Rating: 
Summary: Escaping into fun
Review: Terry Brooks is the undisputed master of presenting fantasy-novel concepts in a fashion that the "average Joe" can latch on to and identify with. His Shannara series has improved with every subsequent novel, and this legacy promises to continue with his upcoming series of books. However, Brooks does not deign to mimic the worlds and plotlines of "Shannara" with the "Magic Kingdom" series; rather, in my opinion he simply looks to create a fun and fascinating universe that, again, the average person can enjoy.Lawyer Ben Holiday, while not the most dynamic character in fantasy fiction, is nonetheless interesting and his perspective is well-conceived and written. He must tackle the challenges of owning Landover, his very own newly-purchased fantasy kingdom, the reality of which is obscured from his view from page one. His comrades, the court wizard Questor Thews and the loyal scribe and half-canine Abernathy, are unwittingly comical in their sincerity and approach to matters. Holiday's adversaries, while at times cliche (a dragon and a witch), are regardless interesting in and of themselves (Strabo the dragon is positioned as a cynical yet introspective pseudo-philosophical being with sparse but powerful fascinations). And our hero's challenges range from daunting to hilarious, often spanning multiple adjectives in between and invoking a plethora of emotions from the reader. To those looking for a serious fantasy-epic compendium, I advise you strongly to avoid "Magic Kingdom" and its sequels. One must approach "Magic Kingdom" from a completely different angle than, say, "Wheel of Time" or "Shannara." Holiday's adventures in Landover are whimsical (to us, anyways; the more so because they are not for him) and the land's creatures, stock-standard though they often are at times, each possess a unique and engaging personality that has become Brooks' hallmark (Strabo's wizened introspection in solitude, Nightshade's driving disdain and fury for weaker beings, Kallendbor's politicianesque power plays and, in the later books, Edgewood Dirk's maddening simplistic disinterest in human worries and dreams). Expecting a complete detachment from life on our blue planet is the wrong approach to take here; instead, Brooks has given us the "Layman's Guide to Escaping Reality in Five Easy Steps." Chapter One, "Magic Kingdom For Sale: SOLD!" is a perfect introduction to this concept, and I highly encourage anyone looking for a fresh idea in the light-reading realm to purchase this book and its series brethren.
Rating:
Summary: A great start to a fresh series
Review: Terry Brooks broke into the fantasy scene with his widely popular Shannara series, but here he breaks out of the epic fantasy mold and creates a fresh new series, one that challenges us right down where we live and breathe. Ben Holiday, a successful trial lawyer is having what amounts to a mid-life crisis, exacerbated by the recent loss of his wife and unborn child in a tragic auto accident. Lost, bereft of purpose and will, he stumbles onto an add in a catalog for a magic kingdom that is for sale. And then the fun begins. He buys the kingship, travels to the land, and realizes that behind all the magic and fantasy of Landover, the problems of running a kingdom are pretty similar to normal every day challenges that face us in life. The collection of characters that Ben meets in this new world are extremely entertaining, especially the dragon Strabo, who may be one of the most unforgetable characters in all of fantasy. Humor, action, mystery, and times of deep reflection: this series has it all, and is sure to please. Every book in this series is a solid 4 stars or better in my opinion. One of the few fantasy books that made me laugh out loud at times when I read it, especially any time Strabo and the hapless wizard Questor Thews get together. I read this series again and again, and you should too!
Rating:
Summary: THe Adventures of Ben Holiday
Review: This is about a man named Ben Holiday. He is a lawyer by profession, and ever since his wife died he has thrown himself into his work. Something of a obsession for him. Even though the story starts two years after her death, he makes it seem like it was just last week. One day he received a magazine addressed to his wife. In it is an advertisement about a magic kingdom for sale. He decides that he could use a little adventure, and so he starts looking into buying it. When he does he discovers (after he has paid the 1 million dollars) that its allot harder being king then he thought. The characters where developed and believable. Each has a different personality and the hero has the right characteristics. On the whole I thought it was a enjoyable read. Although you might get the impression that this is a funny book, it is not (Which I found slightly disappointing). Still that does not stop it from being an good story. Also, this is nothing like the Sword of Sharrna books.
Rating: 
Summary: more interesting than Sword of Shannara
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book(and it's successors) It had adventure, humor, and it was fun to read. It didn't have all the long boring history lessons of Prologue 1&2, and pointless subplots that so many fantasy novels do. That was told gradually as they journey along and was mixed in with the action. Most of the book dealt with the matter at hand, getting X-lawyer, X-boxer, X everything Ben Holiday his Kingship and pulling Landover from the blighted state she was in. What subplotts there were, always stuck to the story, whether Ghome Gnomes, Crag Trolls, or Greenswardians, it was all interesting. This was an excellent start to an excellent series. I like to see a ruined kindom rise up to greatness by a single man. He and his friends(would-be subjects) travel many different places and you get to see for the first time just how big and vast the world of Landover truely is. The Characters and friendships were very well done and very humorous at times, especially Questor and Abernathy's relationship.
Rating:
Summary: Unique and what fantasy is all about.
Review: I read Brooks' Sword of Shannara and it was a great book, but not very original. This book, on the otherhand, is one of the most original and unique books I have ever read. I have to admit that it starts out a little slow, but once you get into it you'll find that it is hard to put down. Brooks' magical kingdom of Landover made my imagination run wild, there truly is nothing like it. All of the characters are very well developed and have likable qualities which make you root for them. I found myself truly caring for the characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy, especially someone who is looking for a not-so-dark and highly original book filled with immense amounts of imagination.
Rating: 
Summary: Flat character, flat plot. No reason to read this at all.
Review: A friend of mine who likes Terry Brooks recommended this to me. It was utterly boring. I can't believe any one got enjoyment from this book. The main character is flat and uninventive. We have no reason to like him at all. He's just there to show us the world. The world which we are being shown is slightly more inventive, but somehow Brooks manages to make this just as flat as the character. I felt a few flickers of hope at first, and kept reading on principle, hoping it would get better. It never did. The point is, this book was so uninteresting to me that I didn't even care what was going on while I was reading it. As a confirmed book worm and an avid reader of fantasy since second grade, I felt I should give this author a chance, as he seems to be popular with so many. Sadly, it just wasn't worth it. If you want some good fantasy, go read Diana Wynne Jones or Andre Norton, who know how to write characters that you care about, and plots that aren't like transparent as this one.
Rating:
Summary: Magical Kingdom- A Great Read!
Review: "The kingdom was 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 witch plotted to destroy everything..." Printed on the backside of the paperback, this passage explains Ben Holiday's problems after paying a million dollars to enter and rule in a fairytale land; Landover. In a special magazine called Rosen's Christmas Wishbook, Ben reads of an "...island of enchantment and adventure rescued from the mists of time, home of knights and knaves, of dragons and damsels, of wizards and warlocks." With his wife dead, and no near family, Ben enters Landover and promises to fix the dilemmas which Landover and its creatures have had for the past two centuries.
Before Ben Holiday, the protagonist in the novel, accepted his job as King, there had been roughly two dozen past kings who have failed, all paying the million to a man named Meeks. Meeks, a native of Landover, planned to make fortunes by selling the Kingship to unworthy subjects. Yet he made a mistake by appointing Ben, for Holiday did not quit, and undertook the long plans of restoring the kingdom.
With description and creativity, this novel could be called a tremendous accomplishment. Terry Brooks, in his first Non-Shannara novel, uses vivid characters, to help Ben Holiday as King. His creativity in describing the "bonny blues," the main food source of Landoverians, will draw a perfect picture of the bluish tree in your mind. With leaves tasting of melon, and the branches of milk, the bonny blues contain all of Terry Brooks' imagination. One of Brooks' most striking accomplishments would be a scene where Ben fights another Lord, when Ben tries to accumulate allies to support the Throne. In this scene, Brooks' description reaches Tolkien's level of detail. With lines like, "The big man turned, grunting, and Ben hit him again, once, twice, a third time..." Brooks give you an opportunity to experience battles, not just to read about them.
The plot in A Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold!, slowly develops, but after it gets rolling, it keeps tumbling ahead. With action filled scene after scene, Ben Holiday is faced with the many perils of Landover as he tries to regain the allies of old.
Unlike his Shannara series novels, Brooks uses a more down-to-earth style of writing--not saying that his Shannara novels aren't down-to-earth--but A Magic Kingdom has fewer main characters, trapped in a smaller world, with less inhabitants. This book doesn't have the blood and gore of his other works, but has more "pleasant" battles, with no wars whatsoever.
As Ben Holiday rids Landover of the evils and allies himself with the good, he discovers the one thing that has held back the previous kings in the past. This, a theme throughout the novel, remained as the act of believing in yourself. Once Ben did this, he could master the magic hidden from Landoverian Kings for the past century. He uses this magic from the side of good, returning Landover to its former self.
Rating:
Summary: I'm "Sold!"
Review: This book breaks away from the bonds of normal fanatasy writing and yet takes you away from reality as well as even Tolkien could. If you're not much of a fantasy fan, I would still recommend this book very highly. It is very relatable. In fact, I recently just had a discussion with a friend about why we believe this is the best of all Brook's works and I came up with the fact that it may appeal to more mature audiences more than a book like Shannara, because it is easy to relate to the main character: a middle-aged lawyer from Chicago who's life has hit a plateau, and when he finally finds his fairy tale land, it is all to real, plagued with problems, deceit, and challenges just like every day life.
So many fantasy books follow the formula like Shannara: A young man of royal blood who somehow has spent enough time away from royalty to be street-wise admits his fate and saves the world (or kingdom, or whatever).
This book is an individual piece of art all of its own. Congratulations to Brooks. Most authors spend their entire careers trying to produce something like this, and yet here it is. I can't understand why anyone wouldn't take advantage of this opportunity and experience it for themselves.
As with almost all series I've ever read, the first book in this series (Magic Kingdom:For Sale-Sold) is definately the best. However if you are the kind of person who enjoys the continuation of stories like this, I highly recommend the rest of the series. However, if you are someone who thinks it best to leave well enough alone, you will still be able to live on satisfied with this story just of itself in your heart to treasure for years to come.
Happy reading.
Rating:
Summary: Warning, may contain spoilers!
Review: I was first exposed to the writings of Terry Brooks in 1993, and to say that I was impressed would be something of an understatement. Magic Kingdom for Sale...Sold is the first of the five volumes in the Magic Kingdom of Landover series.
As to the presentation of this novel, I found it hard to believe it was an abridged version. Only relatively unimportant things were left out. Narrator Dick Hill also does a very excellent job of capturing the personalities of the characters with his many accents and voices, from Abernathy's almost Australian accent to the Scottish brogue of Lord Kalendbor. For the voices of creatures like this series' one dragon, Hill is aided by electronic devices which add an echo effect to his already excellent vocals. Now, let's talk about the story itself.
The Magic Kingdom of Landover series follows the adventures and misadventures of Ben Holiday, a trial lawyer from Chicago, Illinois. Note: I'll try not to give away key elements of the plot, but some may slip past me. You have been warned.
Magic Kingdom for Sale...Sold picks up two years after the death of Ben's wife and truest friend, Annie along with their unborn daughter. After the death of his wife and child, Ben becomes dissatisfied with his career and his life in general. When he sees an advertisement for a magical kingdom in a Christmas catalog put out anually by a highly respected department store, he takes what is possibly the greatest gamble of his life.
He is sent on his way to Landover by a mysterious old man known only as Meeks, who later prooves to be his greatest nemesis, for it is later revealed that Meeks is the former Court Wizard of Landover, who chose to foresake his duties and abandon Landover for other worlds, taking the last true heir to the throne along with him. Ben finds that Landover has not been ruled well since the death of the last true king, and this is causing the magic to drain from the land. If a king does not return soon, Landover will die. This story details Ben's quest to gain the respect of the valley's people so that the land will be made whole once more. However, to do this he must contend with three of the most feared creatures in the valley, the Dragon Strabo, the dark sorceress Nightshade and the Iron Mark, a demon lord from the netherworld of Abbadon. He must also come to grips with his deepest fear, that of failing to uphold the responsibilities of kingship. However, Ben is aided by such characters as Questor Thews, the rather inept court wizard, Abernathy the man turned dog who serves as court scribe and most importantly, a beautiful fairy girl named Willow, who seems to have an interest in Ben. Ben is also aided by the Paladin, a mysterious knight in silver armor who serves as the king's champion, and who mysteriously disappeared after the death of the last king and then mysteriously returns at the time of Ben's coming to Landover.
This is an epic tale of adventure and suffering in which the main character must come to grips with his emotions in order to overcome the obstacles that stand to thwart his quest.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: This is a typical fantasy book, and then again it is not.
It is about a disenchanted guy, Ben Holiday, living the city life, trying to get over his wife's death. One day, he stumbles upon an advertisement in a catalogue: "MAGIC KINGDOM FOR SALE". Amused at first at the ridiculousness, Ben is slowly drawn in by the fairy-tale-like idea of knights in shining armor and wizards and castles. Unfortunately, life as the king of a magic kingdom is not all it is cracked up to be, as Ben soon discovers. He begins to despair when most of the kingdom's subjects are distrustful and refuse to help him, and his only followers are a group of misfits. Things only become worse when a demon lord challenges Ben to a duel he cannot possibly hope to win without help. This is a very good book, about human relationships, and how courageous even ordinary people can be.
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