Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Dark, late elementary-age fantasy. We meet old friends in the second book and some interesting new ones. This may be my favorite of the series just for the Marshes of Morva. Always fun to revisit Prydain. (Note: Bears very little resemblance the the Disney movie of the same name. Disney took the first two books, crammed them together and took out a lot of interesting bits, and turned it into the first -- and only for a LONG time -- PG rated Disney cartoon. Watched it again recently and still pretty meh on it.)
Update in 2023: Love this book as much as ever! As I said above, the Marshes of Morva is one of the best sections of the whole series.
Update in 2023: Love this book as much as ever! As I said above, the Marshes of Morva is one of the best sections of the whole series.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
These books are so much better than the Narnia series. There, I said it. This book actually has adventure and not just allegory. Yet you still learn about honor and friendship and duty and consequences of all choices (good and bad) and sacrifice, just without getting knocked over the head with it. I still love Eilonwy the best.
Okay, so I honestly didn't waste much time after finishing the first book because I dove into The Black Cauldron pretty quickly. That being said, I was actually pretty darn excited to dive into this book because I remembered watching the movie when I was little. Heck, I think it's on Disney + right now.
Another honest moment, it has been a very long time since I've seen the film. So at this point, I wasn't even trying to pretend that I remembered what happened in it. I think the girl was like saving herself at one point and the guy was like.. oh can I come? If that's completely wrong and I'm explaining a different movie.. then pretend you didn't see this review.
Now after diving in this one.. my view on Taran and Eilonwy has changed a bit. Not sure what exactly happened between the two books but they just got annoying. Like, I clearly remembered that they were kind of cute in the first book when they were together.. but something definitely changed in this one. I don't even think they were that annoying or frustrating to deal with in the movie?
Other than that, the adventure was a bit more exciting than the first one. Or at least I was a bit more invested this time around. Probably because this was turned into a movie.. and I have no shame about it at all.
In the end, I guess I'm intrigued enough to dive into the next book. I just have to find a version of it to read first.
Another honest moment, it has been a very long time since I've seen the film. So at this point, I wasn't even trying to pretend that I remembered what happened in it. I think the girl was like saving herself at one point and the guy was like.. oh can I come? If that's completely wrong and I'm explaining a different movie.. then pretend you didn't see this review.
Now after diving in this one.. my view on Taran and Eilonwy has changed a bit. Not sure what exactly happened between the two books but they just got annoying. Like, I clearly remembered that they were kind of cute in the first book when they were together.. but something definitely changed in this one. I don't even think they were that annoying or frustrating to deal with in the movie?
Other than that, the adventure was a bit more exciting than the first one. Or at least I was a bit more invested this time around. Probably because this was turned into a movie.. and I have no shame about it at all.
In the end, I guess I'm intrigued enough to dive into the next book. I just have to find a version of it to read first.
I liked this quite a bit better than The Book of Three. In the second book of a series, a complete lack of backstory is less a of an issue than in the first. The plot/characters become somewhat more complex here, with some discernible growth.
Alexander writes with a peculiar tone that I can't describe any better than "tongue-in-cheek." It's not quite developed enough to be irony, but is more subtle than your basic wink at the reader.
Alexander writes with a peculiar tone that I can't describe any better than "tongue-in-cheek." It's not quite developed enough to be irony, but is more subtle than your basic wink at the reader.
Enjoyed this even more than the first one. Would give it a solid 4.5 stars. I just don't think you can ask for more out of a series. Great characters going on cool adventures. Epic battles. Twists. It's just good stuff.
In case you missed my review on book one , which has all of my thoughts on the beginning of the series.
As I said in that review, book two is more interesting both plot-wise and in the character development portion. Here we see Tarran actually recognizing his mistakes and working on making things right in the future.
We also have a trope I enjoyed since I was a kid and my mom was reading me fairy tales in bed: three witches in a cabin with a deal for the main adventurer.
Besides that, we have a healthy dose of realism in form of political betrayal – a good start for future Joe Abercrombie fans.
In conclusion: Not bad for a middle-grade fantasy book, would read it again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
That one passage about squirrels saving food for later reminded me of elementary school essays of Autumn - silly and unnecessary.
As I said in that review, book two is more interesting both plot-wise and in the character development portion. Here we see Tarran actually recognizing his mistakes and working on making things right in the future.
We also have a trope I enjoyed since I was a kid and my mom was reading me fairy tales in bed: three witches in a cabin with a deal for the main adventurer.
Besides that, we have a healthy dose of realism in form of political betrayal – a good start for future Joe Abercrombie fans.
In conclusion: Not bad for a middle-grade fantasy book, would read it again.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
That one passage about squirrels saving food for later reminded me of elementary school essays of Autumn - silly and unnecessary.
