The Tangle Box

The author of the best-selling Shannara series transports readers back to the scene of Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold!, where mirth and mayhem, wizardry and wit rule. By the author of The Talismans of Shannara. 150,000 first printing. $75,000 ad/promo.

Brooks continues the magical adventures of Ben Holiday, ex-trial lawyer and now the reigning ruler in the Magic Kingdom of Landover. This latest installment in the series is slower and less charming than its predecessors ( Magic Kingdom for Sale--Sold! ; Wizard at Large) , but it is still likely to please readers already hooked. Horris Kew and his talking avian sidekick are brought back from Earth to Landover, where Horris is tricked into letting the Gorse, an evil spirit, out of the Tangle Box, where it has spent a very long time dwelling on its entrapment by the fairies. Now the Gorse wants to overrun Landover and manages to imprison Ben Holiday, the witch Nightshade and the dragon Strabo inside the Tangle Box. Holiday's wife, the non-human Queen Willow, is pregnant and must perform her own difficult quest to ensure a healthy birthing for the child. Meanwhile, with Holiday out of the way, the sinister Gorse coerces Horris into creating serious mischief in the Kingdom. This rather haphazard tale liberally inserts many of the characters made popular in previous books, which may be an asset for hardcore readers who like their fantasy lite. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Fourth of Brooks's Magic Kingdom of Landover series. For those unacquainted, widower and lawyer Ben Holiday bought the otherworldly kingdom of Landover for a million dollars and unknowingly acquired a heap of trouble. This time out, King Ben confronts conjurer, trickster, and con man Horris Kew and his sidekick, Biggar the talking bird. Worse, Horris has been sent from our world by the powerful and vengeful sorcerer Gorse, who plans to enslave the fairies of Landover. And soon Ben is trapped in the foggy, labyrinthine Tangle Box with his erstwhile allies, Nightshade the witch and Strabo the dragon. Only the lady Willow can free Ben and friends, but of course Willow has vanished on a mysterious mission of her own. Solid entertainment for series fans, and useful comic relief from Brooks's recently completed Shannara series. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ex-lawyer Ben Holiday's peaceful reign as king of the magic realm of Landover takes a decided turn for the worse with the arrival of con man and conjurer Horris Kew, an unwitting agent for an evil power that seeks to control the good folk of the kingdom. Where Brooks's popular Shannara novels (The Talismans of Shannara, LJ 2/ 15/93) pay tribute to traditional epic fantasy, his Landover series-of which this is the latest-displays the author's genuine flair for humorous fantasy. A good selection for most fantasy collections, and one that will probably be in demand.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In his latest novel, the creator of the world of Shannara returns to his somewhat more original creation, the magic kingdom of Landover. Sovereign Ben Holiday attempts to be merciful in allowing a couple of exiled sorcerers to return to Landover. Unfortunately, the exiles are stalking horses for the Gorse, a potent and evil sorcerer who seeks revenge upon the fairy folk. Ben ends up in the Tangle Box, his only hope for freedom the Lady Willow, who is unfortunately not available when she is needed. All works out tolerably well in the end, and Brooks once again proves he has a surer touch with humorous fantasy than with the saga. Unlikely to lack readers wherever fantasy fans congregate. Roland Green