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shakespearesgirl 's review for:
The Black Cauldron
by Lloyd Alexander
The Black Cauldron starts off much faster than the Book of Three does, and I always forget that it does. Alexander assumes you've read his earlier book, or are smart enough to keep up if you haven't, which is nice. The prose is still the same style, so if you weren't a fan of the fairy-tale-esque narration in The Book of Three, that hasn't changed at all.
The Black Cauldron might be the superior tale, though. It's the same sort of quest, with companions and tasks and goals set out from the beginning and never really deviated from, but the scope is broader and more relatable, and there is better conflict, both on a grand scale (Gwydion vs. Morgant) and on a personal level (Taran vs. Ellidyr). There is also a lot less character introduction in this book, which helps keep the plot moving at a fair pace.
The quest in this book is to find and destroy the Black Cauldron, the giant, evil cauldron the Lord Awran uses to create his undead warriors. Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewdder, Doli, and Gurgi all end up together, questing for the Cauldron. Additional companions Adaon and Ellidyr serve as wise mentor and competition, respectively. The plot is simple, but Alexander uses his charm and his storytelling capability to keep your interest and mix the ridiculous and the light-hearted with the heavy and sad.
The Black Cauldron might be the superior tale, though. It's the same sort of quest, with companions and tasks and goals set out from the beginning and never really deviated from, but the scope is broader and more relatable, and there is better conflict, both on a grand scale (Gwydion vs. Morgant) and on a personal level (Taran vs. Ellidyr). There is also a lot less character introduction in this book, which helps keep the plot moving at a fair pace.
The quest in this book is to find and destroy the Black Cauldron, the giant, evil cauldron the Lord Awran uses to create his undead warriors. Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewdder, Doli, and Gurgi all end up together, questing for the Cauldron. Additional companions Adaon and Ellidyr serve as wise mentor and competition, respectively. The plot is simple, but Alexander uses his charm and his storytelling capability to keep your interest and mix the ridiculous and the light-hearted with the heavy and sad.