Customer Reviews

The Iron Ring

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The great Lloyd Alexander shifts his focus momentarily away from his much beloved land of Wales to concentrate on writing an entirely different tale. Sort of. Fixing his attention wholly on India, the author has penned another fantastic series of adventures. The basis of this books are the classic fairy tales, folktales, animal fables, and teaching-stories found throughout Indian culture and history. As such, this story could have felt like a mad-cap gluing together of all these disparate stories. Instead, the book is a smoothly flowing, if naggingly familiar, epic for the young.

King Tamar is young for his station in life, but he rules his small kingdom with grace and skill. When a fellow king arrives one day and insists on an all-stakes gambling match with Tamar, the younger man finds himself having bet away his own life to the fellow. Soon thereafter no one else in his palace remembers the mysterious visitor, but Tamar finds himself wearing an iron ring, the very physical embodiment of his debt. To determine whether not his wager was real or just a dream, Tamar embarks on a quest to find the other king and to settle once and for all what he owes. Along the way he picks up a variety of traveling companions. Amongst them are his own tutor Rajaswami, the beautiful gopi Mirri, Hashkat who is king of the monkeys, the ever complaining eagle Garuda, king Ashwara, and a very odd fellow named Adi-Kavi. Have no fear. Their names, as well as the names of every other character in this book, are collected in an index for easy reference for the easily confused reader. Embarking on a series of adventures with his crazy crew, Tamar learns much about the world outside his kingdom and what it truly means to be a warrior and a king.

(...). This book was so similar to several of the "Prydain Chronicles" that it was all I could do to keep from noticing the fact on every other line. Consider. In the "Prydain Chronicles" a boy named Taran must learn to control his aggression in the face of hostility, discover what it truly means to be a warrior, and deserve the love of the fair Eilonwy. In "The Iron Ring" a king named Tamar must learn to control his aggression in the face of hostility, discover what it truly means to be a warrior, and deserve the love of the fair Mirri. In one, Taran is joined by the furry Gurgi, a speaking crow, and a noble prince. In the other, Tamar is joined by the furry Hashkat, a speaking eagle, and a noble king. The adventures are similar. The tone of the book is similar. Heck, even the beginning of the stories are similar. As a writer, Lloyd Alexander isn't one for weighing down a tale with loads of exposition and explanation. Nope, one chapter down and suddenly we're in the heart of the tale. It's a thrilling way to write a book. Just not an especially thoughtful one.

But don't judge my words too harshly. The book's a fine frolicsome ride. Fun for the whole family, and not a hint of profanity or innuendo to be uncovered. As an added plus, the battle scenes in this story are fabulous. You really do find yourself caught up in the action. And be sure to refer often to the map at the front of the story and the glossary of unfamiliar terms at the end. It's a well written, if sometimes overly familiar, story that deserves a reading by any adventure lover.

This book is great I am 11 years old I loved. Lloyd, I read Time cat, The book of Three and The Iron Ring out of them all this was the second best and then 1st was The Book of Three.
The book is about Tamar who thinks a gambling game was a dream but he still has an Iron Ring on his finger so on his journey to find out the answer he meets the love of his life and life long friends.

i know this book is really intresting really intresting.the main character has one adventure after another which makes it a non stop read book.it only gets complicated when you read about all the different characters and have to keep track of all them. Not only are the characters humans but most of them are royal.The wierd twist is that there is also animals that not only talk but some are royal and have their own kingdoms.It was really neat how the author lloyd alexander took you into another culture.the main character Tamar is a king and meets another king who visits his land and as courtesie tamar gambles with him. before he knows it tamar has gambled his life away. Now he must travel and meet up with this king who left a ring on his finger and vanished. along the way tamar meets wacky characters with problems of their own and he stops and helps them.

With a hero like King Arthur it's no wonder Lloyd Alexander writes about a young king's adventures. The Iron Ring is one of the many beautifully written stories.
Tamar, the young king of Sundari, journeys to many places. Tamar faces death and wonder around every corner. When he plays a game like dice, he does not know how far the stakes will go. He loses his caste and honor, while realizing the world sees a lot of violence and he is just as important as anybody else. He learned much about the lives of other creatures. This is a good story about a king who learns much.
This is an outstandingly written novel. I liked every part of the story. There is heart pounding adventure and romance in it. When Tamar is hit in the head with a mace your heart is pounding. Did he live? Did he fulfill his task? It's also full of romance. Does Mirri the gopi, a cow maiden, choose Tamar. It's also full of action; there are many battle scenes. Out of ten this would definitely be a ten plus. I would recommend this book to any body.
Overall, the life of a young king and his adventures are very attention-grabbing. This is a book that all would enjoy.

All in all, The Iron Ring was an appealing, not to mention an out of the ordinary piece of literature. It is quite a change from his magical Prydain Chronicles, therefore I warn those avid readers whom have discovered this magic, and wish to discover a similar story, to keep their expectations down. Although this is an enthralling read, it presents a very different kind of story to the one presented in his hit series. This story has a lovely structure, and a plot that is atypical for quite a number of readers, however, I will say that this plot is highly unoriginal. Many snitches and snippets have seemed to be cut out from Indian mythology, and pasted into this story; in fact, the whole book is made up of odds and ends of various stories, just stapled together, with no originality. As Alexander seems to render, this is not a story of his imagination at all, and in fact, is only comprised of bits of incredibly ancient stories put together under his name. However, I urge you to read this book, but at the same time advise exploration into Indian mythology, to see for yourself how little of this book has really come from Alexander's own imagination. He did not add any of the uniqueness that I so highly expected of him. Alexander has failed at his weak attempt to make Indian mythology his own. For those of you who find, or have found his book magical, and thought-provoking, I recommend further investigation in Indian mythology, particularly to do with the epics of Ramayana, and Mahabharata which are incredible stories which have stood the test of time, over thousands of years. You will be sure to find many similarities between these epics and Alexander's book, and will be able to see where Alexander found many of his characters and situations...

I have read the book, The Iron Ring, by Lloyd Alexander. It is one of his greatest books besides his earlier Prydain Chronicles. This book is for people ages 10-17. This is not a challenging book for older people. Lloyd has written this book in a special way that I find very interesting. He used characterization and all the characters in the book felt like I known them personally. I was able to determine what they would do in a certain situation after a while. The setting is very nice. The story takes place in early India, when it was rules by the kings, before the British invasion of India. Lloyd has depicted a very well setting for the time of this story and I was not able to find any glitches of the story's setting. I had felt very eager to read some parts, but all the fights the characters were in were short and very non-explanatory. I hated some parts when random things happen. I overall liked this book over the others. I would recommend to many people who have interest in fantasy stories.
The story starts of as Jaya visited Tamar, King of Sundari, King of Mahapura. Jaya challenges Tamar to a game, and Tamar lost his life to Jaya and Jaya disappeared. Tama finds a ring on his finger and he told others about it, but they were asleep when this happened. Therefore, Tamar began a journey to Mahapura. He finds many people on the way, they get in many minor conflicts, and some parts are funny. Tamar found Mirri on the way and falls in love with her. Tamar, Mirri and Rajaswami meet up with Adi Kavi, Ashwara, Ashwara's brothers and many animals. Tamar was asked to save Ranapura from an evil king that took over the control of Ashwara's kingdom. Tamar and the others fight them and looses the first battle, but they fight another time and wins. Tamar learns a very good lesson from the journey and when he reached Mahapura, he was a different person than when he left. Read the book to found out how he changed.

As he did with the Prydain Chronicles, "The Arkadians" and "The Remarkable Journey of Prince Jen," in this book Lloyd Alexander takes a set of cultural myths and legends, and weaves them together into a remarkably seamless fantasy adventure.

The strange king Jaya arrives in the kingdom of Sundari, and in an audience with young King Tamar, beats him in a game of dice. Tamar loses more than the game -- his life is now Jaya's. Then he wakes up, with no sign of Jaya, and an iron ring on his finger. Honor demands that he travel to Jaya and offer his life, and despite the wishes of the wise old Rajaswami, he sets out.

Along the way, Tamar encounters first a thieving monkey who was once a man, a quirky wise-man. and a beautiful gopi (cowgirl) Mirri, with whom he falls in love. But soon Tamar's internal struggle becomes even more pronounced: He learns of a villainous noble who is threatening all of them.

Many of Lloyd Alexander's books have a formula cast: a young hero with a lesson to learn, a smart heroine, a quirky older man, and usually a few lovable animal sidekicks. Here it works very well. Alexander also includes an unusual commentary on the Indian caste system, on how unfair it is. Tamar goes from horror at just looking at one of the chandala ("the lowest of the low") to calling one of them his friend; his true friends don't care about his supposedly contaminated state, because they care more about him than about castes. And Alexander's look at honor and the keeping of one's word is also amazing.

The plotting is exceptionally intricate -- Alexander is adept at giving little twists and unexpected turns in his plots, but "Iron Ring" may be the most complex book he's yet written. His writing isn't quite as detailed as some of his other books, but the dialogue is still enjoyable and well-written. Perhaps my only quibble is that ALL the animals talked, not just the once-human ones, or the really unusual ones.

Tamar is a classic Alexander hero -- he has a lot to learn, but he's enthusiastic, good-hearted and likable. His hesitation to stay with Mirri is also well-written, since his life belongs to Jaya. Mirri herself is a sharp, no-nonsense heroine that readers will like; Rajaswami is a sweet old guy who is completely loyal to Tamar. Then there is Hashkat, the thieving, lazy monkey who is surprisingly loyal, and Garuda, the ugliest and most annoying eagle imaginable.

"The Iron Ring" is among Alexander's finest fantasy books, melding myth with his own storyline and likable characters. Fans of romantic, adventurous epic stories will love this one.

While I enjoyed The Iron Ring I didn't think it was as good as other books by Lloyd Alexander. It is definitely interesting and spell binding, yet it seems to lack the usual flare of Alexander's other books. One of my favorite aspects of the book was how it really made a person think about certain issues, such as chivalry and honor.

This is a great book. If you are tired of Lord of the Rings or find it too complicated, get this. This book is a great mix of Hindu legend and Arthurian tales. Buy it! I promise you won't be dissapointed. Romance, sorrow, epic battle, and a nice bit of humor make this a perfect book.

The Iron Ring
By Lloyd Alexander

The Iron Ring is one of the best books I have ever read. It is about the young king of Sundari palace named Tamar. His journey is to find a king that won control of Tamar's life. So he had to find him and be his slave for as long as the other king wants him to. He meets many new people on his journey and they become good friends. In my opinion this book was great and nicely written. I liked the plot of the of the story and I liked the fact that it was a fantasy book, which is one of my favorite types of books. I would recommend this book if you like fantasy books and adventure books.