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Summary: Let The Adventures Continue!
Review: This sequel to The Book of Three is great! I love to read this series and jump right into the book and join in the adventure. You are swept away into the land of Prydia. Lloyd Alexander's talent for high quality fatasy books is amazing. He is a favorite of mine and I hope that you enjoy his books as much as I do.
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Summary: More engaging than the first.
Review: This book held my attention more closely than the first. Mr. Alexander's characterization become stronger and the story was more compelling than in The Book of Three (Book 1 of The Prydian Chronicles). A rousing adventure of betrayal and redemption!
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Summary: The Black Cauldron By McFinger
Review: This book as written by Lloyd Alexander was a very thrilling and mysterious story. Like most titles of this genre it entails what seems to be a great quest or search for a tangable object. It is the second book in a series called the pyridian tales. In it a prince Gwydion leads this treacherous route to find and destroy the cauldron because of its possible horrendous applications. Even though this is deemed as a childrens book it seems that most people on all levels of reading can enjoy this story. the descriptions are intense during the battles and even the way the dark leader arawn makes and sends out his evil demons to the world. With this cauldron Arawn seems impossible to beat anf for this reason the cauldron must be captured or destroyed. I felt this was an very fun book, which kept me intersted and wanting to read more and more. i give it two thumbs up.
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Summary: Wonderful for readers of all ages
Review: I've loved this series for years. I'm also a big fan of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, but even Harry Potter isn't better than the Chronicles of Prydain (though maybe equally as good!). Anyone looking for an entertaining, insightful, completely delightful read should definitely try this series.
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Summary: The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
Review: Although it is a childrens book I recommend The Black Cauldron to all age groups. Iam 18 years old and it is still one of my favorite books. The Prydain Chronicles show a deph and sensitivity that a lot of fantasy for adults does not have. The characters are also wonderful. Like many other people who reviewed this book I was also disappointed with the cartoon which seemed to take out all the deph and to make the characters more cute and cuddely than they were in the book. The Black Cauldron is a great book and I fully recommend it to one and all.
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Summary: the best
Review: it is a really good book i would recaemed it to ant one essily people who like science fiction. it is excting, interseting sometimes i can't wait for what comes next. i have read almost all of them in the secerc, i am reading the high king now. they are all really good books
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Summary: Growing Up
Review: Taran seems now to be an adolescent. He deals with shame over what he considers a demeaning lot in life and learns to deal with the taunting of others. He also helps find the dreaded Black Crochan, which Arawn Death-Lord has corrupted to create his undead warriors, the Cauldron-Born.
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Summary: One of the best sequels out there
Review: The Black Cauldron is just an amazing sequel to The Book of Three. Somewhat darker than the original, this book has several twists and unexpected surprises. Taran joins a band of warriors to seek and destroy a magic cauldron that has the power to raise undead warriors that cannot be defeated. The same characters as in The Book of Three are in this book, as well as characters who both like and despise Taran. The ending is amazing and bloody. I remember seeing the Disney version once when I was like 5(I'm 20), and from what I remember, I liked it then. I haven't seen it again since, but I could tell from its'storyline, that it is a mangled blending of the first two books in the Prydain Chronicles. Maybe it's still a good film by itself, but I think not as a reference to Lloyd Alexanders' creation. Read this one if you read The Book of Three.
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Summary: The best first sequel in history
Review: A little darker than "The Book of Three", this amazing sequel deals with far more mature themes, including the death of a character and events that affect all of Prydain rather than just the immediate characters. Most second books are weak; this one, if anything, is far more multilayered and mature in its content. There is character death, and there is more political conflict.Princes and war leaders show up at Caer Dallben with a mission: find the Cauldron that supplies the dark lord Arawn with his deathless, lifeless soldiers. Taran, the Assistant Pig-Keeper, is elated that he will be able to participate in his first real adventure (since the last one was because of a series of accidents) with a sword and the respect of his peers. This becomes something of a problem with the arrival of Ellidyr, Son of Pen-Llarcau - an obnoxious and arrogant prince who looks down on Taran, Eilonwy, and Gurgi. Taran, Ellidyr, Prince Gwydion, the dwarf Doli, the kindly warrior Adaon, bard-king Fflewddur Fflam and others ride off to infiltrate Annuvin, Arawn's lands. (They inadvertantly have to bring Eilonwy and Gurgi) But they soon find that the situation has become much more complex, as there are forces other than Arawn and Gwydion who want the Cauldron... The story becomes more Tolkienesque in this volume. The language becomes a little more formal, especially for Taran. And Alexander doesn't shrink away from battle and character death - none of it is graphic, but it is deeply saddening. His writing reflects this, as it is far stronger and more beautiful than in "Book of Three." The tempering of Taran, which comes to full in the last two books of the series, really begins here. At the beginning, Taran is an eager boy who wants to go out, fight, be a hero. Though he is called on to act heroically, he is a wiser and sadder young man; he's seen battle and death, and they aren't the glorious foe-slaying parade that he imagined. Gurgi's growing loyalty to Taran is demonstrated, as is Eilonwy and Gwydion's growing respect for him. Eilonwy, Gurgi and Fflewddur are all their irrepressible selves, no matter what. The supporting characters are also strong: we have the goodhearted bearlike king Smoit; the sinister Morgant; the arrogant, obnoxious Ellidyr who seems to secretly envy Taran; Gwystyl, the most depressed of the Hidden Folk; and, of course, the three weird witches living in the Marshes of Morva. Ignore the hideous animated movie, and read this delightful book. For adults and kids alike, those who have read Tolkien and want more...
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Summary: A great book that the Disney cartoon does a great disservice
Review: I am a sixteen year old girl who has been a fan of The Chronicles of Prydain for as long as I can remember. My father had been a fan of the books for years and passed them to me as soon as I was able to read them. I have read all five a thousand times and never tire of them. The adventures are always complex and exciting, and the characters are never flat. I have always appreciated the antagonists of these books because they always have reasons for doing what they do (like Ellidyr in The Black Cauldron), they never do things simply because they are bad, which happens all to often in books, especially in children's books. My favorite character is Eilonwy who has always inspired me with me with her courage and determination. Which brings me to my biggest gripe with the movie. Not only was the movie boring and urelated to the book except in name, the character of Eilonwy lacked personality, courage, and determination, qualities that were essential to the book character. So please, if you have only seen the cartoon, do not misjudge the books, and if you have only read the books, please skip the movie.
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