Vol. 1, The Magic Kingdom of Landover

I first read this book back in elementary school. Some of the more grown up ideas went over my head at the time, but I remember really enjoying it—so much so that I took it upon myself to read it, rather than waiting to listen to it as a bedtime story. Almost 20 years later, I decided to revisit the Kingdom of Landover, but that was a mistake.

Terry Brooks simply does not seem at all invested in the land he has created. The writing feels lazy, and the same ideas are spoken aloud, mulled over, mulled over again, reiterated, and then mentioned once or twice more before the scene can move on. So much of the text is exposition describing things that have already been described, as though Mr. Brooks were straining to hit a minimum word count while using as little actual content as possible.

If it weren't for nostalgia, I would most likely be giving this book only a single star out of five. Despite devouring this book in my youth, I couldn't find the motivation to continue to even the halfway mark before setting it down and giving up any hope on rekindling my childhood love for the book.

I first read this book back in elementary school. Some of the more grown up ideas went over my head at the time, but I remember really enjoying it—so much so that I took it upon myself to read it, rather than waiting to listen to it as a bedtime story. Almost 20 years later, I decided to revisit the Kingdom of Landover, but that was a mistake.

Terry Brooks simply does not seem at all invested in the land he has created. The writing feels lazy, and the same ideas are spoken aloud, mulled over, mulled over again, reiterated, and then mentioned once or twice more before the scene can move on. So much of the text is exposition describing things that have already been described, as though Mr. Brooks were straining to hit a minimum word count while using as little actual content as possible.

If it weren't for nostalgia, I would most likely be giving this book only a single star out of five. Despite devouring this book in my youth, I couldn't find the motivation to continue to even the halfway mark before setting it down and giving up any hope on rekindling my childhood love for the book.