Ilse Witch
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Our view
Terry Brooks’s “Ilse Witch” opens “The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara” and takes his fantasy world into the air. Some readers find the story interesting and the voyage, with elves, a Druid and a seer aboard, easy to follow, yet feel that too much is explained rather than dramatised and the pace sluggish. It is one for readers already fond of the Shannara world who want a quest on a larger map.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Ilse Witch is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the first book in The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara fantasy trilogy. First published in 2000, it was the first novel in which Brooks described the use of futuristic technology, including airships as well as robots and lasers from the Old World. A conversation between the Druid Walker Boh and the Shade of Allanon that was edited from Ilse Witch was published as part of Unfettered, a collection of fantasy short stories.
Reading order · Shannara
Full order & progress →- The Sword of ShannaraStart here
7.17.1 / 10 - The Elfstones of Shannara
7.77.7 / 10 - The Wishsong of Shannara
7.77.7 / 10 - The Scions of Shannara
7.97.9 / 10 - The Druid of Shannara
7.97.9 / 10 - The Elf Queen of Shannara
7.87.8 / 10 - The Talismans of Shannara
7.87.8 / 10 - Running with the Demon
7.87.8 / 10 - A Knight of the Word
7.97.9 / 10 - Angel Fire East
7.97.9 / 10 - Ilse WitchThis book
7.87.8 / 10 - Antrax
7.97.9 / 10 - Morgawr
7.87.8 / 10 - Jarka Ruus
7.97.9 / 10 - Indomitable
–Not ranked yet - Tanequil
–Not ranked yet - Straken
–Not ranked yet - Armageddon's Children
7.97.9 / 10 - The Elves of Cintra
7.97.9 / 10 - The Gypsy Morph
7.97.9 / 10 - Bearers of the Black Staff
–Not ranked yet - The Measure of the Magic
–Not ranked yet - Wards of Faerie
–Not ranked yet - Bloodfire Quest
–Not ranked yet - Witch Wraith
–Not ranked yet
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.3 across 72 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 33% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Fantasy average of 8.0. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 7.3 | 72 | 100% |
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
The same shelf — Fantasy — and a score of 7.8, the closest to this book.
