Ilse Witch (edition 2001)

Oh, how do you do this? The action never stops, and yet somehow fails to arouse. The one thing Brooks managed was to make me empathise with the characters, so that's kept me going. Easy to read, but ultimately uninspiring. And somehow, I am already plunging into the third part. ( )

Talk about a book in two parts - about half this book is slow and ponderous, but when the action does start it does not let go. OK, so it is a tad predictable in places, but this kind of book always is. Great reading for a rainy day. ( )

Mr. Brooks brings together a likable cast of characters and sends them off on a quest. It isn't until the end of this first installment that we begin to catch glimpses of what this quest might be for - and then the ending leaves the reader thinking all is lost. Luckily for me, all of the books of the trilogy have been published and I don't have to wait to find out what happens next! One of the interesting themes is the idea of truth - when is it necessary to know the whole truth? when is it o.k. to have only part of the facts? does some truth have to be worked for/searched for, rather than given away freely? ( )

I'm sorry but the 'Jerle' books were just a bit far-fetched for me. (They did however, make more sense after reading the 'Genesis' trilogy) ( )

Since it's been 24 years since I last read a fantasy from this popular author, I thought I'd give him another go. This is the first book of a trilogy which finds a motley crew of adventures on a mission to find out what happened to an earlier mission and to recover some artifacts and hopefully get their greedy little hands on some new magic. There are elves, a druid, a seer, "Rovers" (like a gypsy), and all sorts of magic aboard the airship Jerle Shannara. It's an easy read but moves at a glacial pace. For such a popular author, you'd expect a more crackling story. But it seems to rely heavily on -- hey, what's the plural of deus ex machina? machinas? -- it uses magic too often to get characters in and out of trouble. That whole element should be toned down. Regardless, I'm enjoying the character of Truls Rohk, a somewhat minor character but more inventive than the others. The leader of the mission, Walker Boh, the druid, is a bit of a cipher. I'm hoping the second book gets more interesting. ( )