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Nov 29, 2012Borrobil rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
“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.