Week Eleven Fantasy Genre Annotation

The Book of Three

By Lloyd Alexander

Brief Summary:

Taran, an orphan and keeper of a white and magical pig, aspires to become a hero and to fight mighty battles in the land of Prydain; however, Taran is ordered to maintain his ordinary farm life at Caer Dallben from his master, Dallben. So, when Taran accidently stumbles away from the farm to find the runaway white pig, he seizes the chance to seek companionship with the legendary prince, Gwydion. When Gwydion is taken hostage at Spiral Castle, Taran soon meets new friends, such as the enchantress, Eilonwy, and the bard and former king, Fflewddur Fflam, that assume the new quest of warning Gwydion’s residence of Caer Dathyl of a threat from gathered forces in league with the evil kingdom of Annuvin.

Elements of the Fantasy Genre:

Pacing: The pacing in The Book of Three starts slowly in relation to displaying “elaborately developed locales and multiple characters”, such as the introduction of the location of Spiral Castle and the characters of Eilonwy and Fflewddur Fflam (Saricks, 2009, p. 273). However, the pacing in the novel speeds up “when the forces of good engage those of evil in battle” in respect to Taran’s friends fighting against some of the forces of Annuvin (Saricks, 2009, p. 274). Also, the pacing is greatly slowed with lengthy chapters of detail during the middle of the novel (Saricks, 2009, p. 274), and the book’s pacing becomes rapid near the end of the book with an increase in action from Taran and his friends encountering the gathered forces of evil (Saricks, 2009, p. 274).

Storyline: The storyline in The Book of Three involves a story about “the forces of good eventually conquering evil” (Saricks, 2009, p. 269). The storyline exhibits a hopeful outcome, despite the presence of grievous trials during the story (Saricks, 2009, p. 269). Also, The Book of Three consists of a single and continuous story (Saricks, 2009, p. 269). In addition, the storyline involves “a quest of some sort with a band of characters embarking on a dangerous mission and, after a series of adventures, succeeding in attaining their goal” (Saricks, 2009, p. 269). Additionally, the fate of the land of Prydain is at the center of the story (Saricks, 2009, p. 270), and Taran and his friends battle against the gathered forces of evil in a final confrontation (Saricks, 2009, p. 270).  

Characterization: In general, the characters in The Book of Three are stereotypically good or evil (Saricks, 2009, p. 272). However, there is at least one exception during the story to these established stereotypes, and the stereotypical characters are also “carefully and interestingly drawn” (Saricks, 2009, p. 272). In addition, there is a strong emphasis placed on Taran as the protagonist of the story (Saricks, 2009, p. 272); Taran is a complex character on a journey of discovering his own self-worth and potential through his quest of traveling to Caer Dathyl to warn the location of a future attack from the gathered forces of evil (Saricks, 2009, p. 272). Additionally, there are nonhuman characters with human characteristics in the book’s story (Saricks, 2009, p. 273).

Frame/Setting: The frame of the story contains magical elements, such as a magical pig or a magical sword (Saricks, 2009, p. 266). There are also creatures, such as dwarfs, that only exist in a magical world (Saricks, 2009, p. 266). In addition, the setting includes an emphasis on landscape and “elaborate, easily visualized settings” (Saricks, 2009, p. 267). Also, The Book of Three involves the application of an alternate medieval world in its setting (Saricks, 2009, p. 268).

Tone/Mood: In general, there is an optimistic tone that pervades throughout The Book of Three (Saricks, 2009, p. 270), since humor is prominently featured throughout the book (Saricks, 2009, p. 271). The humorous mood in The Book of Three assists in handling significant problems in an intelligent and light-hearted manner (Saricks, 2009, p. 272). However, there is also an elegiac tone in The Book of Three (Saricks, 2009, p. 270), since there are at least a couple of scenes where Taran believes that a certain character is dead.  

Style/Language: The language of The Book of Three varies from being somewhat elegant and stylized in its simple descriptions of locations to being more conversational and stereotypical in its dialogue (Saricks, 2009, p. 274). In addition, cadence in relation to the pronunciation of names and words is significant in the story (Saricks, 2009, p. 274), and the pronunciation is displayed in a list of names at the end of the novel (Saricks, 2009, p. 274). Additionally, the language is colorful, dramatic, atypical, and sparsely and efficiently utilized (Saricks, 2009, p. 274). In addition, there is a certain amount of the description of unusual names and social and political structures in the book’s story (Saricks, 2009, p. 274). Also, the novel contains an illustrated map of the story’s primary locations and brief pictures of characters or creatures at the beginning of each chapter (Saricks, 2009, p. 274).

Read A Likes:

The hobbit, or, there and back again by J. R. R. Tolkien. This novel has been influenced by Celtic mythology and legend (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.). In addition, the book has been intelligently written and contains a completely developed setting (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.). Also, the novel exhibits memorable characters that include “heroes on quests with friends” (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).

The ship of the dead by Rick Riordan. This book shares the same incorporation of the genre of fantasy fiction and the subject of quests with The Book of Three (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).

Talons of power by Tui Sutherland. The novel shares the same inclusion of the genre of fantasy fiction and the subject of good and evil with The Book of Three (EBSCO Industries, Inc., 2018, n.p.).

References:

EBSCO Industries, Inc.. (2018). Read-alikes for The book of three. Retrieved from

http://web.a.ebscohost.com/novp/detail?sid=8605e92e-e465-4450-8c5c-0cc40e774e1a%40sessionmgr4007&UI=UI+085175&vid=2

Saricks, J. G. (2009). The readers’ advisory guide to genre fiction (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL:

            American Library Association.