The last book in the series, the only one to win the Newbery Medal and the first one I ever read. When I was probably, oh, ten or eleven, my mom ordered this from one of those elementary school order forms (remember those? The best thing about grade school? Yes, including recess. Okay, maybe that's just me), intending to read it to all of us at bedtime. We never quite got around to that, and (as most books in our house did at one point or another) it made its way into my collection.
The final chapter of this story is of a country at war, and while necessarily darker than previous volumes, brings it to a satisfying and even heartbreaking conclusion. In a last, furious attempt to destroy the evil Arawn, the characters must give (though it's a mathematical impossibility) more than their all. Thus the death toll is higher, with some absolutely spectacular battle scenes that rival any in adult literature (Tolkein, I'm looking at you here.) And in the end, it is about what all epics are about: friendship, honor, family, love. Which really does conquer all.
Author: Lloyd Alexander
Potentially objectionable content: The aforementioned deaths and battle scenes
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