Rating: 
Summary: Tolkein Rip off
Review: I hate pointing the finger at everyone and shouting "Tolkein Copier!" because he really got most of his things from mythology, which is common property. But there were an awful lot of things in this story that I seemed to have read before--besides Eilonwy, which is why I liked her. The Gwythaints where like the Crebain, Gwydion a less-cool strider, Arawn like Sauron, Gurgi like Gollum. He even had the fair folk offer help, and there was the mysterious guy in the mountain who saves them *coughgandalfcough*.I'm not particularly annoyed with Lloyd for writing this, since it came out in the aftermath of Tolkein when it was suddenly okay to write fantasy. I mean, the modern field probably wouldn't be where it is today without it. I just miss the magic of discovering new places and things--I've been to all the places in the "Book of Three" before, it seems. And met all the same characters--only the real ones, not the shadows of them that appear in this book. The characters might as well have been paper dolls they were so thin and transparent. Achren--how many times can they do the evil enchantress/seductress bit? "The Tough Guide to Fantasyland" even has an entry for them. And I understand that mythology is common property, but if you're not going to do things better, why take the ideas at all? The cauldron-born especially failed to instil any fear in me. I sort of thought of The Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Just chop bits off of them and nothing seems to matter. The Horned-King, well that sounded like trying to make old fertility gods into the bad guys and I kept imagining Skeletor from He-Man (which, if you've ever seen it, will serve to illustrate my complete lack of fear.) Aside from being a rip-off, it was boring. I am an avid fantasy reader and have been all my life, and even rip-offs usually manage to have some seed of originality in them. Not this one. And you notice how there are nothing but glowing reviews for the rest of the series? It's because most of us couldn't get past the first book to even attempt the second.
Rating: 
Summary: A childhood favourite
Review: When I was ten, before I'd ever heard of The Lord of the Rings, and long before Harry was even a twinkle in J.K.'s eye, my mother gave me _The Book of Three_ to take to camp with me. Before long, I'd devoured it and demanded the rest of the series, in which the Assistant Pig-Keeper Taran bumbles through high adventure with the help of a motley assortment of companions, and eventually finds love, himself, and his destiny before the story culminates in a grand finale in _The High King_, which won a Newbery Children's Literature award in 1968. Along with the Narnia books, it was this series that set me on the path to becoming a staunch fantasy reader all through middle and high school. Some twenty years later, I've pulled these down off my shelf for another read, rather the worse for wear on the outside, but as charming and endearing on the inside as they were when I was in Grade 5. Though the stories are written with a beguiling simplicity, their messages are hardly simple, but instead are heartwarmingly universal, and delivered with humour and compassion. The characters are vivid, if sometimes a bit stock, and everyone can sympathize with the trials of growing up that Taran and his friends encounter. Waiting for the next Harry Potter and have somehow missed these? Give them a try! Even though they're aimed at a younger audience, they're a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: what a magnificent peice of lierature
Review: I would just like to start by saying that anyone, no matter what there preferences are, can read Lloyd Alexander. He is brilliant. I first read The Book of Three as a second grader, again as a tenth grader, and it keeps going. The quintilogy (i think I made that up)is universally appealing.
The characters are wonderful. They may not have the hidden imagery as some of the Narnia characters, but they do have quite a sense of depth as well. Especially Taran, a truly wonderful hero in his own, pigfarmerish sort of way.
Speaking for the rest of the book, it is an intricate fairy tale that will keep the most fickle reader enraptured, and i highly recommend this book to people of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: Enter Prydain & a wonderful adventure
Review: This is the 1st of 5 books chronicling the adventures of Taran, Asst Pig Keeper, and his companions. Prydain is very much based on Wales & it's mythology but is not just a rehashing of old stories. There is magic, good-vs-evil, personal growth and all other aspects you might expect but the characters are written with such love and understanding that it's almost impossible not to be drawn into the story. As the first book in the series the focus is on introducing us to the characters and their world. Taran is a young man fretting about his place and longing for glory. His dreams come true more than he might want them to as he becomes entangled in the struggle against a great evil lord who wants to take over Prydain. You will also meet Prince Gwydion, Princess Eilonwy, Gurgi, Coll, Dalben, Archen and many others who you will come to love (or fear). Share in the growth, both physically & emotionally, of Taran as he finds out the hard way that being a hero has more to do with a person's character than in their accomplishments.
Rating:
Summary: I liked it!
Review: I finished this book a little while ago, and I thought it was amazing! It was very adventurous and exciting. I especially liked the character Eilonwy. She was very funny! But all the characters were very interesting. This book is great, especially if you like fantasy and adventure.
Rating:
Summary: I haven't finished it yet. . .
Review: but so far it is amazing! I have had this book for several years and I never even glanced at it until a day or two ago and I thought I'd give it a chance. I have hardly been able to put it down since and I know I will be reading the rest of the series as soon as I'm finished. I have to recommend this book to anybody and everybody.
Rating:
Summary: A good beginning to an epic tale
Review: For years now this all inspiring tale of how even Assistant Pig Keepers can change the course of life for millions. A great book for juviniles with values even an adult can lean from. This book is only a small step towards all of Tarans future advenures.Eilonwy will enchant her way into every heart and almost every girl can relate to her fiery spirate and every boy has a bit of Tarans big dreams in his heart.This book is a true classic and I know children will be wondering at it for perhaps a time behind my imagining. I know I shall wonder at its magic long after the covers have worn of from to much reading.
Rating:
Summary: The Beginning of Taran's quest
Review: This book may seem a little childish at first because of the objective of finding a pig, but it gets better. Taran is beginning his journey into manhood. He meets up with a lot of heroes and friends. Flewdder Fflam, Eilonwy, Prince Gwydion, and Gurgi. There are a lot of mysterious twists and turns to the book. I reccomend it for anyone who likes adventure stories.
Rating:
Summary: A great start to a great series
Review: In "The Book of Three" Lloyd Alexander introduces us to the the fantasy land of Prydain. Although the series is partly inspired by the Welsh mythology of the Mabigonian (for example, the god of the underworld, Arawn of Annuvin, finds his way into the Chronicles of Prydain as the villian), it is much more than just a re-telling of these ancient legends. The hero of the saga is introduced to us in "The Book of Three" as Taran, an orphan boy raised on a farm by an ancient wizard and a retired warrior, who dreams of adventure beyond his life as "Assistant Pig Keeper". He finds that adventure, when his pig runs away, and he must team up with the heroic Gwydion, Prince of Don, the talkative Princess Eilonwy, the colorful would-be-bard Fflewddur Fflam, the hungry, hairy Gurgi, and the gruff dwarf Doli, in order to get her back, and rescue her from Arawn's champion the Horned King.
Rating:
Summary: Second only to Tolkien...
Review: Lloyd Alexander, as a writer of fantasy, is second only to J.R.R. Tolkien, and his "Chronicles of Prydain" series is likewise second only to Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." If you haven't yet discovered the magic of Prydain, then maybe you've heard that this is a children's book. Indeed, the brevity of the story and its whimsical nature may support this claim, but I first discovered Prydain at age 21, and was no less enchanted by it than a child might be. Like the other books in the series, "The Book of Three" contains deep moral messages that resonate powerfully in the world of today. Though one can draw comparisons to Tolkien (that may or may not be entirely coincidental), Alexander's work stands on its own as a triumph of imagiation and heart. It upholds the traditions of the genre, but remains unpredictable. Alexander doesn't pull any punches. Bottom line: if you haven't been to Prydain, it's time for you to pack.
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