Spindle's End vs Taran Wanderer: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Princesses, Good and evil, Fairy Tales, Fantasy fiction, Fantasy, Children's fiction
Spindle's End
The evil fairy Pernicia has set a curse on Princess Briar-Rose: she is fated to prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into an endless, poisoned sleep. Katriona, a young fairy, kidnaps the princess…
vs
Taran Wanderer
“It was full springtime, with promise of the richest summer the farm had ever seen.”
The fourth book of the Prydain cycle tells of the adventures that befell Taran when he went in search of his birthright and the truth about himself.
The verdict
- Readers rate Taran Wanderer highest: Taran Wanderer 4.2 · Spindle's End 3.8.
- Taran Wanderer is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 7 for Spindle's End.
- Spindle's End has the widest readership — 25681 ratings behind its score.
- Taran Wanderer runs the darker storyline; Spindle's End stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Spindle's End | Taran Wanderer | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (25681) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (47) | 4.1 (96) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (3) | 4.5 (2) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (66) | 4.5 (48) |
Reception
| Spindle's End | Taran Wanderer | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 25681 | 96 |
| Editions | 17 | 35 |
| Citations | 2 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 21058 | — |
| Reading it now | 409 | — |
| Written reviews | 1827 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 242 | 872 |
| Pages | 395 | 271 |