The High King

by Lloyd Alexander | Children's Books | This book has not been rated.
ISBN: 0440435749 Global Overview for this book
Registered by harmaja of Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on 3/12/2009
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by harmaja from Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Thursday, March 12, 2009
To be read.

Journal Entry 2 by harmaja from Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Saturday, July 11, 2009
OK, I suspected I wouldn't like The High King, and truly I did not. I've read the beginning of the series, The Book of Three, and was rather bored. These "humble companions journey to defeat the evil overlord" books are a dime a dozen, and this one is nothing but a cheap copy of Tolkien's. Especially the very end is directly from LOTR. The part before the ending, the defeat of the evil overlord himself, is rather an anticlimax. The evil prince materializes as a serpent, is hacked in two - and then it's all over. Just like that. Humph.

Alexander's prose is fast-paced and action-packed, which is good, but his style is pompous and clichéd and the characters paper-thin. If a character is associated with an idea or a symbol, they keep on jabbering about it every time they get a chance, almost as if the author could not be bothered to add even a tiny bit of depth to his creations. For example, Coll the farmer goes on about turnips every time he features at all, Rhun the King goes on about his sea-wall, etc. Even when they die, Coll still speaks of turnips and Rhun of his sea-wall. You get the idea. One character has one thing to define him, and that's all. Bo-ring.

Speaking of characters dying, they do so very conveniently. They always die just after the battle, giving them enough time to be found and to say their final words. They never die before everyone's gathered around them holding their breath, and yet they never linger on to inconvenience the party that must travel on. Very decent of them! And now that I mention decency, what's with Rhun's and Fflewdur's "I say" and "jolly good" and "old chap" act - why must they sound like Bertie Wooster? I don't get it.

One more thing I'd like to point out is this: you don't thaw a whole lake just by lighting fires on the ice. You just don't. I come from a land where the lakes freeze over in winter, and it takes a tremendous amount of heat to melt them again. Even if you light a huge fire on the ice, it will take a long time just to melt a dent in the ice. Were the fire to melt through at some point, the flames would just be quenched, that's all. The whole lake wouldn't suddenly melt and run free, crushing your enemies down below the waterfall. Just felt I needed to make this clear. Foreign people have strange ideas of snow and ice, I've noticed it often before. (Yes, there is such a thing as poetic license, but you can only take it so far.)

It must be pretty clear by now that I only read The High King because I intend to read all Newbery medal winners. So, another one struck off the list - woo hoo! I sincerely hope that someone else will someday enjoy this book for the sake of the book itself, and not just read it because of a reading challenge. I know someone who used to like these books, so there's always hope. At some point I'll release The High King to look for new readers.

Journal Entry 3 by harmaja at Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Sunday, August 16, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (8/16/2009 UTC) at Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom

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CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

I'm bringing this book to Edinburgh Book Festival meet-up. Hope it finds new readers!

Journal Entry 4 by harmaja from Helsinki, Uusimaa / Nyland Finland on Sunday, August 16, 2009
Nobody took this book at the meet-up. so I'm releasing it in Forest Café instead.

Journal Entry 5 by harmaja at Forest Cafe, Bristo Place in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom on Sunday, August 16, 2009

Released 14 yrs ago (8/16/2009 UTC) at Forest Cafe, Bristo Place in Edinburgh, Scotland United Kingdom

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I left this book in the Forest Café exchange shelf today around 3 PM. Happy reading!

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