 | Terry Brooks stretches the formula of his Shannara stories in Antrax, the second volume of "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara", travelling far further than usual into morally grey areas. Brooks' villainess, the Ilse Witch, is driven by a ruthless desire to seek revenge for the brother she wrongly believes to be dead. Her brother Bek tries to convince her of his identity but she cannot let herself listen--she has too much invested in revenge, hatred and her own past crimes. Meanwhile, the other members of Bek's party stumble into the grip of an ancient evil--Antrax, the computer guardian of lost science, which has learned to survive in this age of magic by draining those who seek it out. The Druid Walker, the cowardly Elvenprince Ahren and the flawed young seeker Ryer find themselves in serious jeopardy. Brooks' writing is at its most suspenseful here as his characters confront their demons and find their hidden resources. The dark woods and steel corridors in which they find themselves trapped are both powerfully evoked and precise, if standard, metaphors for mental states. Like its predecessor, Ilse Witch, this is a far darker and in some ways more interesting take on the world Brooks has assembled. --Roz Kaveney |
