The Prydain Chronicles Book Five: The High King

By: Lloyd Alexander

Narrated by: James Langton

The Sword of Dyrnwyn, the most powerful weapon in the kingdom of Prydain, has fallen into the hands of Arawn-Death-Lord. Now Taran, Assistant Pig-Keeper, and Price Gwydion lead an army against the powerful lord. After a winter expedition filled with danger, Taran's forces arrive at Mount Dragon, evil's stronghold. There Tara is forced to make the most crucial decisions of his life as he confronts the evil enchantress Achren and the diabolical Arawn.©1968 Lloyd Alexander; (P)2005 Random House, Inc. Listening Library, an imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

A perfect ending to the series!

It is sad to say goodbye to Taran, Eilowany, Gurgi, and the rest of the companions. But it was a very happy ending to their story and the beginning of their next journeys.

I do love this series!

I love this series. It's so many things I love all at once! It's fantasy and adventure and a coming of age tale and a morality tale and many more magical and wondrous things!

Excellent classic children’s fantasy

I finished The Chronicles of Prydain yesterday. They are like formal fantasy plays for children, going through the right motions and using the right symbols throughout the stories. The author accomplished this in a clean and simple way, and took his time to explain many of the metaphors for younger (and older) minds. He was very clear with his life lessons too, especially about showing forgiveness and kindness to flawed individuals, and taking responsibility for your own actions and choices. You could say the story is unoriginal or even a knock off, but I think that he just used a template very well, and that he didn’t try to obfuscate or dress up his message.

Destiny

Great ending for Taran and his companions. Taran's arc and growth come to a perfect end.

The “Harry Potter” of my childhood

I adored these books as a child, and shared them with my children who loved them as well. A simpler and possibly more accessible story than the amazing HP series for younger readers, the Chronicles of Prydain are still as rich and wonderful as they were 50 years ago. I loved hearing them read to me in this series, as much as I loved hearing my dear 4th grade teacher read them to my class so many years ago.