The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

January 22nd, 2008 at 9:22am |

The Chronicles of Prydain: Book 1

Audience: 9 and up

Rating: B

Synopsis:

Taran is a simple assistant pig keeper until the day his pig escapes. But Hen Wen is no ordinary pig; she can predict the future. With an evil Horned King attacking the countryside, her powers are being hunted by both sides and it’s up to Taran to rescue her. For people who like the Lord of the Rings series, or Eragon, this is another series you’d enjoy reading. Full of battles and fantastical creatures, this story is part myth, part adventure, and very exciting.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) I had my doubts about this book after reading the back. A book about a pig keeper’s assistant? That didn’t sound too exciting, but this is definitely an adventurous book.

I was not a big fan of Taran at first… in fact, I thought he was an obnoxious character. He couldn’t do anything right, and he was always making foolish and dangerous choices. For example, when he almost drown while crossing the river because he thought he’d “learn to swim” just by being in the water. Right from the start, Taran wouldn’t listen to anyone: in just the first few pages he’s disobeyed orders from Call about making horseshoes, and then he disobeys another direct order when he leaves the property and runs into the woods to chase Hen Wen. Taran, however, does evolve as the book progresses. When he disregards Medwyn’s directions and the whole group ends up at the bottom of the lake, Taran does take responsibility for the mistake.

Eilonwy, on the other hand, I thought was very amusing! I don’t think she could communicate less clearly if she tried, but her similes are fantastic and funny. Eilonwy’s mix of bossiness, indignation, condescension, and misinterpretation is exactly what Taran needed. I enjoyed his character much more after she arrived.

Fflewddur is hilarious! I love how his harp breaks a string each time he tells a lie. You can tell how much he’s exaggerating by how many strings snap, and I think this is a great idea. Let’s make everyone carry a magical- truth telling harp. It would be more convenient than sprouting a Pinocchio nose and still keep everyone honest.

This is clearly a ‘starter novel,’ by that I mean it’s obviously the start of a series. Some books that have sequels tell a complete story, others are “starter novels” that set up the a story that will be developed in the following books. Just the sheer numbers of characters that are introduced and then disappear make this a starter novel. I expect to read much more about the ‘vanishing characters’ in the other books.