The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
While the plot stands on its own, the characters and world of the books are best appreciated if you start with The Book of Three. (Remember when fantasy series didn’t leave you hanging off an enormous cliff at the end of each installment? Okay, I exaggerate.) The plot concerns part of the ongoing effort to defeat Arawn, but as with the first book, this is really just a backdrop for exploring what it means to be a hero and how you interact with the people around you. That makes it sound thoughtful and dull, but the story is lively and funny, with a few bittersweet moments and some excellent characters. There’s plenty of action, but the characters aren’t thoughtless. The old gang from The Book of Three reunites, and my favorite scene might be their encounter with the three witches, Orddu, Orwen, and Orgoch.
As with the first book, this one is narrated by James Langton, who does an excellent job at differentiating between characters’ voices (you always know who’s talking) and giving the story both a sense of thoughtfulness and momentum at the same time. I’ll definitely be listening to the rest of the series.
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April 19, 2010 at 3:13 am
anne
You know about the collection of short stories? It tells about how the three Os met Dalben. NICE!
Thanks for reiterating what K and I were talking about this weekend: there was a time when a series happened because the author was full of stories, and not because one story had to drag on with cliffhanger after cliffhanger.
Oh, this one isn’t even my favorite book, but I cry over the “What stone is in your shoe, Prince of Pen-LLarcau?” line. So perfect. And Adaon is one of my favorite characters in the series. Gosh, Alexander was just so great, wasn’t he? Even when he doesn’t hit it out of the park, he’s so much more reliable than 80% of the rest.
April 19, 2010 at 8:18 am
jessmonster
I’m glad we’re of one mind about Alexander – he was certainly one of my favorite authors for a long time, but somehow this is the first time I’ve reread him as an adult. I like your comment about being full of stories vs dragging a story out.