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The Black Cauldron: The Prydain Chronicles #2

The Black Cauldron: The Prydain Chronicles #2

List Price: $26.00
Your Price: $17.16
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: I did not enjoy the story as much as the book of three
Review: Imagine a mission to find something nearly impossible, accompanied by a girl, a hairy thing named Gurgi, and a harp player named Fflewdder Flam who over exaggerates. Well In the Black Cauldron it does have all of that in the book. Taran has to trade his broach to get a black crochin, but the witches said ok we will trade, but most of the stuff was too valuable. So Taran trades his brooch, for the Crochin. Then later in the story the jealous prince Ellidyr the son of Pen-Llarcau came and threw him in the river and took it.

I did not enjoy the story as much as the first one. I did not like the beginning of it or the middle of it. I thought it was boring because they were always arguing. But I did like the part when Gurgi broke loose from his captors and flung himself toward the king.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Have you ever wondered about magic
Review: Have you ever wondered about magic? A lot of people do wonder. In Prydain a lot of characters are supernatural. There are enchanters like Dallbon and enchantresses like Eilonwy. There are dark magic woods, magical objects like spellingsticks grass nets, wands and baubles. There is evil. Great evil like Achren. So Prydain is full of supernatural beings. Most of the supernatural beings use their power for good and to protect their family and their homes from people like Achren.

I liked The Black Cauldron because it has a lot of adventure. Because I like to go on adventure because some adventures are highly dangerous like mountain climbing is dangerous. There are a lot of other dangerous adventures but there are to many to list. I also liked it because of Eilonwy -- she knows how to take care of herself -- she's strong magic and cool! The girl has all the moves. I think she could beat up Taran like Taran was a stick.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Dont judge a book by its cover!
Review: The Black Cauldron, is one of my personally favorite books because I was trying to look for a book that had no magic like Harry Potter and all of his garbage about magic, well I found one!, The Black Cauldron is based on a Robin Hood type character who longs to be a hero, his name is Taran, the assistant-pig keeper who goes on a journey and faces many hardships with his friends, Eilonwy, Gurgi, Fflewddur Fflam(the bard), and Doli. These hardships include destroying the black cauldron. This story is mostly about loyalty and facing your fears.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The review of the Black Cauldren
Review: The author of this book made the characters very realistic in that they all had real seaming feelings which made them different. I will tell about them one at a time. Taran thinks he is better than he really is in the beginning but as the story goes along he gets wiser. Taran is also my personal favorite character. Gurgi is a funny little thing in that he always talks like this "Taran save Gurgi from crashings and bashings" but he has a cool little wallet that is always filled with wafers. Princess Ellonway has some good sense but Taran hardly listens to her speak. Fflewedor is a bard with a magical harp that pops a string every time he makes a wrong decision. I really enjoyed the characters of the book and it's hard to see what's coming next with them. The book was really exiting because of the characters.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Book, My favorite of Lloyd Alexander
Review: This is most definitely my favorite book out of all of Lloyd Alexander's. It begins with a council that decides what will be done about a cauldron that creates deathless warriors. A quest begins. There is a lot of sorrow, adventure, battle, and heroic deeds in The Black Cauldron. I reccomend it. Characters like Adaon and Ellidyr will keep you wondering and thinking about them the whole way through. There are a lot of heartbraking choices made. So get this book if you like adventure stories.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The adventures of Taran continue
Review: This is probably the best known of the Chronicles of Prydain due to the Disney movie of the same name. In this book Taran, Eilonwy and their friends continue their adventures, as they seek the destruction of the Black Crochan, the magic cauldron that their enemy Arawn of Annuvin uses to create his immortal, mute, soldiers the Cauldron-Born. "The Black Cauldron" introduces the characters of Gwystyl (the gloomiest of the Fair Folk), the jolly King Smoit, Kaw the rascally crow, and Orrdu, Orwen and Orgoch, the three "witches" of the Marshes of Morva.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Iffy
Review: Though this book had a very good strong point, it was kind of a let down. I do like Lloyd Alexander's writing and all, but I found this book a little more off than all his others that I have read. The first book, "The Book of Three", was good I'll admit, but it took a while to get into it. I think that Lloyd Alexander should have put a little more action in the both of them, but that obviously, is just my oppinion.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: And the adventure continues...
Review: Book 2 of the Prydain Chronicles, The Black Cauldron, returns us to the wonderful world of the unforgettable characters in The Book of Three. An uneasy peace has reigned, but with the Death Lord rising again, the adventurers are off, joined by new friends and foes - with either not always clear which is which (the wacky ladies of the Marshes of Morva and Ellidyr are real puzzlers). While each of these marvelous books can certainly stand alone and be judged individually, I like to think of them in their totality. The action and characters are briefly reintroduced in each work, but it's knowing where they came from that makes their present personalities and connections more meaningful, so I encourage reading them in order if possible.

The Black Cauldron is darker and more conflicted than its predecessor, but how can it not be with the dreadful Cauldron-born, the unkillable walking dead warriors - I'm all grown up and they still give me delicious heebie-jeebies. It may sound strange to enjoy the shivers, but that's the wonder of Lloyd Alexander's storytelling - you feel pity for these seemingly one-dimensional horrors. Similarly, Taran and his friends have left their innocence in Book 1. Being a Hero is not only more difficult than he thought, but Taran is not sure he knows what it means to be one anymore. The also-matured Eilonwy, Fflewddur, and Gurgi continue to be the brave, loyal friends who liven up the story with wit, sweetness, and (often) better sense.

Alexander mimics life so wisely, something I appreciate increasingly with each successive reading. Taran has to live with more difficult choices that no longer only affect those immediately around him. Not only is his newfound authority challenged, but people and situations are more ambiguous, no longer just good or bad, triumphant or defeated, joyful or sorrowful, but usually a combination of both. Death tinges these pages, not victoriously, but sadly - precisely because it is necessary. At the same time, the narrative is woven throughout with gentle humor. Nothing is absolute with Alexander, and the beauty of The Black Cauldron is how the conflict makes perfect sense.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A tale as black and gloomy as the Cauldron itself
Review: "The Black Cauldron" is a deeply moving tale that will really pull at your heartstrings as Taran and his companions try to locate the Black Cauldron, also know as the Black Crochan. This book contains scenes that have a lot of emotion in them, and explores death and loss. Tragedy and sadness is to be expected, but with some very happy(yech)moments. If you have seen "The Lord Of The Rings" then you have a pretty good idea what "The Black Cauldron" is like, meanig that the sad scenes are tearful, but the happy scenes will cheer you up slightly. It also has a lot of violence, including using weapons to solve problems. I highly recommend this book, but not to extremely sensitive people.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: swords and sorcery
Review: The Black Cauldron, the second book in a series of 5 called the Prydain Chronicles, really gets the series going with a bang. This story all starts when it becomes evident to Prince Gwydion that The Black Cauldron-- the tool which Arawn, the Lord of Death, uses to create deathless warriors which will forever be his slaves-- must be destroyed. Gwydion leads the quest to Annuvin, Arawn's domain, in hope of finding and destroying the Black Cauldron. But it is a surprise in store for Taran, Eilonwy, Gwydion, and everyone else, including the Death Lord himself, when they get there and find out that the cauldron has disappeared!

If you love swords and sorcery read THE PRICE OF IMMORTALITY. It is one of the best books I have read in years.


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