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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
fast-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:
No
I've been meaning to read the series for years and I finally got around to it. It's very much a straight adventure which is fun, there's a bit of a deus ex machina at parts which makes it feel a bit like a D&D adventure that's going off the rails. But otherwise very fun
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
"It would be a shame if you were killed. I should be very sorry. I know I wouldn't like it to happen to me..." (spoken by Eilonwy)
Kind of reminded me of [a:J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1434625177p2/656983.jpg], but more geared towards younger audiences. I found Eilonwy terribly annoying, which was both surprising and unfortunate. But I'm hoping she'll grow and mature in the books to come. Very fast-paced, in a good way.
Kind of reminded me of [a:J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1434625177p2/656983.jpg], but more geared towards younger audiences. I found Eilonwy terribly annoying, which was both surprising and unfortunate. But I'm hoping she'll grow and mature in the books to come. Very fast-paced, in a good way.
I've been wanting to read these books forever and I'm so glad I've now got my hands on them. The first one did not disappoint. A feel of olde and adventure, it's everything you could want in a classic fantasy tale.
Some books are worth reading multiple times over the course of your life; this one qualifies.
The world of Prydain is (loosely) based on Welsh mythology, so many myth and literature enthusiasts will see something familiar. But everyone who has been thirteen years old will recognize something in Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper at Caer Dallben who finds out the hard way that adventures aren't entirely glorious, that people don't always act the way you expect, and that making (big) mistakes is part of the painful process of growing up.
As he struggles his way through a quest too big for even his ambitious imagination to have dreamed up (something about a dark lord and the end of the world--you know, the usual) he meets and befriends a series colorful characters comprising the best ensemble cast of my childhood: Gurgi, the miserable rhyming creature, Fflewddur Fflam, the bard-king who is prone to exaggeration, Hen Wen the oracular pig, Doli the dwarf, and Princess Eilonwy, who just might be the greatest character ever written in the young adult fantasy canon. Between her gift for metaphor ("If you don't listen to what somebody tells you it's like putting your fingers in your ears and jumping down a well" or, my personal favorite, "I don't like being called 'a girl' and 'this girl' as if I don't have a name at all. It's like having your head put in a sack.") and her stubborn pride and her ability to outtalk anyone and her aggressive passive-aggressiveness and her habit of biting people when they try to manhandle her... I love her. As a kid, I simultaneously identified strongly with and wanted desperately to be Eilonwy when I grew up. (A work in progress.)
The book itself tells a complicated and beautiful coming of age adventure story in language that is perfectly accessible to young adult (twelve and up) readers, but with a wisdom that has something to offer readers of all ages. I myself have experienced this book in profoundly different ways over the years.
If I was required to cull the list of books that are important to me or changed me in some way down to a handful, The Book of Three (and the rest of the Prydain chronicles) would be in the list for sure.
The world of Prydain is (loosely) based on Welsh mythology, so many myth and literature enthusiasts will see something familiar. But everyone who has been thirteen years old will recognize something in Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper at Caer Dallben who finds out the hard way that adventures aren't entirely glorious, that people don't always act the way you expect, and that making (big) mistakes is part of the painful process of growing up.
As he struggles his way through a quest too big for even his ambitious imagination to have dreamed up (something about a dark lord and the end of the world--you know, the usual) he meets and befriends a series colorful characters comprising the best ensemble cast of my childhood: Gurgi, the miserable rhyming creature, Fflewddur Fflam, the bard-king who is prone to exaggeration, Hen Wen the oracular pig, Doli the dwarf, and Princess Eilonwy, who just might be the greatest character ever written in the young adult fantasy canon. Between her gift for metaphor ("If you don't listen to what somebody tells you it's like putting your fingers in your ears and jumping down a well" or, my personal favorite, "I don't like being called 'a girl' and 'this girl' as if I don't have a name at all. It's like having your head put in a sack.") and her stubborn pride and her ability to outtalk anyone and her aggressive passive-aggressiveness and her habit of biting people when they try to manhandle her... I love her. As a kid, I simultaneously identified strongly with and wanted desperately to be Eilonwy when I grew up. (A work in progress.)
The book itself tells a complicated and beautiful coming of age adventure story in language that is perfectly accessible to young adult (twelve and up) readers, but with a wisdom that has something to offer readers of all ages. I myself have experienced this book in profoundly different ways over the years.
If I was required to cull the list of books that are important to me or changed me in some way down to a handful, The Book of Three (and the rest of the Prydain chronicles) would be in the list for sure.
I didn't connect strongly with any of the characters (possibly simply a result of my age, and of having read a *lot* of fantasy with more developed characters), but the world is just magical.
adventurous
lighthearted
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:
Yes
adventurous
fast-paced
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes