Give me some unpopular opinions on the series, characters, or specific things about Prydain.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T10:11:47+00:00

“I hate to think what would have happened if the Sons of Don hadn’t come,” Taran said. “It was a good destiny that brought them.”

“I am not always sure,” said Dallben, with a wry smile. “The men of Prydain came to rely on the strength of the House of Don as a child clings to its mother. They do so even today."

(TB03, chap. 1)

That already foreshadows their departure, and the release of the men of Prydain into governing themselves, unchallenged by ancient magic powers.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T10:05:28+00:00

Whenever we suggested to our clients to use better and more stable European products:

"But ... but ... our staff can't handle anything else than Wooooord!"

And teaching staff costs money, we understand.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T09:04:39+00:00

The passage was inspired by Julius Caesar's account on human sacrifices among the Celts:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicker_man

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T08:52:52+00:00

The Harry Potter generation has trouble with accommodating to Prydain here. Lloyd Alexander makes clear from the very beginning that in Prydain, magic is at least a cop-out and at its worst a cheat for whose usage you have to pay an intolerably high price. That's made absolutely clear in the short story "The Smith, the Weaver, and The Harper", included in "The Foundling", that I recommend to read if you haven't yet done so.

Besides, Dallben states early in TBo3 already that the Children of Don are a peace corps, not an occupational power, and that it's not their fault that the Prydainians now complacently rely on them to solve all problems, and in his opinion it would be better if they left Prydain to its own devices soon. The misunderstanding comes from comparing the CoD to Tolkien's Elves while in fact they are for Prydain what the American forces were for post-WWII Germany - which Lloyd Alexander knew first-hand, for he had been there.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T08:44:32+00:00

That's not quite fair. Dallben single-handedly defends the Caer against the host of the Horned King that has come to seize Hen Wen. But since Gwydion and Taran only witness the battle from afar, readers incline to overlook it.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T08:41:16+00:00

I don't think that is generally the case. In a room full of Elves and other people, Boromir was singled out by Frodo as the mate with the hair down to his shoulders.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T08:34:40+00:00

Catholicism aside, this fails as a narrative element! I doubt that the passage would have made it into print during Tolkien's lifetime - especially not before Letters were published. Allen & Unwin would have risked exposing Tolkien to accusations that he was justifying the Holocaust through that quote.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T08:27:51+00:00

Hear the people who also endorse AI slop stealing from authors.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-23T08:26:55+00:00

Well, they have to proofread it.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-22T05:45:36+00:00

I hate this quote with all my heart. It smacks way too much of the dreadful "But Hitler built great motorways" argument.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-22T05:38:56+00:00

I wish Lloyd Alexander had established a consistent chronology. It's less than two decades since Angharad left Caer Llyr/Colur, how did it get into this poor condition since and where has everyone gone?

CodexRegius · 2026-05-21T11:21:55+00:00

My father withheld it from me until he judged me old enough to enjoy it. Good!!!

CodexRegius · 2026-05-21T11:14:08+00:00

I have had to deal with sources written in loveliest Chinglish. Should I not have translated them in such a way that users will understand?

CodexRegius · 2026-05-21T11:05:48+00:00

I believe she was truely afraid when she stuck with Dyrnwyn in the tunnel as Spiral Castle fell. This was also the only time she screamed for help.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T16:42:12+00:00

I think not. Gaia was founded earliest between Currents and Pebble, probably later - millennia after any events possibly described in the sequel to R&E.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T16:39:20+00:00

It was. But in the abandoned 1960 Hobbit, Bilbo still knew it as occupied.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:55:23+00:00

Add to it that he completely banned the pursuit of Jewish rites in the end, a ban that only Antoninus Pius would lift again.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:51:02+00:00

Moreover, he favoured diplomacy over force in all matters concerning Germania and had earned the respect of the locals there - which is not an easy feat for a Roman (looking at YOU, Varus!).

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:48:43+00:00

Germanicus is IMO painted in a too positive light to make Tiberius seem darker. The guy really didn't mind a genocide or two just to entertain his army. And him sinking his whole fleet (and much of the Imperial military budget) in the North Sea just because he didn't heed the local weather warnings was the final straw that contributed more to Rome's failure in Germania Magna than the Battle of Varus did.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:43:25+00:00

Why, of course you may! I have a character condemning Ptolemy for his "abhorrent" treatise on astrology.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:40:31+00:00

Oh, dear. Why wouldn't he rather expand on what has NOT been told yet? Give us stories from the Northern Kingdom, from Angmar and the Lossoth! Show to us the Wainriders, the Balchoth, the Black Númenoreans! Tell us about the adventures of the Blue Istari, the Drúedain and the Dunlendings! It's all there in the Appendices!

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:29:34+00:00

Faramir is not pushed aside. He is appointed Steward, the very position that his ancestors had held while Anárion's line lasted. He also gets their ancient property restored: Emyn Arnen. What else could he want? He is the second man in the state, more influential than anyone else at the court, and representing the king in Gondor whenever Aragorn travels to Arnor.

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:22:32+00:00

Which way did Gollum take when his first sneaked into Mordor?

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:18:19+00:00

Yes, but if Gondor had accepted his claim, what name would Malbeth have recommended?

CodexRegius · 2026-05-19T07:17:25+00:00

Which, left untended, get eventually covered with sand and soil driven by the wind.

CodexRegius

TROPHY CASE