The Book of Three

Locations
Call Number: J Fiction / Alexander, Lloyd, Kids Book / Fiction / Fantasy & Myth / Chronicles of Prydain 1
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	J Fiction / Alexander, Lloyd	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Books 4-week checkout	J Fiction / Alexander, Lloyd	4-week checkout	Due 05-24-2024
Malletts Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Fantasy & Myth / Chronicles of Prydain 1	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Fantasy & Myth / Chronicles of Prydain 1	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Fantasy & Myth / Chronicles of Prydain 1	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Fantasy & Myth / Chronicles of Prydain 1	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Fantasy & Myth / Chronicles of Prydain 1	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Fantasy & Myth / Chronicles of Prydain 1	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Fiction / Fantasy & Myth / Chronicles of Prydain 1	4-week checkout	Due 05-23-2024

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Fiction Profile
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

A Weak Begining to a Notable Series submitted by Jan Wolter on June 17, 2013, 8:40am This is the first book of "The Chronicles of Prydain" certainly a classic fantasy series and the inspiration of the Disney movie "Black Cauldron". Readers accustomed to more modern writers will, however, need to adjust their expectations. This has all the symptoms of a fine fantasy novel. There is a hero who starts out as a pig keeper's assistant, a princess who is also a sorcerers apprentice, a drowsing wizard, an evil dark magician, and an oracular pig. But the book ends without anything really paying out. There is a quest, which the hero survives by luck rather than skill, the magician does no magic, and the pig delivers no oracles. Some characters accumulate, each defined by their distinguishing quirk, which quickly gets old. The "Book of Three" in title is around, but nobody does anything with it. It all seems rather pointless.

But, of course, this is just the first book of the series. If you read the next two, "The Black Cauldron" and "The Castle of Llyr" you'll find more of the same. Huh.

If you persevere (and you should) you'll reach the fourth book "Taran Wanderer" where Lloyd Alexander does the one thing most likely to make the series even worse, but instead, somehow, makes it much better. He turns it into an allegory. Our hero, the pig keeper's assistant, evidently tired of all his pointless questing with annoying companions, dumps the companions and heads off on his own to find himself. And what he finds, in a sequence of allegorical adventures, seemed like real, deep, wisdom to me. This is the book that makes the series worth reading.

Finally, in the fifth book, "The High King", our hero takes up his quest again, and you finally get all the deferred payoffs from all the previous books. Someone consults the Book of Three, the oracular pig delivers an oracle, the sleepy wizard wakes up and does some magic, good triumphs and evil is defeated. After such a long wait, it's very fun to finally see things work themselves out.

One thing that has always bugged me though is that through the series the princess, who started out as a sorcerer's apprentice, undergoes a reverse hero's quest. Instead of getting more and more powerful and wise, she is steadily trimmed back to being more and more of a proper young lady. Phooey!

I liked it submitted by kathscot on July 20, 2013, 4:22pm The hero seems like anything but heroic. Lots of references to Celtic mythology. Has held up for 50 years.

Okay book submitted by thought yoshi on June 16, 2014, 7:24am I in no way liked how the story progressed. I get that they're traveling, but jeez is it boring! They did make up for it with okay characters and comedy. Overall I did like this book but I did not enjoy it.
8/10 would not read again

remember loving it submitted by Sabrina Carlson on July 20, 2018, 3:07am when i was little i read the whole series quickly and hungrily and i am excited to reread them now! just requested them again and am preparing myself for a trip down memory lane :)