Wednesday, 13 June 2018 08:27 pm
Book Review: The Book of Three
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deckardcanineI'm still not sure why Lloyd Alexander chose this title for Book 1 of The Chronicles of Prydain. It refers to a tome within the story, but that tome barely plays a part yet; the Wikipedia synopsis makes no mention of it. Besides, I needed to consult the Prydain wiki afterward to understand even why the tome was called that, and the explanation is pretty weak. In short, don't bother puzzling over it. I kinda wish Alexander had gone with his earlier choice, The Battle of the Trees, even if it's a little on the nose for harking back to Welsh mythology.
Here's what you should know: In typical pseudo-medieval fantasy land Prydain, Taran, like so many other protagonists, appears to be on the cusp of puberty and longs for adventure. His master grants him the facetious yet accurate title of "Assistant Pig-Keeper" -- not as lowly as it sounds, since the pig in question is a prophetess. When she desperately digs free and runs into the forest, it can only mean bad news, in more ways than one. Taran soon sees an army of darkness on the march, giving him a higher priority than his titular duties. But there are already so many obstacles between him and home that he must spend almost the entire rest of the volume trying to get there to spread the word, even with help from a few friends he picks up along the way.
The serendipitous first friend is Prince Gwydion, traveling in a decidedly unprincely guise. The third-person-limited narrator describes him in such lupine terms that I wondered if he might be a werewolf. He's not, but he is a badass with a few magic tricks up his sleeve. So naturally, he can't stay in the party for long.
Through Gwydion, Taran meets tag-along Gurgi, a one-of-a-kind beast man with distinctive speech mannerisms such as illeism and a tendency to gratuitous rhymes (e.g., "crunchings and munchings"). At first he's little more than an appetite-centered nuisance, albeit pitiable and prone to fawning over people. He takes time to prove his worth.
Eilonwy looks younger than Taran but would have you believe otherwise. Having been raised first by not-so-caring parents and then by a magically educational yet villainous aunt, she thankfully retains a fair amount of virtue and intellect. Less thankfully, she loves to hear herself talk, frequently using analogies and sometimes needing a reminder to reach the point. She also keeps putting Taran down, accounting for more than half the many instances of "Assistant Pig-Keeper" in the book. Despite mutual annoyance, they warm up to each other, tho probably without any physical attraction yet.
Fflewddur Fflam (yes, really) is a king who stepped down in order to be a bard, though he doesn't seem to be doing much better in that capacity. His enchanted lute breaks at least one string whenever he lies, usually by way of bravado. Nevertheless, his boasts describing what "a Fflam" always or never does don't result in any broken strings, and he's no slouch in the face of actual enemies.
Possibly my favorite character is Medwyn, simply because he provides a sanctuary for animals and, on rare occasions, fellow friends of animals. He reminds me a little of Radagast the Brown, with a touch of Tom Bombadil for being in charge of a domain he never leaves.
I'd better stop the synopsis before I say anything regarded a spoiler, but honestly, I don't feel like there's much to spoil. Very little comes anywhere close to innovation, even for 1964. Seems Alexander was trying only to be an American Tolkien knockoff. I think early Tad Williams did that better. Heck, Christopher Paolini may have.
In mentioning Tolkien, I should say it's more The Hobbit than The Lord of the Rings, at least in terms of scope and target age range -- figure around Taran's. Things move quickly; early on, I marveled that something seemingly important was happening on almost every page. It's also pretty short. You may notice that there's been less time between my book reviews than usual. But efficiency doesn't spell excitement. Taran doesn't see much action himself, nor does he show much prowess at anything beyond keeping the band together. I can't recommend the comic relief either.
The cast is too small to demand a character guide in the back. Instead, we get a 1.5-page pronunciation guide, for what good that does. Quite a few names, including some used repeatedly, still get left out of the guide, and some that are included must not appear until a later volume. And despite the Welsh influence, the pronunciation is largely intuitive to English speakers.
Finding the guide repeatedly takes a bit of work, at least in this edition, which follows it with an "About the Author" section and then Chapter 1 of the next entry, The Black Cauldron. Going by my first taste, I have an idea of why the Disney adaptation bombed. There's even a hint in the title: While it's more appropriate to the story, it sounds dull and almost redundant. Ever seen a cauldron that wasn't black? I think I'll pass on both the book and the movie.
It's been a while since my last book with a female author, so I've picked up The Ship Who Searched. In fact, it has two female authors: Anne McCaffrey got help from Mercedes Lackey this time. So far it's looking better than the weaker efforts of either of them.
Here's what you should know: In typical pseudo-medieval fantasy land Prydain, Taran, like so many other protagonists, appears to be on the cusp of puberty and longs for adventure. His master grants him the facetious yet accurate title of "Assistant Pig-Keeper" -- not as lowly as it sounds, since the pig in question is a prophetess. When she desperately digs free and runs into the forest, it can only mean bad news, in more ways than one. Taran soon sees an army of darkness on the march, giving him a higher priority than his titular duties. But there are already so many obstacles between him and home that he must spend almost the entire rest of the volume trying to get there to spread the word, even with help from a few friends he picks up along the way.
The serendipitous first friend is Prince Gwydion, traveling in a decidedly unprincely guise. The third-person-limited narrator describes him in such lupine terms that I wondered if he might be a werewolf. He's not, but he is a badass with a few magic tricks up his sleeve. So naturally, he can't stay in the party for long.
Through Gwydion, Taran meets tag-along Gurgi, a one-of-a-kind beast man with distinctive speech mannerisms such as illeism and a tendency to gratuitous rhymes (e.g., "crunchings and munchings"). At first he's little more than an appetite-centered nuisance, albeit pitiable and prone to fawning over people. He takes time to prove his worth.
Eilonwy looks younger than Taran but would have you believe otherwise. Having been raised first by not-so-caring parents and then by a magically educational yet villainous aunt, she thankfully retains a fair amount of virtue and intellect. Less thankfully, she loves to hear herself talk, frequently using analogies and sometimes needing a reminder to reach the point. She also keeps putting Taran down, accounting for more than half the many instances of "Assistant Pig-Keeper" in the book. Despite mutual annoyance, they warm up to each other, tho probably without any physical attraction yet.
Fflewddur Fflam (yes, really) is a king who stepped down in order to be a bard, though he doesn't seem to be doing much better in that capacity. His enchanted lute breaks at least one string whenever he lies, usually by way of bravado. Nevertheless, his boasts describing what "a Fflam" always or never does don't result in any broken strings, and he's no slouch in the face of actual enemies.
Possibly my favorite character is Medwyn, simply because he provides a sanctuary for animals and, on rare occasions, fellow friends of animals. He reminds me a little of Radagast the Brown, with a touch of Tom Bombadil for being in charge of a domain he never leaves.
I'd better stop the synopsis before I say anything regarded a spoiler, but honestly, I don't feel like there's much to spoil. Very little comes anywhere close to innovation, even for 1964. Seems Alexander was trying only to be an American Tolkien knockoff. I think early Tad Williams did that better. Heck, Christopher Paolini may have.
In mentioning Tolkien, I should say it's more The Hobbit than The Lord of the Rings, at least in terms of scope and target age range -- figure around Taran's. Things move quickly; early on, I marveled that something seemingly important was happening on almost every page. It's also pretty short. You may notice that there's been less time between my book reviews than usual. But efficiency doesn't spell excitement. Taran doesn't see much action himself, nor does he show much prowess at anything beyond keeping the band together. I can't recommend the comic relief either.
The cast is too small to demand a character guide in the back. Instead, we get a 1.5-page pronunciation guide, for what good that does. Quite a few names, including some used repeatedly, still get left out of the guide, and some that are included must not appear until a later volume. And despite the Welsh influence, the pronunciation is largely intuitive to English speakers.
Finding the guide repeatedly takes a bit of work, at least in this edition, which follows it with an "About the Author" section and then Chapter 1 of the next entry, The Black Cauldron. Going by my first taste, I have an idea of why the Disney adaptation bombed. There's even a hint in the title: While it's more appropriate to the story, it sounds dull and almost redundant. Ever seen a cauldron that wasn't black? I think I'll pass on both the book and the movie.
It's been a while since my last book with a female author, so I've picked up The Ship Who Searched. In fact, it has two female authors: Anne McCaffrey got help from Mercedes Lackey this time. So far it's looking better than the weaker efforts of either of them.