I decided to get myself a copy of "Magic Kingdom For Sale" recently. I'd read the series back in the 90's and remembered enjoying it, so I thought it would be a good idea to re-aquaint myself with it.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the copy of "Magic Kingdom For Sale" that I got was abridged. I should have paid closer attention. Anyway, I finished the book and went on to Black Unicorn. Then I came to this part:



That's a strange thing for Meeks to say, I thought. The last time Ben talked to Meeks was back in his office before he'd purchased the kingdom. How would Meeks know what was like or unlike Ben? What's this about "clever words of greeting" and "brave admonishments"?

Then Meeks continues:



Wait, What?? Taunting? Vision crystal? Shattered? What the hell is Meeks talking about?

I wondered if I'd accidentally skipped a book in the series, but I went and checked and it turned out that I have it right. I've just finished reading the first book, I'm pretty sure I'd remember these kinds of details.

I signed up here and I was going to ask about this when a sudden thought struck me. I went and checked, and sure enough, my copy was abridged.

I got a copy of the abridged version and I've managed to find the part it referred to. I'm going to have to go back now and read the whole thing over again to find out what else I missed.

So I thought I should pass this along to anybody reading the series for the first time - make sure you don't get the abridged version. They just cut out too much important context.

Yep. Less than half the size of the regular version. I feel like I got gypped out of half the book. Somebody did a hell of a lot of snipping.

Ah well, I guess it will at least be interesting to see what the differences are.

I believe Reader's Digest is the biggest company that abridges books.

But regarding the audiobooks, they're both actually the same price. At least on Audible anyway.

I once saw an abridged version of the Count of Monte Cristo. Heresy!

Half a bee, philosophically,
Must, ipso facto, half not be.
But half the bee has got to be
Vis a vis, its entity. D'you see?

But can a bee be said to be
Or not to be an entire bee
When half the bee is not a bee
Due to some ancient injury?

You mean like literally ripped from one of their volumes that contain more than one abridged book? What's the cover look like?

- Doug M. (World Renowned Biscotti Thief)

Wow, Annie was pregnant? Whoever abridged this didn't spare the scissors when there was any doubt! That was just one small extra sentence, and it seems kind of important. Maybe not to the plot, but certainly for context.

It's actually kind of fun going through this and identifying the stuff they cut out.

Who would abridge Magic Kingdom For Sale!?!?!?! It's not like the book is that big to begin with. Are you sure you're not dealing with a version that was pirated and/or unauthorized?

The abridged copy makes no mention of the part of the contract which says that Ben had to stick it out for an entire year or forfeit his million dollars. That's a pretty important piece of context right there. You don't get a full understanding of the whole scheme without that little piece of data.

Audible has both the abridged and unabridged version (and yes, the unabridged version is complete). It baffles me why anyone would abridge a book this small, too. But in the case of audiobooks, I think it's just a question of money. There's a market for people who are perfectly OK with a slightly cheaper "Cliff's Notes" version. I can't imagine it being a BIG market though.

Parrot, did you buy your copy from Audible? I only ask because the different versions seem to be quite clearly labeled in the product description.

- Doug M. (World Renowned Biscotti Thief)

Sorry, I always confuse Audible for Amazon (since the latter owns the former). The abridged audio CD is available there for $9.99 while the unabridged audiobook is $17.95.

- Doug M. (World Renowned Biscotti Thief)

So Abernathy has fingers eh? That helps explain how he manages in dog form.

The abridged version also cuts out Ben's morning run... which I actually almost agree with. That part really is kind of superfluous, and it's pretty unrealistic. It's extremely unlikely that an ecosystem would develop where you have super predators prowling all the time to such an extent that you can't go for a simple short outing without at least 2 or 3 of them attempting to capture and eat you. Predators just aren't that active.

But I guess in a cliche sort of way it's a "I'm not in Kansas anymore!" kind of moment that I can appreciate as a classic way of expressing the uncertainty of being in a dangerous situation.

But I'm still puzzled as to how Bunion managed to get back across the castle moat and report to Abernathy ahead of Ben without him noticing. It seems that if he were to use a boat that Ben would at least see him in the middle of crossing when he got back to the moat himself.

Another thing makes sense that didn't make sense before - the abridged version deleted the scene where Questor summoned magic to defend them but instead conjured a rain of flowers.

It seemed kind of strange because even in the abridged version when they escaped Questor expressed his worry that he might fail again. I thought that was odd, what did he mean "again"? I guessed that he must have meant how he gave away the fact that they were bluffing to the trolls, but that still seemed like a strange way to put it.