I spent a good chunk of this book only liking Hen Wen the pg and Fflewddur Fflam the bard. But over time, I really grew to also like Taran, Gurgi and Eilonwy, despite their somewhat annoying flaws.

I like the growth of the characters so far in just book one....I can imagine them growing even more over the course of this series. This did get quite a bit info-dumpy at times, especially whenever Lord Gwydion speaks, but I think that was intentional...both due to the time/style this was written in......and that it takes some pieces from old legends, that are told in an oral fashion.

I guess the info-dumpy stuff is really the only reason this is a 4 instead of a 5 star read.

Otherwise, I really enjoyed the adventure, the action, some truly great lines throughout. Some great nods to lore. And I really like that Eilonwy is like "Fuck you, just cause I'm a girl, does not mean I need to be treated like a damn flower...I am a badass." Since this is geared more towards middlegrade (I think) I love that as a role model for kids.

Flew through this and really enjoyed it!