After reading the last Shannara series I was a little hesitant to begin a new one. The last series (Jerle Shannara) left me slightly disappointed.After reading a preview chapter from Jarka Ruus I became very interested. I received this book as a gift and immediately sat down to read it over the course of a few hours. I was very impressed. The writing, characters, and plot lines are much more reminiscent of the earlier Shannara novels. Very good pacing and detail made this a much more enjoyable read.I highly recommend this book to all Brooks fans and to all fans of Fantasy.