Actually really poignant. Whether it's deliberate or just a maturation of Alexander's writing, this final book in the series sheds much of the bland, expository dialogue in favour of a poetic, elegaic tone. The series became increasingly aformulaic and, while "The High King" starts out very traditionally, it gradually expands into a mournful yet thrilling climax. ( )

I read the whole series but am just listing this one. Really excellent books. Part of a mythic model of a young boy not worth much who does great things with interesting companions. ( )

El príncipe Gwydion yace moribundo, y Dyrnwyn, la espada negra encantada de poder arcano, ha sido robada. Si el arma llega a caer en manos de Arawn, el oscuro señor de Annuvin, todo estrá perdido para Prydain. En su última y más peligrosa aventura, Taran y sus compañeros se preparan para el enfrentamiento final contra la huestes de Annuvin, en un intento desesperado de evitar que la marea oscura llegue a imponerse en el reino. El gran rey, apasionante conclusión de las Crónicas de Prydain, es el punto culminante de uno de los ciclos mas populares que ha dado la fantasía moderna. La serie aúna un delicioso sentido del humor con una personalísima reelaboración del ciclo mitológico galés, alcanzando en este volumen sus momentos más dramáticos. La presente novela resultó galardonada además con la Newbery Medal, el premio de literatura juvenil mas prestigioso que se concede en Norteamérica.

After finishing Taran Wanderer, this one just didn’t quite hold a candle to it. It was longer than the other books, so there was more action and the story more involved, that was nice. We were back to striking parallels between this story and LOTR, it’s really hard to miss. Obviously, Taran’s company doesn’t have enough people to match 1:1 with Frodo’s, but it’s still amusing. Also, more of Taran’s friends die in his story than in LOTR, that was much less amusing.

The ending was a little surprising, but completely (I think?) satisfactory. It made me think a lot more than I had expected, especially since Taran was essentially choosing to give up one of the things he had worked toward for the last couple of books. ( )

Thrilling finale to a great series. Have loved these books since childhood & reread every several years. ( )