Customer Reviews

The Black Unicorn

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I read the entire Landover series years ago and was happy to see them in Kindle format. I finished the first one - Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold! and was very disappointed at all the spelling & formatting errors, but since it was free, I couldn't complain too much, right?

So I purchased "The Black Unicorn" - Kindle version. Again, on just about every other page there are misspelled words, formatting errors, strange characters (print type, not story type.) I'm really shocked at how poorly these things have been converted to Kindle format.

As a comparison, I read the Kindle version of the first Shannara trilogy and don't remember any errors, if there were, they were few.

I've written Amazon, got the standard canned (thank you for your feedback) response and also wrote to the publisher - Del Rey but haven't received a reply yet.

I'm taking 2 full stars off this time for the poor conversion to Kindle format. The book is great but since I'm reviewing the Kindle version, it loses points.

I just ordered the 3rd one in the series (stupid, I know) but I'm curious to see if there are still errors. If so, I may ask for a refund.

To summarize: Great book, poor conversion to Kindle format.

A nice addition to the Landover series. The book starts off with Ben, Willow and Questor all having very vivid dreams that they feel they need to act upon. Ben, thinking that his friend from Chicago is in trouble, goes back through the fairy mists to earth. Questor goes to an ancient fortess to find lost books of magic and Willow goes in search of the black unicorn, a legendary beast of pure evil. All of this, not surprisingly is the grand planning of Meeks. The quasi-villian from the last book. The reason why I say quasi is that he was not the main antagonist in book one. Here however, he takes a much more active role and the results make for very entertaining reading. Meeks transforms Ben into an incognito peasant and takes his persona, acting as king of Landover. The only people who recognize him are is enemies and the only help he gets is from a frustratingly egnimatic talking cat by the name of Edgewood Dirk. A nice addition to the growing pantheon of characters. Speaking of which, Strabo, Nightshade, Kallendor and the River King all make an appearance and all show growth. Even Ben, but the decisions that he makes can be somewhat daft and tends to strain the story a bit. Other than that warning, (more of a heads up really) it's a great story and a nice diversion from the epic Shannara series. I think most will like this and agree.

Let me preface my remarks by saying this is for an out of print audio cassette. (They [Amazon] don't have a listing for this format). This is a tale of good v. evil, with Ben Holiday, and a host of odd creatures, seeking to find the Black Unicorn, and to destroy the books of magic. As part of the Kingdom of Landover series, by Terry Brooks, it creates a magical world; where the final battle between Ben, and Questor Thews, one of the two wizards, and half brothers, battle over the destruction of the magic books. Also, there are a talking dog, a fairy like creature, who Ben loves, and a talking cat. Mr. Brooks has created a whimsical, but fine story. The audio cassette, out of print, is well read by Mr. Dick Hill; whose ability to create various voices, and express a wide range of emotions, speaks to his credit as a reader. Fine story.

the publisher needs to proofread the kindle version of this book. it looks like it was written on a newton.

It's been a year since Ben Holiday bought the magic kingdom of Landover, and things finally seem to be falling into place. However, when he receives a troubling dream that shows him that his old law partner is in trouble, Ben realizes that he must make a return visit to Earth. Strangely enough, the court magician, Questor Thews, and Willow both receive startling dreams that send them off on quests of their own. Ben's dream turns out to be a trap, and he is tricked into bringing the evil wizard Meeks back to Landover.

Meeks quickly switches identities with Ben, and sends him off to wander Landover as a wretched nobody, casting about trying to find someone who will believe that he is really the High Lord. To make matters worse, Willow's dream sent her off in pursuit of the ill-omened black unicorn, and that too is some sort of trap. Can Ben Holiday learn to overcome the magic that has stolen his identity, and rescue those he loves in this strange new world? Perhaps he can, with the help of a new friend!

This is another great Landover book. Terry Brooks is one of the greats in the field of fantasy literature, and this book shows off his abilities quite ably. I liked the characters - the new ones and the old ones. I also thought that the author did a great job of keeping the pressure on to the very end of the book. I really enjoyed this book, which I found to be every bit as good as the first book in the series - Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold! I highly recommend this book.

First time purchase and was pleasantly surprised, great value on a great book, fast delivery. Five star all around, highly recommended.

Ben Holiday, King of Landover, Questor Thews, Abernathy, Willow, and Meeks are back in the 2nd installment of the Landover series. Ben and Willow are having dreams about a beautiful black unicorn. Neither one can decipher the meaning of these dreams, but they are haunted by them and need to find the answer. Ben travels back to Earth and in doing so, he inadvertently frees Meeks from his prison. When Ben returns to Landover, Meeks is waiting for him and casts a spell on Ben. Ben no longer looks like himself and Meeks now looks and sounds like Ben. Ben is banished from the Kingdom and Meeks takes over. Ben and his friends must find the black unicorn to solve this mystery and put things back to normal. In order to do this, Ben must ask Strabo the dragon and Nightshade, the witch for their help. Ben and company barely survived the last meeting with the dragon and witch. Will everyone survive this time? Will they find the unicorn and get Ben back to the throne before Meeks destroys everything Ben has worked for? Buy the book and find out, you won't regret it.

I listened to the audio version, and I have to say that the vocalist did an excellent job.

The story is great. I like its simplicity, simple dialog, and likeable characters. Terry Brooks took a simple premise and made a great series of stories out of it.

I think that he could have made Ben Holiday a little faster with logic (he is a lawyer after all) but other than that, I think the story is great.

I wasn't sure what to think of Terry Brooks - I had heard so many conflicting opinions of his books. A few years ago, someone gave me a big box full of them, and I finally took the plunge and began reading the Magic Kingdom of Landover series. The Black Unicorn, second volume in the series, is everything that a good magical fantasy novel should be, and everything that a good contemporary fantasy novel should be.

Brooks' characters are intelligent, sympathetic beings that I couldn't help beginning to care about. In addition, there's a bit of the humor and punnery more common to Piers Anthony's Xanth series present, and it is a delightful addition to the typical fantasy ingredients.

The residents of Sterling Silver (the King of Landover's living castle) are all suddenly experiencing strange dreams, and Ben Holiday, Willow and Questor Thews each depart on a quest to follow the dream they have been sent. But where did the dreams come from?

I am anxiously anticipating reading Wizard at Large, which is the next volume in the series, and I would eagerly recommend The Black Unicorn, and the Magic Kingdom of Landover series to any fans of fantasy and magic.

Very east to read and its worth buying the whole series of 5 books. Although they can be read seperately from each other the story interweaves throughout all books. I like the way the author does not let his character figure out to quickly what is happening even though the reader knows what is happening.