The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander

This book is the second in The Chronicles of Prydain series, and I gave it a rating of five out of five. Prince Gwydion organizes the armies of Prydain to take the Black Cauldron away from Arawn, the lord of  The Land of Death, who is using it to amass an army of undead. The cauldron was stolen from him, before the armies arrive, and Taran and his group of characters discover its new location. They must avoid a party of Huntsmen, whose powers grow if one of them is killed, and then attempt to retrieve the cauldron from three witches. Even then, there is another evil ruler waiting to possess the cauldron and start his own army to rule over Prydain.

This book was a Newbery Honor winner, and the plot moves along quickly. There are surprise twists to the story, and there is a bit of foreshadowing through the dreams of  Adaon, a bard leading the search. Ellidyr is a new character with a negative disposition, and he adds some additional conflict for Taran.

You must read the books in the series in order, so use the search box in the top-left corner of the screen to find The Book of Three.