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hobbitfreddie's review
2.0
Alright. Idk how to feel about this, it’s another Prydain book and I’ve loved all the books in the series (Castle of Llyr not so much though). Still these are excellent books for all ages. Sadly my least favorite in the series
I read the series in senior year of high school and put off reading the last book for almost 2 years. So I was happy to see these characters one last time. However I felt a bit dissatisfied with this finale. It’s still pretty good, but compared to Taran Wanderer which was amazing idk.
I think there were too many characters that most of them kinda faded into the background. Though it was nice to see Taran’s arc wrap up.
ALSO speaking of characters. GLEW. Why oh why oh why was he here… I really do not understand why they kept him around on the quest. He does nothing but annoy the audience. Not even like Gurgi who was annoying at first but grew to be a very good character who was super loyal to Taran.
I mean the character writing is pretty on par with the rest of the series. But idk i feel like since it was the last book they needed to be more developed.
Most of the characters have their little quirks, but idk they just are there to do that and to help Taran on the quest.
Flewddur Fflam (a personal favorite of mine) feels very shafted in this. He doesn’t really do anything noteworthy besides do something crazy that I won’t spoil that had me like :000 but also the way his arc ending was just very lacking. Not enough care for my bard boy.
And Eilowny’s character really did bother me. I love her character so much because she wasn’t the stereotypical princess/love interest. But here just feels like the generic girl character. She really felt like a damsel in distress. Kinda disappointed me. And the romance between Taran and her which was built up through like the whole series wraps up pretty anti climatically.
I think the book has some really good parts though. All the deaths made me feel things idk. But there’s not enough for me to really love it sadly! But towards the end it feels like Mr. Alexander was rushing to finish. There’s too much time setting up the quest but the pay off just feels lacking. The last chapter is beautiful though. The ending itself is passable. I mean it did get me emotional but ehhh. I just idk I really wanted to love this. I think it does wrap up everything it was supposed to but I just didn’t enjoy this as much. Though I do love these characters and was sad when I got to the last page because I wouldn’t be able to read about their adventures anymore.
Alone this feels like just a pretty weak bland story. The other books all feel like soemthing I could just pick up without needing the others to make it complete. This only serves as a whimper for this amazing series.
I just feel like this book had too many flaws and the plot didn’t grasp me. Because the problem was there was all this rallying and battling for such a short final “battle”. Apparently this is the longest book in the series so maybe Mr. Alexander didn’t want to make it any longer than it was. Because it needed more pages wow. I feel bad for not liking this as much as the others. But it really just serves as a finale and nothing more. Read this cuz you want to see how things wrap up.
I’m hard on this book because I loved the series and the last book should be a swan song shouldn’t it? It’s passable yee. It does have the Prydain charm but that’s the problem. It feels too much like just another story, when so far the series has been growing with its kid audience. It just feels like another just Prydain book, nothing special really.
I probably won’t read the Foundling but I will probably peak at Mr. Alexander’s other works. I did enjoy his work in this series, however this is probably not his best entry. I think he’s a good writer, his prose isn’t as flowery as Tolkien which I wouldn’t be surprised if he was inspired by. But his storytelling skills are excellent.
So for the series as a whole? Hardcore fantasy fans might scoff at it for being a middle grades fantasy but I think it is a perfect middle grades series. Stuff to entertain the kids and stuff for the adults to chew on.
And the series can be read pretty quickly too so it’s a nice lighter fantasy read. I’d say The Black Cauldron and Taran Wanderer are the best books in the series though.
If you read the whole series and wanted to know if this was worth checking out I mean if you’ve come this far then why not? It’s not like too offensive of an ending I’d say but it’s neutral to me. It’s no Return of the King though hah.
Apologies for the scatterbrained review I just don’t know what to think. If I was the target age demographic and hadn’t ready as much fantasy as I’ve now I think I would have liked this a lot more.
I read the series in senior year of high school and put off reading the last book for almost 2 years. So I was happy to see these characters one last time. However I felt a bit dissatisfied with this finale. It’s still pretty good, but compared to Taran Wanderer which was amazing idk.
I think there were too many characters that most of them kinda faded into the background. Though it was nice to see Taran’s arc wrap up.
ALSO speaking of characters. GLEW. Why oh why oh why was he here… I really do not understand why they kept him around on the quest. He does nothing but annoy the audience. Not even like Gurgi who was annoying at first but grew to be a very good character who was super loyal to Taran.
I mean the character writing is pretty on par with the rest of the series. But idk i feel like since it was the last book they needed to be more developed.
Most of the characters have their little quirks, but idk they just are there to do that and to help Taran on the quest.
Flewddur Fflam (a personal favorite of mine) feels very shafted in this. He doesn’t really do anything noteworthy besides do something crazy that I won’t spoil that had me like :000 but also the way his arc ending was just very lacking. Not enough care for my bard boy.
And Eilowny’s character really did bother me. I love her character so much because she wasn’t the stereotypical princess/love interest. But here just feels like the generic girl character. She really felt like a damsel in distress. Kinda disappointed me. And the romance between Taran and her which was built up through like the whole series wraps up pretty anti climatically.
I think the book has some really good parts though. All the deaths made me feel things idk. But there’s not enough for me to really love it sadly! But towards the end it feels like Mr. Alexander was rushing to finish. There’s too much time setting up the quest but the pay off just feels lacking. The last chapter is beautiful though. The ending itself is passable. I mean it did get me emotional but ehhh. I just idk I really wanted to love this. I think it does wrap up everything it was supposed to but I just didn’t enjoy this as much. Though I do love these characters and was sad when I got to the last page because I wouldn’t be able to read about their adventures anymore.
Alone this feels like just a pretty weak bland story. The other books all feel like soemthing I could just pick up without needing the others to make it complete. This only serves as a whimper for this amazing series.
I just feel like this book had too many flaws and the plot didn’t grasp me. Because the problem was there was all this rallying and battling for such a short final “battle”. Apparently this is the longest book in the series so maybe Mr. Alexander didn’t want to make it any longer than it was. Because it needed more pages wow. I feel bad for not liking this as much as the others. But it really just serves as a finale and nothing more. Read this cuz you want to see how things wrap up.
I’m hard on this book because I loved the series and the last book should be a swan song shouldn’t it? It’s passable yee. It does have the Prydain charm but that’s the problem. It feels too much like just another story, when so far the series has been growing with its kid audience. It just feels like another just Prydain book, nothing special really.
I probably won’t read the Foundling but I will probably peak at Mr. Alexander’s other works. I did enjoy his work in this series, however this is probably not his best entry. I think he’s a good writer, his prose isn’t as flowery as Tolkien which I wouldn’t be surprised if he was inspired by. But his storytelling skills are excellent.
So for the series as a whole? Hardcore fantasy fans might scoff at it for being a middle grades fantasy but I think it is a perfect middle grades series. Stuff to entertain the kids and stuff for the adults to chew on.
And the series can be read pretty quickly too so it’s a nice lighter fantasy read. I’d say The Black Cauldron and Taran Wanderer are the best books in the series though.
If you read the whole series and wanted to know if this was worth checking out I mean if you’ve come this far then why not? It’s not like too offensive of an ending I’d say but it’s neutral to me. It’s no Return of the King though hah.
Apologies for the scatterbrained review I just don’t know what to think. If I was the target age demographic and hadn’t ready as much fantasy as I’ve now I think I would have liked this a lot more.
beccalynnjo's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
capgambit's review
4.0
i just listened to this book. i read it years ago in 7th grade but wanted to revisit it. I remember liking this book a lot back then. i still like it a lot even after all of the more mature books that I've read since. the very end reminding me very much of the end of Lord of the Rings. Those who have read it will know what I mean but I think I have left it vague enough so as not to give anything away. i thought that it was a fitting end to the series and was NOT left wanting more. I was satisfied with the series and where it ended.
marimar_morningstar's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
kes7706's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
roseleaf24's review
5.0
Medal Winner 1969
Wonderful ending to an excellent series. This ties up all the loose ends and storyboard, without feeling contrived or letting that drag the story at all. Love these characters, and am very satisfied. I think the closing paragraph is one of the best ever.
Wonderful ending to an excellent series. This ties up all the loose ends and storyboard, without feeling contrived or letting that drag the story at all. Love these characters, and am very satisfied. I think the closing paragraph is one of the best ever.
kellbells's review against another edition
5.0
And the reread is complete! I remembered pretty much nothing about this one (except for the ending) and it was fun to revisit Prydain as an adult. Really glad Eilonwy had an active role after being sidelined for two books.
lddecker's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0