B-

The Book of Three is the first book in Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain saga. Originally published in 1964, Alexander’s work is simple, yet entertaining, targeted towards children ages nine to twelve.

I first heard of The Chronicles of Prydain at Amazon.com as I was looking into some other novels. The Chronicles of Prydain are regarded as classic works in the area of children’s fantasy. When I made my next purchase at Amazon, I added the first two books to my shopping cart. I didn’t look into these books as much as I usually do, but purchased them more on a whim. Overall, I’m fairly happy with the purchase.

The Book of Three was a good story with interesting characters and an enjoyable plot. The adventure begins when an ancient evil gathers new forces and threatens to take over the whole of Prydain. As part of their reign of terror, the evil forces of King Arawn search for Hen Wen, the oracular pig cared for by the boy, Taran. Soon Taran becomes fully engulfed in the struggle between good and evil and must look within himself to find the strength needed to complete the quest laid at his feet.

The Book of Three was a quick read and fun at heart, but not a book that will go down as one of my favorites. As mentioned previously, the book is clearly intended for a younger audience, but, unlike Harry Potter, does not translate that well for the adult reader. For the adult fan of children’s fantasy, I recommend that you take what you can from it and you should find the experience enjoyable enough.