Kings of the North

Paladin's Legacy, Book 2

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 20 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Elizabeth Moon returns to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter - Paks for short - in this second volume of a new series filled with all the bold imaginative flights, meticulous world-building, realistic military action, and deft characterization that readers have come to expect from this award-winning author. In Kings of the North, Moon is working at the very height of her storytelling powers.

Peace and order have been restored to the kingdoms of Tsaia and Lyonya, thanks to the crowning of two kings: Mikeli of Tsaia and, in Lyonya, Kieri Phelan, a mercenary captain whose royal blood and half-elven heritage are resented by elves and humans alike. On the surface, all is hope and promise. But underneath, trouble is brewing. Mikeli cannot sit safely on his throne as long as remnants of the evil Verrakaien magelords are at large. Kieri is being hounded to marry and provide the kingdom with an heir - but that is the least of his concerns. A strange rift has developed between him and his grandmother and co-ruler, the immortal elven queen known as the Lady. More problematic is the ex-pirate Alured, who schemes to seize Kieri’s throne for himself - and Mikeli’s, too, while he’s at it. Meanwhile, to the north, the aggressive kingdom of Pargun seems poised to invade.Now, as war threatens to erupt from without and within, the two kings are dangerously divided. Old alliances and the bonds of friendship are about to be tested as never before. And a shocking discovery will change everything.

©2011 Elizabeth Moon (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Great book, perfect continuation. Very bad Reader

I gave the book five stars because it 100% deserves it. the story is continued seemlessly, and there are parts that nearly had me in tears. Good humor, loss, and wonderfully vivid people are all in this story.

The bad. The change of narrator can be dealt with if the original of last year was not available anymore, however the narrator chosen is extremely poor for this type of work, she does not give multiple voices to the characters. her pronunciation shows she never listened to the original narrators work or for that matter really read the book. she is a distraction and makes me wish i could ask for a refund. i ighly urge audible to redo this book with a diffrent narrator, preferably the original but bring in a woman who can give the charicter a better voice, Miss Moon has 3 more books coming in this series and if they are read by Susan Erricson i WILL NOT be purchasing them

Teach the narrator how to pronounce names!!!

The book is wonderfull but it is very frustrating to have the names and places pronounced so differently then the previous 4 books. Why do they do this to us?? I distracts from my ability to enjoy the story fully.

Comes to a nice conclusion, leaves room for next

The book is long but it follows the several story lines in a satisfactory way and leaves plenty of room for the next installment. I found the reader a bit of a drag at first but either she speeded things up or I learned some patience. Her deficiency was not sufficient to lower my score from a solid five.

I couldn't put it down

I loved the last series. The author's descriptions of scenes, battles and the characters were riveting. I fell in love with Pax and The Duke.

When I was looking for a good series to listen to while on vacation this summer I was thrilled to find the new series based on familiar characters. I think these books are even better than the others, and that's saying a lot. I am only two books into the series and look forward to eagerly devouring them as well.

better than reviewed

I read a couple of scathing reviews of this book and started it tentatively but thoroughly enjoyed it.

Great story, no so great narrator

This is a great continuation of a good series in a great world. The narrator is.... lacking. Doesn't use the same pronuciations as any of the previous 4 books. Her style is more matter of fact then dramatic. Worst of all... there is little to no attempt to differentiate the voices of the different characters. Especially with the different stories withing the story, it makes it difficult to tell 'where' the story is until several 'paragraphs' in.

Poxenarian the Palidan!

loved it and could not put it down. l look forward to the next in the series.

Great storyline

I must say I got used to the other narrator. This narrator seems to just have angry voices and pronounced a lot of the words differently. The story was quite compelling and I do recommend it.

Wow! a rich fabric of wonder...

While the change in readers bothers some, i found that within minutes of finishing book one and starting this continuation i adjusted.

I love this series...which began many books ago. Elizabeth Moon made me smile as a youngling and now when I am much older... this fantasy world has thoroughly captivated me.

Kings of the North

Where does Kings of the North rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is a great story and a wonderful series. Some reviews harshly criticize the narrator and downgrade the story on that basis. My experience with the many audio-books I have listened to, tends to let me give narrators a chance to grow on me. I think it is more a question of style, as well as the imagination the listener brings with them.

Any additional comments?