This is my favorite Shannara book. I just love Antrax! The Wronk is absolutely fantastic! So creepy! If you've made it this far in the series, there is no turning back. Enjoy!

Yes, this is the second book I read in this series. I promised a review of it about 3 years ago, sorry I'm late. But anyways, Antrax is a very good story. The crew of the Jerle Shannara are with the dwarf tribe on Castledown and are dealing with Antrax, an ancient computer that used the elfstones and Prince Kael Elessidil to power itself. Meanwhile, Bek Rowe is being pursued by his sister Grianne, or the Ilse Witch. I like how Terry Brooks created a world where there was once advanced technology. The Antrax itself is one of the last surviving pieces of that ancient world.

I enjoyed the first book, and this one while twisting the story to include computers, still remains rooted in the the fantasy genre. Two thirds of the way thru and can hardly set it down... I bought book 3 and can't wait to see where it goes.

Wow! And I mean wow! This book is great. Forget everything you've heard about the sophmore slump, or any of that. This book is the absolute best thing I have ever read that tried to somehow mesh the disparate worlds of sci-fi and fantasy into something that doesn't do disservice to both. Terry Brooks is just the author to do it. He loves both (allowed to pen a Star Wars screenplay adaptation) and is good at both and now has given us a book fans of both genres can treasure.

Antrax continues the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara with the "meat" of the trilogy sandwich. This book gives us what we have been longing to find out. What is at the core of the "old world" and what sort of things have been lost for 2 and a half centuries? What is this dark force that would keep us from getting there. And what happens when magic and technology collide?

I can't answer this question without spoiling a really superb book, and this is the first time I will actually give this kind of reverence to a book I have reviewed. You really have to read this to find out. Because, it is that good.

All sorts of character driven relationships that are in this book are explored and developed richly. All sorts of plots and subplots arise with unexpected results. And, the cliffhanger comes right out of nowhere. It is one of those 'just when you thought it was safe' sort of moments. It really is extrordinary in pacing and development. I'd even dare to say perfect, though I'm sure I could find more flaws given enough to time to quell my elation. However, I felt compelled to review this just after putting the book down, because it impressed me so.

I don't know what exactly made this book so spectacular. I'm not sure if it was just the novelty of sci-fi fantasy combined, but I would give credit to the characters. They are by far my favorite cast of any Terry Brooks book bar none. There is a character in there for everybody. Someone you can really enjoy following. And the drama is amazing.

Some elements are clearly borrowed. "Wronks" are clearly cyborgs, which could be from any of numerous sci-fi adaptations, with the Terminator coming to mind, but more reminiscent of the Borg from Star Trek. "Creepers" sound so much like "Scorpionk" from the Transformers movie that it would seem that Spielberg borrowed the concept. But hey, I think giant scorpions have been around since Jason and Argonauts, so it really isn't that new an idea. But, really, the borrowed elements didn't feel all that borrowed, since they were doing battle with elves and fantasy type heros, which is clearly a new idea.

I can't say exactly how, but Terry Brooks has pushed all my book loving buttons when he pennned this book. This is really one of my favorite books of all time. Needless to say, you ought to buy this book

This Terry Brooks 2nd installment of Journey of the Jerle Shannara was a great read. The book came in fairly quick, took only a couple of days. It was used & had some minor water stains but it made up w/ the fact that it was the hard cover copy. I am very pleased.