 | Morgawr, the third volume of Terry Brooks' "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" trilogy, continues his productive exploration of guilt, moral ambiguity and adventures in huge airships. The Ilse Witch, Grianne, has found out that everything she has ever believed, all the reasons for revenge which have led her into evil magic, are a lie--that her mentor the reptilian Morgawr is her enemy--and for much of the book she is in such a state of moral and mental collapse that she has to rely on the mercy of her former enemies and her brother, the young Highlander Bek. As he and the other separated members of his party trek through cold forests and dragon-haunted jungles, they find themselves pursued by the Morgawr's demonic allies--by misguided troops from home and finally by the Morgawr himself with a fleet full of zombie aeronauts. This trilogy is about the best thing Brooks has done because it is, much of the time, far less reliant than he has been on the stock materials of fantasy; the mixture of magic and technology here has sparked in him a real inventiveness that can excite even the jaded reader. --Roz Kaveney |
