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Do you ever
spend time pouring over a catalog, dreaming about
the things you want to buy? That’s how
this story starts, Ben received a catalog from
Rosen’s, Ltd. in the mail. It was
addressed to his wife, dead now for two
years. Don’t they know enough to remove
someone’s name from their mailing list after
they’ve died? Remembering how much his
wife enjoyed this particular catalog, Ben sits down
to look through it. (Read from dummy
catalog—I used a catalog I was tossing and
pasted on a new cover with a Santa Claus and the
header Rosen’s, Ltd. Christmas Wishbook.
On the inside I pasted [one to a page]
descriptions of six of the items from the book,
ending with the description of Landover.)
Surely this is some sort of practical joke.
There’s no such thing as a magic
kingdom. But Rosen’s has a certain
reputation about what is offered in its
catalog. Ben is at a point in his law career
where he is frustrated by the system. That
certainly influences his decision to take some time
off and fly to New York to look into the business
of this magic kingdom. During the interview
with Mr. Meeks, Ben learns that if he isn’t
perfectly satisfied with the kingdom he can return
within 10 days and get his money back, except for a
5% handling fee. After that first 10 days he
must stay for a year before he can leave the
kingdom and still be able to return to it.
Ben looks at his life and decides he can take a
year off in order to give this magic kingdom a
try. Not that he tells anyone that's
where he is going. When Ben arrives in
Landover he is greeted by a demon. Then he
finds out that his kingdom isn't quite as
advertised. His court wizard is not very good
at magic. His personal attendant and court
scribe is an enchanted dog. His personal
bodyguards look like long-eared monkeys. And
that's the sum of his retinue. No servants,
no army, a castle falling to ruin. Only a few
peasants come to his coronation. What has Ben
gotten himself into? Well, the real fun
starts once Ben sets out trying to restore his
kingdom to its former glory. More than his
lawyerly skills are challenged as he matches wits
with knights, faeries, and demons. (Mary
Huebscher, Librarian, Holy Cross of San Antonio,
San Antonio, TX marwood45@hotmail.com)
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