Witches' Brew (The Magic Kingdom of Landover) (Hardcover)

by Terry Brooks (Author) "The crow with the red eyes sat on a branch in the towering old white oak where the leafy boughs were thickest and stared down..." (more)
Key Phrases: fairy mists, mud puppy, mud puppies, Questor Thews, High Lord, Deep Fell (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Picking up where The Tangle Box left off, Brooks continues his increasingly convoluted narrative, again following the trials and tribulations of former lawyer?and currently Landover's ruler?Ben Holiday. Even as Holiday battles evil forces to keep his domain secure and his loved ones safe, his daughter, Mistaya, is kidnapped by his nemesis, the disgruntled witch Nightshade. Threatened by the mysterious Rydall, King of the Marnhull, Holiday must prepare to meet seven potentially deadly challenges. Meanwhile, his faithful sidekicks, Abernathy the scribe and Questor Thews the wizard, are sent to Earth, where Abernathy renews his acquaintance with Elizabeth, now an attractive teenager. Despite entertaining passages (Mistaya's training in witchcraft) and moments of depth (Holiday's struggles with his inner demons), the novel still feels cobbled together, a kind of prelude for the romances and battles of later installments. Fortunately, the familiar characters remain as appealing as when they first appeared, despite their involvement in these transparent and hackneyed situations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
For the fifth time, Brooks brings us Ben Holiday in the Magic Kingdom of Landover. Ben's daughter, Mistaya, is growing with supernatural speed, just in time to become the object of a kidnapping. The kidnappers are working for the hostile potentate Rydall, who is challenging Ben to seven contests, winner take all--" all" in this case being the Magic Kingdom. As usual, Ben and his comrades and allies are forced to use both sheer magical muscle and subtler ingenuity to come out with their skins whole. As usual, they succeed. The Magic Kingdom books continue to be ingenious, witty, and generally fun to read, even though they do not reach for the exalted high-fantasty heights of Brooks' Shannara novels. Roland Green

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; 1st edition (March 14, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345387015
• ISBN-13: 978-0345387011
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #232,550 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars actually it is 4.5, July 13, 2000

By	Jared Garrett (Utah) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Witches' Brew (The Magic Kingdom of Landover, Book 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5, April 17, 2000

By	Jonathan B. Nelson (Calgary) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witches' Brew (The Magic Kingdom of Landover, Book 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Again, another great novel by Terry Brooks., August 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Witches' Brew (The Magic Kingdom of Landover, Book 5) (Mass Market Paperback)

The best book of the series, I loved every word of it. This book has everything. I loved how old enemies became friends, old friends became new enemies, and how everything wound itself together so much that there was nothing else for the end but one climatic explosion throwing you for loops you never expected. Half the time I spent reading this book I was in total shock from the surprise of not knowing what was going to happen next. You could not end any series of novels better than Terry Brooks did with this one. This was as great book and a must read, you will really enjoy it if you like the magical and suspenceful elements of fantasy novels as much as I do.