The High King (The Prydain Chronicles, Book 5)

I’m listening to The High King, book 5 of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, a very Welsh YA series from the 1960s. The plot is a bit guessable, but it stands out as almost Conan-ish in its dedication to human-centric stories.

While there are faeries, Norns, and undead, they aren’t major plot points. All the major characters except Gurgi are human. There’s a handful of enchanters and magicians, but they’re revered/avoided, nobody meddles with the sorcerers (and it becomes apparent that most of these magicians know each other and, like dragons, give each other a wide berth).

I’d recommend it as some easy listening – it gets a bit high-horse about peace and war, strife and morality, but it’s no Prince Caspian/Aslan nonsense.

https://www.audible.com/pd/The-High-King-Audiobook/B002V1NKDK