As a relatively new and naive reader of fantasy (naive in the sense that I have only read a small number of fantasy books) I was encouraged to read this book by my boyfriend. He told me that it was important to the genre, written by a profound author, and important in my development and dream of writing fantasy someday.

So I dove right in and found yet another book that I love! This book drew me closer to my love for fantasy and had my mind spinning about my own writing and other books that I wanted to dive into.

And yet again, the credit goes to my boyfriend’s incredible taste in books.

Synopsis: Ben Holiday, a big Chicago lawyer, feels as though he lost his grip in life after his wife passed away. Frustrated with where his life is going, he makes a seemingly reckless decision to answer an ad from Rosen’s Christmas catalog – an ad selling the magical kingdom of Landover.

After his arrival in the magical kingdom, he realizes that it is not as other storybooks portrayed and things are in a major state of disrepair. The magic is failing, the kingship is a joke to the citizens, and there are dangers in the kingdom that want him dead.

Ben Holiday struggles with his own self doubt, the desire to do good, and his rag tag band of followers that help him on his journey to become king.

Review: This book was a lot of fun to read. Terry Brooks is such a great writer and introduced the world of Landover in a way that added bits and pieces as I moved through the story. It wasn’t overwhelming with a flood of land and magical history that ends up confusing, but it was beautifully developed as time went on.

The characters and creatures were unique and yet familiar to the fantasy world. I thought Terry Brooks did a fantastic job of giving each type of creature their own personalities and quirks. This directly tied in with their roles in the story and/or the area in which they dwell.

The suspense and plot of the story moved at a great pace. This is the first novel of 6 but it still felt like a complete story. The ending wasn’t rushed, and the middle wasn’t slow. Instead, there was enough momentum to keep me interested and curious about the quest the entire time I was reading.

In my opinion, Ben Holiday represents more than just an unhappy lawyer that acquires a magical kingdom. He is able to bring forth the element of self doubt, trust in yourself and others, determination, and peace. These were all really important to me while I was reading and often helped me to take a step back from the pressures of my own day to day activities and feel grounded.

All in all, I loved reading this truly essential piece of fantasy literature. I know that I will continue to venture into Landover for the upcoming books in this series!

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Have you read Magic Kingdom for Sale–Sold? Sound like a book you might be interested in? Let me know in the comments below!

You can start this series too by ordering it from Amazon!

Happy reading!