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Summary: The best of the first four!!! It beats The Black Cauldron!!
Review: Lloyd Alexander certainly knew what he was doing when he wrote Taran Wanderer. I love this book the best out of the first four!! I have yet to read The High King, but have the suspicion that I'm going to like it the best.If you've read the first three (and you NEED too), then read this one! You're going to greatly enjoy it, and, like me, you might like it the best so far!
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Summary: Alexander continues the series well in Taran Wanderer
Review: This book is episodic, making it great for reading on the can or right before bed! =) Each episode made me think of how the situation at hand applied to my own life. Again, Alexander's book isn't just for kids as I greatly enjoyed it even though I'm 22. Reminiscant of Tolkien's ring cycle. A bit easier to read which makes it great for when one is tired, etc. HAWKLYN, 22
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Summary: Which is more honorable: king or commoner?
Review: The fourth volume in Alexander's acclaimed *Chronicles of Prydain* deals more with basic human concepts than with heroism. Taran has done many brave deeds, but one thing remains. Taran is eager to learn of his parentage. When Orddu the witch suggests a journey to the Mirror of Llunet, Taran goes. On the way, Taran learns many things: how to farm, how to smith, how to weave, the art of pottery, and the knowledge that luck is what you make out of simple things. He is no longer sure if he wants to visit the Mirror. Can Taran handle the truth of his lineage? More importantly, can he face what he truly is?
Rating:
Summary: Insightful, funny, human
Review: This is the best of the Prydain Chronicles. It clearly shows how Taran matures from a stubborn boy into a thoughtful, courageous young man. The lessons he learns are full of truth for all people, but the book never preaches. It is full of common sense, humor, and good writing, and has plenty of action and mystery to counterbalance Taran's soul-searching. It is on a par with epics such as the Fellowship of the Ring. Read it.
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Summary: The Most Meaningful Book I've Ever Read
Review: I read it at six. I read it at sixteen. I read it at twenty-six. I read it at home. I read it wandering. At all times and all places, I have identified with Taran Wanderer more than any other literary character. I'm not excluding Shakespeare, the classics or modern novels. Taran is a boy trying to become a human (it applies to girls just as much.) This is the beginning of all great mythology, as the late Joseph Campbell would have agreed. This boy travels through a world of magic swords, undead warriors and medieval villages. It is an escape. Or is it? Taran deals with truth, the true worth of himself and others, the search for meaning in a career and in life, the excitement and high price of violence and love. I AM Taran in 1997, as much as he is in an imaginary world. I bet a lot of you are, too. Alexander never talks down to you, whether you are young or old. It is fun and meaningful. This fourth book of a wonderful five-book series is an excellent encapsulation of the entire series. This is not a book for adults or children. It is a book for people. A great one.
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Summary: This book was exciting!
Review: Taran, searches for his parentage. He hopes that he is of noble blood so that he may be able to marry his love, Princess Eilonwy. This book is exciting, but I still wish he had gone back to Caer Dallben, or visited Princess Eilonwy. All in all it was a fairly good book
Rating:
Summary: A journey of discovery
Review: This is my favorite of the Prydain Chronicles. I'm afraid Ican't remember whether this was true when I first heard the story atabout age 5, but the theme of self-discovery is still relevent to me today. I have, at times, been as proud and as stubborn as Taran. Like him, I have gained skill in many areas that have still failed to satisfy me. And like him, I have desperately yearned for things beyond my reach. Who says this is just a children's book?
Rating:
Summary: Clever
Review: This is the 4th book in a series called "The Prydain Chronicles." This book is about Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and his quest for himself. His quest is to find his parents and to gain the hand of the Princess Eilonwy. When he goes to see the Witches in the Marches of Morva they send him on a wild goose chase to seek the Mirror of Llunet. On the way he gets himself into crazy situations and he finds creative solutions for complicated problems. I really liked this book because it's easy to read when it is really late and you are very tired. There aren't a lot of hard words so you don't have to think, and you can just read for the fun of it. I also liked this book because I liked the way he creatively dealed with his and others problems. I never would of thought of some of his solutions. I would definately read this book and the other three books before this one in the series because they are classic children's literature. Your probably saying to yourself "But I'll look silly reading childrens books!" Everyone should indulge their inner child. Especially an inner child with a love for adventure!
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Summary: Amazing Story of Courage,Friendship and the Search for Truth
Review: Taran Wanderer was not given the Newbery Award like it's successor The High King; nor was it awarded a Newbery Honor medal such as it's predecessor The Black Cauldron. However, Taran Wanderer is the most complete book in the Chronicles of Prydain. Lloyd Alexander deftly tells the tale of Taran's quest to find his parentage in hopes of being decendant from noble blood. Gurgi, Taran's faithful sidekick journeys with him through far off parts of Prydain. Along the way, old friends and faces reappear such as Fflewwder Fflamm the bard/king, Doli of the fair folk, Kaw his hijinxing bird, Llyan the giant cat who Fflewwder now rides as his mount and King Smoit whose army rescued Taran and his companions at the end of The Black Cauldron. Taran's journey to find himself takes him to a number of different trades such as metallurgy, weaving, farming and pottery. He also meets his fair share of adventure and enchantment along the way. At 254 pages Taran Wanderer is the longest book in the series but it reads the fastest because there is so much action and uncertainty in what Taran will finally find out about himself. The Chronicles of Prydain still stand as some of the greatest fantasy stories ever written and Taran Wanderer is the BEST book in the Chronicles of Prydain. Highest Recommendation.
Rating: 
Summary: I am, I said. To no one there.
Review: The Prydain series takes a turn for the introspective with this particular book in the series. Throughout the series our hero, Taran, has been sort of an everyboy. He's never physically described in the books, a fact I've always ascribed to the notion that the guys reading the books can picture him as themselves. Up until "Taran Wanderer", the boy's been alternately foolish and brave. In this particular adventure, however, author Lloyd Alexander decides to do an old fashioned boy-learning-to-be-a-man storyline. Though the writing is fairly fine, in the end this stands as probably one of the weaker books in the Prydain series.
As the book opens, we see Taran attempting to come to grips with two things. On the one hand, he has decided that he loves Eilonwy. On the other hand, he wants to know who he parents are. Unfortunately for the reader, Eilonwy remains in this story only as a pretty memory in Taran's mind. She never actually appears in the narrative. That leaves the parentage quest. Taran has decided that he is probably descended from noble lineage. Now, you might think this to be a pretty egotistical idea on Taran's part. But when you consider that roughly 50% of the people Taran comes into contact with in his adventures are either kings, princesses, or princes, it's not that crazy a notion. This series is rife with royalty. Setting off away from his beloved Caer Dalben with the faithful Gurgi in tow, Taran goes to find his destiny. What he finds instead is who he is as a person.
As I mentioned before, Eilonwy is missing from this book, and this is a serious failing. With Taran lovestruck and doe-eyed, the girl's caustic wit and good sense are sorely lacking. We get plenty of adorable Gurgi and funny Fflewddur and even a bit of Dolbi, but Eilonwy's space cannot be filled. The fact of the matter is, she always used to temper Taran's melodramatic musings and monologues. With her gone, Taran launches into huge bouts of self-pity and depression without respite. Other small flaws concern the finish of the tale. Though the ending is meant to give the reader an important, rather than easy, finale, it comes off as slightly disappointing. That's the problem with a book that's supposed to be "meaningful". If you haven't a good sense of humor and ability to laugh at yourself, what good are you to the reader? Taran's so doggone EARNEST all the time. You just wanna slap the little guy and tell him to lighten up. I'm sure Eilonwy would. If she were around.
Though the action and swashbuckling abound in this tale, it's not the same. I was disappointed in this particular installment. I'm certain it has its admirers, and certainly it's a fine book. The fact that it doesn't live up to its fellow books in the series doesn't mean it isn't worthy reading. Just don't expect to be blown away.
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