I’ve wanted to get my hands on this series for a long time and I finally have! The Chronicles of Prydain is a series of five fantasy genre books written by Lloyd Alexander written since around the 1960’s. Admittedly, I don’t have trouble understanding it.
The Chronicles of Prydain consists of five books:
1) The Book of Three
2) The Black Cauldron
3) The Castle of Llyr
4) Taran Wanderer
5) The High King
The story of The Chronicles of Prydain is set in a fictional world, Prydain, which is a nation consisting of several kingdoms. Inhabitants include humans, strange creatures such as the Fair Folk, beasts, witches and evil warlords. The land is filled with magic and mystery and is a very enjoyable world.
The series follows the adventures of Taran, an assistant pig-keeper who dreams of becoming a brave warrior from Caer Dallben. Soon in his journey, Taran teams up with Princess Eilonwy, Gurgi, and Fflewddur Fflam. Taran’s ultimate goal is to find his identity and protect Prydain from the evils of Annuvin, a kingdom filled with darkness. Along the way, Taran confronts witches, corrupted kings and untold danger in a battle to put an end to Arawn, Annuvin’s sinister warlord ruler.
What makes this series increasingly enjoyable are the character moments(Taran and Eilonwy have some of the greatest ones in my opinion, and Gurgi’s enjoyable too along with Fflewddur’s enthusiasm), the plot and the action. The characters are rather realistic, notably Taran who goes through the most character development in the series. It documents Taran going from a boy to a man. All the characters are not perfected as they each have their flaws, but their charm and charisma as well. The plot is just awesome. It keeps you guessing and it’s not cliched, even though it includes elements of a typical fairy tale. The action is nicely paced and well-written. Arrows flying, swords swinging, monstrous armies all over the place. It’s occasionally violent, but the action is very enjoyable to read nonetheless.
I believe the Chronicles of Prydain is a must-read for any fantasy genre lover. Disney once made a movie based on the first and second book of the series, but it didn’t turn out too well. I’ve only received this series last Thursday and I’m already on the fourth book a couple days in.
And now, I shall finish this post with typings and tappings!
Por J.'s Digital Log 