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Ilse Witch
Cover of Ilse Witch
Ilse Witch
Ilse Witch
For more than twenty years, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks has proven himself one of the modern masters of fantasy, winning the hearts and minds of devoted readers around the world with his classic Shannara epic.
When a half-drowned elf is found floating in the seas of the Blue Divide, an old mystery resurfaces. Thirty years ago, an elven prince led an expedition in search of a legendary magic said to be more powerful than any in the world. Of all those who set out on that ill-fated voyage, not one has ever returned. 
Until now.
The rescued elf carries a map covered with mysterious symbols–and Walker Boh, the last of the Druids, has the skill to decipher them. But someone else understands the map’s significance: the Ilse Witch, a ruthless young woman who wields a magic as potent as his own. She will stop at nothing to possess the map–and the magic it leads to.
Return to the world of beloved novelist Terry Brooks, where creatures drift up from the earth like mist, a hypnotic song can kill, a sword can cut through a veil of lies–and one man, the true heir of an ancient magic, must choose between betrayal and redemption.
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Terry Brooks's The Measure of the Magic.
For more than twenty years, New York Times bestselling author Terry Brooks has proven himself one of the modern masters of fantasy, winning the hearts and minds of devoted readers around the world with his classic Shannara epic.
When a half-drowned elf is found floating in the seas of the Blue Divide, an old mystery resurfaces. Thirty years ago, an elven prince led an expedition in search of a legendary magic said to be more powerful than any in the world. Of all those who set out on that ill-fated voyage, not one has ever returned. 
Until now.
The rescued elf carries a map covered with mysterious symbols–and Walker Boh, the last of the Druids, has the skill to decipher them. But someone else understands the map’s significance: the Ilse Witch, a ruthless young woman who wields a magic as potent as his own. She will stop at nothing to possess the map–and the magic it leads to.
Return to the world of beloved novelist Terry Brooks, where creatures drift up from the earth like mist, a hypnotic song can kill, a sword can cut through a veil of lies–and one man, the true heir of an ancient magic, must choose between betrayal and redemption.
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Terry Brooks's The Measure of the Magic.
Available formats-
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB eBook
Languages:-
Copies-
  • Available:
    0
  • Library copies:
    0
Levels-
  • ATOS:
    7.1
  • Lexile:
    950
  • Interest Level:
    UG
  • Text Difficulty:
    5 - 6


Excerpts-
  • Chapter One One

    Grianne Ohmsford was six years old on the last day of her childhood. She was small for her age and lacked unusual strength of body or extraordinary life experience and was not therefore particularly well prepared for growing up all at once. She had lived the whole of her life on the eastern fringes of the Rabb Plains, a sheltered child in a sheltered home, the eldest of two born to Araden and Biornlief Ohmsford, he a scribe and teacher, she a housewife. People came and went from their home as if it were an inn, students of her father, clients drawing on the benefit of his skills, travelers from all over the Four Lands. But she herself had never been anywhere and was only just beginning to understand how much of the world she knew nothing about when everything she did know was taken from her.

    While she was unremarkable in appearance and there was nothing about her on the surface of things that would suggest she could survive any sort of life-altering trauma, the truth of the matter was that she was strong and able in unexpected ways. Some of this showed in her startling blue eyes, which pinned you with their directness and pierced you through to your soul. Strangers who made the mistake of staring into them found themselves glancing quickly away. She did not speak to these men and women or seem to take anything away from her encounters, but she left them with a sense of having given something up anyway. Wandering her home and yard, long dark hair hanging loose, a waif seemingly at a loss for something to do or somewhere to go, or just sitting alone in a corner while the adults talked among themselves, she claimed her own space and kept it inviolate.

    She was tough-minded, as well, a stubborn and intractable child who once her mind was set on something refused to let it be changed. For a time her parents could do so by virtue of their re- lationship and the usual threats and enticements, but eventually they found themselves incapable of influencing her. She seemed to find her identity in making a stand on matters, by holding forth in challenge and accepting whatever came her way as a result. Frequently it was a stern lecture and banishment to her room, but often it was simply denial of something others thought would benefit her. Whatever the case, she did not seem to mind the consequences and was more apt to be bothered by capitulation to their wishes.

    But at the core of everything was her heritage, which manifested itself in ways that hadn’t been apparent for generations. She knew early on that she was not like her parents or their friends or anyone else she knew. She was a throwback to the most famous members of her family—to Brin and Jair and Par and Coll Ohmsford, to whom she could directly trace her ancestry. Her parents explained it to her early on, almost as soon as her talent revealed itself. She was born with the magic of the wishsong, a latent power that surfaced in the Ohmsford family bloodline only once in every four or five generations. Wish for it, sing for it, and it would come to pass. Anything was possible. The wishsong hadn’t been present in an Ohmsford in her parents’ lifetimes, and so neither of them had any firsthand experience with how it worked. But they knew the stories, had been told them repeatedly by their own parents, the tales of the magic carried down from the time of the great Queen Wren, another of their ancestors. So they knew enough to recognize what it meant when their child could bend the stalks of flowers and turn aside an angry dog simply by singing.

    Her use of the wishsong was rudimentary and undisciplined at first, and she did not understand that it was special. In her...
About the Author-
  • Terry Brooks has thrilled readers for decades with his powers of imagination and storytelling. He is the author of more than thirty books, most of which have been New York Times bestsellers. He lives with his wife, Judine, in the Pacific Northwest.
Reviews-
  • Publisher's Weekly

    September 4, 2000
    Echoing with the themes, traditions and enchantments of Brooks's earlier Shannara novels, this lively new adventure, set a generation later, combines the familiar quest format used in The Sword of Shannara with an array of well-defined characters and malevolent beings. Rather than searching for a powerful sword, however, the Druid Walker and the Elven King Allardon Elessedil unite forces to retrieve an ambiguous prize, "a magic of spells invoked by words," that may fortify the Elven government and its people or destroy those who seek it. Guided by the knowledge of the dangers he will face beyond the Blue Divide, Walker spends a lengthy amount of time recruiting his crew members. For heroics, Walker enlists the aid of two Highland boys: Quentin, who has the power of the Leah family sword at his behest, and his foster brother Bek, an orphan of mysterious origins and unknown talents. Providing magical mobility are the Wing Riders, who fly the frequently unfriendly skies on giant Rocs. A female seer and empath, a shapeshifter with a dubious past, a dwarf, a number of Elven soldiers and several colorful, Gypsy-like Rovers who captain, navigate and repair the airship Jerle Shannara round out Walker's questing crew. Throughout, the inimical Ilse Witch, a powerful young sorceress and Walker's bitter rival, shadows the expedition as it overcomes several near fatal encounters. Although this first volume in Brooks's proposed trilogy sputters to a slow start, bogged down by necessary background information and character development, Brooks nevertheless manages to intensify and tighten the story's momentum as the Jerle Shannara reaches its final destination. Fans familiar with the Shannara series, and new readers as well, will enjoy this first Shannara tale in four years. Major ad/promo; 12-city author tour; simultaneous Random House Audio.

  • Library Journal

    August 9, 2000
    When evidence of an ancient magic surfaces in the Elven lands, a race begins between Walker Boh, the last Druid, and his implacable enemy, the young woman known as the Ilse Witch. Brooks sets his newest installment in the best-selling Shannara series a generation after the events of Talisman of Shannara (1993) and introduces a new and intriguing cast of characters along with a few familiar faces. The Shannara mythology gains a new level of history and depth in a tale that should appeal to the series' legions of fans. Libraries may consider purchasing multiple copies to meet demand. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 5/1/00.]

    Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

  • Rocky Mountain News "IF HARRY [POTTER] HAS GIVEN YOU A THIRST FOR FANTASY AND YOU HAVE NOT DISCOVERED THE MAGIC OF TERRY BROOKS, YOU ARE IN FOR A TREAT."
  • The Dallas Morning News "THIS LATEST VOLUME FINDS MR. BROOKS' POWER ASCENDING . . . THE ACTION AND CREATURES COME FAST AND FURIOUS."
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Terry Brooks
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