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Whistle Stopper - Dark Wraith of Shannara
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List Price: $13.95
Our Price: $7.93
Your Save: $ 6.02 ( 43% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Del Rey
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9780345494627
ISBN: 0345494628
Label: Del Rey
Manufacturer: Del Rey
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 208
Publication Date: 2008-03-25
Publisher: Del Rey
Release Date: 2008-03-25
Studio: Del Rey
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting Take on this Fantasy Series
Comment: Terry Brook's new graphic novel, and his first, The Dark Wraith of Shannara has beautiful art work and an interesting story line that fits in right between Wishsong and Scion of Shannara. The only downside to Brook's new book is that it leaves something more to be desired, the story does seem to go very quick, but it's a bit understandable since he was only allowed 196 pages to work with. If you're an avid Brook's fan get this, it helps complete the series. But if you're starting off, I'd wait in till you've been into the series a little bit more.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A quick read.
Comment: I had just finished Wishsong and the short story Indominable, so perhaps the timing was perfect. I found myself wanting to know more about Jair, Brin, Kimber, Colgine, and Slanter. This graphic novel is a fun and quick read that focuses on Jair and his evolving magic. It cannot be compared to Terry Brooks' novels, but for the reader familiar with Shannara and the Ohmsford clan, this is an entertaining extension that touches on many aspects of the mythology. I especially liked the concept of rekindling Paranor's presence, even if it had to be stopped because of the evil behind it. In addition, we do learn a bit more about Colgine's druid past. I recommend The Dark Wraith for Shannara fans, but would have to disagree with book's back cover, which suggests this graphic novel is an "ideal opportunity" for the unfamiliar reader to delve into Brooks' fantasy world. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it as much had I not already read Wishsong and Indominable. As for those reviewers who were disappointed the book was not a text-based novel, all I can say is read before you buy. The graphic novel format was made very clear in all product information and I certainly knew what I was purchasing.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Nothing Great But Still Very Entertaining (3 1/2 Stars)
Comment: I'm not a big reader in the area of graphic novels but I have read a few of Brooks' Shannara series and found them to be very entertaining. So, while I was at an airport recently and not looking forward to the long flight ahead of me I decided to pick up this graphic novel to help ease the pain (I should add that I'm an avid reader but can never get comfortable enough on an airplane to have any kind of good reading experience) and I must say that this little book was just the ticket. For a couple of hours I was thoroughly entertained and enjoying my flight. Unfortunately I got through the book way too soon and still had a few more hours to kill (thank goodness for a lay over where I was able to stop and pick up Brooks' "Armageddons Children"!).
All in all I found the plot of "Dark Wraith" fairly simple but diverting and the art work was pretty good (the witch is a very creepy design) although I did find that some of the creatures that were illustrated in the story looked too much like supposedly different kinds of creatures that had appeared a few panels before so the end result was that they became a bit indistinguishable from one another. Another quibble I had was that the dialog between some of the characters (especially between the hero and his sister) was a tad bit cheesy.
So, the bottom line is: while this is not a groundbreaking story it is an enjoyable fantasy romp if your are a Shannara fan or just looking for a an hour or two to kill. I hope Brooks will do more original Shannara graphic novels and my only advice to him would be to make them longer and maybe go through the art and dialog with a finer toothed comb than was used here.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Different, but still good
Comment: If you are expecting this to be the same as one of Terry's other Shannara novels, you will probably be disappointed. This short graphic novel format is more geared towards a short story, almost like a long comic book. I think of them as something that I could read on the bus or subway on the way to work. I finished this one in less than an hour. It was a good story and I would be interested in seeing more.
Customer Rating:
Summary: I was nervous, but wrongly so - Great Venture!
Comment: I finished reading Dark Wraith a day or two ago. First let me say/acknowledge that I've been a Brooks fan for, wow, about 20 years now. I've read all of his books except two -- First King, which for some reason I just cannot get into -- and Elves of Cintra, which is on my reading list for the summer. Except for First King, I've thoroughly enjoyed them all (the movie adaptations are a little iffy, yes). Terry has a great way of creating worlds and characters that are very believable and accessible. Even though his genre is fantasy, his character's situations and dilemmas are universal which makes his books all that much stronger.
When Terry announced that there was going to be a Shannara graphic novel, I had mixed emotions. I read comics as a kid and have enjoyed some of the graphic novels out there. I'm not a graphic novel die hard by any means. I was worried that the graphic novelization of the Shannara world could taint it or corrupt it somehow. The world seems to be in a graphic novel loving frenzy these days and I'm sure that's part of the reason for the push at this time. I enjoyed the art from the Hildebrandts and I have the art compendium for Shannara. While it's fun to see artists' representations, it can sometimes hurt the imagination.
Still, I was excited to see a new story from the Shannara world. I was also excited to see the sense of movement and excitement visually presented.
As I dove into the pages of Dark Wraith, I was not disappointed. First, it contains a great welcome from Terry in the beginning as well as a great intro to the Shannara world to help make the story accessible to any new readers. It was a good overview since it's been many years since I read the first trilogy (something I plan to do again).
The story begins with Jair working to thwart the powers of darkness and finding a strange new power in the Wishsong (I'm going to try to leave out spoilers without being too vague). The power, like most of Brooks' magics, is powerful to the point of potential consumption and Jair promises his sister he won't use the Wishsong again because it is just too dangerous and she doesn't want to risk losing him to the magic.
The story continues in the same way many/most of the early Shannara books did, with Allanon appearing to give our hero a quest. Naturally, Jair accepts and the adventure begins. We meet up with characters familiar to us from other Shannara tales. It's cool to see how their personalities are slightly different in this time period due to more or less passage of time (depending on which book's version you're comparing them to). It's nice to see the characters progress and develop different traits through different adventures.
One part of the quest is fulfilled and the final portion remains. Jair pushes on to fulfill his quest and is presented with difficult morale choices of keeping his promise to his sistetr or succumbing to the call of the magic, hoping he's strong enough to withstand it's pull.
I would definitely recommend this book to lovers of the Shannara world and fans of fantasy and/or graphic novels. The story is engaging and the artwork is fabulous.
My main criticism is the seeming lack of length/depth. The story itself is only ~160 pages and it travels fairly quickly. I agree with the comments of the adaptor who said this could easily expand into something much larger. If a "picture is worth a thousand words", then we're probably still pretty close to a standard novel size, maybe still a bit shorter. So much of the struggle that goes on in Shannara books is internal to the characters, something that is difficult to bring into a graphic novel and still maintain the pacing created in this form. The adventure itself goes very quickly. The general pacing of the travel and the adventure is good, I just want more of it.
Again, I haven't read the original trilogy for a while, so I may be perhaps dwelling too much on the modern Brooks. I definitely recall that over the years, Terry's plotlines have become much more complex...intricate spiderwebs of motivations and subplots. I think I wanted to see more of that in this book. But that may have been a bit overwhelming for the graphic novel form and it may also be that this style is more true to the original Wishsong.
Overall:
****
4 out of 5 stars
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Editorial Reviews:
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THE FIRST-EVER GRAPHIC NOVEL SET IN THE WORLD OF SHANNARA!
Possessing an awesome power he is only beginning to understand, young Jair Ohmsford must summon the devastating yet darkly seductive magic of the wishsong on a fateful mission to save his friends . . . and protect the future from the forces of evil.
If you’ve never ventured into the wondrous world of Shannara, consider this an ideal opportunity. Prepare to enter the breathtaking realm of the Four Lands, where beings both noble and sinister have quested and clashed, crossed swords in the names of darkness and light, and engaged in adventures rich with mystery and majesty.
“Terry’s place is at the head of the fantasy world.”
–Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass
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