Prydain - a ME knockoff?
Sean
on this forum before, but I have just discovered them recently
and so far read only _The Book of Three_ (1964).
Alexander drew his material from Welsh legend, general mythology
...and perhaps JRRT? I found the book fast-paced and fun to read,
even if there are some plot elements similar to LOTR:
* a Quest
* a famous sword
* a powerful villain, who is but a servant or emissary of an even
worse villain (who captures and corrupts the innocent)
* wizards
* a character burns his fingers meddling in the affairs of wizards
* an underground adventure
* a bauble that throws light in dark places
* a pitiful, self-deprecating character who occasionally makes
himself useful
* a witch (female this time)
* spy birds
* pursuit by the Undead
* being stalked by wolves
* a weatherbeaten hero
* a powerful Good Guy who lives in his own small domain and who
shelters the adventurers
* Fair Folk, although it isn't clear whether they're elves,
dwarves, leprechauns or whatever
* a talented horse
* a homely village
* waking up in bed after a grueling ordeal
* a barrow
* invisibility
* Sword-Maidens
* understanding the speech of birds
* a golden ring with its proper gem made by the Fair Folk
There may be more that I can't think of at the moment, and
I've only read the 1st book in the series.
Sean Q
Derek Broughton
> I know the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander have been discussed
> on this forum before, but I have just discovered them recently
> and so far read only _The Book of Three_ (1964).
>
> Alexander drew his material from Welsh legend, general mythology
> ...and perhaps JRRT? I found the book fast-paced and fun to read,
> even if there are some plot elements similar to LOTR:
I think they're more likely drawn from the same source, rather than one
copied from the other. I expect you'll find most of the items you list in
"The Mabinogion". Still, plenty of people _have_ ripped off LOTR - but
most of them since Alexander started.
--
derek
Öjevind Lång
> I know the Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander have been discussed
> on this forum before, but I have just discovered them recently
> and so far read only _The Book of Three_ (1964).
>
> Alexander drew his material from Welsh legend, general mythology
> ...and perhaps JRRT? I found the book fast-paced and fun to read,
> even if there are some plot elements similar to LOTR:
Many of those are standard fare in fantasy and don't necessarily show
an influence from Tolkien in particular, but there are some items that
do seem to be lifted from Tolkien:
[snip]
> * a powerful villain, who is but a servant or emissary of an even
> worse villain (who captures and corrupts the innocent)
That is indeed very Tolkienesque.
[snip]
> * a pitiful, self-deprecating character who occasionally makes
> himself useful
The one element in the Prydain pentalogy which I found plainly inspired
by Tolkien was the character of Gurgi, who, at first seems like a
complete ripoff of Gollum. But he swiftly acquires a personality of his
own, and "faithful Gurgi" (as he is called, with great justification,
by one of the characters at the end of the last book) becomes
Alexander's own creation, though I do think the original inspiration
for him was Gollum. Long before the end, he has ceased to be pitiful
and is a friend.
[snip]
> * spy birds
I don't remember those. Where do they appear?
> * pursuit by the Undead
Hmm... That's something you can find in the Mabinogion, and in many
other works of fantasy.
[snip]
> There may be more that I can't think of at the moment, and
> I've only read the 1st book in the series.
The other books are even better than the first, so there is a treat in
store for you.
Öjevind
Albert Loui
: Sean wrote:
: [snip]
:> * spy birds
: I don't remember those. Where do they appear?
The gwythaints are the raptor-like spies of Arawn, just as the
crebain are the crow spies of Saruman. There is a young gwythaint that
Taran and Eilonwy nurse back to health in "The Book of Three", who
ultimately comes back to save Taran from the brink of death at the hands
of the Cauldron-Born on Mount Dragon in "The High King"; the gwythaint
buys Taran time with its life, allowing him time to find the sword
Drynwyn.
I thought that was a nice aspect of the novel - Taran's
act of kindness, which was dismissed by the dwarf Doli (the obvious
Prydain counterpart to Gimli) as dangerous folly, paid dividends in the
end. Taran would surely have perished by the blades of the Cauldron-Born
had the gwythaint not come to his rescue, and Arawn would surely have
defeated the Sons of Don. This mirrors the essential goodness in Bilbo
and Frodo Baggins, which afforded them the high degree of uncorruptability
to the One Ring's evil that ultimately allowed it to be destroyed.
I think that there are other examples of fantasy literature that
are probably more "guilty" of poaching Tolkien's Middle Earth - for
example, Terry Brooks' Shannara series (which I found very entertaining
nevertheless).
al