Published: 1986
Pages: 373
Ben Holiday, a high flying Chicago lawyer is fed up with his life decides to jump ship and buy a fantasy kingdom called Landover. Only he got a little bit more then he bargained for. This is the first book in the Landover series.
It took me a little while to get into this book to be honest with you, not so much because of the book but due to my mood and personal things that happened at the time I started it. However, for the most part I enjoyed it and think I would have enjoyed it a lot more had it not been for the exact time I started reading it. I wavered between giving it 3.5 or 4 stars but decided, because the ending was pretty good that I’d round it up. It’s the first book in a while I’ve felt I have really enjoyed.
It reminded me slightly of one of those old pixelated point and click games like Simon the Sorcerer where you click on ‘pick up’ or ‘use’ from the command menu – or maybe even more like the really old King’s Quest type games where you had to write ‘look’ or ‘pick up’ which I used to love playing. In fact, it’s made me really want to play Simon the Sorcerer again as I never completed it as a kid but I did used to love it. Hmm wonder if it’d work on Vista? (Damn you Microsoft!) Anyway that isn’t really anything to do with this review at all.
Brooks’ writing could occasionally be a little repetitive – he liked the word admonished quite a bit and Ben was forever wanting to throttle people and the characters were slightly flat and predictable. However, the story was the strongest point and there were quite a few times when I laughed out loud. The world was quite imaginative in a clichéd way – it’s your typical ‘fantasy’ land complete with dragons, witches, wizards and other fairy people as it said in the sales pitch. It felt a little undeveloped as a whole but it is the first book in a series so I think the set up will lead on to something stronger. I loved the castle Sterling Silver being a ‘living’ thing and I also really thought the idea of the ‘fairy’ world was incredibly interesting – I hope in the following books we get to go back there.
The following book ‘The Black Unicorn’ sounds good already – but seeing as I’m on this book ban for the foreseeable future and have a huge stack of library books I haven’t read yet (bugger that’s just reminded me I have an overdue loan!!) I am not sure when I’ll get to it. I have a feeling these are light easy book that can be easily dipped in and out of. I’m not gasping to read the second one but I know that I want to. It’s on the post-ban wish-list.
I own almost all of these. A new one came out last year I think and I haven't read it yet. I loved them when I read them ten (Maybe even 15? Are they that old? Am I that old?) years ago. Part of me probably hoped that I could buy my own magic kingdom some day.
ReplyDeleteWhen does your book ban end?
ReplyDeleteI haven't actually read any Terry Brooks yet, but have one of his books in waiting (the Sword of Shannera). I've heard his writing is cliched, but sometimes, I think it's nice to read something with familiarity.
My book ban will end when I either cave in and buy myself more books even though I have no room... or when I buy myself some more shelves or when I get the TBR below 400... a bit below 400 maybe.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying desperately to have faith in myself... hehe!
I agree about the familiarity too - it's comfortable and there's nothing wrong with it at all if the story is good, which this one was.