Witches' Brew

Magic Kingdom of Landover #5

by Terry Brooks

With peace reigning in the Magic Kingdom at last, Ben Holiday was finally free to lie back and watch his daughter grow. Which she did - by leaps and bounds. Born a seedling and nourished by soil from Landover, Earth and the fairy mists, Mistaya was a unique child, as dazzling as her mother, the sylph Willow, and fiery and impatient with those who couldn't keep up with her lightning- fast development. But Ben's idyll was not to last. The dark and pitiless Rydall, king of lands beyond the fairy mists, was at the gates of Sterling Silver. His armies ready to invade if Ben would not accept his challenge: to face and defeat seven different champions of Rydall's choice. And accept he must, for Mistaya had been snatched from her guardians by foul magic and only Rydall had the key to her fate ...

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic Fantasy, Magic, Adventure, Audiobook

304 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1995

About the author

Terry Brooks was born in Illinois in 1944, where he spent a great deal of his childhood and early adulthood dreaming up stories in and around Sinnissippi Park, the very same park that would eventually become the setting for his bestselling Word & Void trilogy. He went to college and received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College, where he majored in English Literature, and he received his graduate degree from the School of Law at Washington & Lee University.
A writer since high school, he wrote many stories within the genres of science fiction, western, fiction, and non-fiction, until one semester early in his college years he was given The Lord of the Rings to read. That moment changed Terry's life forever, because in Tolkien's great work he found all the elements needed to fully explore his writing combined in one genre.
He then wrote The Sword of Shannara, the seven year grand result retaining sanity while studying at Washington & Lee University and practicing law. It became the first work of fiction ever to appear on the New York Times trade paperback bestseller list, where it remained for over five months.

Reviews

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
This story has three POVs, one of the POVs was great 4.5/5, the second one was a solid 4/5 but the third featuring a new character I knew nothing about, and didn't really care for took too much of the page count and was a low 2.5/5.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I enjoy Terry Brooks and his easy to follow writing style, this book was a little underwhelming. It was a little more predictable than the average Brooks romp and the ending seemed quite rushed.

Brooks has a wonderful imagination and I love the concept of Landover but this wasn't as good as previous installments. I have the final chapter of this series out from the library. Out of loyalty to this author and some of his other great work I will see this through to the end...sigh...

2.5 stars

[Kelsey Hanson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some things that I really liked about this book, but there were also some things that just kinda baffled me. On the plus side, I liked how this book really focused on the relationships between the different characters, focusing on things like the guilt Questor feels about transforming Abernathy, the struggle that Ben has about the Paladin, and the way Mistaya is able to connect to Questor. I also really liked that Elizabeth was brought back for this book and they focused on how much Abernathy still cares for her. I found Poggwydd also very enjoyable. I thought it was interesting to see another g'home gnome apart from Philip and Sot.

That being said, I still wish that Philip and Sot were included. I still find them enjoyable and it seemed a bit odd that they were the only ones not included. Also, I was practically screaming at Ben "IT'S NIGHTSHADE!!!" Hello? Shouldn't she be at the top of your list of people who have a grudge and magic? Some of the motivations of the characters and how the magic is used also seemed a bit odd to me.

Also, and I realize I'm probably in the minority here, but I really don't care for the character of Willow. I find damsel in distress characters rather tedious, and it seems like she tends to do the same things in all the novels. Namely, profess her undying love for Ben (which always seemed kinda hollow to me. I wish that "prophecy" didn't come up as much as it does. It gives their an entire romance a "I-love-you-because-I-have-to" spin), turn into a tree, and walk around naked (really that happens in every novel at some point).

This was enjoyable enough and I'm glad that there's at least one more. Maybe it will wrap it up a bit better? It will be interesting to see what sort of story Brooks comes up with after so many years.

[Max · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book five in the series is nothing unique but very entertaining none the less. King Ben's daughter has been kidnapped by the witch Nightshade. The witch trains the Princess in the use of magic and the results are used to give Ben a hard time. Ben and his friends need to find a way to get back princess Mistaya from the witch and undo the magic. Loved the appearance of some old characters, and a silly new one, even though it was short. On to the last book in the series!

[Fefi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi è piaciuta anche questa avventura di Ben e company con protagoniste la figlia e la strega del crepuscolo,anche se la trama è prevedibile,la magia resta anche in questo capitolo.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Je bent bijzonder. In heel Landover is er niemand zoals jij. Wat vind je daarvan?'
Mistaya dacht na. 'Daar zal ik mee moeten leven.'

Boek 5 verscheen een jaar na Boek 4, en het lijkt mij geen toeval te zijn dat het uitgangspunt voor De Heksenleerling te vinden is in dat vorige verhaal - een gebeurtenis die ik trouwens ook nu nog steeds belachelijk vind, maar goed... Dit verhaal zelf steekt heel wat beter in elkaar en is toffer om te lezen dan het vorige.

Daar zijn een paar redenen voor. Ten eerste is het plezant om Abernathy eens in zijn menselijke gedaante te zien, al vraag ik me af hoe oud hij nu eigenlijk is. Ten tweede maakt Elizabeth, uit Boek 3, opnieuw haar opwachting, en die is nog even tof als toen. Ze lijkt me ook iets volwassener geworden. Ten derde maakt in dit verhaal ook Mistaya - Misty - haar opwachting als volwaardig personage, en ze wordt meteen goed uitgewerkt. Wat haar omgang met Nachtschaduw betreft: die ik vind misschien een tikkeltje naïef van harentwege, want verder lijkt ze me best intelligent, maar verder mag ik haar echt wel.

Het is vreemd dat tot nu toe blijkbaar helemaal niemand afwist van de ware manier waarop Ben en de Paladijn met elkaar gelinkt zijn. Het is dus nergens in een boek opgetekend en niemand heeft er zich ooit vragen bij gesteld. Maar goed, daar kan ik wel mee leven.

Ook deze keer is het verhaal vertaald door Frans Hille, die over het algemeen zich beter van zijn taak gekweten heeft dan normaal. Ja, er zaten nog een paar dingetjes in die me niet helemaal normaal in de oren klonken, maar meestal vond ik de tekst erg vlot lezen. Mooi werk!

Kallendbor stelde me hier wel erg teleur. Van hem had ik beter verwacht.

De plot wordt duidelijk opgebouwd en steeds spannender, en zit in het algemeen ook goed in elkaar. Ik ben ook altijd blij dat Brooks erin slaagt om in elk verhaal alle nevenpersonages - de Riviermeester, Strabo - weet te doen opdraven. Met hen is het altijd interessant.

8,3/10

[Nola Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely an interesting read, and it left room for another Landover book. One thing I abhor in most fiction is the prevalence of the 'precocious child', as though no author were capable to make your average kid interesting. But the daughter of Ben Holiday and Willow, human and once-fairy born in the darkest part of the land, was given a logical reason for her rapid maturation - well, logical by fantasy novels anyway. Despite that, she retains the poor decision-making skills of an inexperienced child, particularly one who grew up in a loving home with no deception.

The novel tells of an unexpected challenger to the throne and his magical companion, who kidnap the royal princess for their own means and deceive her into a serious case of Stockholm syndrome. Their use for her is surprisingly impressive, though I questioned its role. Was it simply a case of wanting the daughter to play a stronger part in her father's destruction, or was she truly stronger than her host, and more capable of the creations?

The final part of the plan, though appropriately ironic, seemed something of a letdown. After all the play it was given, I had expected something more dramatic (though the result was appropriately so). To some degree, I suppose expected the child to be turned against her parents - the initial loss of memory suggested such. Still, such takes are over done; the final blow was to come from love, and was realistically simple.

The novel sort of dangled the possibility of a sixth Landover novel, which I hope to see. (Does it already exist? Must look.) To be sure, there's room to tell the tale of the maturation and adventures of the princess, but the most obvious loose end came with Elizabeth; the difference in times and the 'I'll wait for you' suggest the pair will meet again.

Another great read!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Landover is getting stale. It's a very small world built on a lovely pretext, but it feels that the main characters never evolve or acquire any depth. Any sympathy I might have felt for Nightshade upon learning her story is canceled by the fact that she never redeems herself and her demise (if in fact she did..demise) was anti-climatic. In Tangle Box, possibilities were opened up but never developed. I would like to see some of the characters grow out of the limited roles the author has put them in. Can Willow get pissed of? Can Ben stop knee jerk reacting and walking into the obvious trap every single time? Can Abernathy please stop being such a dog? Can Nightshade be anything other than the stereotypical villain hell bent on revenge? Princess of Landover will go on my to-read list more out of principle and loyalty to the author than from any desire to see what happens next.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't believe how disinterested I was in Ben and Willow's storyline. I wanted to spend much more time with Nightshade and Mistaya or Abernathy, Quester, and Elizabeth. Maybe that's because I feel like Willow and Ben have gone about as far as they can go as characters. They do reveal some very personal secrets to each other in this book, but they're always accepting of each others' (mostly Ben's) faults.

Mistaya, on the other hand, gets to hear Nightshade's history, though somewhat edited, and they develop a strange friendship that you know can only be doomed in the end. I think that Terry Brooks has some real potential with his villains, but we spend so much time with the heroes of the story, who are fairly bland in comparison, that we hardly ever get the villains' perspective.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another formulaic installment in Landover. Lines are drawn, allegiances are made more clear and resolution is found. I get the feeling that Mr. Brooks isn't really trying all that hard with this series. What bothered me most was the blatant time line problems between Earth and Landover. It wouldn't be bad if time progressed differently between the two worlds, but he explicitly said in The Black Unicorn that time in the two worlds progresses in tandem. I'm also confused as to why Mr. Brooks felt the need to introduce a new G'home Gnome rather than using Fillip and Sot again.

[Michelle Villmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 5 in the Landover series. I consider this the best in the series so far. The characters have come a long way from the first installment. The tension building in the middle was crushing when the subtle foreshadowing plants an idea of what is to come. The end result is devastating and then another blow comes and I was holding back the tears. Kingdoms, traitors, monsters, dragons and magic with everything in between. Five stars!

[Marc Chénier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the better Landover novels. As other books of the series were slow to start this one picks up speed pretty quickly and grabs your attention right away. The characters are more believable even though they're fantasy creations. If I have to say anything negative about the storyline I would have to say Brooks doesn't convey enough the anguish that parents of a missing child would feel.

Next hardcover: "A Princess Of Landover" by Terry Brooks (2009).

[Alice Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay this is by far the best book in the series for me; a really established and enjoyable plot that has reasoning and development!

[Jeremiah Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fairly fun adventure. There was more tension in it than in the previous novels.
Mistaya's character was interesting. There was a bit more development with Questor and Abernathy, although it was in another foray into Seattle for no real reason.
I still don't understand how Ben is so stupid though. His daughter is kidnapped and since he hasn't heard from his mortal enemy in two years, obviously she could have nothing to do with it...

[Elizabeth Rausch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it... but is anyone else beginning to feel like the Landover books are becoming cookie cutters of the first? I mean, how many times does Ben Holiday freaking have to find himself??? Does he just get lost that easily??? This book was a good attempt at breaking the 'Ben needs to find himself' cycle, but overall I was simply unimpressed.

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay I guess. more of the same. had the feeling I've read parts of the book before

[Mitnal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo volume aveva il compito di riportarmi un po' l'interesse alle vicende di Ben Holiday e company, visto che dopo il quarto mi sentivo un pochino satura nei suoi confronti. Insomma, ancor più dell'ultima volta mi sentivo poco ispirata dalle premesse sulla trama, temevo che Terry Brooks avesse forzato un po' le cose per tirare fuori a tutti costi qualcosa per non far finire una saga che ormai poteva tranquillamente mettere la parola "the end" in modo definitivo. Così, quando mi è arrivato, non è che fossi poi tanto invogliata a leggerlo subito. La sensazione è rimasta anche dopo, nonostante fosse chiaramente prevista l'entrata di un personaggio abbastanza importante, la piccola (e abbastanza odiosa, direi) Mistaya, che avrebbe forse offerto un nuovo punto di riferimento per eventuali futuri episodi. Iniziata la lettura, dicevo, mi sentivo comunque poco invogliata a proseguire, e mi ci è voluto qualche giorno per riuscire a superare questa fase. Quando è successo mi sono poi resa conto che era proprio l'assuefazione dei quattro libri ad avere giocato un po' lo scherzo, e non erano solo la trama o il testo in sé ad essere in difetto: anche "la sfida di Landover" ha il suo lato coinvolgente, quello che fa accadere qualcosa d'inaspettato e ti pianta in testa il seme della curiosità. Questa volta non c'è nulla di particolarmente complesso, e il nemico è più vicino di quanto in realtà non sembri, si ha un po' la sensazione di essere ritornati ai primi momenti della saga ma senza troppi personaggi di mezzo. Le strade dei protagonisti, ancora una volta, si dividono in tre scenari contemporanei, il che è sempre stato un punto di forza per la saga, perché permette di mantenere l'interesse su ciò che sta accadendo nelle varie parti, giostrandosi in un attento e opportuno passaggio dall'uno all'altro ai fini della trama. Ecco, forse ci sono state alcune cose che ho sentito un tantino forzate. Va bene che la Strega del Crepuscolo è furba, ma ho avuto la sensazione che Ben e soprattutto Willow ci abbiano messo un po' troppo per dedurre alcune cose. O meglio: la cosa giusta è stata esclusa subito, e seppur da una parte le ragioni potessero sembrare valide, ce n'era una in particolare che non poteva essere dimenticata così come se nulla fosse, dopo l'ultima volta... su, dai. Si tratta di qualcosa che era impossibile dimenticare, e non collegare i fatti con quello è stata un po' una forzatura, per come la vedo. Premetto, comunque, che la storia è del tipo prevedibile, ossia i fatti sono resi cristallini di proposito (e per questioni narrative) ai lettori, ma non ai protagonisti. Altra cosa importante, è che per fortuna sono ritornati alle traduzioni dei primi libri per quanto riguarda i nomi (nel quarto erano stati cambiati all'improvviso), quindi il tutto è tornato ad essere "familiare". La lettura è sempre piacevole e adatta anche ai più giovani, anche se in questo volume ho notato un uso molto frequente di parentesi nel parlato (assenti negli altri), che personalmente apprezzo poco perché fanno apparire i dialoghi fin troppo narrati. Per il resto ci si ritrova davanti a un paio di colpi di scena niente male nonostante il ritmo generale un pelo piatto e scontato, e ad alcune situazioni che ho trovato sbrigative, soprattutto nel finale, che mi ha pure lasciata perplessa.
In definitiva un altro buon libro che strappa tre stelle con un po' di difficoltà essendo per certi aspetti meno avvincente, ma che comunque è riuscito (a fatica, molto a fatica) a non diventare un "capitolo a tutti i costi".

[Jeremy Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

After being disappointed with the last book of the Landover series, The Tangle Box, I found that Witches' Brew was largely a move in the right direction. There are some aspects of the book that are a little off, but in general it was a much stronger outing in Landover. Sometimes I really wish there was an opportunity to give half stars, because I probably would have given this a 4.5 if I could have.

On the positive side the book felt like the stakes were a bit higher and the villain was a bit more menacing than in the previous books. The main conflict in the book is actually a fairly well thought out plan by the villain as opposed to plots that relied on a mishap or people acting against better judgment. It's not perfect but it is a step above most of the setups since the first book.

I also felt there was more emotional impact in this book than the previous works. Landover has always been on the lighter side, serious but never too serious, this book is similar but I also felt like it had a bit more weight. There felt like there was more emotional development between some of the characters through the story. This also gave the book a bit more impact. Together with having a more menacing villain, it gave the book overall a more serious tone, which I kind of liked. It's not super dark or anything, but it felt more uncertain at times even though you knew things would end mostly alright in the end.

The book has its flaws though. The biggest of these is probably the motivation of the main villain, the witch Nightshade. Her motivation is a lot of misplaced blame on High Lord Ben Holiday that really doesn't work all that great. Brooks presents some of Nightshade's past to explain why Nightshade is so angry and full of hate over the events, but it felt more like a way to make it seem plausible than anything else.

Also, it takes way too long for the heroes to figure out who's behind the plot of the book. Nightshade is consistently dismissed as an option for at least the first half of the book if not two-thirds of the book. This doesn't really make much sense, but at the same time she seems to have been on good behavior the last couple of years before the events of the book, so maybe it isn't as bad as it seems to those of us who get the whole picture shown to us a lot earlier.

There is also a subplot with Abernathy and Questor Thews transported to Seattle that doesn't really add much to the story and seems mostly unnecessary. It does cause some character development, but doesn't really do much to progress the story. The perk is that you get to see Elizabeth again from the third book, but then there is this weird crush thing she has on Abernathy that seemed kind of weird and maybe a bit creepy.

However, besides these few missteps I did enjoy this book better than The Tangle Box. I still don't think it quite lived up to the first book, but it was at least on the same footing as the other two books in the series. Like all the Landover books they're not incredibly deep affairs, but I enjoy them for what they are.

[Amanda Bhear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one I couldn't put down! Ben, High King of Landover, watches his 2 yr. old daughter Mystaya grow. Being human the way she is growing is astonishing. Misty is part fairy so, at 2 she seems to be about 10. He tries to grasp the concept but doesn't all the time. She gets tired of being treated like a toddler all the time. The witch, Nightshade, has been watching for her chance. Swearing revenge on Ben for a trick that had been played on her, himself & Strabo, the dragon by an evil fairy being about the time Misty was born, she has planned. She had demanded the child as retribution when she had returned & found Willow, Ben's wife leaving Deep Fell with the newborn. Nightshade had been forced to let her pass by a fairy being & had been planning ever since. She sends a King from a land no one has ever heard of to challenge Ben for his throne. He tells him he will not accept. Willow & Ben decide to send Misty to her grandfather, The River Master, just in case. Quester Thews, the court wizard & Abernathy, the court scribe, along with some court guards are sent to take care of her. On the way there, while they are sleeping, Misty wakes to see a mud puppy. They are fairy beings, she knows one of them was close to her mother. She follows it. It leads her to the Earth Mother. She can sense the child's potential for magic & gives her some advice. She tells her the mud puppy will be with her as long as she says it's name once a day. They go back to camp, she goes to sleep. Nightshade, always watching sees her chance & takes it. She puts a spell on Misty so she stays asleep & gets rid of the guards. When Quester & Abernathy try to stop her she tries to destroy them but the mud puppy's magic saves them. It sends them to Ben's old world, not to far from where Abernathy ended up last time. More out in the open, but this time Abernathy is changed back into his human form. While they are trying to figure out what happened, a girl comes over to talk to them. It is Elizabeth, the girl who helped save Abernathy from the evil Prince last time. She is 16. She couldn't believe they are back, they can't either! Now they have to find out why they are here & how to get home to save the princess. They finally decide it must be because of the Landover artifacts in the mansion. They will go & search tomorrow. Now they have to figure out how to talk their way around her nosy, housekeeper into letting them stay in her house. Her dad is gone for the week. Ben won't accept the King's challenge until he tells him he has Misty, & shows him her necklace. Then he accepts, & is told he will have to defeat 7 challengers. Ben doesn't like calling the Paladin, he is afraid he will lose himself & not be able to get back sometime when he does. The king & the Champion are one, no one else knows that. Nightshade has Misty convinced that her parents sent her to Deep Fell to be safe. Nightshade is promising to teach her all about magic. She wants her to build monster, Misty doesn't know why. Nightshade says to defend her father from the king who is trying to kill him. What she doesn't know is that she is using the monsters against her father. Ben & Willow travel all over Landover searching for their daughter. They finally go to Strabo, he alone can go anywhere, this world & all the others. Maybe he will have heard of this king or where he is from. Strabo tells them there is no such place & the king does not exist. He ought to know, he has been to every world there is. There has been no one passing through the fairy mists any time recently either. He tells Willow if she will sing for him he will fly around & search for Misty for them. So it is agreed, she sings & he takes off to fly around to look for the girl. He comes back to tell them he has found nothing. They leave. On the way out of his turf a wurm dropped by Nightshade in some water grows into a huge monster attacks them. Strabo swoops in & kills it. He tells them it was a favorite weapon of witches, & to get out of his area. Ben gets to thinking about that. He also thinks he has seen the monsters somewhere before. He tells Willow they are in a book he brought from his old world. She wonders how Nightshade has seen it. He doesn't think she has, but he had seen Misty looking at it, she is probably old enough to remember them. Why would she? Willow wonders. Ben tells her, she could be tricked into it. If the king & place are not real, where have they not looked for Misty? Deep Fell, Nightshade must have her. they will go for her tomorrow. Misty looks for Nightshade but can't find her, so she decides to explore. Nightshade told her never to leave Deep Fell, but she wants some sunlight. Misty & the mud puppy wander out & come across a gnome. She tries to talk to him & he tells her the princess is missing. The king & queen have been doing everything to try to find her but haven't been able to locate her because the king has her. Misty tries to tell him she isn't missing, she's fine. Nightshade is angry that Misty is out. Misty tries to tell her to not hurt the gnome, Nightshade is going to get rid of him! The mud puppy's magic sends him to Quester & Abernathy. The gnome gets caught by security guards & taken to an animal shelter after Quester silences him so he can't cause any more trouble while they keep searching for what they need to send them back. Abernathy thinks it might be a book. They finally find an old book of spell theories, they take it back to Elizabeth's house. Quester reads & rereads all night long to find a better way home. He & Abernathy go out into the yard to discuss it the next morning. He tells Abernathy, the only way to get back is for everything to be as it was. Abernathy is almost crushed. Quester tells him it is his choice. To go back to being a dog or remain here & be human. Of course he will go back! They have to save the king & his family. They go to say goodbye to Elizabeth. They then go get the gnome & go back to Landover. The Magic puts them outside Deep Fell where the gnome had been, when Nightshade attacked it. Nightshade sees that Ben & his group has set out for Deep Fell. He has figured it out. She tells Misty her parents are coming for her. She gives her a necklace to remember her by. When she gives her father a hug the thorns on the rose will inject him with a poison that will kill him. They come up to see Misty standing with Nightshade & the king standing off to the side. She tells Misty to go hug her father. Abernathy & Quester come running up from the other side telling her to stop, it is a trap. Quester grabs Misty before he gets to Ben, the spell on the necklace injects the poison into him & kills him. Nightshade tells the king to kill Ben. The kobol, Bunion jumps at him & spooks his horse. It takes off, the king's foot caught in the stirrup & he gets trampled. It turns out to be the Lord of Greensward, he never really did take to Ben as high king. Misty furious with Nightshade's betrayal, trying to murder her father. She tries to make her help her revive Quester, Nightshade tries to hold her off when the mud puppy's magic sends her to Ben's world as a crow. Misty has learned a few things from Nightshade. She can bring things back to life, she pours her magic into him. They hear his heartbeat, they get him into a wagon & home to Sterling Silver. Many days pass, she will not leave his side unless she has to. She keeps giving his boosts, but everyone is loosing hope. Then one morning Quester barely croaks out Misty? She runs to give the good news. It is a great book. I am already opening the next one!

[The Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another 5 star book from Terry Brooks. I really enjoy the Landover series! I love the characters so much. I wish they would make a movie or tv series. I loved this novel because Nightshade was finally the main villain. This book was a direct sequel to the tangle box. Nightshade wants revenge on Ben Holiday because she ended up having feelings for him in the previous book. Mistaya ends up being a big player in this novel. Nightsade captures her and teaches her magic. Abernathy and Quester are sent to the real world. Feels like it happens in every novel now. It’s becoming a little redundant. Elizabeth makes a fun appearance again and she’s older. In this book Abernathy finally becomes human and develops a small romantic relationship with Elizabeth. Which was a little strange to be honest. Sadly, Abernathy is reverted back to a dog in the end. Ben ends up fighting a bunch of monsters and stays with Willow for the entire book which was refreshing. Usually Ben is separated with everyone. Ben having a shield was cool. Kallendbor being the main puppet for Nightshade was unexpected. He was the fake king all along. I was shocked that Quester basically died in the end. Mistaya brings in back to life with the help of magic. That was awesome. The only real complaint is that the ending felt rushed. All the characters meet up for a final battle against Nightshade and goes by super fast. Basically Mistaya has a small confrontation with Nightshade and the mudd puppy intervenes and sends Nightshade to the real world as a crow. I was looking forward to two more battles with Ben and the Paladin. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the adventure. I ended up liking Mistaya a lot. I would highly recommend this novel! Can’t wait to read the 6th book!

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Witches' Brew, much like it's predecessors in the Magic Kingdom of Landover series, is akin to a contemporary fairy tale; and if that's what you're expecting, you'll surely be delighted.

A direct sequel to The Tangle Box, Witches' Brew tells the tale of Mistaya, the unique child of the human king Ben Holiday and the sylvan creature Willow, as she faces her first challenge; which may or may not involve the witch with a personal vendetta against the King, Nightshade.

Landover is home to an assortment of magical and mythical creatures - kobolds, fairy creatures, gnomes, a dragon, and a witch; all of whom make guest appearances throughout the story. Some encounters are quite humorous, yet others are more sinister. Brooks expertly reveals the motivations of each character, making them quickly indentifiable.

While Brooks let's the reader in on the big mystery of the book very early on, King Ben Holiday is left unawares; which makes him often appear glaringly ignorant. However, his writing is so superb that it is a joy to read regardless of how inane the protagonists may seem.

If Witches' Brew were published today, it might be classified as "YA Fantasy." The subject matter is appropriate for an adult or younger audience, as it's mostly an adventure interlaced with individual human struggles, and some fantasy action (although I still had to look up a few words - try "obstreperous"). I first read it at 15 or 16, and while it may not be as relevant in the genre today, it's still an enjoyable read.

[Adam Britton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Picked this up because I’d read the previous one and the Word and the Void series a long time prior.

Honestly this one was painful to read. The characters spend most of the book bending over backwards not to draw the obvious conclusions about their troubles and stumble around in the dark instead. They allow themselves to be intimidated by an imposter threatening them with an invading army- without showing any evidence it actually exists (it doesn’t). They continually take their mysterious adversary at his word despite clear evidence he’s not being honest. They dismiss the true culprit (clue in the title, and the book makes no secret of it) as a possibility because “she could do it and we know she’s probably nursing a serious grudge but she’s been quiet recently”(?!)

Meanwhile some side characters get stranded in the primary world due to some random magic, based on so-called laws of magic which are so convoluted and arbitrary as to be a transparent hand-wavy way to drive one character’s development. I don’t know, but I’d be very surprised if the setting applied them consistently every time two magics interfere with each other.

I know the setting’s whole “thing” is “generic fantasy kingdom in a box”. That didn’t help. The book doesn’t play with tired tropes, clueless protagonists or ropey plot devices - it just trots them out. I finished this only because I was hard up for anything else to read and then only in a “hate-watch” kind of way.

[Evan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the weakest of the series so far, but since this is book 5, that comes as no surprise. So far in every Landover book, Ben Holiday and friends are put in a scenario that has no obvious resolution. In the previous books, about seventy five pages in I found myself thinking, "gee, how is everyone's favorite king of Landover gonna get out of this one?"

Not so with Witches' Brew. The entire plot hinges on a waning number of people's favorite king of Landover being denser than a brick, and willfully -- willfully, I say -- ignoring the very obvious solution to his problem. The g'home gnomes Filip and Sot weren't around in this one, but had they been, I'm pretty sure they could have figured it out in no time. I spent most of the book, waiting for the somewhat-beloved king of Landover to figure it out, which was about as much fun as watching someone who just aced calculus sweat over an arithmetic problem.

But I'm being too harsh. There were a lot of good fight scenes with magical creatures to keep things interesting. And the B plot with Questor and Abernathy was pretty engaging.

All in all, despite the efforts of a certain king of Landover with a shrinking approval rating, there was enough fun to keep the thrills coming.

[Jonathan Koan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book! The Magic Kingdom of Landover series which started out as a parody of fantasy and became a great(serious) fantasy series, has delivered yet again. Terry Brooks truly is a master storyteller.

The plot for this book is I think the best plot to come from the serious books in the series(2-5). I think that having the Witch, who has been a villian in previous books be the primary antagonist worked really well. I was curious the whole time who Rydall was and it was interesting to find out the answers.

Quester Thews and Abernathy were particularly great. Their excersion to earth reminded me of the third book in the series, Wizard at Large, but it didn't linger in earth as long as the other book.

I really love the relationship between Ben Holiday and Willow. Their marriage is interesting to read about and their complete trust in each other is really refreshing. I wish more marriages in literature were written like theirs.

Overall, this was a great book. I think it's the second best in the series, behind Magic Kingdom for Sale-Sold! I would give this one a 9.25 out of 10. Solid work, Brooks.

[Frank McGirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terry Brooks was the author that got me to break away from fantasy when I was in middle school. I read three or four ponderous Shanarra tomes, and even tried the first book in this series, and didn't really like any of them. None of them were bad, but they were very formulaic, and really just plodded along in obvious directions, with most (actually for this book, it was all) of the conflicts being solved by deus ex machina rather through any cleverness.

This book was no different, but for some reason I found it pretty enjoyable for my long ride downstate. The reader was a bit odd, almost sounding robotic during the narrative points of the book, but he did the voices quite nicely, but overall it just required that level of aural dedication that lets me zone in and out.

As a reading book, this would have got one star and a place on the abandoned shelf, but I did enjoy the listening experience, even if, due to some tape malfunctions, I skipped a few sections.

[Kirstie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The villain plot in this is pretty complex compared to earlier villain plots, and I like a few of the twists within it. Some of the choices Questor and Abernathy make really got to me too.

This book had a lot more focus on the emotions of the characters eg/ Questors guilt for transforming Abernathy, more Ben struggling with the paladin and their link and what it means, and I liked being abe to get a little more in their heads and hearts.

There's plenty of rollicking adventure too with multiple champion style battles, and betrayals heaped on betrayals (unintended and intentional alike). Though I really wish Willow would stop bringing up her love for Ben as being prophecy. It gives their love such a hollow feel every time it's mentioned, despite the fact at other times it feels real enough.

The series is picking up as it goes in my opinion.

[Krystin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites so far. I think I may have enjoyed it more than the tangle box. The character developments is top notch, although I think I have to wonder about Ben's reasoning skills.

There is no way, NO WAY, he would dismiss nightshade for the first 9/10ths of the book. He knows full well nightshades capability for hatred and evil. I think that after his first use of the Land's view to search for Mistea, he would've thought she'd be in the deep fell. Also, even if he really is that thick, Willow is not!!! And I sometimes think that the unwillingness of the characters to ask the right people (*ahem*EARTH MOTHER*ahem*) is just laziness on the author's part. Often times they dismiss an idea or won't go somewhere for some "convenient" reason that makes no sense.

Aside from that, I loved it!

[PJ GOODRIDGE-REYNOLDS · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggle to understand how Brooks' books are so popular with this series as my first foray into his work.

This whole series just isn't very well built! There's not enough exposition to fill out the characters or the world enough to make me care about them in the slightest and, even more so in this final book of the series, the characters don't all seem to act in line with what you have learnt about them.

The writing seems to move from event to resolution very quickly, in the way that children's books do, but as far as I understand it this is not intended as a young adult fantasy. If it is then don't expect it to have the same impact as Pulman or Nix in the same genre.

I really hope it's just something about Landover, because I've been looking forward to reading the Shannara books for some years.

[Sandy Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nightshade seeks revenge on Ben because of what happened in the Tangle Box. She feels Holliday deliberately locked her in the box to seduce her. Nightshade plants seeds in Mistaya (Ben & Willow's daughter) to take control of her. Willow does have a premonition that danger lurks. She sees an enormous darkness coming for Ben. And it does. In the form of someone named Rydal who throws down the gauntlet and says he wants Landover and all that is the King's. Shortly after his challenge, Mistaya disappears along with Abernathy and Questor who were accompanying her to Willow's father for safety. When Rydal returned, Rydal told Ben he had to fight seven creatures if he wanted Mistaya back. And, then, one surprise after another.

[Alan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an intriguing book. It brings in Mistaya, but doesn't give her the time she deserves, which makes me excited to read the next book. The story isnt the greatest, and there's a disturbing romance with an underage girl and a much older man that added literally nothing to the story and was just plain weird. Everything felt too serious, and the previous characters are getting repetitive now there's only so many times the same things can happen. I hope that the next book gives this series the conclusion it deserves