Probably not. The story line is pretty good, but it was hard listening because of the reader. I think it could have been good, with a good reader.

The narrators timing, emphasis and inflection were all wrong. I found it so irritating to listen to that I had to stop listening several times. I wouldn't normally bother finishing a book with a reader like this, but the story had potential and then, I had already listened to all of my downloaded books and had to wait for my new credits. I won't be listening to the rest of the series!

I've read all the Eddings books and was delighted to find the audiobook. The narrator ruined it for me with the overacting. It was like that voice you hear in the previews before a movie, "In a world with two-legged pigeons, he only had one leg...", you know the one I mean. Yes, now imagine that the entire book is read like that. Exaggeration, yes; if even half the book was read that way it is enough to set one's teeth on edge. I just could not finish it. I'll purchase this again if it is by another narrator.

I have have enjoyed this series for years but this is my first listen on audiobook. I have to say I am so disappointed that the narrator didn't bother to learn the correct pronunciation of words and names. It seems so elementary an idea to get the basics right. Each time he mangles a name or word it jars you from the story. Additionally, his voice portrayal of several of the characters are so incongruous to the story. There was so much potential to bring this story to life but it fell short. The narrator is not without talent but was apparently lacking in direction. Still love the books but I'm unsure if I can continue to listen to the audio version.

David Eddings is one of my favorite authors and I was excited to finally get to sit back and listen to story be read to me...and then I heard the narrator. Even though it has been many years since I read the series the story easily comes back to me but unfortunately it is at the cost of having to wade through one of the worst readers to which I have listened. Mr. Abby comes off as over acting in almost all situations in a melodramatic way that makes me cringe repeatedly. Unfortunately my love for the story will force me to buy the rest of the series and I can only hope that Mr. Abby has picked up some drama classes in between recordings.

I first encountered this story in the early 1990's, and have re-read it many times. It remains one of my favorite fantasy series. Sparhawk's quest to find the cure to his queen's illness is filled with entertaining characters, sufficiently vile antagonists, and plenty of suspense. There are a few twists and turns to keep you guessing, as well.

Anyone who is familiar with the Belgariad will recognize specific roles (comic relief / older advisor / young rogue, etc.) It's sort of fun to analyze the characters in comparison to the other series, trying to pinpoint how they correlate. There's a lot of overlap. There's also plenty similarity in the larger, over-arcing storyline - simple human (Garion / Sparhawk), powerful artifact (Aldur's orb / Bhelliom), and evil God (Torak / Azash). Anyone who enjoyed Eddings' earlier series will likely also enjoy this one (and its sequel).

While the narrator did a reasonable job, it was not easy to distinguish between different characters' voices. This could make conversations rather hard to follow. My other complaint with the audio version has to do with pronunciations. Having such a familiarity with the book has a few drawbacks, especially when it comes to my internal pronunciation of names, places, and so on. I was constantly jarred by oddly accented words here, a strangely pronounced name there. I would estimate that a good 50% of the names in the book were said differently than I had imagined them. I don't claim to be an expert on how David Eddings intended things to be pronounced, but it made it more difficult for me to enjoy the book as much as I had hoped. Others will likely have a different experience, but if you are wary of things like this or have previously read the book, I recommend listening to the sample audio clip, to see if you like the narrator.

Consistent pronunciation of names.

Khalad. The most practical and likeable character.

Pronunciation. The distinguishing voices attributed to characters didn't match the tone described in the story. In particular, Aphrael always sounded smug and insulting rather than roguish and loveable.

A good story, but butchered by narrator.

I've read this book series a few times and found the audio versions recently. I also have the Belgariad series on audio book (read by Cameron Byerly). It took some getting used to having another person read David Eddings stories. Greg Abby has a different reading style than what I got used to with the Belgariad series. However, once he got into the different characters it got much better. During The Diamond Throne, Mr. Abby was getting to know the characters and it took a while for the flow to happen where the characters didn't all sound the same. All in all a good narrator once he got comfortable.

No, the audio edition would have been better with a different narrator..the narrator made Flute sound like an old women instead of a young girl and i didnt like the way he pronouced Sparhawk's name or any of the names..every time he mentioned a named, it would draw me out of the story

i love the story itself, i have read the story several times..its one of mine favorites - that is the main reason i purchased it in audio

No, there was no really differentiation in the character's voices..

yes, love the story but the narration was okay - would have been better if Mr. Abby was able to show each character's personality more

I have loved these books since I read them when they came out. I am a huge David Eddings fan. Though the plots now seem to lack a bit of depth now that I'm older, the characters and story are a lot of fun to spend time with.

My only issue with this book is the narrator. His voice is fine overall, but he mispronounces things quite a lot. The names in the book are probably the most jarring as I have had them in my mind a certain way and with the exception of a few obvious ones, he doesn't pronounce them right. That, perhaps, can be forgiven since I'm not aware of any Eddings pronunciation guide, but he also puts the emphasis on the wrong syllable sometimes, and he pronounces a few key phrases and words incorrectly. (i.e. "ramshorn", which from the context of the story is clearly meant to be "rams horn" is pronounced "ram shorn"). I found this irritating, since it kept jerking me out of the story when he did it.

If you've never read the books, it probably won't be an issue for you.

As always David Eddings provides dry humor and witty characters, but the Shattneresk pauses Greg Abby insists on placing halfway through each sentence drove me insane. This is a book that is perhaps better read than listened to.