Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Aug 2009
352 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
Ben Holiday, Chicago lawyer and mere mortal turned monarch of enchanted Landover, has grappled with scheming barons, fire-breathing beasts, diabolical conjurers, and extremely wicked witches. None of whom have prepared him for the most daunting of challengers – a teenage daughter. Sent by Ben and his beloved sylph bride, Willow, to an exclusive girls' prep school, headstrong (and half-magical) Mistaya Holiday has found life in the natural world a less than perfect fit. And when her latest rebellious antics get her indefinitely suspended, she's determined to resume her real education – learning sorcery from court wizard Questor Thews – whether her parents like it or not.
But back home in Landover, Mistaya's frustrated father is just as determined that the precocious princess learn some responsibility, and he declares her grounded until she successfully refurbishes the long-forsaken royal library. Mortified by the prospect of salvaging a king's ransom in moldy books – and horrified by word that repulsive local nobleman Lord Laphroig seeks to marry her – Mistaya decides that the only way to run her own life is to run away from home.
So begins an eventful odyssey peppered with a formidable dragon, recalcitrant gnomes, an inscrutable magic cat, a handsome librarian, a sinister sorcerer, and more than a few narrow escapes as fate draws Landover's intrepid princess to the last place she expected to go, and into the thick of a mystery that will put her mettle to the test – and might bring the kingdom to its knees.
"Brooks's Landover proves to be a fun and engaging fictional universe, and much less daunting for newbies than the wide-ranging Shannara mythos ... A pleasant fantasy romp." - Kirkus Reviews
"The lighthearted story, as with the earlier volumes, can be serious without the convoluted grittiness of Brooks's Shannara saga, and there are plenty of treats for returning readers." - Publishers Weekly
This information about A Princess of Landover was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo: From author website
With over 12 million books in print, Terry Brooks has been a seminal force in fantasy fiction for the past twenty years. When his first book, The Sword of Shannara, was published in 1977, it earned Brooks a legion of fans and the novel made publishing history by becoming the first work of fiction to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list. Since then, Brooks has written twelve additional bestselling books. This year, Brooks is celebrating twenty years of continued success by taking his writing to a new level; Running with the Demon is a stunning contemporary fantasy, a page-turner with sleek, spare writing and a dark vision not found in his earlier work.
After twenty years writing epic adventure fantasy, Brooks is very excited about doing something so different. Set ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Terry Brooks's Website
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
