Dark Wraith of Shannara

When Terry Brooks was approached about the idea of writing a graphic novel taking place in the *Shannara* universe of his, he decided to base it shortly after the end of *The Wishsong of Shannara*, and use some of the characters in that book, particularly Jair Ohmsford and the Gnome tracker, Slanter. So was born the graphic novel called *Dark Wraith of Shannara*, and the first (and so far, only)comic adventure of the Shannara characters.As the story begins, Jair Ohmsford is remembering his experiences at the end of the previous adventure (told in the short story *Indomitable*) about how he was able to use the power of the wishsong (latent Elven magic from a mutation of his father's DNA) to not just cast images into the minds of others, as he'd always done before, but to *become* an image. To shape-shift and change himself – mind, soul, spirit, memory – into a different person. In that case, it was the famed weapons-master, Gareth Jax, who had previously (as recounted in *Wishsong*) perished helping Jair to complete his quest of keeping his sister Brin from turning to evil. He thus enabled her to destroy the malevolent power of the Ildatch, that sentient book of evil knowledge that had subverted powerful magic-users since the creation of the world.Jair remembers also how dangerous it was to become Gareth Jax, how he almost didn't turn back into himself, and ponders this. After Jair visits with his sister, and princess by marriage of the small kingdom of Leah, Brin, her husband Rone Leah, and their new-born baby, he departs. At this point, the Shade of Allanon (a ghost visiting from the land of the dead) appears to him in a dream, telling him that the old man Cogline, whom they met during the events of *Wishsong*, was a former Druid, and has been kidnapped with the intention of forcing him to restore lost Paranor, the Druid Keep. Jair must prevent the knowledge of the Druids from passing to the hands of the Croton Witch and her Mwellret (lizard-Troll) minions. Of course, he first stops to enlist the aid of Slanter - his gnome friend and ally from these previous adventures - to help him track Cogline and Kimber Boh.The story was quite good. It was a bit more fast-paced than the novels, but that is to be expected given the different genre of a comic as compared to a traditional book. It also was nice to see the previous adventures and the characterizations of *Wishsong* referenced and expanded upon. The characters were depicted as older and changed. Since this was a few years later, Jair, Slanter, Brin, Rone, et al., being different made obvious sense. That type of dynamic narrative was appreciated.The art was very beautifully rendered, but rendered in a curious way. It wasn't color, and it wasn't traditional black and white. Instead, it was black and white color but with the same broad, almost “pastel” type of sweeping brush stroke feel of the best modern comics. It evoked a nice “old movie/old tale” type of sense to it. The notes on the “Making of the comic” section at the end of the book have the art team essentially admitting this was what they wanted.The romance between Jair and Kimber holds some promise, but also seems to mess up the facts of the later stories. Until one remembers that in 300 years, a lot can change, so it remains to be seen *if* they got together, and how Brin and Jair's bloodlines crossed, etc. It's a small revelation (via the scenes of Brin, Rone, and their son) that Walker Boh and Morgan Leah of *The Heritage of Shannara* quartet of novels are distantly related. The implied romance in *Wishsong* between Rone and Brin was confirmed here.There were some continuity ruffles that can be straightened out, but this was mostly a very good job on the first ever (which sadly seems to be the last so far) *Shannara* graphic novel.Rating: 5/5 Stars.

I have been slowly getting into the Shannara series after watching the MTV show. I have liked the books so far, and I really did like this one too. I am not a comic book or manga fan, so I bought this simply because it was the next book in the original series. I was pleased that I could sit down and read it in a few hours. It feels like an anime episode. I like the story -- the plot and action are good. The artwork is a little chaotic for me, but I do think it adds to the feel of the story. I was pleased overall with this book. I look forward to reading the next 35 or so books (LOL).

Dark Wraith of Shannara is a sequel to The Wishsong of Shannara. It falls between the novella Indomitable which appears in the anthology Legends II and The Scions of Shannara which kicks off the next set of Shannara novels. It is a graphic novel, and the first novel set in the Shannara universe – maybe the only one, at least the only one I know about so far.I read the Kindle version of this book. Possibly it would have been better as a physical book. Unfortunately, even on the large screen of a computer, the writing is tiny, so it is difficult to read. That is really my only complaint about it, though. The pictures are good, and it gives a good idea of what Kimber Boh looks like.The book repeats the highlights of the Indomitable story, where Jair Ohmsford was required to destroy the last escaped page of the Ildatch – the sentient book of dark magic that had been causing all the trouble in the Shannara world for many years. Using the power of the Wishsong he managed to become his dead friend, the weapons master, Garet Jax for a few minutes to complete the page’s destruction.On his way home, he visits his sister, Brin, who had been the one to destroy the rest of the book earlier. She warns him about using the Wishsong, telling him to not lose himself using it.But shortly after he receives a visit from the shade of Allanon, the late Druid, who has guided all the members of the Ohmsford family in their quest to keep the world safe over the years. Allanon warns him that the magician Cogline and his granddaughter, Kimber Boh have been kidnapped by the latest evil beings to invade the world, the Mwellrats, who plan to use Cogline to bring back the Druid stronghold Paranor from the place outside the world where Allanon sent it after the Ildatch was destroyed. It is in this book that Cogline is first revealed to be a lapsed Druid.Jair hunts up his other old friend, the gnome, Slanter and together they find and rescue Kimber who is suffering from a broken leg. They take her home but have to come back through the mountains to find out what has happened to Cogline and stop whatever the Mwellrats are up to.

Just as the description, bought as a gift really pleased

allways a great read

Es war mir nicht klar, dass dieses Buch ein Comic ist. Deshalb war das leider ein Fehlkauf. Ich habe es jemanden geschenkt, der sich wür so etwas interessiert.

Bought as a gift for someone who is a terrry Brooks fan. They enjoy these books.

great reading material