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The Book of Three: Lord of the Rings Knock Off Edition

I have a confession to make. I enjoy fantasy but I find it intrinsically boring. In many ways all fantasy blends together for me especially since I'm familiar with the patterns mythos and fairytales work within due to having read some Joseph Campbell and his works on comparative mythology, as well as my general knowledge and interest in folklore and mythology. The real genre fatigue for me though comes from the fantasy genre specifically overusing high fantasy tropes familiar to most people from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. This year I decided to try and participate in Fantasy December which is a practice in reading circles to read works from the Fantasy genre in December since it lends itself well to the season. I had always been mildly interested in Disney's The Black Cauldron film and thought hey, it's based on a book series this could be fun. Judging by the movie it's going to be harmless kids fantasy but could be a light, entertaining treat. I was wrong. I was so wrong about The Book of Three.
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston's 1964 Edition

Written by Lloyd Alexander and part of his Chronicles of Prydain series The Book of Three is actually the set up for the book that The Black Cauldron film takes its name from. Saying this I will probably never read The Black Cauldron book. Why? Book of Three not only bored me to tears but reminded me of every pet peeve I have about the Fantasy genre. I know I'm not a child and I'm reading kids fantasy BUT there is nothing likable about the protagonist Taran. He is every stereotype snot nosed punk kid rolled into one with a big red stamp of FANTASY on his forehead to try and explain why we should care about him and his quest. Add in the fact that everyone in this sounds like second rate mock ups of Lord of the Rings characters without the elements that made them compelling and discussed in the way only certain authors talk down to their child audience and you have this book. I wanted to care. I tried to care. But my god this book thwarts you at every turn by dropping breadcrumbs of elements that are eyecatching, like the usage of magic or the level of brutality the bad guy's forces employ but then immediately drops them and moves on to something else. It doesn't feel scatterbrained per se but more like the author is using story beats from an extremely abridged Lord of the Rings as a literal roadmap for his plot. When I first started reading this book I wondered why it seemed to be rarely discussed and didn't have nearly as many adaptations as something like Narnia when movie studios are constantly looking for the next YA movie cash cow they can churn sequels out of. Well that should have been a warning sign. Sadly, this book gets put in the very small pile of books this year I couldn't even force myself to finish. It's generic, features an unlikable protagonist, and whatever interesting elements pop up aren't enough to make this fantasy a thing of magic. Well that's my review. Are there any books that you personally couldn't finish? Sound off in the comments and if you want to know as soon as reviews drop give me follow. Until next time!
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