Magic Kingdom For Sale- SOLD! is an interesting fantasy novel. Ben Holiday is a dissatisfied lawyer; his wife has died recently, and he feels like life is over already at the age of thirty-nine. So when he sees an advertisement for a magic kingdom in a holiday catalogue, he jumps on it. Paying a million dollars, he arrives in Landover, only to find that the kingdom is not all it was cut out to be. Yes, there are fairies and dragons, but the kingdom is in ruin. "The Barons refused to recognize a king, and the peasants were without hope. A dragon was laying waste the countryside, while an evil with plotted to destroy everything. Ben's only followers were the incompetent court Magician; Abernathy, the talking dog who served as Court Scribe; and the lovely Willow- but she had a habit of putting down roots in the moonlight and turning into a tree. The Paladin, legendary champion of the Kings of Landover, seemed only to be a myth and an empty suit of armor. To put the final touch on the whole affair, Ben soon learned that the Iron Mark, terrible lord of the demons, had challenged all prospective Kings of Landover to a duel to the death- a duel which no human could hope to win. The task of proving his right to be King seemed hopeless. But Ben Holiday was stubborn..."
As you can see, there's quite a lot going on, a lot to absorb. Ben sets out on a quest to seek the aid of many of the kingdom's most powerful inhabitants, in hopes that they will help him win his impending duel, and prevent his impending death. He meets with many strange creatures along the way.
This book has humor, adventure, and another quality that's hard to name. It's in the vein of epic fantasy, although obviously, it's not. I love how the first few chapters of the book set in Chicago and New York are so realistic, and then it all of a sudden transitions into a completely fantastical world, with fairies and dragons and bumbling wizards and dark magic. Terry Brooks's writing in both styles is really engaging, and easy to get into. I found myself once again immersed into the story of Ben's quest, and highly enjoyed this one.
I loved the characters too: all of them are different weird creatures. Abernathy, who was turned into a dog by one of Questor's (the court magician's) failed spells is really funny, especially since he's always bickering with Questor. I really love Willow too.
This is the first of a series, and I may read the second and third books.
Read Magic Kingdom For Sale- Sold!:
- if you like fantasy
- if you like books with quests
- if you like Terry Brooks (although I haven't read any of his other books)
| Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf For Rereading (jf I own it)! |
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