She is an Oracular Pig–she can tell the future. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that Hen Wen wasn’t just any old pig that evil beings wanted to kidnap. Taran is an Assistant Pig-Keeper (a title that will follow him with persistence all the way through book five and beyond). Right away The Book of Three did demonstrate a contradictory and rather cheeky sense of humor, with the main quest (at least for our main character, Taran) being a search for his white pig, Hen Wen, rather than the defeat of some evil lord or other (although that is a side benefit for Taran).

The beyond evil bad guy. Swords and sorcery, kings and princesses and princes. Mostly, it seemed a bit like a Tolkien clone with a plot barely even trying to be anything more. The Book of Three is not the most impressive book on first reading, even despite there being some things that set it apart, first and foremost its Welsh-inspired settings and characters of myth and legend. And with one notable exception (which I’m not sure would have actually changed for me all that much if I’d read it the old fashioned way instead), the audiobooks were an excellent choice. Wish I would’ve read it as an actual child. Some of the best children’s fantasy I’ve read. Really enjoyed making my way through this series over the last month and a half. Because I listen to audiobooks when I’m in the car, I went for a drive yesterday evening just to finish this series.

The chronicles of prydain review