“Legend has it, in the mystic land of Prydain, there was once king so cruel and so evil that even the gods feared him. He was thrown alive into a crucible of molten iron.” And so the Black Cauldron was created. The enchanter Dallben calls a meeting at his cottage/farm, Caer Dallben. Among those in attendance are Adaon, son of the chief bard, Ellidyr the pauper prince, Fflewddur Fflam the bard and the main protagonist, Taran the ‘Assistant Pig-keeper’. The war against the arch-villain, Arawn, is not going well. With every one of his soldiers that they kill, he makes a new one with the Black Cauldron. They conclude that if they want to win the war, they must destroy the Cauldron. The Black Cauldron is a magical object that is, like the one ring, dark and mysterious. The cauldron is dark black with dried blood on the rim. The wind passing across the cauldron’s mouth sounds like the moans of all its victims. It seems to have a mind of its own, and it can make itself lighter and heavier. Arawn robs graves and places the corpses in the cauldron. They are transformed into soulless monsters that cannot be killed. This book is famous for being dark. But when I read it, I rather liked the dark and saddening elements because I felt they helped the book creates emotions in me, even if those emotions were negative. While Lloyd Alexander copied Lord of the Rings a bit in this book, it is still a respectable novel. The Chronicles of Prydain are classics, and every fan of the fantasy genre should read them. The Black Cauldron is a quick and easy read; I finished it in one day. I would not, however, recommend it for small children as it is a little frightening.

All legendary warriors in Prydain are called to aid Prince Gwydion to destroy the Black Cauldron. The story flows so well, even though there is a cliff-hanger at the end of every chapter. Impossible to put down this book. Lloyd Alexander is so descriptive of what the characters are thinking. All in all, this is a must read book and an all-time favorites of mine and now my son.

The first book in the Prydain series, _The Book of Three_, was great. _The Black Cauldron_ is a great story as well- very exciting and fast paced. Some of the lines can get a bit corny, though. My main issue with this series is that Eilonwy seems to get chastised by everybody a little too much for my liking. I still recommend this book for fantasy lovers (particularly children's fantasy).