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THE VOYAGE OF THE JERLE SHANNARA: ANTRAX

Terry Brook's Elven saga adds a new chapter

By James T. Voelpel September 06, 2001

The Shannara saga continues with Terry Brooks' ANTRAX.
© 2001 Del Rey

THE VOYAGE OF THE JERLE SHANNARA: ANTRAXcontinues a fantasy series that started way back in THE SWORD OF SHANNARA. With that 1977 novel, Terry Brooks began a riveting tale of elves, druids, warlock lords and a magical sword. Brooks followed it up with two other books to complete his "Shannara trilogy:" ELFSTONES OF SHANNARA and WISHSONG OF SHANNARA. Though the first novel bordered on a copy of Tolkien's work, the series was exciting, fun and most of all, excellently written. After delving into a few other projects, such as the Landover novels and the "Word and Void" series, Brooks returned to Shannara with the somewhat erratic "Heritage of Shannara" series, and finally in 1997, the prequel one-shot, FIRST KING OF SHANNARA (why does everything have a prequel nowadays?). The new series began in 2000 with the first release of THE VOYAGE OF THE JERLE SHANNARA: ANTRAX.

This new saga takes place a generation after the end of TALISMAN OF SHANNARA (1993), in which the character Walker Boh had become a Druid. Here, Walker is the only one still alive who fought the battles in that last book (not counting the prequel). Walker embarks on a voyage aboard the airship Jerle Shannara. He realizes that the elven assassins led by the Ilse Witch (his arch-nemesis) would probably make the voyage as well. Among Walker's companions are young Quentin Leah, owner of the sword of Leah, and Bek Rowe, whose past, like that of the Ilse Witch, is shrouded in mystery. The group must make their way to the place where the technology of the Old World lies - Castledown. The Ilse Witch herself is a person that remains mysterious in her actions and motives.

In the sequel to the ILSE WITCH - ANTRAX - the crew of the Jerle Shannara are fighting for their lives. Their attack on Castledown has gone disastrously wrong, as many of crew are dead, killed by the ancient technology that inhabits the place. Walker has vanished underground while much of the crew are scattered on the island. The Isle Witch has captured the Jerle Shannara and imprisoned her crew, including Bek Ohmsford (the former Bek Rowe). Bek explains that he is the Isle Witch's long lost brother and that he too commands the Wishsong of the Ohmsfords. He tries desperately to persuade her that his version of their shared past is true as he struggles to keep her from killing him or his friends. The seer, Ryer Ord Star, the elven prince Ahren Elessedil, joins forces to find Walker deep within the bowels of the island. This is the domain of Antrax, an A.I. left over from the ancient times of technology. Further complicating the plot are the battles of the crew to reclaim the Jerle Shannara, the only means for the adventurers to return home. Quentin Leah, with the Sword of Leah in tow, must battle with former friends who have been enslaved by Antrax and turned into killer cyborgs.

Whereas ISLE WITCH seemed to be a rebirth for the somewhat tired Shannara series, ANTRAX is a step backwards. The entire novel is a mess of plotlines starting and stopping then starting again later on. Characters are all over the place, and there is never a chance for any momentum to build up. The character of Walker, last druid of Shannara, does not even appear until a third of the novel is over. Antrax is another problem. Some of the most interesting parts of the Shannara series were the hints to the world's technological past well, so much for the hints. The battles within Antrax's city are a 'science fiction meets fantasy' war; you have Elves and Dwarves fighting laser-armed robots and cyborgs. The small tastes of this mysterious past was much more interesting then having all this technology laid out in front of you.

The entire book could have been better served if it were split in two, with one part edited and added to the first novel, and the second part tacked on to the upcoming MORGAWR, the concluding book in this series. For fans of Terry Brooks, the most infuriating thing is that you must read this novel to understand the upcoming series conclusion. Hopefully the third book will be more like the first and less like the second.