The Chronicles of Prydain, Books 1 & 2

50th Anniversary Introductory Collection

By: Lloyd Alexander

Narrated by: James Langton

The Chronicles of Prydain, Books 1 & 2:

Book 1: The Book of Three:
Taran, The Assistant Pig-Keeper, longs to be a hero.

He begins his journey with a strange assortment of companions on a dangerous mission to save his beloved land, Prydain. Packed with action, humor, romance, and gallantry, Taran's adventures chronicle his beloved Prydain and his battle with the forces of evil.

Book 2: The Black Cauldron
Peace reigns in Caer Dallben, where Taran works as Assistant Pig-Keeper, but evil threatens the rest of Prydain. The diabolical Arawn’s army grows every day, and his terrible warriors never die. They are born in the Black Cauldron from the stolen bodies of slain soldiers. If evil is to be defeated, the cauldron must be destroyed. Taran volunteers to travel to Arawn’s stronghold and assist in the destruction of the dreaded cauldron. With his faithful friends reassembled, Taran marches off to face great danger with a courageous heart.

Two For One Young Adult Fantasy - It Gets Better

Book of Three
If ever a book could have benefitted from a rewrite by its author's more mature self, this is it. At times this is _almost_ a good YA fantasy. Despite obvious Tolkien analogues and clumsy writing. Despite hand-waving and nonsensical explanations of MAJOR plot events. The book is at its strongest when it leans on Welsh legends and fairy tales.

The Black Cauldron
This book is far better than the first book in the series. In fact, I might encourage people to read a summary of book 1 (or not) and just start with this one. The same cast of characters reappear but with greater depth. And this time they actually play a direct role in the book's major events. As a young adult book The Black Cauldron shines, there is a growth arc and a good moral lesson - one that's imparted without any level of "preaching." It also has a strong female character, even if she is often dismissed by the pig-headed men of the story.

Prydain chronicles.

Stumbled across the full version of this anthology of books in my high school library. It was the first hardcover version with all five novels and the companion book of short stories that were the pre cursor to the five novels. Loved the entire series and I have looked for a long time to get the Prydain chronicles as it was in the school library, but finally just had to break down and buy each piece of the puzzle separately.

I loved the character voices.

Very well read. Its fun too listen to. Also a really good deal for the first two books in the series.

Classic High Fantasy

This book series is a fantastic example of classic high fantasy! Though not as gripping as The Hobbit, it is definitely within the same echelon. Highly recommended for younger readers who want to dip a toe into fantasy novels.

A Childhood Favorite Now an Old Man's Delight

So glad to re-experience Taran's tales with the guidance of the narrator's excellent application of British Isles accents.