I recently picked up the Book of Three which is the first book in the Chronicles of Prydain series by Llyod Alexander. I am reading this series for my Project Disney The Black Cauldron movie. Which is a swear one of the least favorite Disney movies. I have of course heard of this series before but never took the time to read. Here is the goodreads description:
Taran dreams of adventure, but nothing exciting ever happens to an Assistant Pig-Keeper--until his pig runs away. A chase through the woods leads Taran far from home and into great danger, for evil prowls the land of Prydain. With a collection of strange and wonderful friends whom he meets on his journey, Taran finds himself fighting so that good may triumph over evil--and so that his beloved home will not fall to a diabolical fiend
I am conflicted about this book. While it is good it also drags at some parts. Let's just say what this book is... Lord of the Rings (LOTR). Yes, it is different. But a lot of it parallels LOTR. But I still think it's a great high fantasy for middle school readers. The villain in the book is truly a great villain, the Horned King. He wears human skulls and his arms are covered in blood. The book is full of fun magical creatures. Witches, Dwarves, zombies, princesses... everything you could want in a fantasy. I also liked the description of the world. World building is important in fantasy books, this one even includes a map at the front. Which I think all high fantasy books should have.
I did enjoy the characters in this book which is one of the reasons I think I enjoyed it. Taran the main character and our hero is not your typical hero. He doubts himself and really just succeeds by luck and help from others. He even knows this. Our princess is Eilonwy who is a great strong character in the book... very snarky and I love it. She is trying to be a sorceress but not having much luck. I wish I had read this book as a kid. Most of the reviews I've read have people loving this book from when they were younger.
The book cover confuses me and I can't get it off my mind. I took a picture of it to show it here. There is a scene on it of people riding horses. On the backside of the book there is a horse with a big black blob on it and I just can't figure out for the life of me what it is!! It looks like the horse is dead and there is a person laying next to it.. and then a big black blob!
If you are looking for a great fantasy series that isn't too hard to read this is perfect. Short and sweet. Though it does compare a little too much to LOTR it still does make a fun read.
The crystal ball says:
Fog is coming..... in the middle of the road on this book!
