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High Druid of Shannara #1
Jarka Ruus
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Expect no end of wonders and suspense, no shortage of adventure and enchantment, as Terry Brooks begins the next extraordinary quest in the magical world of Shannara. . . .
Twenty years have passed since Grianne Ohmsford denounced her former life as the dreaded Ilse Witch. Fulfilling the destiny predicted for her, she has established the Third Druid Council and dedicated herself to its goals of peace, harmony among the races, and defense of the Four Lands. But despite her devotion to the greater good as Ard Rhys, the High Druid of Paranor, Grianne still has bitter enemies. Even her few allies—chief among them her trusted servant Tagwen—know of the plots against her. But they could never anticipate the sudden, ominous disappearance of the Ard Rhys, in the dead of night and without a trace. Now Tagwen joins Grianne’s brave young nephew, Pen Ohmsford, and the wise, powerful elf Ahren Elessedil on a desperate and dangerous mission of search and rescue—to deliver the High Druid of Shannara from an unspeakable fate.
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Terry Brooks's The Measure of the Magic.
Twenty years have passed since Grianne Ohmsford denounced her former life as the dreaded Ilse Witch. Fulfilling the destiny predicted for her, she has established the Third Druid Council and dedicated herself to its goals of peace, harmony among the races, and defense of the Four Lands. But despite her devotion to the greater good as Ard Rhys, the High Druid of Paranor, Grianne still has bitter enemies. Even her few allies—chief among them her trusted servant Tagwen—know of the plots against her. But they could never anticipate the sudden, ominous disappearance of the Ard Rhys, in the dead of night and without a trace. Now Tagwen joins Grianne’s brave young nephew, Pen Ohmsford, and the wise, powerful elf Ahren Elessedil on a desperate and dangerous mission of search and rescue—to deliver the High Druid of Shannara from an unspeakable fate.
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Terry Brooks's The Measure of the Magic.
416 pages, Paperback
First published August 26, 2003
200 people are currently reading
8,116 people want to read
About the author
Terry Brooks
392 books77.7k followersTerry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 237 reviews
May 4, 2025
Revisit the amazing world of Shannara!
Grianne Ohmsford, struggling with the inner demons of her former evil life as the Ilse Witch, also wrestles with the politics of her new role as Ard Rhys, High Druid of Paranor, responsible for the unification of the third Druid Council. Peace and harmony among the races of the four lands seems a distant, faint hope as her enemies on the council, the dissenting druids led by Shadea a'Rhu, refuse to accept the reality of Grianne's redemption and plot to bring her down, each striving to achieve their own ends and bring their own agenda to completion. When Grianne vanishes, seemingly defeated by the circle of treasonous plotters surrounding her and locked behind impenetrable magic walls in the land of the Forbidding, her trusted servant and aide, Tagwen, realizes that his own life hangs in the balance and narrowly escapes Paranor himself. Relentlessly pursued by Terek Molt, another rebellious Druid on the Council and Aphasia Wye, a deadly assassin, Tagwen seeks help from the only people he can think of - Pen Ohmsford, Grianne's resourceful, young nephew and Ahren Ellesdil, a self-exiled elf Druid and master of no small amount of magic himself!
The thrilling chase is on as the Druid Council seeks to eliminate the only loose ends that can spoil their nefarious plans and Pen and Ahren seek to release Grianne from her hellish prison in The Forbidding and seal what appears to be a hole in the magic wall that might well see the re-appearance of the evil warlock in the Four Lands!
With THE HIGH DRUID OF SHANNARA, Brooks has once again burst onto the fantasy scene and re-established himself as a master of the genre! As a reader who first fell in love with THE SWORD OF SHANNARA over twenty years ago, I felt like Brooks was making me the gift of that experience all over again - good vs evil; battles; treachery; magic of a bewildering array of flavours and strengths; love and loyalty; a beautifully crafted landscape replete with its dazzling population of fantasy inhabitants; and the imaginative, unique device of a cruelly, twisted "copy" of the Four Lands called The Forbidding that serves as a magical prison for the banished shade of Brona, the dreaded warlock lord.
While JARKA RUUS is primarily a plot-driven book that moves headlong at the pace of the finest thriller, Brooks has not neglected to provide a richly detailed cast with a fully developed range of emotions, strengths, failings, foibles and habits. I smiled as I watched Pen struggle with the conflict between his first young love for Cinnaminson, daughter of the Rover Captain, Gar Hatch, and the duties he knew he had assumed in the search for his aunt. Barely out of girlhood, Khyber Ellesdil, granted the genetic gift of magic and control over the Elfstones, seems overcome with typical teenage doubt and angst over her abilities and her place in the world. Tagwen, brave, loyal and well-intentioned, seems ... well ... simply overwhelmed, over-matched and out of his league!
The choice of endings for this novel, the first installment in a trilogy, is unfortunate and ill-conceived! In fact, it is no ending at all and every sub-plot and narrative thread is simply abandoned in mid-stream because, I expect, Brooks and the publishers wanted this novel to be a particular length. A minor aggravation in the overall scheme of things, I expect, because I've already pick up the next part - TANEQUIL - and started to eagerly read on!
Two thumbs up - more if I had `em!
Paul Weiss
Grianne Ohmsford, struggling with the inner demons of her former evil life as the Ilse Witch, also wrestles with the politics of her new role as Ard Rhys, High Druid of Paranor, responsible for the unification of the third Druid Council. Peace and harmony among the races of the four lands seems a distant, faint hope as her enemies on the council, the dissenting druids led by Shadea a'Rhu, refuse to accept the reality of Grianne's redemption and plot to bring her down, each striving to achieve their own ends and bring their own agenda to completion. When Grianne vanishes, seemingly defeated by the circle of treasonous plotters surrounding her and locked behind impenetrable magic walls in the land of the Forbidding, her trusted servant and aide, Tagwen, realizes that his own life hangs in the balance and narrowly escapes Paranor himself. Relentlessly pursued by Terek Molt, another rebellious Druid on the Council and Aphasia Wye, a deadly assassin, Tagwen seeks help from the only people he can think of - Pen Ohmsford, Grianne's resourceful, young nephew and Ahren Ellesdil, a self-exiled elf Druid and master of no small amount of magic himself!
The thrilling chase is on as the Druid Council seeks to eliminate the only loose ends that can spoil their nefarious plans and Pen and Ahren seek to release Grianne from her hellish prison in The Forbidding and seal what appears to be a hole in the magic wall that might well see the re-appearance of the evil warlock in the Four Lands!
With THE HIGH DRUID OF SHANNARA, Brooks has once again burst onto the fantasy scene and re-established himself as a master of the genre! As a reader who first fell in love with THE SWORD OF SHANNARA over twenty years ago, I felt like Brooks was making me the gift of that experience all over again - good vs evil; battles; treachery; magic of a bewildering array of flavours and strengths; love and loyalty; a beautifully crafted landscape replete with its dazzling population of fantasy inhabitants; and the imaginative, unique device of a cruelly, twisted "copy" of the Four Lands called The Forbidding that serves as a magical prison for the banished shade of Brona, the dreaded warlock lord.
While JARKA RUUS is primarily a plot-driven book that moves headlong at the pace of the finest thriller, Brooks has not neglected to provide a richly detailed cast with a fully developed range of emotions, strengths, failings, foibles and habits. I smiled as I watched Pen struggle with the conflict between his first young love for Cinnaminson, daughter of the Rover Captain, Gar Hatch, and the duties he knew he had assumed in the search for his aunt. Barely out of girlhood, Khyber Ellesdil, granted the genetic gift of magic and control over the Elfstones, seems overcome with typical teenage doubt and angst over her abilities and her place in the world. Tagwen, brave, loyal and well-intentioned, seems ... well ... simply overwhelmed, over-matched and out of his league!
The choice of endings for this novel, the first installment in a trilogy, is unfortunate and ill-conceived! In fact, it is no ending at all and every sub-plot and narrative thread is simply abandoned in mid-stream because, I expect, Brooks and the publishers wanted this novel to be a particular length. A minor aggravation in the overall scheme of things, I expect, because I've already pick up the next part - TANEQUIL - and started to eagerly read on!
Two thumbs up - more if I had `em!
Paul Weiss
December 9, 2018
She pulled her cloak closer about her, aware suddenly of how cold she was. It was his presence, the nearness of his evil. Even in death, it was there, in the spray off the lake, in the currents of the air, in the darkness pressing down on her. Death, come alive in the form of his shade, gave power to what he was.
The dreams of Allanon and Walker Boh have finally come true, and a new power is rising in the world of the Four Lands for the first time since before the forging of the Sword of Shannara. Grianne Ohmsford, Ard Rhys of the Third Druid Council and High Druid of Paranor, has brought back the Druid order in its entirety. Men and women of all races have come to Paranor once more in pursuit of knowledge and magic. But everything is not as glorious as it seems.
In the darkest hallways and the deepest catacombs of the ancient fortress, numerous conspiracies are brewing. Every single member of the order appears to have dark secrets and hidden ambitions, and some of the most powerful sorcerers among them are already starting to act. The only thing they all have in common is a strong hatred for Grianne. Just as Sen Dunsidan, now Prime Minister of the Federation, arrives at Paranor for diplomatic talks, the High Druid disappears completely. While the Druid order is thrown into complete disarray, its members bickering over positions and politics, it falls to Penderrin Ohmsford, youngest scion of Shannara, to find and attempt to rescue its lost leader.
While Pen goes on his quest, Grianne awakens in the world to which she has been sent by those tho wished her out of the way. When she starts exploring and encounters dragons, ogres and furies, she realises where she is. She has been sent to the world of the Jarka Ruus, the banished peoples. The world inside the Forbidding.
This book restored my belief in Terry Brooks after the previous trilogy left me a bit disappointed (a bit tired, even). The old greatness of the world of Shannara is mixed with a darker setting in which intrigue and treachery play important parts. The combination results in a brilliant and complex story.
The tale is mostly told from three perspectives. One is Pen Ohmsford. He's the generic Ohmsford hero and in most ways appears to be a reincarnation of Shea, Wil, Par and Bek. His storyline is still good, but it's the other two that made this so enjoyable: Grianne Ohmsford and her desperate journeys through the lands of the Forbidding, and the treacherous Druids who sent her there, struggling to control Paranor while they themselves also are being manipulated by forces unknown.
Jarka Ruus kicks off the High Druid of Shannara trilogy with a bang. It is basically the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara without almost all the downsides, and I would say it's the best Shannara book since the Wishsong.
Also, it includes perhaps the best scene in the entire series (which I quoted from in the top of the review), when
The dreams of Allanon and Walker Boh have finally come true, and a new power is rising in the world of the Four Lands for the first time since before the forging of the Sword of Shannara. Grianne Ohmsford, Ard Rhys of the Third Druid Council and High Druid of Paranor, has brought back the Druid order in its entirety. Men and women of all races have come to Paranor once more in pursuit of knowledge and magic. But everything is not as glorious as it seems.
In the darkest hallways and the deepest catacombs of the ancient fortress, numerous conspiracies are brewing. Every single member of the order appears to have dark secrets and hidden ambitions, and some of the most powerful sorcerers among them are already starting to act. The only thing they all have in common is a strong hatred for Grianne. Just as Sen Dunsidan, now Prime Minister of the Federation, arrives at Paranor for diplomatic talks, the High Druid disappears completely. While the Druid order is thrown into complete disarray, its members bickering over positions and politics, it falls to Penderrin Ohmsford, youngest scion of Shannara, to find and attempt to rescue its lost leader.
While Pen goes on his quest, Grianne awakens in the world to which she has been sent by those tho wished her out of the way. When she starts exploring and encounters dragons, ogres and furies, she realises where she is. She has been sent to the world of the Jarka Ruus, the banished peoples. The world inside the Forbidding.
This book restored my belief in Terry Brooks after the previous trilogy left me a bit disappointed (a bit tired, even). The old greatness of the world of Shannara is mixed with a darker setting in which intrigue and treachery play important parts. The combination results in a brilliant and complex story.
The tale is mostly told from three perspectives. One is Pen Ohmsford. He's the generic Ohmsford hero and in most ways appears to be a reincarnation of Shea, Wil, Par and Bek. His storyline is still good, but it's the other two that made this so enjoyable: Grianne Ohmsford and her desperate journeys through the lands of the Forbidding, and the treacherous Druids who sent her there, struggling to control Paranor while they themselves also are being manipulated by forces unknown.
Jarka Ruus kicks off the High Druid of Shannara trilogy with a bang. It is basically the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara without almost all the downsides, and I would say it's the best Shannara book since the Wishsong.
Also, it includes perhaps the best scene in the entire series (which I quoted from in the top of the review), when
April 19, 2013
While I liked this book, I would have enjoyed it even more if the characters weren’t so bland. I can’t help but wonder how the Shannara series would have progressed if Brooks hadn’t replaced Walker Boh (an intense and fascinating character) with Grianne Ohmsford (meh). I’ll say one thing: he isn’t afraid of killing his druids off, but it isn’t always for the greater good. This isn’t a spoiler for this book, by the way, since it happened in a previous story arc. Anyway, that’s neither here nor there, but a Walker Boh, or even a Truls Rohk, thrown into this tepid mix would have spiced things up considerably. What’s more, Jarka Ruus sorely lacks the epic sweep of the earlier Shannara books. As it were, it’s a fairly familiar storyline in the (fortunately) still fascinating Shannara universe. The best bits are when the magic comes into play, and I liked the summoning in the Hadeshorn-of-the-Forbidding, when a familiar face makes a surprise cameo appearance (and no, it’s not Allanon).
It is the first book in a trilogy, and it teeters on a fine line. Hopefully it will go up from here, and not the other way round. If, like me, you enjoy the Shannara books, you will find this entertaining enough, but PLEASE don’t start your Shannara experience here. The earlier books are much better.
It is the first book in a trilogy, and it teeters on a fine line. Hopefully it will go up from here, and not the other way round. If, like me, you enjoy the Shannara books, you will find this entertaining enough, but PLEASE don’t start your Shannara experience here. The earlier books are much better.
November 17, 2020
Another great installment of Terry Brooks's Shannara series. There are about 30 books, and all of them are enjoyable.
This one is the start of three books centering the druid Grianne Ohmsford and her nephew Pen Ohmsford. Grianne is banished to the Forbidding by the druid order so that she can be replaced by another druid. The new druid Ard Rhys does not have the Four Land's best interest at heart, however. Pen is on a mission to find his aunt Grianne and release her from the demon world that is the Forbidding. He travels by airship, owned by rovers. I love this book and can't wait to reread the following part.
This one is the start of three books centering the druid Grianne Ohmsford and her nephew Pen Ohmsford. Grianne is banished to the Forbidding by the druid order so that she can be replaced by another druid. The new druid Ard Rhys does not have the Four Land's best interest at heart, however. Pen is on a mission to find his aunt Grianne and release her from the demon world that is the Forbidding. He travels by airship, owned by rovers. I love this book and can't wait to reread the following part.
March 18, 2022
It’s becoming infuriating how little imagination Brooks puts into the beginning of his Shannara novels. Starting essentially the same as the last three trilogies, Jarka Ruus, at first glance, seems like a cash in on the Shannara name, offering the reader little in advancement of the story and simply presenting cookie cutter characters. Fortunately he is skilled enough to take the book in a slightly different direction, finally giving a glance at The Forbidding, which was only hinted at previously. Elsewhere, while the characters are all too familiar, albeit with different names, they start acting with different motivations, no longer simply distrusting the Druids with teen angst, but thinking the situation through. While Brooks is terrible need of a brutal, honest editor, his storytelling skills manage to make Jarka Ruus a readable, if unremarkable, addition to the Shannara mythology.
July 23, 2022
Aside from being a little tired of having the main character be a teen in these books, I found this book to be a refreshing change of pace from the previous stories. I was also a fan of the fact that the book seems to lead directly into the next book.
May 3, 2022
3.5 stars, rounded down
March 17, 2016
I wanted to like this book. But I couldn't.
The story is severely lacking. The idea of Jarka Ruus seems pretty interesting. Unfortunately, only a few chapters of the book actually deal with it. The rest is made up of a never ending game of cat and mouse that is just boring.
There is a lot of conflict between the druids that isn't really accounted for. Some of it is finally explained near the end of the book, but at the start of the book it makes no sense why everyone hates each other. This makes it hard to care about any of the characters as they just come across as petty whiners.
The story is severely lacking. The idea of Jarka Ruus seems pretty interesting. Unfortunately, only a few chapters of the book actually deal with it. The rest is made up of a never ending game of cat and mouse that is just boring.
There is a lot of conflict between the druids that isn't really accounted for. Some of it is finally explained near the end of the book, but at the start of the book it makes no sense why everyone hates each other. This makes it hard to care about any of the characters as they just come across as petty whiners.
June 19, 2022
Good Lord what a slog this was. For being a major name in fantasy, Brooks certainly hasn't gotten any trimmer in his writing.
Admittedly, this is the first Shannara book I've read in a good decade, so now I'm left wondering if he was always this big a fan of telling instead of showing, but I don't recall the earliest books being this much of a chore to get through. That Brooks spends the first fifty pages of this title front-loading us with all the history of the world that was covered in previous books is a sore mistake - makes it redundant to read every book up to now, not the best approach to take with your own series. Then we are given the motivations and backgrounds of all the bad guys, and we are told how bad they are more than once instead of being allowed to learn these things as we go. And they don't all stay bad, oh no, only the really evil ones die off. The others are later shown to be victims of circumstance and a hard life, and the great insight that we reach with them is that every villain feels justified in their actions, that they're really just normal people who have had a rough go and are being manipulated by something truly bad so whatever atrocities they commit are not their fault. Easy out for the bad guys, their master plan falls apart on execution, and what starts as a serious threat becomes a problem to be dealt with. What riveting stuff.
A big part of the ennui and frustration I felt here was in the leads and the Druids themselves. In previous books, there were only a few Druids, and usually only ever one at a time. Allanon, Cogline, Walker, these guys were there to fill in the role of Gandalf from Lord of the Rings and they all had a dark, hard edge to their character born from either being cranky and mysterious, disillusioned, or burdened with a task they didn't ask for, respectively. They were experts in magic and monsters and they were given the thankless task of saving the world time and again so that everyone else could have normal lives, and that's pretty awesome when you see the magic they use. Now, however, the Druids are stand-ins for the Jedi, serving as diplomats and seeking passivity and balance as though they aren't the front-line fighters in a war against the monsters of the world. Like the Jedi, they're stymied by their own ineffectual beliefs, and like the Jedi, they always get pummeled into paste by traitors who fall to not-the-Dark-Side. Seriously, the magic the villains use is described as "seductive," "the easy path to power." Sound familiar, dear reader?
And Grianne, who is supposed to be the newest and hottest thing, is no Walker or Allanon. She wrings her hands over the bad things she did in the past, she despairs over her inability to bring about peace, and rather than her background as the Ilse Witch giving her insight into the machinations of evil, she instead fights with any part of that old life and spends much of her time doing nothing. She, and everyone else, says she can't be free of her past, a sentiment truly worthy of a YA novel, and her contribution to her own survival is traveling. And talking. And walking some more. That's it. To carry the Star Wars comparison, we've seen this arc before, and Mara Jade eats Grianne Ohmsford's lunch at every turn.
The lion's share of the plot is driven by Pen, her nephew. Brooks likes this approach, having the other members on the family tree pitch in and help out, and I do like this technique - too many heroes out there are convenient orphans or the last survivors, and that gets pretty old. Thing is, Pen's a teenager, so we're stuck going through all the teenager tropes and conceits like not being prepared for his destiny (though given who his parents are and what his lifestyle entails, that's pretty strange), being thrown into circumstances he wasn't expecting, and falling in love with the blind girl. This takes an inordinate amount of time and offers very little as payoff. Pen is given his task in the first hundred pages and by the end of the book he FINALLY decides that he'll bite the bullet and save his aunt. Great dedication to the family legacy there, kid. Good to know you're the one we can count on to save the world.
Now, I don't like being this hard on the book. Getting past the cases where a twenty-sentence conversation takes four pages because there's so much interjected exposition, there's still the charm and grit that I know and love from Brooks. The world is fascinating, the people have the potential to be complex, and the usual goal of stopping the monsters from killing everyone is a fun and simple one that doesn't need explaining. If the story had been allowed to run on its own and grow organically and if the characters were allowed to DO things instead of feel, then talk about how they feel, then fight with other people over how they feel, and feel some more, then this could have been great. It has been great before - I remember Walker Boh and the crew from the Heritage series, I miss the Leah children and the Creel family, and they were all great additions to the mythos as the stories grew on their own. But this feels like it was playing it safe, casualizing the story and appealing to the formulaic mainstream instead of focusing on the tale it wanted to tell and going the distance. Rather than cutting the fat and running with a story that twists and turns and grabs you by the eyes until it's over, we get a story that's probably only about 600 pages in length, but will be twice that across three books.
When Pen was told to find the Tanequil and I heard that was the title of the second book, I cynically told myself that the rest of the first book would be him dithering about and angsting about his situation and he wouldn't really get into the story until that second book. I had hoped I was wrong, but it seems I wasn't, and I predict that the whole second book will be him finding the Tanequil and using it, and between him angsting and navel gazing and all the other padded material, that will take up another 400 pages. I have no idea - I don't plan on reading the series further.
Could have been worse, but it makes me want to read the older books in the series, and for what good stuff was there and what it could have been had an editor left half of this stuff on the cutting room floor, it deserves some credit. 3/5.
Admittedly, this is the first Shannara book I've read in a good decade, so now I'm left wondering if he was always this big a fan of telling instead of showing, but I don't recall the earliest books being this much of a chore to get through. That Brooks spends the first fifty pages of this title front-loading us with all the history of the world that was covered in previous books is a sore mistake - makes it redundant to read every book up to now, not the best approach to take with your own series. Then we are given the motivations and backgrounds of all the bad guys, and we are told how bad they are more than once instead of being allowed to learn these things as we go. And they don't all stay bad, oh no, only the really evil ones die off. The others are later shown to be victims of circumstance and a hard life, and the great insight that we reach with them is that every villain feels justified in their actions, that they're really just normal people who have had a rough go and are being manipulated by something truly bad so whatever atrocities they commit are not their fault. Easy out for the bad guys, their master plan falls apart on execution, and what starts as a serious threat becomes a problem to be dealt with. What riveting stuff.
A big part of the ennui and frustration I felt here was in the leads and the Druids themselves. In previous books, there were only a few Druids, and usually only ever one at a time. Allanon, Cogline, Walker, these guys were there to fill in the role of Gandalf from Lord of the Rings and they all had a dark, hard edge to their character born from either being cranky and mysterious, disillusioned, or burdened with a task they didn't ask for, respectively. They were experts in magic and monsters and they were given the thankless task of saving the world time and again so that everyone else could have normal lives, and that's pretty awesome when you see the magic they use. Now, however, the Druids are stand-ins for the Jedi, serving as diplomats and seeking passivity and balance as though they aren't the front-line fighters in a war against the monsters of the world. Like the Jedi, they're stymied by their own ineffectual beliefs, and like the Jedi, they always get pummeled into paste by traitors who fall to not-the-Dark-Side. Seriously, the magic the villains use is described as "seductive," "the easy path to power." Sound familiar, dear reader?
And Grianne, who is supposed to be the newest and hottest thing, is no Walker or Allanon. She wrings her hands over the bad things she did in the past, she despairs over her inability to bring about peace, and rather than her background as the Ilse Witch giving her insight into the machinations of evil, she instead fights with any part of that old life and spends much of her time doing nothing. She, and everyone else, says she can't be free of her past, a sentiment truly worthy of a YA novel, and her contribution to her own survival is traveling. And talking. And walking some more. That's it. To carry the Star Wars comparison, we've seen this arc before, and Mara Jade eats Grianne Ohmsford's lunch at every turn.
The lion's share of the plot is driven by Pen, her nephew. Brooks likes this approach, having the other members on the family tree pitch in and help out, and I do like this technique - too many heroes out there are convenient orphans or the last survivors, and that gets pretty old. Thing is, Pen's a teenager, so we're stuck going through all the teenager tropes and conceits like not being prepared for his destiny (though given who his parents are and what his lifestyle entails, that's pretty strange), being thrown into circumstances he wasn't expecting, and falling in love with the blind girl. This takes an inordinate amount of time and offers very little as payoff. Pen is given his task in the first hundred pages and by the end of the book he FINALLY decides that he'll bite the bullet and save his aunt. Great dedication to the family legacy there, kid. Good to know you're the one we can count on to save the world.
Now, I don't like being this hard on the book. Getting past the cases where a twenty-sentence conversation takes four pages because there's so much interjected exposition, there's still the charm and grit that I know and love from Brooks. The world is fascinating, the people have the potential to be complex, and the usual goal of stopping the monsters from killing everyone is a fun and simple one that doesn't need explaining. If the story had been allowed to run on its own and grow organically and if the characters were allowed to DO things instead of feel, then talk about how they feel, then fight with other people over how they feel, and feel some more, then this could have been great. It has been great before - I remember Walker Boh and the crew from the Heritage series, I miss the Leah children and the Creel family, and they were all great additions to the mythos as the stories grew on their own. But this feels like it was playing it safe, casualizing the story and appealing to the formulaic mainstream instead of focusing on the tale it wanted to tell and going the distance. Rather than cutting the fat and running with a story that twists and turns and grabs you by the eyes until it's over, we get a story that's probably only about 600 pages in length, but will be twice that across three books.
When Pen was told to find the Tanequil and I heard that was the title of the second book, I cynically told myself that the rest of the first book would be him dithering about and angsting about his situation and he wouldn't really get into the story until that second book. I had hoped I was wrong, but it seems I wasn't, and I predict that the whole second book will be him finding the Tanequil and using it, and between him angsting and navel gazing and all the other padded material, that will take up another 400 pages. I have no idea - I don't plan on reading the series further.
Could have been worse, but it makes me want to read the older books in the series, and for what good stuff was there and what it could have been had an editor left half of this stuff on the cutting room floor, it deserves some credit. 3/5.
March 9, 2010
Terry Brooks does an Excelent job with the creation of this story. I really enjoyed reading this through out the night. I highly recommend reading this immediately after "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" because the story picks back up some of the characters used within the story. The time line also is only 20 years past instead of a thousand or so and I was very happy about that.
The book gives a refresher of the characters used in "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" and a reminder of what happened:
Grianne Ohmsford, once the Ilse Witch who was saved by her brother with the use of the Sword of Shannara in killing her evil mentor, the Morgawr. She was tasked by Walker the Druid before he died to rebuild the Druid's Order by summoning members of all the Races to create a Third Druid Council and form a new order, one in which ditates of a single Druid would no longer be all that stood between civilization and anarchy, between reason and madness.
Even though it has now been 20 years since Grianne formed the Druid's order, there were many among the new Druids who still did not trust her because of her past being the Ilse Witch and all the evil she was a part of. These few wanted her dead and look for ways to kill her or out of the picture from being Ard Rhys the leader of the Druids.
Sen Dunsidan, now the Prime Minister thanks to the Ilse Witch mentor Morgawr does not trust her due to the past dealings and he teams up with the few within the Druid's order to get rid of her. Sen Dunsidan does find a way and gets his spy and ally Shadea A'Ru to use a potion called Liquid Night to imprision Grianne in the forbidding - the place where all evil is held and held in prision by the Elcrys.
With the help of Tagwen, Grianne's faithful assistant who is extremely worried about her and knows what the evil Druid's have done to take over the leadership, goes in search of Grianne's brother Bek Ohmsford for help in finding her.
Unfortunately, when Tagwen gets to Bek Ohmsford's place, he is not available for Bek and his wife have taken some customers on a hunting trip and there is no way to find them. The only one who can help is Penderrin, Bek's son who happens to know how to fly a air ship.
Tagwen and Penderrin meet The King of the Silver River which further convinces Penderrin to go on the journey to save his aunt and tells him where she is and how to bring her back. The King of the Silver River tells Pen that a talisman is needed to negate its magic and this talisman is a Dark Wand which is a juring stick that must be fashioned by hand from the limb of a tree called Tanequil.
The Tanequil is sentient, it is a living, breathing creature that will only give up a limb only if it is persuaded of the need for doing so and must act freely because if it is taken by force, the magic that it bears will be destroyed. The only one that communicate with the Tanequil is Pen since he has a gift of magic power of being able to talk and communicate with plants and animals. This magic was passed on to him through the Ohmsford from the use of the wish song.
The place to find the Tanequil is in a forest on an island deep in the Charnal Mountains, so the journey begins and the first place they go to seek aid in this journey is to retrieve Ahren Elessdil, the elf who brought back the Elf Stones to his people who had sailed on the Jerle Shannara. Not only do they recrute Ahren but Ahren's niece Khyber who wants to be a Druid and have a different life from her families. The journey begins.
Mean while, Grianne discovers she is no longer in her room when she awakes and discovers that she is in the land of Jarka Ruus - the forbidding, the place that the Ellcrys have shut all the evil away for thousands of years, the place consisted of faery, dragons, and different species of evil.
Pen's journey begins with the escape from the evil Druids that are after him. He even finds time to fall in love with a girl named Cinnaminson, who happens to be blind but has the sight to see within her mind.
The story is great and full of action and magic, Grianne wonders through out the forbidding and is finally captured by creatures at the end of the book.
The story continues in the next book called Tanequil (High Druid of Shannara)
The book gives a refresher of the characters used in "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" and a reminder of what happened:
Grianne Ohmsford, once the Ilse Witch who was saved by her brother with the use of the Sword of Shannara in killing her evil mentor, the Morgawr. She was tasked by Walker the Druid before he died to rebuild the Druid's Order by summoning members of all the Races to create a Third Druid Council and form a new order, one in which ditates of a single Druid would no longer be all that stood between civilization and anarchy, between reason and madness.
Even though it has now been 20 years since Grianne formed the Druid's order, there were many among the new Druids who still did not trust her because of her past being the Ilse Witch and all the evil she was a part of. These few wanted her dead and look for ways to kill her or out of the picture from being Ard Rhys the leader of the Druids.
Sen Dunsidan, now the Prime Minister thanks to the Ilse Witch mentor Morgawr does not trust her due to the past dealings and he teams up with the few within the Druid's order to get rid of her. Sen Dunsidan does find a way and gets his spy and ally Shadea A'Ru to use a potion called Liquid Night to imprision Grianne in the forbidding - the place where all evil is held and held in prision by the Elcrys.
With the help of Tagwen, Grianne's faithful assistant who is extremely worried about her and knows what the evil Druid's have done to take over the leadership, goes in search of Grianne's brother Bek Ohmsford for help in finding her.
Unfortunately, when Tagwen gets to Bek Ohmsford's place, he is not available for Bek and his wife have taken some customers on a hunting trip and there is no way to find them. The only one who can help is Penderrin, Bek's son who happens to know how to fly a air ship.
Tagwen and Penderrin meet The King of the Silver River which further convinces Penderrin to go on the journey to save his aunt and tells him where she is and how to bring her back. The King of the Silver River tells Pen that a talisman is needed to negate its magic and this talisman is a Dark Wand which is a juring stick that must be fashioned by hand from the limb of a tree called Tanequil.
The Tanequil is sentient, it is a living, breathing creature that will only give up a limb only if it is persuaded of the need for doing so and must act freely because if it is taken by force, the magic that it bears will be destroyed. The only one that communicate with the Tanequil is Pen since he has a gift of magic power of being able to talk and communicate with plants and animals. This magic was passed on to him through the Ohmsford from the use of the wish song.
The place to find the Tanequil is in a forest on an island deep in the Charnal Mountains, so the journey begins and the first place they go to seek aid in this journey is to retrieve Ahren Elessdil, the elf who brought back the Elf Stones to his people who had sailed on the Jerle Shannara. Not only do they recrute Ahren but Ahren's niece Khyber who wants to be a Druid and have a different life from her families. The journey begins.
Mean while, Grianne discovers she is no longer in her room when she awakes and discovers that she is in the land of Jarka Ruus - the forbidding, the place that the Ellcrys have shut all the evil away for thousands of years, the place consisted of faery, dragons, and different species of evil.
Pen's journey begins with the escape from the evil Druids that are after him. He even finds time to fall in love with a girl named Cinnaminson, who happens to be blind but has the sight to see within her mind.
The story is great and full of action and magic, Grianne wonders through out the forbidding and is finally captured by creatures at the end of the book.
The story continues in the next book called Tanequil (High Druid of Shannara)
November 15, 2017
Intrighi poco honesti a Paranor
Improbabili intrighi di palazzo nell'irreprensibile Paranor, sede di bricconcelli che possono essere inquadrati nei moventi dal vestiario che indossano (anche le occhiatacce da antagonista di serie B che scoccano al momento giusto possono essere buoni indizi nell'investigazione).
Le banalità si sprecano da tutte le parti, inutile negarlo; e lo scongelamento di figure d'altri tempi - Il Re del Fiume Argento e Brona, quest'ultimo non si sa bene perché stia a far la muffa nel Divieto - è la classica spia d'allarme di idee che scarseggiano.
Inutile commentare gli sviluppi finali: cose a caso aggiunte in mezzo alla trama con la speranza di indovinare qualcosa, mentre nel Divieto si configura un colpo di scena così traumatico che, nel peggiore dei casi, il lettore lo avrà intuito almeno dieci anni prima nei cicli precedenti.
Improbabili intrighi di palazzo nell'irreprensibile Paranor, sede di bricconcelli che possono essere inquadrati nei moventi dal vestiario che indossano (anche le occhiatacce da antagonista di serie B che scoccano al momento giusto possono essere buoni indizi nell'investigazione).
Le banalità si sprecano da tutte le parti, inutile negarlo; e lo scongelamento di figure d'altri tempi - Il Re del Fiume Argento e Brona, quest'ultimo non si sa bene perché stia a far la muffa nel Divieto - è la classica spia d'allarme di idee che scarseggiano.
Inutile commentare gli sviluppi finali: cose a caso aggiunte in mezzo alla trama con la speranza di indovinare qualcosa, mentre nel Divieto si configura un colpo di scena così traumatico che, nel peggiore dei casi, il lettore lo avrà intuito almeno dieci anni prima nei cicli precedenti.
December 31, 2021
There she is, my 50th book this year.
I wish Jarka Ruus had the quality of rhe last 10-12 chapters throughout the whole thing. It seriously picked up nicely, and the twists were very unexpected! It definitely slightly subverts past Shannara form which is wonderful, and even gives some brilliant character development.
A twist i enjoyed brought it up to stars.
Onto the next Shannara!
I wish Jarka Ruus had the quality of rhe last 10-12 chapters throughout the whole thing. It seriously picked up nicely, and the twists were very unexpected! It definitely slightly subverts past Shannara form which is wonderful, and even gives some brilliant character development.
A twist i enjoyed brought it up to stars.
Onto the next Shannara!
February 11, 2025
Jarka Ruus is the first book in the amazing offshoot of the Shannara world High Druid of Shannara.
It is just as good as any of the other books. You will love it if you love epic high fantasy tales. It's a world unlike any others.
It is just as good as any of the other books. You will love it if you love epic high fantasy tales. It's a world unlike any others.
January 3, 2023
Not enough happened to justify 400 pages. Maybe I am just in a mood, idk.
June 29, 2023
Continuing to get better, I think. A little predictable, but still fun.
I do so love the characters.
I do so love the characters.
May 14, 2014
My issue with most science fiction, and why I don't read a lot of that genre, is that they never actually FINISH! I had forgotten why I normally stay away from this genre when I picked this up, because a) it sounded really interesting, and b) it didn't have "Book 1" attached to the title, which is normally a dead give-away that the book will end in a cliff-hanger and leave you wondering what happens next.
The story of Grianne, the High Druid of Paranor and the politically motivate treachery that uses dark magic to send her into a dark no-man's land so her position can be stolen is good - as far as it goes.
Grianne's young nephew Pen turns out to be the only one with the power to find, and rescue Grianne, and the motley band of companions who accompany Pen on the journey, and their own adventures along the way are exciting and engrossing.
The problem comes when you get to the end of the book, which is not REALLY the end of the book. You're left with the cliff-hanger, and don't know what happens to any of the characters, so presumably there's a next book in which the story is continued.
However, I don't like books that don't actually have an ending. I don't mind leaving openings in the current story for another book, but I irritates me when the author doesn't actually conclude at least most of the current story. I feel like I've been cheated, and wasted my time when this happens.
So although what there was of this story was good, because there is no conclusion, I've only given two stars.
The story of Grianne, the High Druid of Paranor and the politically motivate treachery that uses dark magic to send her into a dark no-man's land so her position can be stolen is good - as far as it goes.
Grianne's young nephew Pen turns out to be the only one with the power to find, and rescue Grianne, and the motley band of companions who accompany Pen on the journey, and their own adventures along the way are exciting and engrossing.
The problem comes when you get to the end of the book, which is not REALLY the end of the book. You're left with the cliff-hanger, and don't know what happens to any of the characters, so presumably there's a next book in which the story is continued.
However, I don't like books that don't actually have an ending. I don't mind leaving openings in the current story for another book, but I irritates me when the author doesn't actually conclude at least most of the current story. I feel like I've been cheated, and wasted my time when this happens.
So although what there was of this story was good, because there is no conclusion, I've only given two stars.
December 21, 2020
Jarka Ruus is the 22nd book in the Shannara series. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5.
This story picks up 20 years after the events in Morgawr. Grianne Ohmsford is the new Ard Rhys of the Druids at Paranor and while she has changed her life and her ways, she faces a lot of animosity from her peers for her dark past. Many in her own order don’t want her to be Ard Rhys because of what she used to be.
Grianne Ohmsford as a fictional character is put through so many things - as a reader I just want her to be redeemed and content in the end.
The plot and pacing of this story is great. I found myself reading 50 page chunks easily at just about every sitting, and it just flowed. No spoilers, but the settings were well done and clever as well.
I have to take 1/2 star off for the silly love story between the characters Penderrin Ohmsford and Cinamminson - I’ve seriously lost count how many times characters in this series are thrown into these wild adventures (usually being chased relentlessly by bad guys), have known each other for about 3 days, and then fall deeply and madly in love at first sight. I know it’s fantasy, but geez that’s so far from reality. 🤦🏼♂️🙄
Next one up in the series is Tanequil. Can Pen Ohmsford find the magical tree and save her aunt, Grianne Ohmsford?
This story picks up 20 years after the events in Morgawr. Grianne Ohmsford is the new Ard Rhys of the Druids at Paranor and while she has changed her life and her ways, she faces a lot of animosity from her peers for her dark past. Many in her own order don’t want her to be Ard Rhys because of what she used to be.
Grianne Ohmsford as a fictional character is put through so many things - as a reader I just want her to be redeemed and content in the end.
The plot and pacing of this story is great. I found myself reading 50 page chunks easily at just about every sitting, and it just flowed. No spoilers, but the settings were well done and clever as well.
I have to take 1/2 star off for the silly love story between the characters Penderrin Ohmsford and Cinamminson - I’ve seriously lost count how many times characters in this series are thrown into these wild adventures (usually being chased relentlessly by bad guys), have known each other for about 3 days, and then fall deeply and madly in love at first sight. I know it’s fantasy, but geez that’s so far from reality. 🤦🏼♂️🙄
Next one up in the series is Tanequil. Can Pen Ohmsford find the magical tree and save her aunt, Grianne Ohmsford?
September 7, 2012
Another story in the Shannara universe. This takes place 20 years after The Voyage of Jerle Shannara so there are some characters from those books in this book. Grianne is head of the Druids but not everyone supports her. This book is more political in nature and is a good read. Terry Brooks has carved out his formula for writing books and this follows suit. I was definitely interested in the book but like other recent Shannara books, it is not a stand alone and the adventure continues in the next book. I did love the scene with a character from his early works which I will not name so it can be a nice little surprise.
October 22, 2017
Not quite as good at the other Shannara books, but still pretty damn good. I felt like it jumped right into the story and did not fill in a lot of the important details that happened in the 20 year story gap that happened between this book and Morgawr. Like all Shannara books by 2/3 of the way in you can't put it down and of course it ends on a cliffhanger going into the next one of the sub-trilogy.
August 9, 2013
Terry Brooks' writing style is much improved from his early novels at this point. The novel wasn't for me though. I typically like fantasy, but I didn't like how the characters explained what they had to do a million times. The plot was pretty boring also. I would have no interest in reading the other novels in this series.
May 25, 2020
My least favorite of the Shannara books thus far. While Grianne's plot line was intriguing, I found it hard to like Pen as the hero and his obsession with Cinnaminson I found too...annoying? Lengthy? I did like Khyber and seeing Ahren again was a pleasure. Hoping the next two books are better reads and are more enjoyful.
January 2, 2019
Zu Beginn des Jahres hatte ich das Buch schon mal angefangen, dann aber abgebrochen. Ich fand es verwirrend und unlogisch. Was soll ich sagen. Ich bin froh, dass ich ihm nochmal eine Chance gegeben habe.
March 20, 2016
3.5 stars
June 20, 2019
I decided to read another trilogy story by Terry Brooks. This one occurs after the return of the group that went to find the Elfstones. It is twenty years later, the Druid Council has been established by Grianne Ohmsford, who was formerly the Ilse Witch in the last trilogy, but she has people in the Druid Council who resent her being the Ards Rhys, the leader. These people have come under the influence of a dark soul from the Forbidden Zone, who is using them as puppets to get out of the Forbidden Zone because it needs an exchange of bodies to enter the real world of Shannara. It does it in several steps, first by mind-control suggestions which lead one of them to develop magic called liquid night, which renders the individual to the Forbidden and allows passage in a spirit form to Shannara, where the spirit takes over a body of one of its puppets.
Grianne went to sleep one night and woke up in the Forbidden Zone where once she realized where she went to the Hadshorn to summon a druid shade to get information on how to return. The shade she summoned was the Warlock Druid Brona, who told her that she needs to first wait for the boy who was coming to rescue her and to use her skills learned as the Ilse Witch to both survive and get back with the boy.
The boy in the reference is Grianne Ohmsford's nephew Penderrin Ohmsford. He has magic that helps him understand and communicate with all living beings both plant and animal. He comes into the story when Tagwen, a Dwarf who had been on the voyage from the previous trilogy and a helper attendant for Grianne, comes rushing to him while fleeing from the Druids who sent Grianne to the Forbidden Zone. Before he can tell Pen the whole story, the Galaphile shows up with Gnome defenders and the Druid Terek Molt a Druid warrior. So they were forced to flee fast, using Pen's little cat-28, a little shiff boat. They manage to evade the big ship because of the storm and the help of the King of the Silver River, who told Pen that he would the one to rescue his aunt by getting a limb from the Tanequill to form a darkwind. They then go to the area near Emberen, an Eleven village, to consult with Ahren Elessedil, another survivor that voyage who was now a Druid, himself. He is hosting a visit from his niece Khymer, who has the Elfstones with her because she wants to learn how to use them. After allowing the two refugees a night's rest after feeding them, the group together leaves to go where they need to get Pen's darkwind. They found out the destiny by using the Elfstones, which unfortunately gives away their location. They finally get passage on new style airship to get to their destiny but were followed closely by both the Druid ship and another unknown assassin who carries the Steihl knife. The Captain of the airboat deserts them in the swamp but they still manage to get out of the swamp after using the Elfstones to destroy both the Druid ship and all onboard including the Druid Terek Molt. But Ahren is mortally wounded in this battle but last long enough to get Pen and Khymer along with Tagwen to complete the rescue of Grianne. The Jarka Ruus of the title is the name of a group of deviate Elves who had been banished to the Forbidden Zone.
Grianne went to sleep one night and woke up in the Forbidden Zone where once she realized where she went to the Hadshorn to summon a druid shade to get information on how to return. The shade she summoned was the Warlock Druid Brona, who told her that she needs to first wait for the boy who was coming to rescue her and to use her skills learned as the Ilse Witch to both survive and get back with the boy.
The boy in the reference is Grianne Ohmsford's nephew Penderrin Ohmsford. He has magic that helps him understand and communicate with all living beings both plant and animal. He comes into the story when Tagwen, a Dwarf who had been on the voyage from the previous trilogy and a helper attendant for Grianne, comes rushing to him while fleeing from the Druids who sent Grianne to the Forbidden Zone. Before he can tell Pen the whole story, the Galaphile shows up with Gnome defenders and the Druid Terek Molt a Druid warrior. So they were forced to flee fast, using Pen's little cat-28, a little shiff boat. They manage to evade the big ship because of the storm and the help of the King of the Silver River, who told Pen that he would the one to rescue his aunt by getting a limb from the Tanequill to form a darkwind. They then go to the area near Emberen, an Eleven village, to consult with Ahren Elessedil, another survivor that voyage who was now a Druid, himself. He is hosting a visit from his niece Khymer, who has the Elfstones with her because she wants to learn how to use them. After allowing the two refugees a night's rest after feeding them, the group together leaves to go where they need to get Pen's darkwind. They found out the destiny by using the Elfstones, which unfortunately gives away their location. They finally get passage on new style airship to get to their destiny but were followed closely by both the Druid ship and another unknown assassin who carries the Steihl knife. The Captain of the airboat deserts them in the swamp but they still manage to get out of the swamp after using the Elfstones to destroy both the Druid ship and all onboard including the Druid Terek Molt. But Ahren is mortally wounded in this battle but last long enough to get Pen and Khymer along with Tagwen to complete the rescue of Grianne. The Jarka Ruus of the title is the name of a group of deviate Elves who had been banished to the Forbidden Zone.
December 6, 2020
The first entry of Terry Brooks’ High Druid of Shannara trilogy occurs a score after the voyage of the Jerle Shannara in the chronologically-preceding subseries, and opens with the leader of the Third Druid Council, the Ard Rhys, at the time Grianne Ohmsford, formerly the Ilse Witch, yearning to leave the Keep at Paranor with the Rock Troll Kermadec. They do ultimately depart, although certain circumstances lead to the Ard Rhys’ quick return, and in the meantime, the insurgent Shadea a’Ru plots rebellion against Grianne, holding council with her supporters within the cellars of the Druid’s Keep.
The Prime Minister also has involvement in the plot against Grianne, with a potion known as liquid night key to the plot to overthrow her, and she consequentially goes missing. In the meantime, the Ard Rhys’ nephew, Penderrin Ohmsford, learns about the Druid’s disappearance, meets the King of the Silver River, and visits the Elven village of Emberen. The mentioned liquid night traps Grianne in a shadowy realm known as the Forbidding. Pen’s airship also lands at Emberen, where Ahren Elessedil instructs his niece Khyber in magic, the Elfstones necessary to rescue Grianne.
The Rock Trolls are dismissed from their service to Paranor given their partial blame in the Ard Rhys’ disappearance, with Shadea summoning a deadly weapon known as the Stiehl. Ahren Elessedil and company set off on horseback in search of the tanequil, key to rescuing Grianne, and storms plague their progress during several chapters. They do find themselves on an airship again commanded by Gar Hatch, whose blind daughter Cinnaminson serves as his navigator, and with whom Pen has romantic attraction, much to Gar’s disdain, and the captain himself shows wavering loyalties, given his disposition as a Rover interested in money.
Back in the spirit world, Grianne encounters the shade of Brona the long-deceased Warlock Lord, who ironically plays a role in leading the Ard Rhys around the eponymous Jarka Ruus. In Shannara, rain impedes the progress of Gar’s airship, and Ahren Elessedil doesn’t return from an errand for several hours. The vessel encounters shades attacking from a lake, with Khyber during a battle tasked with using the Elfstones, a major character in the story meeting their end. The country of the Rock Trolls becomes the party’s next destination, and the book ends with Grianne still awaiting rescue.
All in all, I definitely enjoyed this entry of the Shannara series as much as I had its predecessors, given its heavy degree of fantastical action and mythos, with occasional twists in the mix. Granted, there are certain details that are a bit ambiguous, such as the races of specific characters, with reminders at times having been welcome, and occasional long stretches without dramatis personae being referenced by name, even at the start of certain chapters. Regardless, those who enjoyed chronologically-past Shannara books will definitely enjoy this fun start to another subseries within the franchise.
The Prime Minister also has involvement in the plot against Grianne, with a potion known as liquid night key to the plot to overthrow her, and she consequentially goes missing. In the meantime, the Ard Rhys’ nephew, Penderrin Ohmsford, learns about the Druid’s disappearance, meets the King of the Silver River, and visits the Elven village of Emberen. The mentioned liquid night traps Grianne in a shadowy realm known as the Forbidding. Pen’s airship also lands at Emberen, where Ahren Elessedil instructs his niece Khyber in magic, the Elfstones necessary to rescue Grianne.
The Rock Trolls are dismissed from their service to Paranor given their partial blame in the Ard Rhys’ disappearance, with Shadea summoning a deadly weapon known as the Stiehl. Ahren Elessedil and company set off on horseback in search of the tanequil, key to rescuing Grianne, and storms plague their progress during several chapters. They do find themselves on an airship again commanded by Gar Hatch, whose blind daughter Cinnaminson serves as his navigator, and with whom Pen has romantic attraction, much to Gar’s disdain, and the captain himself shows wavering loyalties, given his disposition as a Rover interested in money.
Back in the spirit world, Grianne encounters the shade of Brona the long-deceased Warlock Lord, who ironically plays a role in leading the Ard Rhys around the eponymous Jarka Ruus. In Shannara, rain impedes the progress of Gar’s airship, and Ahren Elessedil doesn’t return from an errand for several hours. The vessel encounters shades attacking from a lake, with Khyber during a battle tasked with using the Elfstones, a major character in the story meeting their end. The country of the Rock Trolls becomes the party’s next destination, and the book ends with Grianne still awaiting rescue.
All in all, I definitely enjoyed this entry of the Shannara series as much as I had its predecessors, given its heavy degree of fantastical action and mythos, with occasional twists in the mix. Granted, there are certain details that are a bit ambiguous, such as the races of specific characters, with reminders at times having been welcome, and occasional long stretches without dramatis personae being referenced by name, even at the start of certain chapters. Regardless, those who enjoyed chronologically-past Shannara books will definitely enjoy this fun start to another subseries within the franchise.
March 20, 2023
Star Rating: 5 stars
Note: Although this is the 1st book in the High Druid of Shannara series, it is also the 15th in the overarching Shannara epic series (I am following Terry Brooks’s recommended order for new readers) so this will not be an in-depth review.
As I have mentioned many times before, I make a habit to read at least 5 books from all of the long fantasy and science fiction I have currently running every year. (I really like to have long series on the go or authors with long backlists to read in-between my most anticipated releases for the year. As I have both autism and OCD, having a structure, even a loose one, is beneficial for me as it helps me feel like I’m in control and in a world that is really overwhelming for me; this is very good for me.) This book continues the story of Grianne Ohmsford, a character we met in the previous sub-series, the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, on the next leg of her journey, a journey that not everyone may on board with her taking.
My favorite part of the book is the fact that 15 books in, Brooks is still finding new areas of his world to explore and new characters to follow. Although some authors can do this and I am reading or have read a lot of them, it is still a relatively hard skill to pull off successfully so I was impressed. In this book, in particular, we explore new parts of areas that we have been to before or, at least, heard about, such as the Northland or the Forbidding, and we also explore new ways that the familial magics of the Ohmsford and Elessedil present themselves. These new additions were familiar enough to not be jarring but distinct enough to not be repetitive, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
One of the things that Brooks is known for is his exploration of themes and concepts, at least in my opinion. In this book, it is heroism, redemption, and the responsibility of power. Again, these are concepts that he has looked at before, but he continues to explore in familiar but unique ways, and as they are topics that I love looking at, I will continue to read his books to see how he handles them next.
All in all, I can’t really give details about why I loved this book specifically as it is, technically, the 15th book in a series, and I don’t think you are going to be looking for reviews to encourage you to read this book/series as this is 100% not the book you should be starting with. (It is directly connected to the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara sub-series and loosely connected to all of the other previous ones so definitely wouldn’t start here.) I will simply say my loves and enjoyment of this series hasn’t waned, and I will be continuing with the next book in the very near future. (I already have it checked out from my library, although there are new releases and books from other series that I need to get to first.) 5 stars and Brooks remains a favorite author!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Note: Although this is the 1st book in the High Druid of Shannara series, it is also the 15th in the overarching Shannara epic series (I am following Terry Brooks’s recommended order for new readers) so this will not be an in-depth review.
As I have mentioned many times before, I make a habit to read at least 5 books from all of the long fantasy and science fiction I have currently running every year. (I really like to have long series on the go or authors with long backlists to read in-between my most anticipated releases for the year. As I have both autism and OCD, having a structure, even a loose one, is beneficial for me as it helps me feel like I’m in control and in a world that is really overwhelming for me; this is very good for me.) This book continues the story of Grianne Ohmsford, a character we met in the previous sub-series, the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, on the next leg of her journey, a journey that not everyone may on board with her taking.
My favorite part of the book is the fact that 15 books in, Brooks is still finding new areas of his world to explore and new characters to follow. Although some authors can do this and I am reading or have read a lot of them, it is still a relatively hard skill to pull off successfully so I was impressed. In this book, in particular, we explore new parts of areas that we have been to before or, at least, heard about, such as the Northland or the Forbidding, and we also explore new ways that the familial magics of the Ohmsford and Elessedil present themselves. These new additions were familiar enough to not be jarring but distinct enough to not be repetitive, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
One of the things that Brooks is known for is his exploration of themes and concepts, at least in my opinion. In this book, it is heroism, redemption, and the responsibility of power. Again, these are concepts that he has looked at before, but he continues to explore in familiar but unique ways, and as they are topics that I love looking at, I will continue to read his books to see how he handles them next.
All in all, I can’t really give details about why I loved this book specifically as it is, technically, the 15th book in a series, and I don’t think you are going to be looking for reviews to encourage you to read this book/series as this is 100% not the book you should be starting with. (It is directly connected to the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara sub-series and loosely connected to all of the other previous ones so definitely wouldn’t start here.) I will simply say my loves and enjoyment of this series hasn’t waned, and I will be continuing with the next book in the very near future. (I already have it checked out from my library, although there are new releases and books from other series that I need to get to first.) 5 stars and Brooks remains a favorite author!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
December 14, 2017
Grianne Ohsmford, the High Druid of Paranor, is despised and plotted against from within her own order. Her nephew, Pen Ohsmford, inherent of a unique magic of his own, is the only one who can save her.
Jarka Ruus, begins another fantasy in the Shannara series with some of the usual Shannara tropes - a young Ohmsford thrust into adventure as the worlds last hope, enemies hunting him down to see that he fails; and yet there are some added elements to keep the story fresh. The founding of the Third Druid Council has been a long awaited event for Shannara fans, and the reader gets to see it through the perspective of the High Druid herself.
There are a handful of enemies each with their own unique strengths, and they're relentless in their determination to initiate their plan and once fulfilled, tie up any loose ends. Fortunately, there is a druid who carries over from the last trilogy The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Trilogy who is there to help the Ohmsfords. There's are also two love stories involved, one is puppy love and the other much more morbid.
The Druids in the Shannara series may not be what you are accustomed to if you've only heard of Druids through D & D campaigns. Druids in this world are more battle-mage types with powerful destructive magic, earth-type magic, mysterious magical abilities such as telekinesis in some cases and a form of telepathy, as well as longevity; however, no two druids are the same. What makes the High Druid so unique is her inherent ability to use a magic called the "wishsong," as well as her background of once having been the infamous Ilse Witch, capable of the most horrid evil. Not only does she have to contend with those inner struggles of her past, she must watch for schemes against her from every corner.
Airships are again prevalent, after their introduction in the Voyage series, although the method in which they fly using "diapson" crystals (a type of solar energy it seems) and radian draws is not fully explained. Even so, the airships serve as a convenient plot element to help the characters get around the world more quickly.
Brooks writes his novels with the intention of readers being able to pick up with any book in the series, but it's highly recommended to read the previous books to have the best appreciation for the High Druid trilogy.
For being the first in a trilogy, Jarka Ruus still has an ending and answers many questions to the mysteries that were brought up in the beginning; Brooks knows where he is taking the story. He had a plan and it's enjoyable to watch it unfold.
Jarka Ruus, begins another fantasy in the Shannara series with some of the usual Shannara tropes - a young Ohmsford thrust into adventure as the worlds last hope, enemies hunting him down to see that he fails; and yet there are some added elements to keep the story fresh. The founding of the Third Druid Council has been a long awaited event for Shannara fans, and the reader gets to see it through the perspective of the High Druid herself.
There are a handful of enemies each with their own unique strengths, and they're relentless in their determination to initiate their plan and once fulfilled, tie up any loose ends. Fortunately, there is a druid who carries over from the last trilogy The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara Trilogy who is there to help the Ohmsfords. There's are also two love stories involved, one is puppy love and the other much more morbid.
The Druids in the Shannara series may not be what you are accustomed to if you've only heard of Druids through D & D campaigns. Druids in this world are more battle-mage types with powerful destructive magic, earth-type magic, mysterious magical abilities such as telekinesis in some cases and a form of telepathy, as well as longevity; however, no two druids are the same. What makes the High Druid so unique is her inherent ability to use a magic called the "wishsong," as well as her background of once having been the infamous Ilse Witch, capable of the most horrid evil. Not only does she have to contend with those inner struggles of her past, she must watch for schemes against her from every corner.
Airships are again prevalent, after their introduction in the Voyage series, although the method in which they fly using "diapson" crystals (a type of solar energy it seems) and radian draws is not fully explained. Even so, the airships serve as a convenient plot element to help the characters get around the world more quickly.
Brooks writes his novels with the intention of readers being able to pick up with any book in the series, but it's highly recommended to read the previous books to have the best appreciation for the High Druid trilogy.
For being the first in a trilogy, Jarka Ruus still has an ending and answers many questions to the mysteries that were brought up in the beginning; Brooks knows where he is taking the story. He had a plan and it's enjoyable to watch it unfold.
July 28, 2019
[Book 65]
Terry Brooks is always worth a read.
One of the things that keeps me reading Terry Brooks is the familiarity of his writing. His style is always the same and the character designs, plots, archetypes, and tropes are always the same. The story and characters themselves are different, but are similar enough that I instantly feel like I know them.
This book works really well as a start of a trilogy. Having Grianne the primary character of the first 100 pages worked well since I remembered her from the Jerle Shannara trilogy. This book, compared to the first book in the previously mentioned trilogy, starts off much more quickly. The pacing from beginning to end is amazing. There is no fluff, no extra scenes, no added descriptions present simply to add to the page count(hello Robert Jordan!). Brooks has really refined his ability to write shorter books.
Differently from other Shannara series, I liked all of the main characters. I relate to Penderrin and feel that he is similar to every other Ohmsford male character, which made him instantly loveable. The added airship flyer made him more of a fun Luke Skywalker character(which I love).
Khyber was interesting in that she was much less of a point of view character until the end of the book. I think Brooks will use her more in "Tanequil" and "Straken". Tagwen was par-for the course Dwarf and Ahren was par-for the course Elf.
The one part of the book I didn't like was the love story between Pen and Cinnaminson. I thought they were cute together and I look forward to seeing if Brooks takes them where I think he's taking them. My problem was that their story was rushed WAY too quickly in this book. They shouldn't have started to fall in love until the end of the book or the start of book 2.
(Minor Spoilers): The concept of Grianne being banished in the Forbidding and having Pen come rescue her reminded me a lot of the greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. In both stories, the female character is spirited down to hell and the male character must come after them, except it's an aunt-nephew relationship here as opposed to lovers in the greek myth.
Overall, great book. Awesome start to the trilogy. I think it's as good(and in some ways better) than Isle Witch(which was the start of Jerle Shannara trilogy) and is definitely better than Scions. Small problems, but seriously solid overall. 8.6 out of 10!
Terry Brooks is always worth a read.
One of the things that keeps me reading Terry Brooks is the familiarity of his writing. His style is always the same and the character designs, plots, archetypes, and tropes are always the same. The story and characters themselves are different, but are similar enough that I instantly feel like I know them.
This book works really well as a start of a trilogy. Having Grianne the primary character of the first 100 pages worked well since I remembered her from the Jerle Shannara trilogy. This book, compared to the first book in the previously mentioned trilogy, starts off much more quickly. The pacing from beginning to end is amazing. There is no fluff, no extra scenes, no added descriptions present simply to add to the page count(hello Robert Jordan!). Brooks has really refined his ability to write shorter books.
Differently from other Shannara series, I liked all of the main characters. I relate to Penderrin and feel that he is similar to every other Ohmsford male character, which made him instantly loveable. The added airship flyer made him more of a fun Luke Skywalker character(which I love).
Khyber was interesting in that she was much less of a point of view character until the end of the book. I think Brooks will use her more in "Tanequil" and "Straken". Tagwen was par-for the course Dwarf and Ahren was par-for the course Elf.
The one part of the book I didn't like was the love story between Pen and Cinnaminson. I thought they were cute together and I look forward to seeing if Brooks takes them where I think he's taking them. My problem was that their story was rushed WAY too quickly in this book. They shouldn't have started to fall in love until the end of the book or the start of book 2.
(Minor Spoilers): The concept of Grianne being banished in the Forbidding and having Pen come rescue her reminded me a lot of the greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. In both stories, the female character is spirited down to hell and the male character must come after them, except it's an aunt-nephew relationship here as opposed to lovers in the greek myth.
Overall, great book. Awesome start to the trilogy. I think it's as good(and in some ways better) than Isle Witch(which was the start of Jerle Shannara trilogy) and is definitely better than Scions. Small problems, but seriously solid overall. 8.6 out of 10!
May 1, 2021
First off, I don't think this book was bad. I did enjoy it a lot better than the Voyage of the Jerle Shannara series, of which I only managed to make it half-way through book two before I gave up.
I really love the world of Shannara. It certainly gives me Star Wars X Lord of the Rings vibes, with the Druids being our Jedi (even more so when the order is up and running) and idea of our heroic family that's never ending (Shannara vs Skywalker, please!).
Anyway, the characters in this book are a little flat. I'm not really sure which one of the cast I liked best, and having read this book a few months ago I can't even recall any of their names for certain. There's also A LOT of characters and names thrown about within the first couple of chapters, so it took me a while to sort them all out in my head.
As for the plot, I honestly didn't find the whole idea too bad. I just wish there had been more suspense. I feel like a question arises, and it gets you thinking, but then a page later the answer is just handed you. So the mystery is only a mystery to certain characters, but the reader already knows. (I'm not sure if I'm getting this across right with my worlds ekkk.)
Probably the biggest issue with this book (aside from failing to connect with the characters, but I see that as a person thing on my side, so I'll won't hold that against the book too much), is how two of the characters fall in love. I saw it coming, but it still felt rushed and a little like 'whooah.'
Anyway, I would have liked to give this book at least 3 stars because the writing style has nothing wrong with it, the plot was fair for the most part, and the world building was enjoyable and neat. However, looking back there just wasn't anything that gave me the 'wow' feelings with this book.
I really love the world of Shannara. It certainly gives me Star Wars X Lord of the Rings vibes, with the Druids being our Jedi (even more so when the order is up and running) and idea of our heroic family that's never ending (Shannara vs Skywalker, please!).
Anyway, the characters in this book are a little flat. I'm not really sure which one of the cast I liked best, and having read this book a few months ago I can't even recall any of their names for certain. There's also A LOT of characters and names thrown about within the first couple of chapters, so it took me a while to sort them all out in my head.
As for the plot, I honestly didn't find the whole idea too bad. I just wish there had been more suspense. I feel like a question arises, and it gets you thinking, but then a page later the answer is just handed you. So the mystery is only a mystery to certain characters, but the reader already knows. (I'm not sure if I'm getting this across right with my worlds ekkk.)
Probably the biggest issue with this book (aside from failing to connect with the characters, but I see that as a person thing on my side, so I'll won't hold that against the book too much), is how two of the characters fall in love. I saw it coming, but it still felt rushed and a little like 'whooah.'
Anyway, I would have liked to give this book at least 3 stars because the writing style has nothing wrong with it, the plot was fair for the most part, and the world building was enjoyable and neat. However, looking back there just wasn't anything that gave me the 'wow' feelings with this book.
March 29, 2024
3.5 rounded up!
After reading the Word & Void pre-Shannara series, I'm so glad to be back in the Four Lands. This is the first book in a while where I felt really intrigued by the plot! I didn't think that was possible after reading so many books from this series.
Jarka Ruus takes place 20 years after Grianne Ohmsford stopped being the Ilse Witch. She is now the Ard Rhys after forming the Third Druid Council, fulfilling Walker Boh's final request. The fact that there are now several druids in Paranor again is crazy to think about. I remember first reading The Sword of Shannara trilogy and Allanon was the one and only druid left :')
However, while you'd think that having druids again is cause for celebration, not everyone is happy with the Ard Rhys. Not everyone is willing to forgive and forget that Grianne was once the Ilse Witch who caused havoc, death, and destruction with no remorse. As such, there are druids in Paranor who are out to get her - and get her they do.
Now, it's up to Grianne's nephew, Penderrin Ohmsford, Tagwen, and others to try and save her. As always, there's a very, very teenie-tiny romance subplot. And as always, Terry Brooks isn't the best at writing romance hahaha. The romance in these Shannara books is almost always out of left field, but it's not too bad. (I think the only time I cared about a couple is from Elfstones of Shannara!)
Anyway, overall it's been fun and exciting. I can't wait to read the second book.
After reading the Word & Void pre-Shannara series, I'm so glad to be back in the Four Lands. This is the first book in a while where I felt really intrigued by the plot! I didn't think that was possible after reading so many books from this series.
Jarka Ruus takes place 20 years after Grianne Ohmsford stopped being the Ilse Witch. She is now the Ard Rhys after forming the Third Druid Council, fulfilling Walker Boh's final request. The fact that there are now several druids in Paranor again is crazy to think about. I remember first reading The Sword of Shannara trilogy and Allanon was the one and only druid left :')
However, while you'd think that having druids again is cause for celebration, not everyone is happy with the Ard Rhys. Not everyone is willing to forgive and forget that Grianne was once the Ilse Witch who caused havoc, death, and destruction with no remorse. As such, there are druids in Paranor who are out to get her - and get her they do.
Now, it's up to Grianne's nephew, Penderrin Ohmsford, Tagwen, and others to try and save her. As always, there's a very, very teenie-tiny romance subplot. And as always, Terry Brooks isn't the best at writing romance hahaha. The romance in these Shannara books is almost always out of left field, but it's not too bad. (I think the only time I cared about a couple is from Elfstones of Shannara!)
Anyway, overall it's been fun and exciting. I can't wait to read the second book.
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