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. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Caught in a desperate race to discover a powerful form of ancient magic before it can fall into the hands of the Ilse Witch, Druid Walker Boh and his companions make their way to the city of Castledown. There, in the darkness below the city, Walker and the Ilse Witch meet in a confrontation that will change their world forever. Brooks continues his latest "Shannara" series in fine form, blending old and new characters and introducing a new element of eldritch magic to his tale of ordinary people gifted with the guardianship of their world. Libraries may wish to purchase multiple copies to meet patron demand. Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The sequel to The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch [BKL Je 1 & 15 00] is the middle of a trilogy and part of the popular Shannara saga that Brooks began in The Sword of Shannara (1977). In it the secret of the Ilse Witch is revealed, as is the reason behind her murderous hatred of the druid Walker. Yet another revelation concerns her connection to Walker's companion, Bek, who wields the sword of Shannara. The Ilse Witch tracks and captures Bek after he disappears during a confrontation, then continues to Castledown to find and destroy Walker and gain the hidden Old World knowledge. When Walker and company approached Castledown in the preceding book, many were killed, the rest scattered, and what happened to Walker, who managed to enter the mysterious structure, was not disclosed. The sense of danger throughout this book is palpable as the heroes encounter peril and the entity that controls Castledown and its mission becomes known. The level of violence is high, and the heroics are larger than life, particularly on the part of Walker, whose powers are being slowly, steadily drained while he is maintained in a dream state, believing that he is desperately battling to escape Castledown. His rescue and discovery of the action he must take have mystical overtones befitting druidic legend. Brooks makes the characters and plot threads of a piece with the rest of the Shannara saga and, once again, concludes with a cliff-hanger that whets readers' appetites for the next book. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
Praise for The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch

"If Harry Potter has given you a thirst for fantasy and you have not discovered the magic of Terry Brooks, you are in for a treat."


"Even readers who haven't read a Terry Brooks title since his classic Sword of Shannara will welcome The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch . . . The action and creatures come fast and furious. . . . This latest volume finds Mr. Brooks' power ascending."


"If you were delighted and entranced by Michael Ende's The Never Ending Story, you will definitely want to sample one of more of Terry Brooks's books."


"The myriad Shannara fans will relish the adventure, the mystery, the magic, and the well-developed characters . . . The ending is a gripping cliff-hanger."


"The Shannara mythology gains a new level of history and depth in a tale that should appeal to the series' legions of fans."



From the Hardcover edition.


Review
Praise for The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch

"If Harry Potter has given you a thirst for fantasy and you have not discovered the magic of Terry Brooks, you are in for a treat."


"Even readers who haven't read a Terry Brooks title since his classic Sword of Shannara will welcome The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch . . . The action and creatures come fast and furious. . . . This latest volume finds Mr. Brooks' power ascending."


"If you were delighted and entranced by Michael Ende's The Never Ending Story, you will definitely want to sample one of more of Terry Brooks's books."


"The myriad Shannara fans will relish the adventure, the mystery, the magic, and the well-developed characters . . . The ending is a gripping cliff-hanger."


"The Shannara mythology gains a new level of history and depth in a tale that should appeal to the series' legions of fans."



From the Hardcover edition.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Terry Brooks -- whose first novel, The Sword of Shannara, became an instant bestseller upon its release in the late 1970s -- is the author of scads of popular fantasy novels. While the author's ongoing appeal is due to his quick-flowing prose, action-packed sequences, and colorful characters, he owes much of his success to his strict concordance with the "epic quest" model established by J.R.R. Tolkien 40 years earlier.

But give the man some credit -- Brooks writes a killer yarn. (He has millions of diehard fans to prove it.) And while his stories rely heavily on Tolkien-esque elements (such as arduous journeys, magic-wielding wizards, young protagonists who are always more than they appear, and, of course, the obligatory dark evil force), Brooks has a charm all his own, and he consistently keeps his readers guessing and wildly flipping the pages.

Brooks fans are certainly in for a treat with The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Antrax, the follow-up to the series kickoff, Voyage of Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch. If you're unfamiliar with this particular story line, stop reading now and pick up Ilse Witch first -- it's a great deal of fun, even for those unfamiliar with Brooks's previous works. Antrax begins exactly where Ilse Witch lets off.

Some background: Ilse Witch tells of a potentially devastating magic that the forces of good and evil both desperately want to control. The good guys set off on an airship in an effort to find this magic; the bad guys are hot on their trail. At the conclusion of Ilse Witch, the young Bek Rowe learns that he is really Bek Ohmsford, a direct descendant to the fabled Elf King, Jerle Shannara. Because of his lineage, Bek possesses the powerful gift of the Wishsong and the sole ability to use the mythical Sword of Shannara. As if this weren't enough for the lad to digest, he also discovers that his team's deadly adversary, the Ilse Witch, is his sister.

In Antrax, the race continues as Bek, the Druid Walker Boh, Bek's cousin Quentin, a few talented Rover flyers, the seer Ryd Ord Star, a score of Elf hunters, and the thoroughly intriguing shape-shifter Truls Rohk battle not only the Ilse Witch but also a relentless army of technological monsters. Brooks devotees will be happy (although not surprised) to hear that Antrax provides a punch of pure adrenaline. It's high-quality, rapid-paced entertainment. (Andrew LeCount)

ANNOTATION

Return to the world of beloved novelist Terry Brooks, where creatures drift up from the earth like mist, a hypnotic song can kill, a sword can cut through a veil of lies￯﾿ﾽand one man, the true heir of an ancient magic, must choose between betrayal and redemption.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A new novel by Terry Brooks is always a cause for celebration. For more than twenty years, the New York Times bestselling author of the classic Shannara epic has proven himself one of the modern masters of fantasy, winning the hearts and minds of devoted readers around the world. In his last acclaimed novel, Ilse Witch, a brave company of explorers led by the last Druid, Walker Boh, traveled across unknown seas in search of an elusive magic. Yet perhaps Boh and his team were lured there for sinister, unforeseen purposes ...

Now in Antrax, as the crew aboard the airship Jerle Shannara is attacked by evil forces, the Druid's prot￯﾿ﾽg￯﾿ﾽ Bek Rowe and his companions are pursued by the mysterious Ilse Witch. Meanwhile, Boh is alone, caught in a dark maze beneath the ruined city of Castledown, stalked by a hungry, unseen enemy.

For there is something alive in Castledown. Something not human. Something old beyond reckoning that covets the magic of Druids, elves, even the Ilse Witch. Something that hunts men for its own designs: Antrax. It is a spirit that commands ancient technologies and mechanical monsters, feeds off enchantment, and traps the souls of men.

With the Jerle Shannara under siege and Antrax threatening the bold and unwary, the Ilse Witch finds herself face-to-face with a boy who claims to be the brother she last saw as an infant. Now a young man, Bek wields the magic of the wishsong and carries the Sword of Shannara upon his back. Unsure whether to trust Bek or to slay him, the Ilse Witch takes him prisoner. One has come pursuing truth, the other revenge. Yet both seek Walker Boh￯﾿ﾽwith the fate of the Four Lands hanging in the balance.

Return to the world of beloved novelist Terry Brooks, where creatures drift up from the earth like mist, a hypnotic song can kill, a sword can cut through a veil of lies￯﾿ﾽand one man, the true heir of an ancient magic, must choose between betrayal and redemption.

SYNOPSIS

In The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Antrax, we follow the adventures of Walker Boh -- the last of the Druids -- as he and his companions continue their journey deep into the land of the unknown in search of forbidden magic. But what awaits them at the end -- an enigmatic prsence known as "Antrax" -- may prove too powerful even for the Druid.

FROM THE CRITICS

Dallas Morning News

Even readers who haven't read a Terry Brooks title since his classic Sword of Shannara will welcome The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara: Ilse Witch . . . The action and creatures come fast and furious. . . . This latest volume finds Mr. Brooks' power ascending.

Rocky Mountain News

"If Harry Potter has given you a thirst for fantasy and you have not discovered the magic of Terry Brooks, you are in for a treat.

Santa Cruz Sentinel

If you were delighted and entranced by Michael Ende's The Never Ending Story, you will definitely want to sample one of more of Terry Brooks's books.

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. (Sept. 21) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal