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Summary: Not an adventure, but a journey
Review: In essence, the entirety of the Prydain Chronicles is a journey, Taran's journey from boyhood to manhood. Well, "Taran Wanderer" traversed a mile of the journey with a single bound.After "Castle of Llyr," we know that Taran is pretty obviously bonkers-in-love with Eilonwy, but since he's an Assistant Pig-Keeper and a Princess, he doesn't plan to ask her until he can discern who he is, in terms of rank and birth (she'd probably think he was nuts to think this, and make some amusing comparison, but she sadly doesn't appear in person in this one--warning to Eilonwy fans). Taran first travels to the Marsh of Morva to ask for advice, then sets out on his journey with Gurgi, who shows the levels of his faithfulness in this story. He comes face-to-face with amorality, selfishness, greed, and various other human failings. But Taran manages to handle them all with grace and wisdom... ... until he meets a crippled shepherd who might just be his father. After he meets the shepherd, Taran's journey becomes far more mature. He is forced to face his own failings and his own beliefs about whether he would be worthy for Eilonwy, as he tries to change his life. Is Taran a prince? Or a prince among men? And which matters more? Such favorites as King Smoit (a personal fave of mine--his last scene with Taran is wonderful), Doli of the Fair Folk, and Fflewddur Fflam appear in this book, but it's really Taran's story, with a good dose of Gurgi thrown in. This takes all but one step toward adulthood--the last step is taken in "High King." Taran is one of the most unique and sometimes haunted heroes in fantasy literature, for children or adults. His journey of self-discovery is amazing, truly amazing. Why this book never won a Newbery is beyond me--it doesn't have a lot of swords clashing or involved battles. It's a journey of the heart, and possibly one of the finest books I've ever read.
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Summary: The only good thing my ex-wife ever gave me!
Review: There will be some who will turn away from this book because they feel from the description that it's "another of those sci-fi books." It's not. Based loosely on Welsh legends, Taran Wanderer is a book for young minds and young hearts, no matter how old they may be chronologically. Like many of us, Taran wanders through life, searching for who he really is. Unlike many of us, in this book, he actually finds out. If you are a wanderer, seize this series of books. Read the first three, just to get to this one, and then read The High King to see how it all turns out. Learn from this book.....and wander no more.
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Summary: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Pig-Keeper
Review: In this coming-of-age fantasy, Taran goes on a quest to find his true heritage. He is no longer satisfied with being an Assistant Pig-Keeper (well, he never was, but he's less so than ever), because he is completely head-over-heels in love with Princess Eilonwy (well, who wouldn't be?), and he hopes that his parents were of high enough lineage to make him worthy of her. What he discovers, however, is something poets and storytellers have been telling us for centuries--true nobility is in how you act, not in who your parents are. Finally Taran discovers his father--or is it his father? Since being a shepherd is not much better than being an Assistant Pig-Keeper (probably worse, since the pig was the oracular pig Hen Wen), Taran would just as soon that he wasn't. But if Taran (and hopefully the reader) has learned anything by this point in the series, it is that if you want to be and not merely appear a hero, you have to accept reality as it is, and not just as you want it to be. This is not as exciting as some of the others in the series, but is an indispensable prelude to the magnificent finale, _The High King_.
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Summary: The quiet, modestly wonderful sibling of the other four
Review: Unlike many of the older readers reviewing the Prydain chronicle, I have never stopped reading them. The series was almost permanently taken out in my name from the childrens' library in town for about five years, from second or third grade on. Finally I broke down and bought paperback copies of all five, which are now dogeared and mangled, the biding broken. Not from mistreatment; from my sheer love of the books. These are the "Star Wars" of books for me; I've read them countless, countless times. While all five books are excellent in their own personal way, Taran Wanderer, I believe, is my favorite. It didn't used to be; as a child I liked The High King, which was admittedly more action packed. I think the switch came around adolescence; Taran Wanderer was then less a boring filler between books and more a boy's journey to adulthood and to find himself. Somewhere along the line I began to appreciate this for what it was, and what the other books, though infinitely wonderful, were not. There is subtle poignancy in Taran's friendship with Gurgi, mediation between Gast and Goryon, attempts to peaceably deal with Dorath, and most of all his finding of value and nobility in even the common folk of the Free Commots, where he proves to himself that he doesn't necessarily have to be a hero to be a man. You don't have to have gone through adolescence to appreciate the beauty of this book. Maybe not the most action-packed of the Prydain chronicles, or the most climactic, but so much more than filler: literary wonder.
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Summary: it's awesome!
Review: I think it was really amazing.I got hooked on the book of three and had to read them all. i am just finishing the high king. i recommend them.
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Summary: Taran Wanderer
Review: I have read these books before when I was a lot younger, and recently I decided to read them again, after I bought the set for Christmas. The story this book tells, kept me reading. How he finds he has skilly in farming, swordsmanship, weaving, and very little in pottery. But none of them are what he truly seeks to find. And in his quest to find his parents he really finds himself. I can't wait to get to the High King!
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Summary: Change of pace.
Review: Things slowed down a bit here from his last book. I would have liked to see more of the conflict with Morda...it just seemed to get resolved too easily. No Eilonwy, either, but I guess she would have hindered the story that Mr. Alexander was trying to tell here. It was more a story of growth for Taran. We'll see what happens in Book 5, The High King.
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Summary: SO Good!
Review: This was such a good book to read. Taran, the main character, is journeying through Prydian to find out who his parents are. He hopes he is from royal lineage, so he can be worthy of the hand of Princess Eilonwy. As he travels, Taran starts to find out mor about himself and what parentage really means...
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Summary: Alexander at his peak--and that's saying something
Review: Though "Taran Wanderer" didn't win a Newbery, it should have. It's different from the other Prydain Chronicles; there are no grand battles, no high councils, and worst of all, no Eilonwy. Instead, Alexander focuses on Taran alone, who seeks to know the truth about himself. The book is clever, of course, especially in the early quarrel between Gast and Goryon, but dark as well. Taran finds that he is capable of doing things he would never have thought he could do, and that realization is not an entirely happy one. He also discovers that there are other things he cannot do, even though he wants to. None of this sounds profound--we all know these things. At least, we know them with our brains, but not as often with our hearts. Alexander makes us know not with text-book knowledge, but vicarious experience. That's what all great books do.
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Summary: Inspiring
Review: I was a little guy when I first came across the Prydain Chronicles. I had long since lost the books and had forgotten that they even existed. And then one day I saw "The Black Cauldron" on sale for 25 cents at a Garage Sale. Right away my mind jumped back to my youth. Needless, to say I bought the book as well as the complete set. Now that I am an adult I am amazed at how inspiring the books are. There is so much behind the words written in these books and I am grateful that I took the time to re-read them 15 years later! I think the idea of Taran searching for his history is reflective of many things in the lives of all people - young and old! There is a magic to these pages that I hope will not become a rarity in books written by todays authors. Alexander doesn't write books, he creates visions. I'm just glad that he decided to share his visions with many others.
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