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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
It's one of my FAVORITE kid series. I can't remember when I first read this series but it must have been when I was 12 or 13. I was recently looking for books to give my nephew who is a total reader and this was what I decided on. It made me want to read it again. The whole series is a fun, short, interesting story about a young Assistant Pig Keeper who is courageous, impulsive, immature, self-centered at times, service focused at others and wants to do big things, but he's _just_ an assistant pig keeper.
He meets people who are really different than him that he gets annoyed with but learns to value and love. They become his true companions. His development is relatable and natural. The people he meets along the way are also real characters.
The heroine of the story has her own development and challenges. She's strong willed, smart, kind, impatient, a mover and a shaker.
For me, this series is up there with the Chronicles of Narnia. Quick read, full of adventure, a fantastic read-aloud. Its been so fun to read it and I can't wait for my niblings to also enjoy.
He meets people who are really different than him that he gets annoyed with but learns to value and love. They become his true companions. His development is relatable and natural. The people he meets along the way are also real characters.
The heroine of the story has her own development and challenges. She's strong willed, smart, kind, impatient, a mover and a shaker.
For me, this series is up there with the Chronicles of Narnia. Quick read, full of adventure, a fantastic read-aloud. Its been so fun to read it and I can't wait for my niblings to also enjoy.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really like the idea of this book, but I feel like the world itself is… obscured? Like it’s very well developed but the reader can’t see 80% of that development.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Light, quick, accessible, glorious
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is my third time reading this book, and with each reading my regard has continued to grow. What Lloyd Alexander has done in this first book of the Prydain Chronicles is breathe life into a world of characters both fantastic and touchingly honest. Prydain is a world where the deadly serious and the sublimely ridiculous exist side by side...much like in our own world. It is a place where an oracular pig can begin an adventure, where a king can leave his throne to become a bard - and carry a harp with strings that break whenever he lies. It is home to a self confident princess who rescues rather than being rescued herself, and to an assistant pig-keeper who longs to find meaning in his life.
I have read many reviews that dismiss this novel as being overly influenced by Tolkien or for bringing nothing new to the field of YA fantasy - but I disagree. Tolkien’s and even C. S. Lewis’s characters have a slight stiffness to them that set them apart from the reader. Their fantasies read as if the shroud of myth they create should be approached with a sense of awe and reverence. While such grand high fantasy has its place, the approachable, honest and flawed characters of Alexander seem far more sympathetic. Further, the plot and characters of Prydain seem closer to more modern fantasy such as J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. In fact, I would not be at all surprised to find Hermione Granger to be a direct descendant of Alexander’s Princess Eilonwy.
If you’ve never read The Book of Three or haven’t read it since childhood, pick it up. I think you’ll be surprised at what you find - and delighted by the characters you’ll come to love.
I have read many reviews that dismiss this novel as being overly influenced by Tolkien or for bringing nothing new to the field of YA fantasy - but I disagree. Tolkien’s and even C. S. Lewis’s characters have a slight stiffness to them that set them apart from the reader. Their fantasies read as if the shroud of myth they create should be approached with a sense of awe and reverence. While such grand high fantasy has its place, the approachable, honest and flawed characters of Alexander seem far more sympathetic. Further, the plot and characters of Prydain seem closer to more modern fantasy such as J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. In fact, I would not be at all surprised to find Hermione Granger to be a direct descendant of Alexander’s Princess Eilonwy.
If you’ve never read The Book of Three or haven’t read it since childhood, pick it up. I think you’ll be surprised at what you find - and delighted by the characters you’ll come to love.
The Chronicles of Prydain was my favorite fantasy series as a kid, but I hadn't reread this since then and was wondering how much I'd enjoy the story as an adult.
Overall, it's a solid high-fantasy story. There are definite similarities to the Lord of the Rings, but not enough that you feel like you're reading the same story. There was a lot of exposition at the beginning of the story (maybe slightly too much) but I liked how quickly the story got underway and how vivid all of the characters were. There were some fantastical elements (like a prophetic pig) that were taken very matter-of-factly by all of the characters and I enjoyed that. The dialogue was well-written and each character had a distinctive voice. Sometimes I felt like Taran's voice swung between sounding like a silly kid (which he was more-or-less supposed to be) and a very wise adult, though.
This isn't all included in the first book, but I know there's a lot of character development ahead for the main character, Taran, and I like that he changes a lot throughout the five books (especially because he can be kind of annoyingly dumb in this one). One thing I didn't notice as a kid but didn't like as much during this read was that a lot of the action happened away from the main character and was told to him at the end of the story as another exposition / info dump. Especially for Gwydion's transformation. The whole book is from Taran's POV but I wish there'd been a more dynamic way to deliver that information.
Overall, it's a solid high-fantasy story. There are definite similarities to the Lord of the Rings, but not enough that you feel like you're reading the same story. There was a lot of exposition at the beginning of the story (maybe slightly too much) but I liked how quickly the story got underway and how vivid all of the characters were. There were some fantastical elements (like a prophetic pig) that were taken very matter-of-factly by all of the characters and I enjoyed that. The dialogue was well-written and each character had a distinctive voice. Sometimes I felt like Taran's voice swung between sounding like a silly kid (which he was more-or-less supposed to be) and a very wise adult, though.
This isn't all included in the first book, but I know there's a lot of character development ahead for the main character, Taran, and I like that he changes a lot throughout the five books (especially because he can be kind of annoyingly dumb in this one). One thing I didn't notice as a kid but didn't like as much during this read was that a lot of the action happened away from the main character and was told to him at the end of the story as another exposition / info dump. Especially for Gwydion's transformation. The whole book is from Taran's POV but I wish there'd been a more dynamic way to deliver that information.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No