In January, The Weapons Master’s Choice will be published as an e-short story!
What is The Weapons Master’s Choice? It is a 10,000 word short story that features Garet Jax, one of the most beloved characters in Terry’s novels. The story is set long before the events in The Wishsong of Shannara, when Garet Jax is traveling the Four Lands still seeking a worthy opponent. When he is hired to do a job, he quickly discovers it is more than he bargained for and finds himself enmeshed in a battle not only for his own life but those of the many.
The story is great. I’ve read it several times. Garet Jax is back and I know you guys are going to love it.
Since The Weapon Master’s Choice will publish soon in January 2013 and Allanon already received his short story treatment with Allanon’s Quest a few months ago, I thought it would be fun to pit these two fan-favorite characters against one another in our Friday Poll.
So, who would win if the Druid and the Weapons Master squared off in a duel to the death?
No cop outs.
No “They would tie.” No, “I can’t choose.”
Discuss!
64 responses to “Poll: Who Wins A Battle Between Allanon and Garet Jax?”
it will ALWAYS be Allanon – even as a shade he would still win!
I went with Garet on this one. Sure, Allanon is a great fighter – with his powers/magic. We’ve never REALLY seen how good he is as a pure weapons fighter, whereas we have seen that with Garet. And given that Garet has trained with weapons for hand-to-hand combat for much of his life (and Allanon hasn’t), I suspect that Garet would not tire as fast as Allanon would (we know that each time a Druid uses his magic, it takes something out of him).
On the other hand, if Allanon was trying to KILL Garet outright, Allanon would have a better chance (depending on Garet’s dexterity and agility (his ability to avoid blasts of Druid Fire). But I can’t see Allanon doing that unless he had absolutely no choice.
I would find it very hard for Garet to take Allanon.. mostly by use of magic and thats not the direct conflict that would beat him.. Allanon would recognize the man as a serious threat regardless and act accordingly to insure he took extra precaution to be vigilant around him. Only way I see Garet Jax beating Allanon is by surprise and well I just don’t feel that would be a fault I’d contribute to Allanon.
Gotta say, hands down. The most frightening man in the story, the strongest man throughout time. . . . can he even be killed, i still thin his comeback is in the making. Allanon is and will always be the victor.
As much as I love and admire both characters, I think Allanon would win. It would be a truly epic battle that’s for sure.
I have to go with Garet Jax, Not just because he’s my favorite character, but I honestly think in a fight, he would have the upper hand. Allanon relies on his magic to keep him alive. Garet is a wanderer and knows how to survive and stay hidden. His weapons, I feel, would be the bigger advantage in this fight than Allanon’s druid magic.
your post makes sense but when i thought about it it is more likely that allanon would win just because of how his character was constructed and all that he accomplished. driud magic would be much more effective then anything that Garet Jax could bring to the fight. because with the fire you are able to shield yourself against attacks both physical and magical
This was a TOUGH one but I had to give it to Allanon. Only by a hair….
I love both Allanon and Garet Jax…honestly I think it would be pretty equally matched, until the end when Allanon would ultimately win. Man what a tough choice! But that’s the magic of Terry Brooks!!
Allanon.
“Allanon’s Quest” is a good example of how Allanon may be vulnerable in this kind of a fight. Garet Jax has far more skill than a group of thieves and would probably know how to use the element of surprise to a better advantage. However, we don’t know what kind of experience Garet had against magic. I like his chances, Allanon would probably be forced to retreat.
Allanon most surely, so I vote for him, though I have to say that, should the “battle” start at really close range, or with an ambush, Garet Jax might have the winning hand.
If they start already as opponents, there’s no way Garet will get close enough to land a single blow.
even if Garet did have the ellement of surprise I think Allanon has the skills to be able to defeat Garet. I come to this conclusion mainly because Allanon has the Driud Magic which can shield him from blows.
… the Jachyra? Well picking between the two I’m sorry to say I have to jump on the Allanon bus. I feel that even if he dies, Allanon can ensure he takes Garet with him; conversely I don’t see the same being said for Garet.
I still voted Allanon, but I think that there is not enough information given. What kind of battle are we talking about. A duel till the death? A you must find and kill each other battle? And are we saying with just conventional weapons and druid magic or does Allanon have a chance to raid Paranor for anything magical they might have stored their like the Stiehl? I ultimately voted for Allanon because I think in most of the scenario’s he would win. Hell if anything he could outlive Garret.
I think what they mean here is just an all out fight with Allanon having his usually armament and Garet having his. this is the only fair way to view this otherwise either of the characters would have an unfair advantage that doesnt have anything to do with their actual skills
I can see why people would think Allanon would win. He’s smart and extremely powerful. While the circumstances of the fight would make a huge difference, Garet is a tactical and strategic genius, even beyond Allanon, and aside from his amazing combat skills. I have to imagine he would find a way to neutralize Allanon’s magical advantages. Any cover would provide a means of both avoiding Allanon’s flames and the potential to confuse Allanon. Unless they were to battle on an open field, I just have to imagine Garet would think of a way to stay alive and take Allanon down eventually.
even in a close combat/forest or shrubbery style fight i think Allanon would still win because even though Garet is a highly skilled hand-to-hand fighter Allanon wouldnt just be standing around waiting for Garet to hit him. Allanon has gone through many more dangerous and physicaly demanding expierences and has more expierence in any kind of combat then Garet.
I admit it was a long time since I read The Wishsong of Shannara, but I fail to see how people could think that Garet could win.
Don’t get me wrong, he was one of my fav characters and an amazing fighter, but Allanons magic would just be too much for him.
Allanon can use his druid magic to
A) Sense out where Garet is
B) As defence. We know that he can summon the druid fire to be used as a shield.
C) Like I said, it’s been a while since I read the books, but I don’t remember Garet Jax having any protection for magical attack.
If Allanon was not allowed to use his magic to attack but only to enhance and defend, then it might be a different outcome.
I have not read this particular series for many years, but seeing as how Garet Jax already knows he is going to die in a battle with a Chimaera (I think thats what it was called), obviously he is going to win. Besides, I like him more that Allannon.
Cheers all
Ooops,…My bad, it was a Jachyra that he fought before he died.
It saddens me to say, but Allanon would win. The element of experience coupled with size, more than likely strength, and magic to aid him gives him a slight edge over Jax who has superior agility and up close fighting skill. Still doesn’t change the fact I like Garet Jax more. Also, I would have to give the edge to Garet Jax if he were able to get the jump on Allanon, but I’m assuming they meet in an open field a hundred paces apart.
Dan don’t forget that Allanon has all the other Druids before him within him, therefore he in his own life wouldn’t have to train to be a great hand to hand fighter. However thy are both sweet!
Or was that just walker boa that has all of them I think it was both though had to keep all the books strait lol.
We still do not know of Garet Jax’s origins.… perhaps he was trained by a rebel warrior druid? perhaps it’s the cloak that is a talisman that enhances ones natural abilities?
That’s a bit spontaneous, don’t you think?
Why yes i guess you could say its a bit spontaneous. We really don’t know much about Druid training, especially not the warrior Druids such as Risca. When reading of Risca in battle, i couldn’t help but feel the connection in fighting style, movement….
Allanon really only uses fire. If Garet gets blasted, it would not stop him as he would keep fighting even if on fire. He would just roll on the ground after the killing blow to put out the flames. However, I am not sure if Allanon, or any other Druids for that matter, was ever capable of generating a blast of Druid fire strong enough to completely vaporize a human being right away.
Also, do not forget Garet’s speed. He is very very fast, even described as “quicksilver” in Wishsong. Allanon would have a pretty hard time actually hitting Garet unless he can shoot separate streams of flame from all ten of his fingers in different directions at once. Plus Allanon is a very big guy, and Druid robes hinder his movement and speed even more.
So yeah, close call. Could go either way, but I just think Garet has more raw fighting skill to best Allann here. We need more factors, like terrain, weather, and specific character stats.
“A handful of Furies gave chase, maddened beyond reason, hurtling through the flames. But Allanon saw them. One dark hand raised, clenching. Druid fire lanced into the cat things and they disappeared in a brilliant explosion, a pillar of fire rising skyward to mark their end.” -the Elfstones of Shannara
And that’s only one example. Allanon is completely capable of incinerating human beings– and things much tougher than human beings, such as Demons– in a single blast. He is also capable of producing enormous waves of fire which are essentially inescapable by anything that can’t fly or teleport, or otherwise wield magic. If he knows that he is in a fight to the death with Garet Jax, or *any* normal (in the sense of lacking magic) human, Allanon should easily be capable of summoning up one big, overwhelming flash of Druid fire and killing him instantly.
I was trying to think of a way to say the same thing… then saw your comment. Make that a ditto. I agree completely.
I’m surprised at the fans than would choose garet and for the
Reasons they chose him. Allanon in his mysterious
Ways and knowledge would foresee the battle and know
What do so to win before the fight ever came to be.
Allanon without a doubt. You don’t become as well known throughout history as he is an not be able to take on someone like Garet Jax. I like Garet Jax and all, but he doesn’t have the presence that Allanon does. Just because you never see Allanon in hand to hand combat does not mean he is incapable of it. Furthermore, magic coupled with training in hand to hand combat would give Allanon the advantage in a conflict with Garet Jax.
there is no doubt in my mind Allanon could kill Garet outright but if it came to a fight although it breaks my heart id have to put my money on Jax….
Consider this excerpt from The Elfstones of Shannara:
“Allanon stood alone at the head of the pass. In a rush, the demons came for him, scrambling up the gorge, a wave of black bodies… Again, his hands lifted and the blue fire burst forth. All across the canyon entrance it burned, rising up like a wall before the enraged demons, barring their passage.”
Here is another:
“A handful of Furies gave chase, maddened beyond reason, hurtling through the flames. But Allanon saw them. One dark hand raised, clenching. Druid fire lanced into the cat things and they disappeared in a brilliant explosion, a pillar of fire rising skyward to mark their end.”
Allanon is capable of summoning up waves of Druid Fire covering substantial geographical areas, making it explode up out of the ground, etc. If you put him up against Garet Jax– who, for all his skill, is only a human with a human’s physical vulnerability to such things– in a situation where they are actually fighting *to kill,* I certainly expect Allanon could produce a single, massive wave of Druid Fire which Garet Jax would have no chance to escape and burn him to a crisp in a matter of seconds.
Looks like it’s a landslide, as I knew it would be.
Even though Allanon has fought many things and prevailed he was beaten by a Jachyra from Jarka Ruus. Although Garet Jax also died because of a Jachyra, Jair believes that Garet Jax killed the beast. I also think that Garet Jax’s skills would overcome Allanon’s druid powers. I am definetly looking forward to ‘The Weapon Master’s Choice.’
Allanon killed the Jachyra he fought, but died of its poison afterwards. Garet Jax also died as a result of his fight with a Jachyra, but it was never revealed whether he killed his Jachyra or not; the comparison you’ve brought up thus does not seem favorable to the latter.
Moreover, it seems unlikely to me that Garet Jax could have killed a Jachyra; though we didn’t see much of the fight between Jax and his Jachyra, the Jachyra Allanon fought quickly healed from seemingly mortal wounds, and came back stronger each time. Allanon only finally killed it by jamming his hands down its throat and releasing an enormous explosion of Druid fire that incinerated it completely. I don’t see how Garet Jax would have had any means of destroying the thing completely the way Allanon did, and so I doubt that he could have done anything to it that it wouldn’t recover from.
Its got to be Allanon for me, his great strength, speed, physical & magical power would in my view give him the edge. But you know what! I don’t think that either would have really fought the other. Both had insight & would have recognised the good in each other & would have walked away respecting each other. Maybe a respectful draw?
Listening to everyone, makes me want to read the books again. And yes Alannon hands down, and if he made a cone back that would be fantastic.
I was thinking though, we all have our off days. Consider this scenario: Allanon could have been walking leisurely at night enjoying the serenity. This is something that he might do in his spare time to keep fit maybe. Stepping off the road and into the bushes-for whatever reason- straight into spider’s web and, as a knee-jerk re-action, thrown himself back thus, hitting his head and causing temporary concussion; combine that, with a cold he’s been trying to recover from over the last couple of weeks; distracted by an early argument he had with a fellow druid over the facts of life-yeah Garet may have a chance but, highly unlikely.
Go Allanon.
Allanon! I think a better question would be Garet Jax vs Pe’ Ell .
My opinion is that neither would win, Garet Jax would circle and evade the Druid fire until he found an opening, then Jax would leap in and catch Allanon on the temple with the pommel of his sword thus bringing the Druid back to himself and thereby stopping the confrontation between them. Why would they be trying to kill each other!!!
COP OUT you have to pick a winner
For the sheer notion that magic defeats hand-to-hand combat, I would give it to Allanon. However, we never actually see Allanon defeat a villain singlehandedly. He finds the Ohmsfords he needs to defeat the villains, but they are the ones who do the job, not him. So a Garet Jax-Allanon contest would be fairly even, but magic would win in the end–Allanon’s and someone else’s, unexpectedly.
Is that truly how you picture allanon ? Running around grabbing up other people to do his work for him. If that’s the case I think you need to read The books from the beginning again and dig deeper into what Allanons role truly is. After hearing a speech from Terry I’m going to have to go back through and read them again myself. It’s a good thing I own all his books except for the last few. I am so excited this will be my 3rd time to do this. Then I will complete my collection with the ones I don’t currently have. Then I’ll have to start getting my grandson to read them.
Oh and thank you Terry for the many many hours of enjoyment reading your books. Always looking around the corner for the next great adventure.
Garet is an awesome character and he is the weapons master, but allanon. Is the original bad s.o.b.! Through all the battles with the daga mor, skullbearers, four horse men and all the other times he escaped death I’m afraid he would handle Jax relatively easily. Now jax and pe Ell would be interesting
Walker could even take Jax. He’s one badass mutha with every Druids’ memory and ability inside him and only one arm.
Oh don’t get me wrong I think that that would be an amazing battle (hopefully not to the death. I don’ think I could read them both die again!) I love both characters and I respect both of them, but I still think Garet Jax would catch Allanon of guard or evade his attacks until he was too weak to continuously shoot his druid fire. I think that Stee Jans and Garet Jax would be an amazing battle as well (if they lived in the same time period).
Heck, let’s call that TV show, Deadliest Warrior and put this to the test !
Well we all know both get take down by the same thing one did win the other we will never know if he did but im going to have to say Allanon with magic he has the edge But! a fight with Garet Jax and Pi ell that would be a fight i would LOVE to read
I stand by my arguments earlier in this discussion that Garet Jax (like any non-magical human) would not stand a chance against Allanon in a serious fight to the death, but the thought has just occurred to me that perhaps if, say, we armed him with the Sword of Leah (post-enchantment-by-Allanon), things could get interesting; as I recall, the SoL has both defensive and offensive magical capabilities, and they are packaged in a format which would be suitable to Jax’s skillset.
You’re right. That would be an even better battle! But even though I know this was not the poll and really not even possible, but I would absolutely love to see Stee Jans and Garet Jax in a battle. The Iron Man against the Weapons Master!
We know Allanon killed a jachyra. Whether Garet Jax did or not is unknown. Not to mention, I’m not sure Garet Jax could have taken down the Dagda Mor with just weapons and no magic. Allanon hands down.
Allanon is the only being who could beat Garet Jax.
I think Allanon, I love both characters and think they are both worthy of the top title, however given Allanon has the druid fire as well as other druid powers i don’t think Garet as a mortal could win.
No contest, Allanon would win every time.
Ok so this poll irritates me to no end. It would be like Superman vs. Batman. One has superhuman abilities. It would never end in victory for Garet. Allanon was fast enough to hit the Jachyra with multiple blasts of fire, which, one blast would kill Garet. Allanon’s blast not only badly injured the Mord Wraith in the Valley of Shale, it knocked him way back. The Mord Wraith had, in all reasoning, at least some resistance to magic and it still knocked him back. Garet is fast, very fast but still was not fast enough to evade the Jachyra. So Garet loses hands down. He HAS to engage Allanon at close range, even with throwing knives. And Allanon just needs to sit back and wait for him. How is Garet gonna tactically outsmart him? Just like how is Batman gonna outsmart Superman. Superman can move faster than Batman can breathe. Oh and if Batman has Kryptonite, Superman glides in with some heat vision and destroys it. No way will Garet win unless he can neutralize Allanon’s magic with an item of sorts, which he doesn’t have. So this is irritating and ridiculous. Btw, I like Garet Jax 10 times better than Allanon. Blame the author for both their endings.
Voting for Garet Jax just because I dislike Allanon, the moody Druid, and think Garet is 10 times the man! If Garet could neutralize Allanon’s magic even for 2 heartbeats he would kill Allanon without trying. Sword to the throat or heart…
Garet Jax is epic, yes. But he couldn’t honestly beat Allanon in a duel that they both knew about. If he managed to get close without Allanon knowing, them maybe. There’s just no way Garet Jax could avoid getting incinerated, since far stronger creatures died to Allanon’s fire before reaching him. And we don’t know if Allanon can only use magic fire. For all we know, he might summon a stone wall to stop him, or a lightning bolt to strike him. There has never (that I know of) been a set limit to what Allanon can and can’t do with his magic.
Allanon. Not even close. Garet Jax wouldn’t stand a chance. Why are we even discussing this?
I love Shannarah.
All of it.
Allanon wins, by excessive magical force.
However…
I think Al vs. Jax is a mismatch by that same notion.
A duel i’d be Muuuch more intrigued by…
…Garet Jax vs. Pe Ell…
Weapons master in all his arms against lethal assassin with the Steihl.
Much more even. Dontchya think?
(Oh, hey, visit my serial novel? 🙂
E.L.F. – White Leaves – http://www.jukepopserials.com/home/read/82 )
I loved Garet Jax as a character, but Allanon just has too many options. Garet would never even see Allanon if he chose. But, I don’t think Druid’s fire would hurt Garet as he is not a spirit/fairy creature. I can’t remember a time when any Druid used druid’s fire against a mortal creature, not that Allanon would need it, again, he just has too many powers.
Allanon could throw up a protective shield, eliminating Garet’s effectiveness. All his skill would be ineffectual against Allanon if he had his Druid magic up. Although they were both killed by Jachyras, and Garet killed his by himself, Allanon would be a superior fighter.
However, Allanon’s strength differs throughout the books. His power wanes as time goes on, and while he could easily win in his prime, he was much weaker in his later years.