The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain) @ richardeward.com

The Book of Three (The Chronicles of Prydain)
by Lloyd Alexander
from Henry Holt and Co. BYR Paperbacks

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• A terrific beginning to the best fantasy series ever
  Readers who have watched the 1985 animated Disney film "The Black Cauldron" will no doubt recognize people and places from this novel by Lloyd Alexander. My advice is to enjoy the dark, creepy film but by all means, read Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series. It's simply the best fantasy series written, ever.
  Before angry Tolkien fans berate me, let me just say that I loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy in book form as well, but some of his poetry is ponderous to get through. Alexander's sparse... more info

• For kids only
  I found this book via the vagaries of Amazon's recommendation system. Apparently I missed that it is children's literature -- as an adult reader I found it wanting in terms of depth, detail, character development, etc. It seemed like several elements were borrowed from Tolkien as well, which is probably fine if you're a 12-year old yet to read the LOTR trilogy, but not OK if you have. Anyway, I read George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" after this, which I found to be much more engaging (and set in a... more info

• A great introduction to fantasy
  A fantastic introduction to the fantasy genre, especially to children too young for Piers Anthony's Xanth novels, R.A. Salvatore's books or the Dragonlance saga.
  I have been reading fantasy novels on and off since I was in elementary school, and the books that got me started were the Chronicles of Prydain, which I first began reading in the 3rd grade. The books are well written, the plot flows well, and the entire series has a sense of EPIC-NESS to it.
  For older readers, the series may seem a bit... more info

• A Wonderful Experience.
  I first read the Prydain Chronicles when I was 10 years old, and can safely say that in my 45 years, I have never enjoyed a series of books more. To those who haven't read them, I am truly envious--to be able to enjoy and savor these books for the first time would be wonderful.
  The themes and lessons that Lloyd Alexander incorporated into this book were things that I was not able to appreciate until I was an adult, which is why I truly recommend this series to adults as well. But what makes these books... more info

Similar Products: