Of the five books in the Chronicles, this is probably my least favorite installment, still I enjoyed reliving it with this audio. Why Disney chose this one to make a movie out of, I'll never know (and have never seen).

 

Prince Gwydion has called a council at Cair Dalben -- bringing warriors, royalty and others from across the land to discuss something of urgency. Taran is included as well, thanks to the Prince's experience in the previous book. One of the attendees, Prince Ellidyr, is a young, proud twit who might as well have been named William Zabka -- if he doesn't remind you of the quintessential 80's movie antagonist, you're not reading him right. He and Taran clash immediately, and are predictably assigned to work together.

 

We also meet the son of Taliesin, the chief bard, Adaon. Adaon is one of those characters that comes out of nowhere, every character loves and so do the readers. He's wise, kind, and probably a decent fighter. Taran is possibly more taken with him as friend and role model than he was with Gwydion -- partially because he's not a prince, and so is more approachable; but also is just that kind of guy. Thankfully, Taran and he are also assigned to work together so it's not all about the jousting with Ellidyr.

There were other characters introduced -- several actually, but those two are the ones to focus on now. I'm not going to tell you anything about Gwystyl and Kaw, because I'll not do them justice. But you'll enjoy both. Gurgi was Gurgi, and Eilonwy was perfect -- seriously just perfect. I always liked the character, but maybe never as much as I am this time through the series.

 

I got distracted by talking about the characters, the purpose of the council is to go hunting for the Black Cauldron, the source of the Cauldron Born warriors of Arawn. These are basically zombies with swords, doing anything their master calls for -- and were the source of a good deal of apprehension when I was a kid, and now just seem like a great foe. Their numbers are swelling, making Dalben and Gwydion certain that something bad is on the horizon -- now seems like a good time to raid the Dark Lord's domain and destroy the Cauldon. Which may not derail the plans in motion, but will at least make them easier for the good guys to survive.

 

So after the Council, the heroes head out. As soon as they launch their strike, they discover that someone has beaten them to it -- the Cauldron is gone and they've got to regroup before hunting it down. Things go bad there, the companions are separated from each other and on the run from those the Cauldron has already produced.

 

Taran, Ellidyr, Adaon, Gurgi and Fflewddurr get a lead on the Cauldron and decide to follow it up immediately rather than let their foes get it while they're off looking for Gwydion. This takes them to the swamps of Morva -- one of my favorite places in the series -- and to the hut of Orddu, Orwen, & Orgoch. They will chill younger readers and entertain readers of all ages. From there peril, betrayal, redemption, grief and more ensue as the companions try to destroy the titular MacGuffin.

 

The Lloyd Alexander introduction to this one was better than the previous -- I'm such a geek that listening to little bits of Alexander was one of the highlights of my day. I don't think I have anything to say about Langton's performance here that I didn't say last time. It was good, nothing spectacular, though. He kept me engaged, even if he paced it slower than I'd like. Whoever transferred this from audiotape to digital format had an odd approach to dead space between tapes/tape sides -- there are times that I feared the file had stopped unexpectedly, either from a corruption in the file or a glitch in the app, and just as I'd grab my phone to check the Langton's voice would start again.

 

A needed part of the story, if only for Taran's growth, and for what it sets up in books to come. It was never my favorite growing up, still isn't now, but it was still an entertaining few hours.

This book has no clothes!

 

Oh, wait...I'm getting my allegories mixed up. The emperor wasn't wearing any clothes, but only a little girl had the sense to point it out. Or maybe she lacked the sense to keep it to herself.

 

So do I have any sense? Probably not. Because despite the universal love and adoration of this book, I found it dull, witless, and entirely unbelievable.

 

Book one was the same way, but I assumed things would get better. They don't--at least not through the second book. I'm certain I'm not that far off on my book interpretations. The folks that read the books as kids must hold a sentimental attachment as adults. It's the only explanation I can come up with, and one I can certainly understand. But honestly--I felt like the story was so bad even kids will be left scratching their heads.

 

As a redeeming quality, the story is earnest and sincere. There are good values being taught, and the characters remain somewhat endearing. I'm going to give book three a chance before I pull the plug. I'm also going to have my kids read them so I can see what they think of the story. If they love the books, I might go back and adjust my ratings.

 

For now I'm playing the part of the senseless little girl. This book has no clothes!

A great read for children

Prince Gwydion announces it is time to make an attack against Arawn and his indestructible Cauldron-Born army by destroying the Black Cauldron from which they are made. Taran, Fflewddur, Doli, and a number of other friends of the prince join him in his quest, but it quickly proves to be more dangerous than expected and the friends are separated. It is up to Taran to decide how his group should proceed – go after the Black Cauldron, or go back to Caer Dallben and regroup with the others.

The second installment of The Chronicles of Prydain stands on its own right from the off. There is hardly any recap of the events from The Book of Three, but rather a reunion of old characters coupled with introductions of new characters and their goal – to destroy the Black Cauldron Arawn has been using to create an undead army.

While none of the characters have changed much between books, Lloyd Alexander still manages to give us new information about them and their backstories to help us understand them more. One such character is Taran’s guardian, Dallben. There is a lovely segment in which Taran finds out some information about Dallben’s childhood that comes as a bit of a shock to him. Also included is more information about the Black Cauldron and how Arawn came to possess it, which is a nice way of showing more of the Lord of Annuvin without actually bringing his character front and center. Having him remain in shadow is a nice way to build up to when the reader finally meets him (whenever that will actually be).

You can read the rest of my review at my blog: http://readerlymusings.com/2014/03/11/review-the-black-cauldron-by-lloyd-alexander/

Today would have been Lloyd Alexander's 90th birthday.

 

After Oz and Narnia, the fictional world that dominated my tween years was Prydain. I have spent many, many hours there, reliving the adventures of Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper; Dallben, his wizard master/mentor/father/friend; Prince Gwydion; scattered Gurgi; cranky Doli; Fflewddur Fflam and his crazy harp; and, best of all, Princess Eilonwy. She was the character who taught me about strong female characters. Sure, Lucy and Susan and Dorothy and Ozma had chops - but Eilonwy was special. 

 

She was smart, and brave, and kind, and loving...and cranky, and impulsive, and stubborn, and often wrong. She was flawed. She was known to throw a tantrum or go on a rant or fly off where she wasn't supposed to go. She was a teenager. She was real. She was GLORIOUS. 

 

Mr. Alexander let his characters screw up. He let them discover things for themselves, even if the discovery was heartbreaking. He took us to those hard or sad places and let us see that you could live through them. His older characters stand back and let his younger characters make mistakes. His world feels real because the emotional situations in it are real. Watching Taran and Eilonwy grow and change and screw up and fall down and get back up again was vital to my emotional growth, and I do not say that lightly.

 

I got to meet Mr. Alexander once, at the bookstore where I used to work in Pennsylvania. I had only ever met one author before, and was shy and uncertain. It was an informal event, and I hung back a long time, unsure of what to say. Finally, there was only one thing to say.

 

"Thank you for Eilonwy," I managed, and he smiled.

 

"It was my pleasure."

 

No, Mr. Alexander - it was mine.