Witches' Brew (The Magic Kingdom of Landover, Book 5)

Rating:
Summary: The second best Landover novel yet
Review: Book 5 was especially creative and kept me interested; much better than the long-winded #4 in this series. Almost as good as the original Magic Kingdom for Sale! Holiday's daughter is an intriguing character and I liked following some of the story through her eyes. What now, Terry??

Rating:
Summary: Great book. Need to read the "Tangle Box" first.
Review: Book Five of the Landover series by Terry Brooks. Plays off the ending of Brooks' last landover book -The Tangle Box-. The story line: A King from another land outside of landover challenges Holiday for the crown and medallion of Landover. Holiday refuses and his daughter Mystaya is kidnapped. Holiday must accept the chasllenge if he is to get his daughter back. The challenge is he must defeat 7 creatures sent to kill him. What he doesn't know is that his daughter is unaware she has been kidnapped and is helping create the monsters sent to kill her father. In the end Holiday and her daughter both figure out what is secretely happening and expose the truth. To give more detail would ruin the book. Read it if you liked the Tangle Box!

Rating:
Summary: Lighthearted fantasy in keeping with Landover mystique
Review: I was a big fan of Terry Brooks' Kingdom of Landover series when the original books came out. Because I was a member of the Science Fiction Book Club, receiving regular mailings, I always saw when the next one came out and made sure I would get it right away. At some point, however, either my subscription ended or I got the series before the final book, Witches' Brew came out in 1995.

I've never read Brooks' critically acclaimed and bestselling Shannara Series, though I did come across his The Word and the Void trilogy and was fascinated by those, but they ended a few years ago. It wasn't until I decided to sell my Sci-Fi Book Club edition of The Tangle Box on eBay that I discovered there was a fifth and final book to the Landover series.

The book was fantastic, to say the least, a very lighthearted fantasy in keeping with the earlier books. I was pleased and enchanted by the book, and it didn't take long for me to remember bits and pieces of the earlier novels as I went along.

The story was entertaining as well, as a stranger calling himself King Rydell of Marnhull comes to challenge Ben Holiday, King of Landover. Ben and his sylph wife, Willow, decide to send their magical daughter, Mistaya, away because of the danger, but the girl is abducted along the way.

Not much heavy reading here, but very much a story to enchant kids of all ages. I would be most grateful if Brooks were to follow it up, but maybe I'll just have to start reading the numerous books of the Shannara series.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as the others.
Review: I was a bit disappointed in this installment of the Landover saga. I felt that it didn't live up to the standard set by the previous four. Ben Holiday seemed a bit out of character in that he didn't even think of Nightshade as being part of the picture. That doesn't sound like him at all...he would never overlook her, no matter how long she'd been gone. Still, it was an enjoyable book, but I still prefer the others.

Rating:
Summary: 4.5
Review: This is a good book, however it's not the best of the Landover series. The tangle box is a finer book but this one is still worth reading if you are a fantasy fan. The novel centers on the Witch nightshade's plan to destroy The High Lord and the instrument of the witch'es choosing is Mistaya, the High Lord's daughter. Usually the landover books are longer than this and perhaps if it was longer I would have enjoyed it more. There was somthing missing. Yet there are some truly scary scenes involving an ardsheal and other monsters so if you like monsters and lots of fighting this book is for you.

Rating:
Summary: Not the Funniest in the Series, but Still an Excellent Book.
Review: This Landover novel has the most Monsters in a Brooks book to date. For a real monster fan, this book should be a real treat.

Rating:
Summary: The second best Landover novel yet
Review: This one is almost as good as "The Tangle Box," if you can believe it. Nightshade's hatred seems a bit over the top, but I guess that is her character. Again, Ben is confounded by things he can't understand and he doesn't really know what to do, even though it is clear to the reader what is going on, down to Nightshade's sidekick. But the plot is well developed and the mud puppy bit is a great addition! Poor Abernathy. Enough said. Read this one. You really must.