Kevin's Watch

I have tried in vain to find his books in the shops here. I will maybe order online. Do I start with the Prydain chronicles?

I'd start with the Prydain Chronicles, which are simply wonderful. I'd always enjoyed fantasy novels before I read them as a kid (Narnia & such), but they're what really got me hooked on Welsh and Celtic folklore. Alexander's written a couple other series, plus some stand-alones; if you like Prydain, you should defintely hunt down the Westmark trilogy as well: Westmark, The Kestrel, and The Beggar Queen. They're darker, more grown-up-ish, but absolutely wonderful story-telling.

I also like the Vesper Holly books, which are about a girl-Indiana-Jones (for a younder audience) but are just plain fun. I don't know much about his stand-alones, except that a couple of them have been reprinted recently, and he comes out with something new every couple of years or so.

I own nice paperbacks of the Prydain Chronicles, with beautiful covers, but have never gotten around to reading them. I should probably correct that oversight one of these days.

Roland of Gilead wrote:I own nice paperbacks of the Prydain Chronicles, with beautiful covers, but have never gotten around to reading them. I should probably correct that oversight one of these days.

Yes.

I have just begun reading them again after finishing all the TC books. I remember reading them when I was about 10 and finding them a little difficult. Now I find them an easy but pleasant read. One thing that I am very interested in is the pronunciation of some of the characters names. I know that the origins of the story are welsh, is anyone on the Watch familiar with Welsh pronunciation?

i found these wonderful books back in the fifth grade. i'm currently buying them all again. they are great, and tinged with much sadness. there is heroism, loss, sacrifice. highly reccommended.

Lorelei wrote:One thing that I am very interested in is the pronunciation of some of the characters names. I know that the origins of the story are welsh, is anyone on the Watch familiar with Welsh pronunciation?

Some of it...(and only from what I've read in other books)....So if there are any actual Welsh speakers on the Watch, chime in and tell me where I'm wrong.

The w in "Gwydion" is sort of an "oo" sound, and the y is soft, I think. So it comes out "Gwiddeeon." Of course, the y is sometimes also pronounced as a soft u, as in "uhm."

"Dd" is pronounced like "th" in "the."

"F" is "v" and "ff" is "f".

"Ch" is a softer sound, like the Scots' "loch," rather than "church."

"Ll" is a weird one, and I've been told that only Welsh people can do it properly, but the best way to fake it is to put the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth and blow around the sides, like a really breathy combination of "ssss" and "th."

And don't forget to roll your r's!

For a really good explanation, I recommend reading "Silver on the Tree" by Susan Cooper. It's a great fantasy story, and incidentally has a basic rundown on Welsh pronunciation.

btw: on the Welsh. Tom Jones, Catherine Zeta Jones, a prisoner at my unit who is Welsh: last name Jones. my theory, all Welsh folks are named Jones.

Rhys ap Morgan
Owen ap Tudor

Welsh names

Dragonlily wrote:Rhys ap Morgan
Owen ap Tudor

Welsh names

Short for Rhys ap Morgan Jones, and Owen ap Tudor Jones.

Actually, of course, not all Welshmen are named Jones. Some are named Llewellyn, which is too hard for English tongues to pronounce, so they call them Jones for short.

To return to our muttons: The Prydain chronicles are among my favourite books of all time, and I am deeply distressed to find that they have vanished from my collection. Somehow or other, while my stuff was in storage before my last house-move, I lost an entire box of books. I weep afresh every time I discover something new that has been lost. Well, not quite weep, but it's very annoying. Some of those books will be almost impossible to replace.

I very much wanted to reread the Prydain books a few weeks ago, and now I can't unless I buy new copies.

Stereotypes are a terrible, terrible thing! You've all forgotten "Davies" and "Thomas" and "Evans." My favorite is when there are so many people with the same last name in any given Welsh town that they start describing each other by their jobs. Hence "Evans-the-Bus" and "Jones-the-Petrol."

VF, I hear you on the hate-losing-books front. And to lose Prydain! Ugh! You have my sympathies.

Myste wrote:

Lorelei wrote:One thing that I am very interested in is the pronunciation of some of the characters names. I know that the origins of the story are welsh, is anyone on the Watch familiar with Welsh pronunciation?

Some of it...(and only from what I've read in other books)....So if there are any actual Welsh speakers on the Watch, chime in and tell me where I'm wrong.

The w in "Gwydion" is sort of an "oo" sound, and the y is soft, I think. So it comes out "Gwiddeeon." Of course, the y is sometimes also pronounced as a soft u, as in "uhm."

"Dd" is pronounced like "th" in "the."

"F" is "v" and "ff" is "f".

"Ch" is a softer sound, like the Scots' "loch," rather than "church."

"Ll" is a weird one, and I've been told that only Welsh people can do it properly, but the best way to fake it is to put the tip of your tongue behind your upper front teeth and blow around the sides, like a really breathy combination of "ssss" and "th."

And don't forget to roll your r's!

For a really good explanation, I recommend reading "Silver on the Tree" by Susan Cooper. It's a great fantasy story, and incidentally has a basic rundown on Welsh pronunciation.

only make sure you read the other books in the "Dark is Rising" series by Cooper before "Silver on the Tree", which, if memory serves, is the final book in the series. a great set of books, btw.

i am stunned that there are people here who haven't even heard of Lloyd Alexander. my introduction to fantasy was the Prydain Chronicles, way before the surge in fantasy in the 80's. i am actually in the process of reading the Prydain Chronicles with my two youngest sons right now, we have just started reading the third book in the series, "The Castle Llyr", and they have become as enthralled as i was when i read them at their age. while drawing on Welsh mythology, Alexander also creates characters you feel something for, makes you chuckle on a regular basis, doesn't shy away from loss or tragedy either, and threads lessons of growing up and life lessons in general through the entire series. imo, Alexander was something of a pioneer in the field, and a multiple Newberry Award winner as well. its a real shame Disney butchered his work with their "Black Cauldron", one of the worst, most innacurate adapatations i have ever seen. as Myste mentioned, his Westmark series is also excellent, and "The First Two Lives of Lukas Kasha" is a personal favorite mine as well.

I enjoyed reading the series as a twelve year old or so. The black cauldron series was right up there with the Earthsea trilogy when it comes to fiction that really made an impression on me as a soon to be teenager.

Likewise I loved these books as a kid.

I get these books mixed up with another Welsh folklore-ish series I read around the same time and it's driving me crazy that I can't remember what the other books are, or who wrote them!

Please someone help!

They were set in modern-day Wales. I'm nearly sure one of the main characters was called Bran, he was an albino, had a dog. There were 'otherworld' characters both good and bad trying to influence the world. I think there were some sort of ghost knights that resided in a lake.

Doh! I've just googled 'bran albino wales' - the series is called 'The Dark is Rising' by Susan Cooper - Silver on the Tree, the Grey King, Green Witch, The Dark is Rising, Over Sea Under Stone. Anyone remember these?

When the Dark comes rising, six shall turn it back;
Three from the circle, three from the track;
Wood, bronze, iron; water, fire, stone;
Five will return, and one go alone.

You bet I remember those!

The Black Cauldron is also wonderful.....I love juvenile fantasy literature! And rereading brings back such happy memories of youth.

edit: spelling! *grin*

Just bought the 'Dark is Rising' complete series on ebay for £1.85 - hopefully I'll enjoy it as much as I did 20 years ago!

I just found this thread. . . I have to say that Lloyd Alexander is one of my all-time favorite authors. I never get tired of reading his stories. Though it is total serendipity, my nickname reminds me of his stories. . . Lyr/Llyr.

Incidentially, I always wanted to name a cat Llyan.

As far as the Susan Cooper books go, I read the first and wasn't impressed. *shrugs* Maybe they get better later on.

Yeah, Lloyd Alexander deserves resurrection.

Prydain is mandatory reading to your own kids. My 6th-grade reading teacher hooked me and revived a dying interest in reading that became lifelong.

Re-read the series to my oldest son last year (totally unable to obtain Taran Wanderer - will work for food!) and felt the tears in my eyes in "The High King" when the gwythaint returns and Taran finds... under the rock. I just get shivers from that book, whether it's Coll getting trampled by the C-B, or Eilonwy's bauble lighting up the whole blinking valley, and never mind Dyrwyn!

Night will turn to noon,
and rivers burn with frozen fire
ere Dyrnwyn be regained

A fantastic coming of age series.

i wish they would make some movies from the series. but retain the edge of the books unlike disney's cauldron.

Maybe someone could persuade Peter Jackson to do them.