The Prydain Chronicles

by Lloyd Alexander

All volumes of the series in one volume. The film, "The Black Cauldron", was partially based on this series.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, Novels, Mythology, Childrens

767 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1991

About the author

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 books have also won the National Book Award and the American Book Award. He was also one of the creators of Cricket Magazine.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

“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.”

--“The Book of Three”

Growing up, I adored the “Chronicles of Prydain” which I read and reread every few years. They did more than speak to me -- they enchanted me. This series captures, for me, what a perfect Young Adult fantasy series looks like.

Loosely based on Welsh myths, the books tell a fairly conventional story: A young boy, Taran, bored with his ordinary life sets off on a series of adventures, learns some lessons, confronts a great evil, becomes a man, and assumes a place of leadership.

The books contain plenty of darkness, but they are not dark books, rather --old-fashioned. They turn on the classical virtues of loyalty, courage, and wisdom, and those values are ultimately rewarded. Good triumphs over evil. No one's head is chopped off, no one is raped, no one is flayed. Maybe it's just me, but darkness has become so vogue now, fantasy so cruel, the future so post-apocalyptic, that I find myself drawn to the old-fashioned.
Don't get me wrong: Taran loses people he loves, he experiences pain and betrayal, he makes mistakes and fights despair. If there's an overarching theme to the books, it's that becoming a man -- or, more broadly, discovering the adult you want to be -- is a difficult process and, often as not, filled with sadness and regret. But things work out for the best in the end.

“It is strange,' he said at last. 'I had longed to enter the world of men. Now I see it filled with sorrow, with cruelty and treachery, with those who would destroy all around them.'
'Yet, enter it you must,' Gwydion answered, 'for it is a destiny laid on each of us. True, you have seen these things. But there are equal parts of love and joy.”

-- "The Black Cauldron"

The books are between two hundred and three hundred pages each, but they pack in an extraordinary amount of life and wisdom. There isn't a wasted word among them. Like they were carved, whittled, and sanded until only what's necessary remained. The prose is lilting and rhythmic -- it practically begs to be read aloud, but never flowery. The sentences are short and unadorned, each one advancing the story or revealing character.

What makes “The Chronicles of Prydain” an enduring delight is Alexander's deep humanity. At pivotal moments, Taran learns it is best to swallow pride, to forgive or show mercy. He learns that power can corrupt and that diplomacy is often preferable to conflict. He learns that everyone, even those who seem twisted and unpleasant has good inside them, and that kindness can bring it out. The action is enough to keep the attention of young children, but the truths revealed by the action are profound -- enough that they strike the reader anew at each stage of life.

“Long ago I yearned to be a hero without knowing, in truth, what a hero was. Now, perhaps, I understand it a little better. A grower of turnips or a shaper of clay, a Commot farmer or a king--every man is a hero if he strives more for others than for himself alone.
Once you told me that the seeking counts more than the finding. So, too, must the striving count more than the gain.”

-- "The High King"

Adulthood brings more demanding critical standards, and many a childhood favorite has been booted off my podium of most cherished books -- but my admiration for Lloyd Alexander’s artistry has only grown with every rereading.

[Greg Kerestan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some people who love "The Lord of the Rings" with a passion, and then there are some, myself included, who probably could love it, but find Tolkien's prose and academic worldview ponderous. "The Chronicles of Prydain" is the antidote, a "Lord of the Rings" for people who couldn't stand "Lord of the Rings." Drawing on the same vein of Welsh mythology and folklore that inspired much of Tolkien's own epic of a fantasy-Britain past, Lloyd Alexander writes in the high fantasy vein with very few concessions to the fact that he is writing a young-adult novel. There is whimsy, but the whimsy is (mostly) spread out and tempered by darker and more serious material.

There is, however, the inescapable fact that at times Alexander appears to be cribbing from Tolkien explicitly: Gwydion may seem like a faux-Aragorn, but there's no plausible deniability that Gurgi is anything but a faux-Gollum. Still, it's hard to fault Alexander- has any high fantasy novelist been able to escape Tolkien's shadow entirely?

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

1969 Newbery Medal Winner (for Book 5, The High King)

This was one of my favorite series when I was younger. It had a huge influence on my love of fantasy fiction. Now, re-reading it as an adult, I can see that it's not flawless, but nonetheless it's still a great adventure with wonderful characters.

I read the old book club edition that I've had for years. It includes the five novels, plus a short story collection set in the same world, which is loosely based on Welsh mythology.

I kind of floundered in the middle of the collection and took a long time to get through it all. Not sure I will re-read it again myself, but I would definitely read it to a potential future offspring.

The main character, Taran, learns that he's the only one who can choose what kind of life he will lead, regardless of his birth or what he thinks of as his fate (a very American theme from an American author!).

Taran also comes to understand that true leadership is a heavy burden, involving sacrificing for those one would lead. The series brings him full-circle from a headstrong boy hungry for glory to a man who is willing to lay down his life for others.

"A true king wears his crown in his heart."

The Book of Three ***
In the first book, we meet Taran of Caer Dallben, pig-keeper to Prydain's only fortune-telling (=oracular) pig, Hen Wen. Hen Wen runs off when the Horned King comes near Caer Dallben. The Horned King is a servant of Arawn, lord of the dreaded land Annuvin, and he travels with the Cauldron-Born, deathless zombie-warriors created by throwing corpses into the accursed Black Cauldron. As Taran chases after Hen Wen, he meets Gwydion, a warrior and prince of the Sons of Don; Gurgi, a strange forest-creature (I kind of picture a chimpanzee with a dog-like head); Eilonwy, a princess of the House of Llyr, an ancient house of enchantresses; Fflewddur Fflam, a bard-king with a truth-bending problem; Doli, a dwarf who longs to gain the powers of invisibility that his fellow dwarven Fair Folk have; and many others.

There were things in this book that felt reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings to me—the Dark Lord Arawn with his dark land (to the west-ish this time instead of the east), Taran's wound that still bothered him later and his waking at the end in the castle at Caer Dathyl, traveling over the mountains and an evil black lake, Gurgi seeming kind of gollum-like (but not evil like Gollum), Medwyn being like a mix between Gandalf and Beorn, probably other stuff too. Being that it was published about ten years after the Lord of the Rings, I bet that the author read LotR... or maybe it's just that they both follow a lot of standard mythological hero's journey tropes. I gotta say, though, when Gwydion gives Eilonwy “a ring of gold set with a gem carved by the ancient craftsmen of the Fair Folk” and says “It is precious ...” I thought: “Run, Eilonwy, run!”

The Horned King was kind of a disappointment in this book. I really wanted more of him. He was scary in the scenes that he was actually in, but I wanted him to be even scarier and have a less anticlimactic death, although his death and the method did tie the end of the story back to the beginning. In terms of scariness, the Cauldron-Born really steal the show. I remember being terrified of them as a kid.

The writing is also not as great as I remember it. Adverbs freckle the pages. Lots of people “cry” or “shout” or “murmur.” And so much “seeming”! Does it “seem” to be, or is it? Oi.

What I did like about this book were the characters and the humor woven in. I remember as a kid thinking that Taran was awesome and Eilonwy super-annoying, but as an adult I picked up more on Taran's inexperience, foolishness, and misplaced love of the glory of battle, as well as Eilonwy's understandable frustration at being treated like “just a girl,” not to mention her obvious love of Taran almost from the start. Taran gets some character development, realizing that people don't usually accomplish things completely by themselves, that “glory” belongs to all.

I could see why this series is such a great read for kids—the action doesn't let up for a bit. It's great at holding a kid's attention, if appearing a little lacking in background and random to an adult reader.

The Black Cauldron *****
Arawn has slowed down on collecting corpses and begun murdering living people in order to throw them into his Black Cauldron and make more zombie Cauldron-Born warriors. A council meets at Caer Dallben with the goal of planning a foray into Annuvin to steal the Cauldron and find a way to destroy it. However, when they get there, they find out the cauldron is already gone, having been taken back by Orddu, Orgoch, and Orwen, three powerful witches who live in the Marshes of Morva and who were the ones who gave Arawn the Cauldron in the first place. They're neither good nor evil, but have some hand in the balance of fate in the world. To bargain with them for the Cauldron, Taran must make a sacrifice.

Party member Prince Ellidyr continually stymies the others with his monstrous need to prove himself, somewhat reflective of Taran's desires in the first book. Taran is forced to come to terms with this part of himself as he deals with Ellidyr.

More stuff reminiscent of LotR in this book—the Black Cauldron (a.k.a. Crochan) is sort of like the One Ring; it kicks off with a council sort of like in The Fellowship of the Ring. Beyond that, though, it feels more original—rather than simply needing to be destroyed in a particular place, the Black Cauldron can only be destroyed if a living person willingly climbs into it. The only catch is, they won't be climbing out again.

What makes this book great is that the reader can feel what's at stake. The danger of the Cauldron is dark, creepy, and very present, unlike the Horned King in the first book. The Huntsmen villains are just as awful as the Cauldron-Born in some ways—they ride in groups, and for each one that is killed, the others gain magical strength.

What's at stake for each character is also much clearer—they're not just moving from place to place not really sure of what their goal is; they have a very clear goal and they're willing to sacrifice for it, Taran realizing that giving up a chance at power actually makes him more of a man than before. Eilonwy holds her own against a bunch of men who frustrate her with attempts to keep her back from danger and often proves that she is just as smart as they are, if not more. Even Prince Ellidyr, who's completely awful, makes sense by the end and finds a fate that fits his character.

I had remembered that Gurgi dies in this book, but after reading it I realized that's in the Disney movie, which combined the first two books and made a lot of changes. The books are much, much better, but I'd still kind of like to see the movie again. I only watched it once, although maybe there was a reason for that.

The Castle of Llyr ***
Dallben, the enchanter who raised Taran at Caer Dallben, decides that he is not the right person to teach Princess Eilonwy how to be a lady, so he sends her to the Isle of Mona with Taran and Gurgi as her escorts. There, the intent is for her to live with King Rhuddlum, Queen Teleria, and Prince Rhun and learn how to be a royal princess. Sort of randomly, Fflewddur Fflam shows up there too.

Unbeknownst to the group, Prince Gwydion waits there in the guise of a shoemaker, uncovering a plot by Queen Achren, who'd held Eilonwy captive in the first book.

When Achren makes her move, Taran and company set out to rescue Eilonwy. Meanwhile, Taran must contend with the news that Prince Rhun and Eilonwy are to be betrothed and the realization of his own feelings toward her.

I liked the book because it explained just a little bit more about the background of the House of Llyr and the nature of Eilonwy's bauble, a magical golden ball that was given to her as a toy and featured in the first book. However, the way Eilonwy was treated as a character disappointed me. Gwydion shares information about his suspicions of Eilonwy's plight with Taran, but asks him to keep it from everyone else until it's too late. They decide that it's better to use Eilonwy as unknowing bait for Achren. Knowing about her danger would have been much better, but since it would have taken away some twists from that contrived part of the plot, I guess it didn't work for the author.

This is somewhat redeemed by Achren's ultimate defeat being placed in Eilonwy's hands, as well as Eilonwy's refusal at the end of a betrothal she doesn't want. Overall, though, she seems like a weaker character in this book even though it's supposed to be focused on her. The decision to keep her in the dark doesn't make sense, and neither does her assertion once they meet up again that she suspected there was some kind of plot, but went along with it anyway to see what would happen.

Taran Wanderer ***
Taran intends to ask Eilonwy for her hand, but in order to do that he decides he has to know his parentage. He figures that he can't marry her unless he's nobly born. So, he sets off on an episodic journey that is at times fairy-tale-like in structure in terms of repeating motifs, etc.

He learns about what makes a person truly important—their character and dedication rather than their birth. It's a much slower read that is more about self-discovery than adventure. Lots of character development here for Taran and good lessons that I enjoyed reflecting on, but not my favorite book in the series.

The High King ****
Arawn steals the sword Dyrnwyn from Prince Gwydion—chaos ensues. Taran and his friends get together in a last-ditch effort to stop Arawn once and for all.

There were some deaths in this book, but none of them were particularly hard-hitting for me. Alexander is definitely not the George R. R. Martin of children's literature.

Overall, it's a more exciting book than the previous one, but on this re-read I think I like The Black Cauldron the best. It just felt like the most complex and original book, despite the Lord of the Rings-ish elements.

The High King definitely felt like a wrap-up, and not much more than that. I'll say, though, that it tied up a lot of ends in ways that made sense. I appreciated the return of Eilonwy and her agency, despite having to give up her enchantments in order to stay in Prydain at the end (an ending which, by the way, smacked of LotR elves traveling into the West... again, likely a case of Tolkien and Alexander both borrowing from the same mythological source material rather than Alexander borrowing from Tolkien, though. It was mentioned that Alexander gained inspiration from Welsh mythology).

The Foundling and Other Tales of Prydain****
I really enjoyed this book of short stories, probably because I didn't remember them at all. It contains:

The Foundling***
Orddu, Orgoch, and Orwen find Dallben as a baby and we learn how he gained The Book of Three. I didn't really get the part about it turning him old—was it because he read it for too long, or did it literally transform him?

The Stone***
A cottager named Maibon finds the dwarf Doli and demands a wish that has unintended consequences.

The True Enchanter*****
The story of how Eilonwy's mother Princess Angharad met her non-magical father Geraint.

The Rascal Crow**
A story about Kaw's father Kadwyr.

The Sword*****
A darker story on the origin of Dyrnwyn and the fate of its last bearer, King Rhitta.

The Smith, the Weaver, and the Harper*****
How Arawn tricked Prydain's best craftsmen out of their magical tools, except for the harper who stood up for life and laughed him off the scene. "You fail, Death Lord! You destroy the instrument, but not its music. With all your power you have gained only a broken shell."

[Rhiannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always a favorite. Underrated, being based on Welsh mythology rather than the more popular Greek and Roman myths. Recommended.

[Matt]

It's been around 30 years since last I read these books, and wow, my heartstrings are still tugged by them. I love these books perhaps more than any other books I've read.

[JD Waggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is where the film "The Black Cauldron" comes from (which I really want to go back and re-watch now that I've read this; I haven't seen that in probably 20 years). I didn't realize there was a whole world behind it, and I loved Alexander's prefaces included int his omnibus about how deep and wide the world had become for him. He sounds like a very kind author for his fans.

The stories are entertaining, and if you're looking for a fantasy fix, this can fit the bill. Everything felt a little...flat, though, and a little hurried. Huge plot developments happened right after I'd met the characters they developed, people wandered onstage with barely an introduction, and the whole thing just felt like a wonderful story played at 1.75 speed. Additionally, a lot of the characters were very annoying--including Eilonwy, the token girl. She is so obviously The Female Presence that it's a little painful, and she spends every book not really developing as a character so much as acting as a foil to everyone else's development. Considering this series was written in the 60s, that's not surprising--but it hasn't aged well.

Much of this comes out of the Tolkien Masterclass--take a fantasy world, add a strange sidekick, have some inspiring and kingly men leading things but not at the forefront, use the underdog to show the way, toss in a wizard. Again, though, in the 60s (and on up until recently, really) everybody was trying to jump on the success of Middle Earth; it was still only a decade old and was utterly changing the face of fantasy.

I liked the weaving of Welsh legend in and through the story and I loved the short stories included at the end. The trio of the fates was incredibly interesting and I appreciate that they kept showing up unexpectedly. I was entertained, to be sure--and now I will pass on the book to whomever needs entertainment next.

[Jasmine Fogwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wandering through a book store I came across a box set of the Prydain Chronicles. It looked like something I might enjoy so I began reading the first book, "The Book of Three." It was enjoyable, but I wasn't hooked right away. I decided to continue on in the series (I just love a good series) and by the middle of The Black Caldron I was hooked.

Set in the magical land of Prydain, Taran, an assistant pig keeper, dreams of becoming a hero with all the glory and fame that follows. Throughout the series though, Taran learns what it really means to be a hero, and he learns through friendships that he would never have imagined had much to offer him.

If you enjoy magical lands, quirky characters, epic battles of good vs evil,coming of age stories, and fun adventures read these books!

[Lance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay. I admit it. This is young teen fantasy and should be way beyond where I'm at in life. Still, sometimes it was fun for a bedtime read - kind of like having mom read me a bedtime story.

On the other hand, it has taken me years to get through this book. It has sat idly on my nightstand always playing second fiddle to more important things.

But here we are more than five years after picking it up. I can tell potential readers that if you're looking for a very simple story with a moral lesson for young children, this book isn't bad for that.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed these books the first time I read them, but reading them a second time through with my kids, slower and more attentively, I enjoyed them much more. There’s so much heart, courage, bravery, and friendship in all the stories. If I had to pick a genre, it might tend more toward the Fairy Tale side of things - not all the characters are the most fleshed out or three dimensional, the books are sparse on some details along the way, but they are delightful and charming, and pretty funny at parts.

[Gloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Book of Three: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Black Cauldron: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Castle of Llyr: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Taran Wanderer: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The High King: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Foundling and other Tales: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[Michael Sypes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read this series back in 1996, and just re-read them to my son. We were very pleased. The stories are all well-written (the last having won the Newbery award). Each stands well enough alone and as a series, is even better. My personal favorite is Taran Wanderer, where Taran learns important life lessons from a variety of people. Prydain is a great world to return to each time, and again, after so many years.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first time I read this, in 1985 when I was around 12, I would have rated this 5 stars. I loved it deeply and it encouraged my further reading into fantasy. Now that I'm a seasoned reader, though, the weaknesses in the writing just jumped out and nearly ruined the experience. I still enjoyed it, but need to apologize to my youthful self over my 2020 middle-of-the-road rating. Perhaps it is not that some books don't age well, it is that some books are best read at a certain age.

[Matthew J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five novels and a collection of stories make up this volume. While the start and very finish are a bit too Tolkien for their own good, the rest of the series is its own thing and quite good. There are good lessons about growing up and learning to be a good person. It's good stuff.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun to revisit these books that I haven't read since I was growing up. Definitely worthy of a place in fantasy canon.

[Larry Ortman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read these books since I was in grade school. Still holds up after all these years.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad to've finally finished the entire series. It's been a fun ride, Prydain. A really satisfying conclusion.