This is my favorite of the Prydain Chronicles, no question. It is character development from start to finish, which in my opinion is when you get the best stories. Fresh from leaving Eilonwy on the isle of Mona, Taran is restless, tormented by thoughts of the romance he left unfinished with her and feeling aimless and unsure of his destiny. To solve this, he decides to seek out his parentage and hope to learn his name and what he will be aside from an assistant pigkeeper.
Throughout this review I’ll try my best to avoid spoilers, but be warned this will be a little of an “and then, and then” review.
Trouble ensues almost immediately when, after seeking truth from the hags of Morva and finding only frustration, he visits King Smoit. His people are feuding, and his knuckles-first solution to fixing the fight only causes trouble for his serfs. The solution to their fight is one of those Solomon-style wisdom parables that I’ve thought of when solving problems ever since.
Proceeding from Smoit’s fiefdom, Taran is waylaid by his old friend Doli, who has been transformed into a toad. A wicked enchanter has made a threat against the fair folk, and it looks as though he will be able to carry out these threats. The sequence and its solution is tense from start to finish, enough that when I read the book as a teenager I almost couldn’t make it through.
Eventually, Taran finds himself swordless, robbed, and making his way through the Free Commets, a society of tradesmen who owe their allegiance to no lord but the high king. This sequence is the best in the story, as Taran tries his hand at smithing (making himself a new sword), weaving, and finally pottery. It is an excellent study in the difficulty of finding and practicing a trade, respect for how difficult is work you might have considered trivial, and culminates in a lesson I’ve carried with me ever since the first read: even if you love a trade and feel the passion, you might not have the skill necessary to be great.
Same endorsement as all the Prydain books: go read it right now, it’s great.