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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
I just finished reading this with my 11 year old son, and the end still made me cry. This is also the book that stopped my mother from reading me a bedtime story because I had to finish the book by the nightlight.
Why am I reading this at all? This is for young young people? I'll read through this series with "speed" so that I can have the education of a classic. Hopefully I learn something.
This book may have been a classic or a standard in its time but it is total crap in totals flooded fantasy market.
Same story retold 1000's of times, this is yet another straight copy of Lord of the Rings
Group of heroes start out to fight evil before evil overtakes the land.
Some good guys die in route
One of the good guys turns out to be greedy.
Everyone gets caught and just about all hope is lost.
Bad guy turns good and saves the day.
King returns and rewards everyone
Evil dies and the land is saved.
Sound familiar? This is the plot of every other book out there on the market.
This book may have been a classic or a standard in its time but it is total crap in totals flooded fantasy market.
Same story retold 1000's of times, this is yet another straight copy of Lord of the Rings
Group of heroes start out to fight evil before evil overtakes the land.
Some good guys die in route
One of the good guys turns out to be greedy.
Everyone gets caught and just about all hope is lost.
Bad guy turns good and saves the day.
King returns and rewards everyone
Evil dies and the land is saved.
Sound familiar? This is the plot of every other book out there on the market.
A good adventure book, mostly i think for young adults or kids. It reminded me of something I would want to have read to get me ready for The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.
Goodreads
This is a collective review for The Chronicles of Prydain. While the author always noted each of these volumes works as a standalone novel, they are far, far better consumed as an intrinsic piece of a larger whole.
Right as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was poised to enjoy a huge revival in the United States, a U.S. author was about to make his own great contribution to the oeuvre. Lloyd Alexander had a tale in mind that hits many of the familiar notes of the Hero’s Journey, complete with archetype characters galore, but in writing his landmark pentalogy The Chronicles of Prydain, he soon develops a distinct story that speaks more softly, and more sparingly, about what it means to grow up, and how the dreams of youth can easily become the folly of adulthood.
Starting with The Book of Three, we meet the Assistant Pig-Keeper Taran, a headstrong young lad in a mythical land that bears a passing resemblance to the Welsh of the Mabinogion. Looking after the oracular pig Hen Wen, Taran soon meets a cast of companions with whom he will travel across the land, in the ultimate effort to push back Arawn, the dark lord of death. There is the enchantress-in-training Eilonwy, the man-animal Gurgi, the bombastic bard Fflewddur, the dwarf Doli, the crow Kaw, Prince Rhun, and of course, the ancient Dallben. And there is a vast constellation of secondary characters as well. All are fully drawn, and instantly embed with a deep humanity through which we instantly relate - even the scoundrels and villains.
The story moves through The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and finally, The High King. The series keeps getting better as it continues, and by the time we reach Taran Wanderer, we get a novel about reaching adulthood that lands with particular heft. And as we go through The High King, we learn something Alexander has been telling us all along: there is more glory in tilling a field than in swinging a sword, and every victory on the battlefield will always come at a cost we’d rather not bear.
The Chronicles of Prydain are ostensibly aimed at young readers, and indeed, the prose is perfectly suitable for them. Though there is danger and death aplenty here, it’s written in such a way that the reader is spared no emotional heft, and yet there is no graphic leering at the details. Alexander writes with a remarkably compact style that covers in one paragraph what takes other writers an entire page. And before you know it, you are laughing and crying and dreading that the end is near.
Such is the Chronicles of Prydain, a book that had thrilled and inspired millions of readers, has won the highest awards in children’s literature, and has been translated into dozens of languages. And yet, when you read it, you get the sense that for all that, this is still an under appreciated masterpiece. Surely, a must-have to reside on the bookshelf next to your other tentpole fantasy classics.
This is a collective review for The Chronicles of Prydain. While the author always noted each of these volumes works as a standalone novel, they are far, far better consumed as an intrinsic piece of a larger whole.
Right as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings was poised to enjoy a huge revival in the United States, a U.S. author was about to make his own great contribution to the oeuvre. Lloyd Alexander had a tale in mind that hits many of the familiar notes of the Hero’s Journey, complete with archetype characters galore, but in writing his landmark pentalogy The Chronicles of Prydain, he soon develops a distinct story that speaks more softly, and more sparingly, about what it means to grow up, and how the dreams of youth can easily become the folly of adulthood.
Starting with The Book of Three, we meet the Assistant Pig-Keeper Taran, a headstrong young lad in a mythical land that bears a passing resemblance to the Welsh of the Mabinogion. Looking after the oracular pig Hen Wen, Taran soon meets a cast of companions with whom he will travel across the land, in the ultimate effort to push back Arawn, the dark lord of death. There is the enchantress-in-training Eilonwy, the man-animal Gurgi, the bombastic bard Fflewddur, the dwarf Doli, the crow Kaw, Prince Rhun, and of course, the ancient Dallben. And there is a vast constellation of secondary characters as well. All are fully drawn, and instantly embed with a deep humanity through which we instantly relate - even the scoundrels and villains.
The story moves through The Black Cauldron, The Castle of Llyr, Taran Wanderer, and finally, The High King. The series keeps getting better as it continues, and by the time we reach Taran Wanderer, we get a novel about reaching adulthood that lands with particular heft. And as we go through The High King, we learn something Alexander has been telling us all along: there is more glory in tilling a field than in swinging a sword, and every victory on the battlefield will always come at a cost we’d rather not bear.
The Chronicles of Prydain are ostensibly aimed at young readers, and indeed, the prose is perfectly suitable for them. Though there is danger and death aplenty here, it’s written in such a way that the reader is spared no emotional heft, and yet there is no graphic leering at the details. Alexander writes with a remarkably compact style that covers in one paragraph what takes other writers an entire page. And before you know it, you are laughing and crying and dreading that the end is near.
Such is the Chronicles of Prydain, a book that had thrilled and inspired millions of readers, has won the highest awards in children’s literature, and has been translated into dozens of languages. And yet, when you read it, you get the sense that for all that, this is still an under appreciated masterpiece. Surely, a must-have to reside on the bookshelf next to your other tentpole fantasy classics.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
2020 comfort re-read. Surprised that I'd misremembered the ending.
The sequel to The Book of Three provides an opportunity to revisit Taran and his friends as they continue their fight against the Horned King's boss, Arawn, by obtaining the Black Cauldron of the title. There is a new journey, new characters, and new challenges to face. A good follow-up.
Despite my complaints about the first Prydain book, I liked this one so much more! Although it's still very much a kid's book (maybe young adult, but I think probably not quite there), the characters are much better rounded. There is still something of a deus ex machina element to the solving of problems (especially the end), but I think that is owing, again, to the fact that it's a kid's book.
Fast read, appropriate for kids as well as adults. A good bedtime story book.