A Princess of Landover

I went back and forth with this, debating whether to give it two or three stars. In the end I went with three... But just barely.

Let me start by saying that I am a big fan of Terry Brooks. He was the first fantasy author I ever read, and I've read just about everything he has ever written.

That said, this book was somewhat of a disappointment to me. I was excited when I learned there would be a new Landover book, I had been hoping for one for a while. But the entire book felt sort of forced. It felt like Brooks was under pressure to put out a new story in the Landover series, and so he threw this together. The plot was pretty weak, very predictable, and not very engaging.

So why did I give it three stars? Well, in the end, despite it's show more flaws, reading this book was like taking a little journey into a land I had forgotten even existed. It had been a long time since I last read a Landover story, and it brought back many fond memories to read it. But in the end it came across as Landover-light, same world but half the content.

I'm hoping that if Brooks chooses to continue the series, he gets back to the roots and does it because the story has someplace to go, not just to say it was done. show less

After finishing a recent demon-haunted, postapocalyptic trilogy linking his urban fantasy “Knight of the Word” series with his popular high fantasy “Shannara” series, Brooks apparently decided it was time for something a little bit on the lighter side. This book is a return to the humorous fantasy Landover series (beginning with “Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold!” in 1986) and is Brooks’ first trip back to that world since 1995’s “Witches’ Brew.” Given the long hiatus between series titles, Brooks is forced to be slightly more heavy-handed than usual with backstory exposition, but this in no way detracts from the story at hand.

Where most of the other Landover books focused on the trials and tribulations of Ben Holiday, show more the hapless lawyer who answered an ad for a magic kingdom for sale and found himself suddenly King and champion of the magic realm of Landover, “A Princess of Landover” focuses on Ben’s magical, rather head-strong, half-nymph daughter, Mistaya. Sent to the normal human realm to attend boarding school, Mistaya finds herseld unable to conform to our rules and is expelled. Upon her return to Landover, Mistaya is given the assignment of traveling to Libiris, a magical library that has fallen into disrepair, in order to put things right. She refuses, runs away, and, by chance and mischance, ends up at Libiris anyway—though incognito. But what Mistaya finds at Libiris is far more than just a messy library—a plot to overthrow her own father looms in the shadows and she must fight to save the realm.

Somewhat on the lighter side, and featuring a plucky teenage heroine, this book would be a perfect suggestion for a teen reader looking for something to read post-Potter, but would also serve as a swift and engaging title for adult readers looking for something less heavy than the standard epic fantasy fare. show less

Good addition to this series, not as engaging or quite as readable as previous Brooks entries in the world of Landover, but still interesting. I do find the character of Mistaya a bit harder to get into than other characters in this series. Apparently, Nightshade is making future appearances in this series, as she escapes at the end.

I've enjoyed the Landover series since the first book.

A Princess of Landover had the same easy-read feel of the books that came before it. One difference is that the main protagonist and focus of the book is Mistaya, High Lord Ben Holiday's daughter.

After being suspended from a girls' school in our world, she returns to Landover and intends to take some time just getting back in sync with her birthworld of Landover. She rebels against Ben's plans for her and runs away to Libiris, Landover's royal library that is a nearly forgotten and decrepit place. There she must solve a mystery of what is going on in Libiris and defeat two main enemies, one a Lord of the Greensward and the other the administrator of Libiris.

Mistaya must overcome show more teenage self-doubt and anxieties and come up with a creative way to escape an unwanted marriage and defeat the demons of Abaddon who play a part in the administrator's plans for ruling Landover and being High Lord himself.

This book kept up my hopes for the series and I believe it begins the setting up of a new heroine (possibly a new Queen someday soon?) for the world of Landover. Once again, a great addition to anyone's light reading for a weekend library. show less

If you like the princess character, you'll probably like this book better than I did. I just don't care for her at all. It's basically the same theme as the previous book. The kid is stubborn, does her own thing and puts her family in danger. It's nothing new or interesting.

Princess is a well known tale, using a well known formula. Picture a rebellious teen, who has a journey in which she develops an awareness of self and a respect for those around her. It's been seen a hundred times in trashy teen movies and the formula has now had a fantasy make over, in the familiar Landover world. Princess is mostly a story by the numbers, never really getting out of first gear. The characters are stereotypical and the plot is straight as an arrow, the only real diversion is the crafty and coy Prism Cat. It's a quick read and opens up avenues for further adventures in Landover which will hopefully rekindle some of the spirit seen in the earlier entries.

This was just another tired rehash. About Ben and Willow's daughter.
She is a teenager and rebellious and is sent off to a library to fix it. She rebels, Edgewood Dirk the prism cat convinces her to go anyway, she goes, discovers an evil magician [there only seem to be evil or inept magicians in Landover by the way] who is trying to open a gate to Abaddon

In the end she takes care of everything and learns a valuable lesson about listening to her elders and yet doing exactly what she wants to anyway.

I am not sure I can stomach much more of Brooks' stuff.