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Jarka Ruus (High Druid of Shannara #1)
by
Terry Brooks (Goodreads Author)
More than a quarter of a century after The Sword of Shannara carved out its place in the pantheon of great epic fantasy, the magic of Terry Brooks’s New York Times bestselling saga burns as brightly as ever. Three complete series have chronicled the ever-unfolding history of Shannara. But more stories are still to be told—and new adventures have yet to be undertaken. Book...more
Hardcover, 416 pages
Published
August 12th 2003
by Del Rey
(first published January 1st 2003)
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Apr 19, 2013
Dirk Grobbelaar
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
books-i-own,
fantasy
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 th...more
SUMMARY:
With Jarka Ruus Terry Brooks embarks on yet another journey with the legendary Ohmsford family. Beginning 20 years after the conclusion of the The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, the High Druid of Paranor Grianne Ohmsford finds herself struggling to unite the druids amid political morass risen from her prior history as the dreaded Ilse Witch. Her enemies' schemes come to fruition quickly and she is banished behind the wall of the Forbidding, the anti-demon security feature that collapsed s...more
With Jarka Ruus Terry Brooks embarks on yet another journey with the legendary Ohmsford family. Beginning 20 years after the conclusion of the The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara, the High Druid of Paranor Grianne Ohmsford finds herself struggling to unite the druids amid political morass risen from her prior history as the dreaded Ilse Witch. Her enemies' schemes come to fruition quickly and she is banished behind the wall of the Forbidding, the anti-demon security feature that collapsed s...more
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...more
The story of Grianne, the High Druid of Paranor and the politically motivate treachery that...more
I'm not quite sure where this book fits in with the rest of the Shannara series. Several of the characters from the previous trilogy play pivotal roles, the Forbidding is revisited, an incredibly dangerous and near-impossible quest is undertaken, and druids are back. But... I'm a little miffed that the druid council has apparently been going strong almost immediately after Grianne took over Walker's goal to reform the council, (and after she received support from the elves). There just wasn't en...more
Brooks is a great fantasy storyteller. Notice I said storyteller, not writer. Some things about his style drive me nuts - like his incurable compulsion to explain EVERYTHING over and over and over, from every possible angle until you just want to scream, "Get on with it!" His writing style *tells* too much, and doesn't *show* enough. So why did I give this four stars? Because I couldn't give it three and a half. He's got a vivid imagination and a great knack for a compelling yarn. Still, I don't...more
This is the first of a trilogy. It's a tale of deception, adventure, loyalty, love, and triumph -- to an extent.
From the story's beginning, Brooks captures the dark and deceptive nature of Paranor. There is dissent among the "delegates" and a deceptive removal of Grianne Ohmsford from her post.
Once Grianne suffers a magical disappearance, those closest and loyal to her begin an exhaustive journey to rescue her. This journeys begin the maturation of her nephew, innocent and young, Pen Ohmsford.
B...more
From the story's beginning, Brooks captures the dark and deceptive nature of Paranor. There is dissent among the "delegates" and a deceptive removal of Grianne Ohmsford from her post.
Once Grianne suffers a magical disappearance, those closest and loyal to her begin an exhaustive journey to rescue her. This journeys begin the maturation of her nephew, innocent and young, Pen Ohmsford.
B...more
I always enjoy Mr. Brooks' books from the Shannara world. The legendary Ohmsford family always seems to get caught up in important, world impacting events. Jarka Ruus had one thing missing though, no member of the Leah family has showed up and I really miss that. The Leah's are always my favorite characters. One thing that I don't like about the Shannara world is that the magic system is vague and undefined, there are no rules governing what can and can't be done or how the magic works, or if th...more
Jarka Ruus is the first book in the High Druid of Shannara Trilogy. It was an interesting book, but not as good as some of the other books that I have read are. I reccomend to anyone who is interested in reading these books to read Jarka Ruus first and not skip to the second or third book in this trilogy, because the reader will not understand what is goig on in the books if you skip Jarka Ruus. I know this from experience because I read High Druid of Shannara book 3: Straken first and I had no...more
I have yet to find a book by Brooks that I don't enjoy. But... I feel like the plot reminds me too much of the previous installments of the Shannara world. I think a few change in character types would add a little more "spice" to the story. I think Brooks didn't quite show the character personalities with his writing. I felt disconnected from the whole book, like I was watching it on a small TV screen rather than walking around with the characters like I have felt in his other books. I am hopin...more
Jared and I listened to half of this audio book during our Thanksgiving travels. It was entertaining enough but when we got back in the car to go home I realized that I didn't really care if we finished it or not. So we didn't. I might like it a little better if I were to read it, at least I would most likely finish it.
I think I am a reader and lover of fantasy on the outskirts. I find a lot of fantasy series and their prolific authors overwhelming. I'm just not a hard core fan or reader. (Such...more
I think I am a reader and lover of fantasy on the outskirts. I find a lot of fantasy series and their prolific authors overwhelming. I'm just not a hard core fan or reader. (Such...more
While there are a number of enjoyable aspects to the book (primarily the story itself), I do find that the novel telegraphs a lot of the plot in advance. This is done not only by overtly pointing out imminent events, but also the characters are a bit overly structured. A number of them have a well-defined tragic flaw which is pointed out repeatedly. This does remove the surprise when events unfold as expected.
This is my first time reading Brooks and the writing itself is not as interesting as I...more
This is my first time reading Brooks and the writing itself is not as interesting as I...more
Am I reading Antrax again? This is a redundant set of characters, settings, and magic/technology. I'm waiting for new ideas and new plot in this series, but so far it is a typical Shannara setup. One person has the wishsong, another the elfstones. There is the King of the Silver River, a ruffian, a young love story, flying ships, a crash, then walking around through forest and landscape that seems alive. Check, check, check. Just like before.
But true to Terry Brooks (a part I like), there are se...more
But true to Terry Brooks (a part I like), there are se...more
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 ne...more
I always enjoy a good Shannara trilogy and this book was a good start to another amazing adventure. Penderrin Ohmsford finds himself unprepared to take on the biggest challenge of his life - rescuing his aunt. She is the High Druid of Shannara and some of her collegues have conspired against her. It's fun to revisit old acquaintances from past series and meet new friends along the way. The only thing I didn't like about this book was sometimes the author would tell me what I should think about e...more
I’ve been wanting to get back to the Shannara world after completing The Voyage of Jerle Shannara series a few years ago, but to be honest, I was disappointed in that trilogy and always found an excuse not to start Jarka Ruus. Which, as it turns out, was a huge mistake.
Brooks hasn’t given his Druids a large voice before – preferring to keep their thoughts and motives a secret. In previous books saw more of Walker than Alannon, who Brooks kept aloof from the reader. We peeked into Walker’s life –...more
Brooks hasn’t given his Druids a large voice before – preferring to keep their thoughts and motives a secret. In previous books saw more of Walker than Alannon, who Brooks kept aloof from the reader. We peeked into Walker’s life –...more
I can't believe that there is enough material left in this series to go for another three books, but Terry Brooks is going to try. The series leaves off about 20 years after the last series. Grianne Ohmsford - once the Ilse Witch - has reformed her life and reformed the Druid Council in the hopes of bringing together the Four Lands. But treachery from within and a secret magic banish her to the Forbidding - the land of Faerie created millennia ago to house the darkest and most evil of Faerie cre...more
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 happe...more
The book gives a refresher of the characters used in "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" and a reminder of what happe...more
Very interesting series. Terry Brooks seems to be getting more and more cryptic and crude as he gets older. There are some very disgusting parts of this series (immodesty, descriptive gore, etc...).
And the whole meshing of sci-fi, with the Shannara world seemed to weird...
(ps... I may be thinking of "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" series. But if I remember correctly they were both kind of "darker" than his earlier books.
And the whole meshing of sci-fi, with the Shannara world seemed to weird...
(ps... I may be thinking of "The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" series. But if I remember correctly they were both kind of "darker" than his earlier books.
Having not read any of the other Shannara books, I picked this up not knowing what I was getting myself into.
I enjoyed the fantasy theme of the book, but I felt at times like we were getting bogged down in details that weren't necessary. Also, since it is part of a larger line of books that I hadn't read, the back stories weren't completely relevant to me. I got that if I wanted to read more about this family I could check out the other series...
Despite how hard it was for me to get through the...more
I enjoyed the fantasy theme of the book, but I felt at times like we were getting bogged down in details that weren't necessary. Also, since it is part of a larger line of books that I hadn't read, the back stories weren't completely relevant to me. I got that if I wanted to read more about this family I could check out the other series...
Despite how hard it was for me to get through the...more
Oct 17, 2007
Kevin
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone who likes good stories
Shelves:
religion
I've been a fan of Terry Brooks for a long time. Most people would probably be familiar with his work when he wrote the Novel "Hook" which was a sequel of Peter Pan. The underlying concepts of this book are great. The idea that a mystical land was once a rigid materialistic society, like our own in their ancient history, is an intriguing concept. If I had time to read books of this nature, I certainly would get back into it. If you like Myth, then you will like this book.
Many may question why I...more
Many may question why I...more
Reading a Shannara series is like coming home. I’ve been overdosing on mysteries lately and forgotten how fun it was to read about places with magic and fantastical creatures. There are even flying ships! Terry Brooks always includes great maps with his books, and I spent some time poring over them, reliving adventures past and reacquainting myself with the Four Lands. I highly recommend any Shannara book.
It's hard for me to give this one more than a moderate rating, since I've rated the prequel books in this series so highly. Additionally I think I skipped the last book in the ilse witch series. In any case, this is an acceptable coming of age adventure. Nothing really stands out so far, beyond the wonderful look into The Forbidding.
If you read the rest, you should probably read this one too.
If you read the rest, you should probably read this one too.
This is the beginning of a great series the book start off with the disappearance of the High Druid. The tale is the story of younge Penderrin Ohmsford as he begins a search for the High Druid. The tale takes him all over the known and unknown portions of the world of Shannara. As the tory progresses Pen makes some fascinating friends and some powerful enemies that dog him at every turn. This story has everything from Love to Betrayal, from war to revenge, and everything in between.
You can learn...more
You can learn...more
There's alot of history I don't feel apart of. I'm used to starting these types of books from the beginning. Still Interesting, but I feel a little detached. Everything is pretty dark. There is very little humor in it and I guess I just miss the light-heartedness of other authors. I like it and will almost definitely read the next book.
Not exceptional. A couple hundred pages in, I felt like nothing had happened. It got a little better as it went, but teenage characters can be rough. I loved Shannara and Brooks when I was younger, and I love the idea of tying together Shannara with the Word and the Void, so I'm determined to get through these. Still, not as enjoyable as I may have liked.
I've always enjoyed visiting Shannara, and this is no exception. This trilogy, The High Druid of Shannara, could be read without reading any of the preceding Shannara books, but Brooks has nicely tied the entire Shannara series together and it's like visiting with old friends while meeting new ones.
I found this book to move around the plot rather strangely, but it seems like its setting itself up for the succeeding two books. The book also discusses airships a lot, something i'm not really interested in so got tired of the airship chases quickly. I also realized that Terry Brook's books are all connected. This being the first book I read by him, a lot of the characters stories developed in older books he wrote, so to understand their story I need to back track. The book on its own I only g...more
After reading the first few chapters, I got hooked. And after stopping, I realized that I was halfway through. Terry Brooks is able to continue the legacy of the Shannara bloodline, while adding new challenges, new adventures, and wonderful settings. hands down, a classic.
I picked this up wanting to read something by Terry Brooks. I think I should have started at the very beginning of his Shannara books. I felt a little bit lost most of the way through the book. It was as if there were other deeper layers of character development, plot, and setting that I did not quite grasp the full extent of, having started somewhat in the middle.
The first book I've ever read by this author, and while I enjoyed the story itself, the characters seemed a little flat to me. I felt like I was being told about character traits or events more than shown, though perhaps this wouldn't have been so jarring if I've read the previous books where they first appeared.
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Terry 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...more
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Sep 16, 2011 07:43pm