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The Book of Three
(The Chronicles of Prydain #1)
by
Taran wanted to be a hero, and looking after a pig wasn't exactly heroic, even though Hen Wen was an oracular pig. But the day that Hen Wen vanished, Taran was led into an enchanting and perilous world. With his band of followers, he confronted the Horned King and his terrible Cauldron-Born. These were the forces of evil, and only Hen Wen knew the secret of keeping the kin
...more
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
January 1969
by Dell Yearling
(first published March 12th 1964)
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Start your review of The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain #1)

Blast From The Past Year Zero:
Hooboy. I have conflicted feelings about the book, and my feelings about those conflicted feelings are also conflicted. So there's that.
To make a long story short I loved this series when I was kid, I needed to pick up a gift for my nephew who is apparently Mini-Me, so I grabbed him the first couple of books in this series. Figured I'd give him something better to read then the Eragon type crap he's reading now. Of course I couldn't resist but take a look at them ...more
Hooboy. I have conflicted feelings about the book, and my feelings about those conflicted feelings are also conflicted. So there's that.
To make a long story short I loved this series when I was kid, I needed to pick up a gift for my nephew who is apparently Mini-Me, so I grabbed him the first couple of books in this series. Figured I'd give him something better to read then the Eragon type crap he's reading now. Of course I couldn't resist but take a look at them ...more

Apr 28, 2014
Michelle
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
prydain,
for-kids-and-kidults
There are certain books that beg to be read over and over again throughout our lives. To return to a book is a sign of love and dedication. It's a sign that the book was just that good! It is as familiar as greeting an old friend, and sometimes there's a comfort in that reunion. One series that I’ve returned to countless of times is Lloyd Alexander’s “The Chronicles of Prydain”-- and it all started when I stumbled upon “The Book of Three” in my elementary library.
The setting of the story is Pry ...more
The setting of the story is Pry ...more

Lloyd Alexander to Welsh tradition
As Tolkien's Germanic: noble mission.
But worse than ‘The Hobbit’ - please explain?
Because the prose style's more mundane.
The rest of the series, though, remember,
Only gets better, fanning the embers
Fiercer and brighter in later books;
From The Black Cauldron onwards, you're hooked.
...more
As Tolkien's Germanic: noble mission.
But worse than ‘The Hobbit’ - please explain?
Because the prose style's more mundane.
The rest of the series, though, remember,
Only gets better, fanning the embers
Fiercer and brighter in later books;
From The Black Cauldron onwards, you're hooked.
...more

A good classic. I first read this book when I was about 8 years old, and I remember loving it back then. It was fun to revisit it now, and thankfully, it aged surprisingly well!
There are a lot of subtle layers here underneath what is an otherwise Tolkien-inspired book for kids.
The assistant pig keeper Taran starts out surprisingly unlikable, but whenever he does something kind, the world responds in turn. His quest is a bit generic, but there are a lot of funny flashes that make things great. Ea ...more
There are a lot of subtle layers here underneath what is an otherwise Tolkien-inspired book for kids.
The assistant pig keeper Taran starts out surprisingly unlikable, but whenever he does something kind, the world responds in turn. His quest is a bit generic, but there are a lot of funny flashes that make things great. Ea ...more

Back in the days before Harry Potter, I was too young to get through Tolkien and wasn't interested in The Chronicles of Narnia - fortunately, I had The Chronicles of Prydain.
The series (there are five books in all) takes place in a setting similar to Wales in the Middle Ages. The main character is an assistant pig-keeper named Taran - the reason there's a need for both a pig-keeper and an assistant is because the pig in question can predict the future. The books are full of witches, magic sword ...more
The series (there are five books in all) takes place in a setting similar to Wales in the Middle Ages. The main character is an assistant pig-keeper named Taran - the reason there's a need for both a pig-keeper and an assistant is because the pig in question can predict the future. The books are full of witches, magic sword ...more

"The mightier the foe, the greater the glory."
The Book of Three has been a wonderful read, filled with adventures, heroism and fun.
This is the tale of Taran, known as the assistant pig-keeper, and his fellow heroes the charming Eilonwy, the truth-stretching Flfewddur Fflam, and the cute hairball-like but devoted Gurgi.
Magical, Adorable and Enjoyable! ...more
The Book of Three has been a wonderful read, filled with adventures, heroism and fun.
This is the tale of Taran, known as the assistant pig-keeper, and his fellow heroes the charming Eilonwy, the truth-stretching Flfewddur Fflam, and the cute hairball-like but devoted Gurgi.
Magical, Adorable and Enjoyable! ...more

Whenever I'm at my parents' home, surrounded by the books of my childhood, I will inevitably pick one up and read. This time, I selected the first of Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles: The Book of Three. If you haven't read Lloyd Alexander at all, then I feel terribly sorry for your sad and empty childhood.
The basic plot should seem quite familiar: a peaceful land threatened by evil and the people who must band together to save it. It's the telling of the story that really makes it unique, th ...more
The basic plot should seem quite familiar: a peaceful land threatened by evil and the people who must band together to save it. It's the telling of the story that really makes it unique, th ...more

I have very little to say on this book and why I gave it 5 stars. I read it in the past. A re read has revealed many deft touches that the author has meant us readers to discover at our leisure. The book has a boldfaced naivety about it. I enjoyed it from start to finish. I regret so few people will want to give it a chance. I'm thinking of going through the entire series. Ta.
...more

The Book of Three is one of those classic fantasy novels you see on "Top ___" lists and the shelves of used bookshops with a fantasy section of any redeeming value. However, it doesn't rank up there with the best of the bunch and you don't hear people raving about it. I needed to find out what was up with this little book and so I did.
It's a fun, mostly-light fantasy adventure about a headstrong boy who wants to live life, not wallow in the wake of a blacksmith or spend his days as an assistant ...more
It's a fun, mostly-light fantasy adventure about a headstrong boy who wants to live life, not wallow in the wake of a blacksmith or spend his days as an assistant ...more

This is really where it all began for me. Over three decades ago this book set me on the path to a lifelong love of, and later career, in fantasy fiction. Between the ages of ten and thirteen I must have read this book six times or more, along with all the others in the series. Alexander's blend of Welsh legend and modern fantasy tropes is both enchanting and compelling and the adventures of Taran, orphan and assistant pig-keeper, are a truly classic example of the hero's journey from boy to man
...more

May 15, 2014
Aj the Ravenous Reader
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
physically-owned-books
The Chronicles of Prydain is a classic fantasy adventure that does what great classics, fantasies and adventures do to readers- make them love them. Who says classics cannot be as fun as Percy Jackson series? :)

I adored this series when I was a kid, and I was in the mood for some comfort food reading, and deeply curious to see whether reading it would still hold any pleasure for me decades later. I’m happy to say that it did indeed hold many pleasures. There is an abiding sense of compassion and humor coursing through this book, even as its band of misfit adventurers face peril and hardship. It never reaches the poetic heights of Le Guin’s Earthsea Trilogy, another classic of children’s fantasy literat
...more

Sep 20, 2011
Lyndz
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
reviewed,
mypod-audiobook
Kids who cannot understand or don’t have the patience for the Lord of the Rings but who want to read fantasy novels may enjoy this.
As for me, if I wanted to read Fellowship of the Ring I would have just read it. I didn’t like this book at all, there were too many obvious similarities to the Lord of the Rings and I just kept becoming more and more irritated with the parallels as the book progressed.
(ahemmm... *fake cough* blatant ripoff *end fake cough*)
Sorry to my friends that love it, but I j ...more
As for me, if I wanted to read Fellowship of the Ring I would have just read it. I didn’t like this book at all, there were too many obvious similarities to the Lord of the Rings and I just kept becoming more and more irritated with the parallels as the book progressed.
(ahemmm... *fake cough* blatant ripoff *end fake cough*)
Sorry to my friends that love it, but I j ...more

The Book of Three is not the most impressive book on first reading, even despite there being some things that set it apart, first and foremost its Welsh-inspired settings and characters of myth and legend. Mostly, it seemed a bit like a Tolkien clone with a plot barely even trying to be anything more: Collecting the group of adventurers. The beyond evil bad guy. Swords and sorcery, kings and princesses and princes. Wizards who commune with animals.
Right away The Book of Three did demonstrate a c ...more
Right away The Book of Three did demonstrate a c ...more

Jun 26, 2008
Terence
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
sf-fantasy,
for-the-younger-generation
For some reason, I've had a hankering to reread these books for a few months. A yen I gave in to this weekend when I checked out a Science Fiction Book Club omnibus edition of all 5 novels and a collection of short stories (the latter of which, I haven't read).
Having read The Book of Three, I can see where my moral compass may have begun to form. I first read these books in sixth grade as an extracurricular project, and then made a filmstrip of the final book, The High King (yes, a "filmstrip" - ...more
Having read The Book of Three, I can see where my moral compass may have begun to form. I first read these books in sixth grade as an extracurricular project, and then made a filmstrip of the final book, The High King (yes, a "filmstrip" - ...more

Great book. I think this is the first time I've read Lloyd Alexander, although I can't believe that's true. As a parent, I would like to put the main character, Taran in the corner quite a bit, but he's a boy that likes danger. It seems like the adults treat him like an adult way too easily, even though he's probably twelve years old, if that. I like the fantasy aspects of the book, and I like that the fantastical creatures aren't all happy and tra-la-lally (not a word, I know). The book is quit
...more

Jun 07, 2012
jillian n.
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy,
favourites
4.5
An Assistant Pig-Keeper, a snarky red-headed princess, one of those comical Bards with a tendency to exaggerate, a very Gollumesque (but considerably more pleasant) creature, and a really awesome horse go on a quest to find a really wise pig?
That. Is brilliant.
Add to that mix an abundance of magnificent Welsh names, mythology references, the no-nonsense but still witty writing style, and you have this delightful book.
An Assistant Pig-Keeper, a snarky red-headed princess, one of those comical Bards with a tendency to exaggerate, a very Gollumesque (but considerably more pleasant) creature, and a really awesome horse go on a quest to find a really wise pig?
That. Is brilliant.
Add to that mix an abundance of magnificent Welsh names, mythology references, the no-nonsense but still witty writing style, and you have this delightful book.

May 22, 2013
Wayland Smith
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2017reading-challenge
I don't know when I first read this. When I was a kid, this was one of the first fantasy series I branched out into after Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia. Based on Welsh legend but with some creative twists from the writer, it's a classic series.
Taran is your typical (even stereotypical) bored farm boy. Of course, he dreams of adventure while he does chores on the small farm of Caer Dallben. But it isn't exactly a normal farm. Coll the blacksmith teaches him farming and even, as the ...more
Taran is your typical (even stereotypical) bored farm boy. Of course, he dreams of adventure while he does chores on the small farm of Caer Dallben. But it isn't exactly a normal farm. Coll the blacksmith teaches him farming and even, as the ...more

Nov 22, 2009
Mike (the Paladin)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fantasy
Great youth adventure novel about an assistant pig keeper who meets a priccess on a chase to to rescue his intelegent pig who communictaes through talking sticks from a horned king.....
Well, trust me as odd as it sounds it's a great youth book, really, it is. ...more
Well, trust me as odd as it sounds it's a great youth book, really, it is. ...more

I have often heard about the Chronicles of Prydain as it said to set standards of excellence in fantasy for children’s literature. Honestly, I really wanted to read fantasy books from the past for it evoke a sentimental feeling in me, maybe because of it written in the year of 1964? For I believe that fantasy from the past (The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc…) are more original for they are less influence by technology and just based on pure thoughts, humble opinions that makes
...more
![[Name Redacted]](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1347082397p2/287915.jpg)
Aug 30, 2007
[Name Redacted]
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
classics,
fantasy,
children,
epic-fantasy,
mythology,
high-fantasy,
cymru-n-un,
young-adult
A childhood favorite which remains one of the most wonderful books I've ever read.
Part of what makes it so engaging is the unconventional nature of the protagonists, all of whom are defined as much by the faults as by their virtues: Taran, far from being a "Marty Stu", is infuriatingly impetuous, hotheaded, and stubborn (a character so well-defined that until others pointed it out, i never noticed that his appearance was never described); Eilonwy, far from being a "Mary Sue", is scatterbrained, ...more
Part of what makes it so engaging is the unconventional nature of the protagonists, all of whom are defined as much by the faults as by their virtues: Taran, far from being a "Marty Stu", is infuriatingly impetuous, hotheaded, and stubborn (a character so well-defined that until others pointed it out, i never noticed that his appearance was never described); Eilonwy, far from being a "Mary Sue", is scatterbrained, ...more

Apr 30, 2019
Maria
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s,
classics,
reviewed,
fantasy,
adventure,
coming-of-age,
journey,
dark,
high-fantasy,
zombies
Taran wants to be a great warrior the likes of Gwydion, the greatest war leader in Prydain, but is stuck with pig-keeping and making horseshoes.
'Why? Why must it be horseshoes?’ . . . ‘I wish I might have my own sword,' Taran sighed. 'And you would teach me sword-fighting.'
'Wisht!' cried Coll. 'Why should you want to know that? As if we had any battles at Caer Dallben.'
'We have no horses, either,' objected Taran.
But adventure ensues when psychic pig Hen Wen runs away, and must be found before ...more
'Why? Why must it be horseshoes?’ . . . ‘I wish I might have my own sword,' Taran sighed. 'And you would teach me sword-fighting.'
'Wisht!' cried Coll. 'Why should you want to know that? As if we had any battles at Caer Dallben.'
'We have no horses, either,' objected Taran.
But adventure ensues when psychic pig Hen Wen runs away, and must be found before ...more

Apr 05, 2019
Michael Sorbello
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
book-reviews,
fantasy
An ill-mannered farm boy named Taran dreams of being a hero, but he knows he's not cut out for that sort of life. He can barely manage to properly supervise his oracle pig Hen Wen. When his pig goes missing amidst the scene of a great battle, Taran just might have to become a hero whether he's cut out for it or not. Meeting unlikely companions along the way including the heroic Prince Gwydion and the sassy Princess Eilonwy, Taran finds himself wrapped up in a battle against the Death Lord Arawn
...more

I stumbled across THE BOOK OF THREE in the local bookstore right after I had finished THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, and I had nary a clue I was about to fall under a deep spell woven by the masterly Lloyd Alexander. I literally could not read these books fast enough. I couldn't stop thinking about the Assistant Pig Keeper named Taran and his dear friends and companions, Eilonwy, Fflewddurr, Gwydion, and poor mistreated Gurgi.
Truth to tell, if forced to choose between Tolkien's Middle Earth and ...more
Truth to tell, if forced to choose between Tolkien's Middle Earth and ...more

Originally read: Many years ago.......
Re-read Jan 2017
When I first read this I was young and easily impressed. My favorite character was Gurgi.
Now re-reading this I still enjoyed it but what I found amusing has changed. Gurgi was half amusing and also annoying. Eilonwy;s attitude towards Taran cracked me up but she also came across as uppity. Taran I found a bit lacking in character this first book. I really wanted to get a better feel for him but it just didn't happen.
The story starts off fas ...more
Re-read Jan 2017
When I first read this I was young and easily impressed. My favorite character was Gurgi.
Now re-reading this I still enjoyed it but what I found amusing has changed. Gurgi was half amusing and also annoying. Eilonwy;s attitude towards Taran cracked me up but she also came across as uppity. Taran I found a bit lacking in character this first book. I really wanted to get a better feel for him but it just didn't happen.
The story starts off fas ...more

Searching for books narrated by James Langton led me to this wonderful tale of an assistant pig keeper and his adventures.
My next mission is to seek out the rest of the stories in this series.
My next mission is to seek out the rest of the stories in this series.
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Play Book Tag: (Poll Ballot Tally) The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander - 4 stars | 1 | 8 | Jul 12, 2020 02:21PM | |
/r/Fantasy Discus...: June 2018: The Book of Three | 1 | 8 | Sep 08, 2018 11:15PM |
Lloyd Chudley Alexander was an influential American author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books. His most famous contribution to the field of children's literature is the fantasy series The Chronicles of Prydain. The concluding book of the series,
The High King
, was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1969. Alexander's other book
...more
Other books in the series
The Chronicles of Prydain
(5 books)
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“Most of us are called on to perform tasks far beyond what we can do. Our capabilities seldom match our aspirations, and we are often woefully unprepared. To this extent, we are all Assistant Pig-Keepers at heart.”
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