The Diamond Throne

The Elenium, Book 1

By: David Eddings

Narrated by: Greg Abby

Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Sparhawk, the Pandion Knight and Queen's Champion, returns from a long spell of exile to find his native land overrun with evil and intrigue, and his young queen grievously ill. Indeed, Ehlana lies magically entombed within a block of crystal, doomed to die unless a cure can be found within a year.

But as Sparhawk and his allies - who include Sephrenia, the ageless sorceress, and Flute, the strange and powerful girl-child - seek to save Ehlana and the land, they discover that the evil is even greater and more pervasive than they had feared.

Listen to another gem in David Edding's Elenium series.

©1989 David Eddings (P)2008 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[A] graceful, fluid style of storytelling." ( Publishers Weekly)
"[Eddings] draws once more on his particular strengths, combining heroic yet humorous characters with exotic settings and tangled politics to create a fast-moving fantasy that will appeal to his large readership." ( Library Journal)

leaves you wanting to know how it will end

This book was one that I couldn't be distracted with. You will miss key points if you are not paying attention. The book is very good, the characters are almost real. Can't wait to finish the next book. Will the princess be ok?

narrator

everyone keeps saying that the narration is horrible... I don't hear a problem. they use old words sometimes so maybe that's everyone's problem

Pretty good book

The story is good. I really like the main character in this book and the author has good dialogue. The story made sense but there was something missing I can't put my finger on that kept me from a 5 star rating. It is definitely worth reading but didn't make it into my top 10 or anything.

Good book, bad narrator.

Really can't stand the narrator. Love the book though, just can't struggle through the narrator.

Magically wonderful

I've loved David Eddings for decades. and this just made me happy to listen to.

Wonderful

What did you love best about The Diamond Throne?

It takes a special book to keep my mind off of the fact that I am running and this book did it. I could not wait to get back on the road to listen to my book. Sparhawk is amazing!!!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Diamond Throne?

I loved it all

Which character – as performed by Greg Abby – was your favorite?

Sparhawk

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

A world where loyalty and honor still drives a man.

Big fan

I love it. I'm a big fan. I recommend that everyone should listen, it's great.

Surprise book

The first part was slow and I thought for sure this book was a dud, but when Sparhawk's friends enter the story they liven it up. I am very picky about my fantasy stories and this is one that has made my list. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good book.

Great read

What did you love best about The Diamond Throne?

I read this book series in paperback several times over the year and it is a firm favourite of mine. I was delighted to find it in audible format. I am not as fond of the later Eddings books but is one has characters I like and I like the interaction between the characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I don't think I have one. It's the cast of strong characters and their interaction that keeps drawing me back to this book series.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Greg Abby?

Only if I had to because he was the only option and I wanted to hear the story. I found his accent off putting and some of his pronouncations weird.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It's an old friend I just love immersing myself in this world.

Any additional comments?

There was some low background conversation at times that I found very distracting. Not loud enough to ignore, but certainly very distracting.

Revisiting old friends

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.