Whenever I'm at my parents' home, surrounded by the books of my childhood, I will inevitably pick one up and read. (Especially when I'm supposed to be doing things like reading serious book club books or writing business school application essays.) This time, I selected the first of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles: The Book of Three. If you haven't read Lloyd Alexander at all, then I feel terribly sorry for your sad and empty childhood.

The basic plot should seem quite familiar: a peaceful land threatened by evil and the people who must band together to save it. It's the telling of the story that really makes it unique, though.The Prydain Chronicles consist of five books with an epic fantasy storyline, heavily modeled upon Welsh lore. The first book in the series is The Book of Three, where we are introduced to our key players and get our first taste of the threat to Prydain. The dark lord Arawn is mustering forces in his kingdom of Annuvin, led by his champion the Horned King. For years the Sons of Don, who rule Prydain, have kept Arawn in check, but nevertheless, Arawn appears to be making movements to start a war.

Taran is a young man, hungry for adventure and excitement, though he spends his days working on the farm of Caer Dallben. Of course, it isn't quite a normal farm -- among the animals is Hen Wen (an oracular pig of great fame and importance, though Taran has seen no evidence of her powers) and the owner of the farm is Dallben (a scholar and wizard who is over three hundred years old). Still, Taran wishes to learn swordplay and fight like his hero, Prince Gwydion. When he longs for a title and destiny, Coll (a middle aged farmer that is clearly more than he appears to be) names Taran "Assistant Pig Keeper." So when a disturbance causes the animals to flee and Hen Wen to escape, Taran feels responsible and so he runs after her. Almost immediately, Taran discovers that the animals fled because the Horned King is near and Taran becomes injured. He wakes up to find his hero, Prince Gwydion, caring for his injury. Gwydion had been traveling to learn something from Hen Wen, and so he joins Taran in his search for the pig.

As they search, we meet several important characters along the way. Gurgi, a half-animal/half-human creature, tells them that he saw Hen Wen being pursued by the Horned King. After being captured by some of Arawn's fearsome Cauldron-Born (soulless warriors created from the dead), they meet the evil enchantress Queen Achren, who offers Gwydion the chance to join her and with her help, rule Prydain and overthrow Arawn. When he refuses, she throws him and Taran into separate dungeon cells. Taran then meets Princess Eilonwy, a young enchantress of the House of Llyr who is supposed to be learning from her Aunt Achren (though Eilonwy is not convinced that they're related). Eilonwy helps Taran escape and also manages to free "his companion in the other cell," though once they escape and the castle has somehow collapsed, killing everyone still inside (which we later learn is due to Eilonwy's removing a particular sword of power from the castle as they fled), it's discovered that the man Eilonwy rescued from the other cell is not Gwydion. He is Fflewddur Fflam, a king who has given up his kingdom to be an unofficial bard, though he owes his talent to his magic harp, whose strings snap when Fflewddeur bends the truth -- which is quite often. Believing that Gwydion must be dead, Taran takes it upon himself to travel to Caer Dathyl to warn the House of Don, but he is not alone, as Gurgi, Eilonwy and Fflewddur (not to mention Gwydion's very wise horse Melyngar) insist on accompanying him. After a chance meeting with Medwyn, a healer who protects animals, and an encounter with the Fair Folk adds a dwarf named Doli (who cannot turn invisible, unlike the rest of his family, to his intense irritation) to their party, they ultimately must fight and stand against the Horned King.

Not to worry -- we're just at the beginning of the story, so all ends well (Hen Wen is found! Gwydion isn't dead! The Horned King is defeated!), but it's clear that there is real danger afoot that will enter into future books. I challenge you to try and not fall in love with Taran, a very real young man with a good heart who gets the adventure he wants, yet still comes to understand the importance of home and peace. He learns and matures through lots of errors, but is also capable of making the right decision in the face of pressure. He ultimately prevails in this first challenge with the help of his traveling companions. As with all Lloyd Alexander novels, the best part is the sense of comedy and whimsy. Eilonwy talks a great deal and is quick to take Taran down a few notches whenever he's too uptight. As a princess with red-gold hair, it's not hard to understand why this redhead always loved her, but she is a charming and outspoken girl, an excellent role model for young ladies, as she never shies away from a fight and always speaks her mind. Fflewddeur is charming as he repeatedly exaggerates, causing harp strings to snap. And Gurgi, well... Gurgi is a bit annoying, but he means well, so the reader, like Taran, ultimately decides that Gurgi isn't so bad.

As a kid, I loved these books. They're notable in my past as being responsible for my first (and only) request for an extension on a paper. In sixth grade, I asked for a single day extension on a book report, which was granted, as I was writing about the whole series and not just one book. I rather wish I still had that paper, as I'd be curious to read my initial impressions. I'm sure it touched on my elementary understanding of Welsh mythology, but I seem to remember a lot of summarizing of the books... kind of similar to this. Hm.

So if you know a young reader aged 10-12 and they're not quite ready for Tolkien or other, similar fantasy novels, you might point them in Alexander's direction. A bit of a warning for the kiddies, though: there's frequent violence and people do get hurt. Also a word of warning to parents: if you buy the first book, you might as well just buy the whole series for your kid, as s/he will certainly want to keep reading about Taran, Eilonwy, and their friends. When they've finished those, you can then start buying the rest of Alexander's oeuvre. He wrote many gems (my favorite series being, of course, the Vesper Holly books) and frequently played with mythology. He's a funny and charming writer and whether the reader is young or old, I think everyone can find something compelling and delightful about this series. ( )

decided to read this book mostly because I was seeking a nostalgic read. Even though I never read this book before, I had seen the moive based on it (albeit losely), and it just seemed the kind of thing I would read when I was younger.

The writing was simple and the plot fast-paced. I kept in mind that the book was designed for a juvenile audiences, but that didn't keep me from noticing the flat characters. There was little or no characterization or development. But, this was a fantasy, and it did that part well, providing some new creative elements to the genre. Well, at least it was new forty years ago. There was also humor laced in that would have me chuckling. An enjoyable fantasy, and I just wish I had read it when I was younger. ( )

I thought I had read this book before, but almost nothing seemed familiar and I’m wondering now if I ever made it all the way through. In any case, I found it somewhat disappointing, especially considering the reputation of the author and the series. It was engaging enough, but I had trouble liking the protagonist and found it strange that Taran does not really solve his own problems. He perseveres throughout, but usually ends up succeeding through luck or someone else’s efforts. I suppose he does succeed in changing his perspective and manages to grow as a person, but I felt that he should have had a more direct hand in the final showdown with the Horned King. Unless I’m missing the whole point, which may be that he succeeds because he perseveres, and it is through his actions that his companions’ actions become possible? And that his acceptance of this role is more significant than if he had actually been able to figure out everything for himself? ( )

_The Book of Three_ is the first in a classic fantasy series by Lloyd Alexander and is hugely beloved by those who have fond childhood memories of reading it. Growing up in a small town, my local library did not actually own a copy of _The Book of Three_, or any of Alexander's books, so I missed out on reading it in elementary school when I first discovered and devoured the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and similar children's fantasy stories. It's a shame, because if I'd read this book back then, I think I would have gotten more out of it.

_The Book of Three_ is not a book that an adult can't enjoy, per say. Alexander keeps the plot moving briskly forward and introduces a fun cast of quirky characters (although I personally found them a bit too quirky - their catchphrases got very annoying and I think a younger reader might find them more colorful and endearing.)

Alexander also writes with a liberal dose of humor, which made the book much more enjoyable to read than if he'd taken the whole Assistant Pig Keeper Boy Wants to Be a Hero Goes on Quest to Find Magical Pig and Save Kingdom plot one hundred percent seriously. Another charming aspect of this book is how quick he is to have the supporting cast point out the hero's (or want-to-be hero's) failings and short comings, which is amusing and helps the characters seem more like real people than fantasy archetypes.

The plot is extremely straightforward: boy wants to be hero, but is instead a lowly Assistant Pig Keeper. Boy loses magical pig, goes on a quest to find her, ends up going on a quest to warn the kingdom about the threat of an evil dark lord villain type, and recruits a colorful assortment of companions to aid him on his quest, including a feisty young girl with magical abilities, a nobleman turned traveling bard whose harp strings break when he tells lies, a bizarre part-animal part-man creature that whines a lot and begs for food, and a noble horse that belonged to a great prince. They go on an adventure across a magical kingdom that incorporates elements from Welsh mythology and folklore.

Alexander's writing is smooth, polished and humorous enough for an adult to enjoy this, but I still think I missed something special by not getting to experience the wonder and adventure through a child's eyes.

I would highly recommended this book for children. As an adult you can enjoy it, but you will probably find the action less than suspenseful, the mythology references a tad superficial and the fantasy elements quite archetypal. My personal opinion: 3/5 stars. ( )

The Chronicles of Prydain were my first big girl books. We read them aloud as a family, taking turns reading one chapter each night. Eventually I began to read ahead & I've been doing so ever since.

This is the first in the series & establishes the characters & basic themes. In many ways these books are all about the hero's journey, but not just for the main character, Taran. Each person here is, in his or her own way, walking the path towards self-discovery.

For me the character of Eilonwy was always my favorite - probably in part because she's a girl & little girls need other girls to identify with in their books. When I was growing up girls like Eilonwy were few & far between in kids' books. She wasn't fluffy or dithering. She didn't a boy to rescue her, although she wasn't too proud to be rescued if need be. She was smart & interesting & independent & self-confident & competent. I identified with that (still do).

This is a great start to a great series. It was nice to re-visit Prydain. ( )