Customer Reviews

The Pig, the Prince & the Unicorn

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

 

 

I just got pick up this book from an used bood store and glad I did. It's a cute fun little book and since I've never read any of Tolkien stuff I had no problem enjoying the story, though how anybody can compare a loooooooong novel with a short book is beyond me.

The pig was cute and funny and the hyper-clean eel was amusing. It kind of makes me want to have an eel for a watch-animal and companion too. The anti-guest witch was also funny to read even though she had a short role.

Overall it's a nice book for an afternoon read where all the characters come out swimmingly in the end, even the bad guys, who weren't all that bad.

I first read this book when I was in high school
I've read it compulsively, once or twice a year since.
I am now 31, graduated from university, and writing
books of my own. It contains every detail you look for in
a great fantasy, creativity, love,
good vrs. evil and talking pigs! I recommend it for anyone
who reads fantasy novels for love of the genre.

This book is like a scab. It's an awful book; one of the worst books I've read. But for some bizzarre reason, I'm compelled to keep reading it. Maybe I'm just in a massochistic mood.

The writer has enough word skill to actually tell a story, but it's not written well. She makes the #1 mistake of fantasy writers, thinking that "Fantasy" does not require realism or sense. There are a lot of logical gaps, contradictions, and unclarities in the details of the world, culture, and characters, and these don't read like the author is being clever or mysterious. She copies too many bad fantasy cliches, while failing to present her own inventions in a convincing manner (example: the people in the undersea kingdom use paper documents, steel armor, and torches! Under water! And the pig is dirty and has to take a bath! Yes, while he's already underwater! The author doesn't seem to notice that this makes NO sense; she just slaps it with the label "Majic" which in this case clearly means "I can't be bothered to think up something new and appropriate").

Yet the tale it is lighthearted (it would be 0 stars if it took itself seriously) and somehow manages to be amusing (mostly because I want to see how bad the next chapter is; yes, really). The young talking pig does behave admirably unlike a cliche fantasy hero (even unlike the usual Poor Unassuming Reluctant Chosen One), which is the book's strongest point. He's just a child-pig, and he does behave like both a child and a pig, befriending everyone he meets if possible (even the "villains"), and frequently showing a kind of bravery that does feel in-line with his youth, inexperience, small size, and desperation.

I cannot honestly reccomend that anyone BUY this book instead of something actually GOOD, but if you feel like an amusing frivolity, if you aren't too picky, and if this book is lying around, try it out.

My mother read this book to me when I was a little girl and I do remember being riveted by the little pig who seemed to be a whole lot like me - though in reality, the little pig was alot like most children, which was the point. My mom picked this book because she thought that we kids (there were 5 of us) would like the fact that there was a character we could identify with and that was "adult" enough so she would also stay interested. You have to remember that the genre of modern children's fantasy did not really develop until the Harry Potter series took off. This was a sweet little pre cursor to that genre and a fond memory for me.

This book is excellent for any young reader who wants to explore books of the fantasy realm. The plot twists and can be unpredictable. The imagery is vivid. This is one book I shall never forget. Even though it's out of print, I highly recommend that anyone interested in Brush's book go out and find it!

This book is of the fantasy genre. The main character of the book is a talking pig and this aspect is very interesting. The pig is personified yet never loses its characterization as a pig. The book is fun and filled with neat places and heroes and villains. Characters are brought to dwellings deep in the ocean, or they confront huge mythic demons. The book is wonderful and is a quick read.

I found and purchased this book because I was interested in writing a fantasy novel and wanted to see how other fantasy novelists wove their storylines. Maybe I'm being picky, but I found far too many parallels with this book to that of the Lord Of The Ring series by JRR Tolkien. In Tolkien, Bilbo and Frodo were the Ring-bearers; in this novel, the pig was the Key-bearer. And in Tolkien, Gandalf rode a fast horse known as Shadowfax; in this novel there was an almost identical character with a very similar name also. There were several other times while reading it that I found parallels too close to Tolkien to be merely coincidental. But enough about that. As a whole, the novel was very shallow and predictable. I didn't find it challenging in the least (as I did when I read the Tolkien fantasy novels...or others like Neverwhere). I gave it two stars for the simple fact that it was easy to follow and I was able to read it quickly. But it left me feeling empty.