was disappointed as well because it was a whole new story and did not show how the lives of the characters of the trilogy before went on. That was why I wanted to read "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara". Maybe that was the reason why I skipped a lot of the book just to find out how it ends. The end I like though :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Morgawr ist das dritte Buch der Trilogie "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara": 30 Jahre zuvor war eine Expedition von Elfen dem Traum einer Seherin gefolgt, um die fabelhafte Magie der Insel Parkasia. die noch von niemanden von Shannara besucht wurde, zu finden. Die Expedition kehrte nie zurueck. Nur der geschundene Koerper des Bruders des Elf Koenigs Allardon Elessedil wurde gefunden. Dieser Fund fuehrt zu einer weiteren Expedition dieses mal gefuert von Walker Boh. Das zweite Buch beschreibt die Entdeckung Parkasias und all ihrer Gefahren. Es zeigt auch die Verfolgung der Expedition durch die Ilse Witch, die Walker Boh zerstoeren und die "Magie" Parkasias an sich reissen will. Sie ist nicht erfolgreich wird jedoch durch die Macht des Schwertes von Shannara zum Guten gewandelt beim Tode Walker Boh's. Unbekannt fuer alle hat auch der Morgawr, der Mentor der Ilse Witch und ein maechtiger Zauberer, die Verfolgung aufgenommen. Er will sie zerstoeren, da sie ihm ebenbuertig geworden ist, und so die Macht ueber die Magie Parkasia's an sich reissen. Was er nicht bedenkt ist die Tatsache, dass sie sich veraendert hat und damit Verbuendete gefunden hat. Obwohl sie durch die Wahrheit ueber sich selber traumatisiert wurde und sich in ihren eigenen Geist zurueck gezogen hat, hilft sie der Expedition, zu fliehen und zerstoert den Morgawr am Ende. Sie wird die Nachfolgerin Walker Boh's und wird den neuen Rat der Druiden gruenden. "The Morgawr" ist ein solides Terry Brooks Buch aber komischerweise konnte ich den Figuren nicht so nahe kommen, wie denen in "The Heritage of Shannara": Coll und Par Ohmsford, Wren Elessedil und Morgan Leah. Natuerlich ist da immer noch Walker Boh, den ich immer als die interessanteste Figur in beiden Trilogie angesehen habe, da er so sehr mit seinem Erbe, ein Druide zu werden, zu kaempfen hat. Es ist ein wenig enttaeuschend, dass er so wird, wie die Druiden, die er immer verachtet hat. Aber irgendwie war das zu erwarten. Am Ende zu mindest findet er etwas Frieden. Mit der ganzen Triologie "Voyage of the Sherle Shannara" war ich auch enttaeuscht, da sie kaum etwas vom Leben der Charaktere aus der vorherigen Trilogie zeigt. Das war es, warum ich "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" lesen wollte. Vielleicht war das der Grund warum ich grosse Teile des Buches einfach ueberlesen habe, um das Ende herauszufinden. Das Ende hat mir jedoch gefallen :-)
Oh my this book has it all happenin'! Action, suspense, an anticipated end but with twists and turns, great magic system, creepy foes, unexpected deaths of many - even some main characters, great -GREAT- character development. Did Terry Brooks really write this series? I enjoy the Shannara setting, it's a classic fantasy setting and I feel comfortable and at home when I'm there. This book (and this whole series) is ... Well if all the other Shannara books are a pan simmering on the stove top, this trilogy is a pan boiling out of control.This trilogy started off formulaic. Classic Shannara. Mysterious Druid recruits two young men (any guesses who they might be related to?) and heads out on a journey. Honestly I didn't expect much beyond what I'd read in the previous books in the Shannara world. That was ok because I felt like visiting Shannara anyway so this was going to be like going on vacation to a location I'd visited numerous times in the past - there probably wouldn't be anything shocking but it would just feel good and cozy. But somewhere along the line this hotel was upgraded ... The book kept getting better and better. When the second book came up I couldn't wait to continue the story and holy cow did it deliver. So I rushed forward to this final volume hoping Brooks would somehow pull it off. I had seen a number of 2-star reviews which had me concerned that the book would just fall flat ruining the entire trilogy. That most certainly did not happen. Morgawr was outstanding.Through the years in talking with friends who enjoy the Shannara books I've often, no scratch that, I've ALWAYS heard it said that Elfstones of Shannara is the best of the series. You won't hear me say that. This trilogy on whole outshines Elfstones and in particular Antrax and Morgawr scream "this is how a fantasy book should be". I'm rating Morgawr just a smidgen higher than Antrax because it wraps up much (not all) of the lose ends in a very satisfying way. There are no cliff hangers at the end but you will find yourself wanting more details about how certain characters resolve things ... A very sneaky way to drag me to Shannara yet again in The High Druid of Shannara trilogy that picks up the story about 20 years after the end of Morgawr. Yes Mr Brooks you've taken me on a VERY satisfying vacation here in Shannara and I thank you heatedly for that.
What do You think about Morgawr (2003)?
This was a good conclusion to the Jerle Shannara series, though parts of it seem a little slow since there is quite a bit of running away. The action scenes and characters are both very well done and you really feel for the characters that don't make it to the conclusion. The villain is very believable and definitely takes the scariness of the story up a notch. He does make an army of living dead (basically eats their souls and wills) and doesn't care how he tortures people to achieve his ends, but the goodness and coolness of the main characters definitely help balance him out.A couple of cons that I found were that the ending was kinda predictable, there weren't and real twists except how the end was accomplished. Also two characters sleep together, but it is rather tastefully done (ie, you're left out of the bedroom) but if that is something that concerns you, there's your warning.
—Laura
It takes a while, but the tale ends, as always, with a new story left to tell. It has lots of intense battles, tales of magic, and unexpected twists. It is a darker novel with a lot of psychological, and physical, damage to many of the characters. The story ends with no idea of how most of the remaining characters deal with being returned to a normal life after having suffered such major traumas. The story leaves you feeling that all remaining characters return to their lives and move on changed by the events, but no real problems as they move forward. It ends, but feels unfinished as you know that the next story will focus on events at Parador. Many novels end this way, leaving it to your imagination to fill in the endings, but this leaves too much unanswered. I only gave it 3 stars even though I enjoyed and would recommend it to lovers of fantasy.
—Betty
Intensely gripping, this spellbinding world promises just a taste of the wonders of Shannara. Terry Brooks has to be one of the leading writers for the fantasy genre, with his Shannara series being something truly outstanding, undeniably brilliant and totally original. The voyage of Jerle Shannara is the third book in the Morgawr trilogy (consisting of Ilse Witch as book one and Antrax as book two). This exquisite hardback edition displays one of the most eye-catching and imaginative covers, that stands out on the bookshelf as a treasured volume. For fans of Terry Brooks and for those readers who enjoy fantasy at its very best, then I cannot enthuse enough about an exceptional writer who deserves as much accolade as JRR Tolkien or Robin Hobb with his works sitting alongside other greats on the shelf. Continuing the quest in Morgawr this epic saga comes to its long awaited and dramatic conclusion, as forces of good and evil collide for that ultimate victory over all. Harrowing confrontations between a merciless Ilse witch and the menacing Antrax persist, whilst the fate of an ancient magic race hangs in the balance. But a darker and more deadly foe begins to come out of the shadows and into the light, which is all powerful and fearless. Morgawr the master of the Ilse witch and ancient sorcerer of centuries old feeds upon the tainted souls of his enemies to gain power and dominance over all. With a ship and crew of walking dead, Morgawr sets sail in pursuit of the Jerle Shannara. His goal is to not only destroy the Ilse witch, who betrayed him, but also to find and control the fabled ancient books of magic. Confronting the harsh truth whilst exposed to the power emanating from the Sword of Shannara, she flees into her own mind seeking out those who might be able to save her. The destiny predicted for her by the Druid Walker Boh rests on a knife edge as too does the future for all, both good and evil. Memorable, distinctive characters weave together this complex and captivating adventure of a lifetime that is a story of heroism and great sacrifice, love and honor. Fans of the Shannara mythos will be entranced once more, satisfied by this explosive finale and the promise of new wonders yet to come. The last stand between good and evil has to be as exciting as the great battle of Pelennor Fields in JRR Tolkien’s masterpiece The Lord of The Rings, where the great saga that has captivated readers for so long finally comes to such an end as to be remembered for all time to come. Terry Brooks is not only one of my favorite author who never disappoints but whose highly acclaimed series reflects such dedication, time and effort and imagination as to make it so believable and real. Shannara is a place where dreams become reality, where magical beings come to life and where your mind is taken on such a rollercoaster ride that will delight, astonish and amaze.
—Lucinda
