The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches

By: Robert Stanek

Narrated by: uncredited

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

After the Great War that divided the peoples, the kingdoms of men plunged into a Dark Age that lasted 500 years. To heal the lands and restore the light, the great kings decreed that magic and all that is magical, be it creature, man, or device, shall be cleansed to dust. The cleansing raged for so long that no human could recall a time without it and it is in this time that the Dark Lord Sathar returned from the dark beyond. The one hope of the peoples of Ruin Mist was Queen Mother, the elf queen of old. She saw a way out of everlasting darkness, a path that required the union of the divided peoples. And so it began.

Listen to more books in The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches series.

©2002 Robert Stanek (P)2005 Reagent Press

Critic reviews

"[A] complex tale...sure to attract fans of graphic novels and classic Tolkien alike....Stanek will likely draw a cult following....This cliffhanger guarantees fans, and those fans will be ready to wield their swords against the Dark Lord in Stanek's next installment." (Voice of Youth Advocates)

Don’t waste your time (I already did)

Poor derivative of <pick your fantasy subject>. There are much better options out there. I am glad that this was less than 6 hours.

It NEVER Reaches

I love Fantasy books and this had the makings of a good story. But the execution was horrible. There is NO continuity in the story. If it did not clearly state that this was an Unabridged version I would swear it was a horribly mangled abridgment. I actually listened to all 4 hoping beyond hope that it would get better, that the author would actually pull the story together, but it never did. In 4 books the story progresses very little and you will need to continue on with the "In the Service of Dragons" series if you want to find out what happens. I usually do not select books under 8 hours but I made an exception in this case and I am regretting that decision. In fact in the well over 100 books that I have purchased from Audible these are the only books I actually regret purchasing. You have been warned...

I'm afraid I missed the point on this one...

Given the high number of 5 stars reviews, I have no doubt believing that it is me who missed the point with this book. However, it is the first time that I listen to an audio book and my mind keeps wandering around all the time, I found very difficult staying focused and I had to listen to several portions over and over again. I didn't find anything special in the story, and the characters didn't inspire any particular feeling in me.
Even the narration was not that great: the narrator's voice is nice and soothing, but I think a voice like that would be more appropriate for a meditation tape than for a fantasy book.
In short: no doubts the book deserves 5 stars, but for what I'm concerned, my adventure with the Kingdoms and the Elves ends here!

Horrible Reading

It is hard to rate this book. The Story may well develope into a good one but I am not sure I can stand the reader long enough to listen to it. He does not pause between paragraphs or moving from one persona to the next. He also has an annoying habit of carrying the voice of a charactor past the point that the charactor is no longer speaking. It is so distracting that by the end I was so annoyed that I wasn't sure if I even liked the story. I may try to read it myself and re-evaluate but I will most likely not listen to the rest.

It doesn't end. Poor reading.

This book just ended. It did not lead up to anything and there was no exciting ending. They were walking through the forest and it ended. While listening to the book a message just came on and said that to hear the rest of the story you should buy book #2. It is as if the author wrote one book and broke it up randomly into pieces to make more money. Disappointing!

The reader was also not very good. He did a fine job with the dialogue but that was only a small portion of the book. Most of it was read in a quick monotone that nearly put me to sleep.

I can?t believe this book has been rated so well on Audible!

Needs a professional reader

I was disappointed by the reading of this book. The author, whom I believe is reading for us, has a nice voice to listen to. However, he runs sentences together and has no sense of the dramatic at all. He also does not have different voices for the characters--all male characters pretty much sound the same, and the same goes for the women characters.

As for the story, it is good, but not on par with others I've heard recently. I just finished the first book and wonder how the author decided that the story 'ends' here. Luckily, I have the second book as well, and I can jump in with the hopes that it evolves toward some observable goal. Right now, I still don't know where the story is heading.

Story okay, narrator not

I found it very difficult to enjoy this book. The narrator seemed unable to acknowlege punctutation. His narration flowed together such that it was almost impossible to tell when he shifted between characters/perspectives - hence the confusion with the story. I have not, and will not download the rest of this series -- unless the narrator changes. It's unfortunate, because, I think, the story was reasonably interesting.

Better than most anything else out there

My brother Andy got me started on these books. Having read all of the books that are now available in this series, I must recommend it as one of my favorites in the genre. This is great storytelling, a real page-turner. The plot is dynamic and varied, and the characters change in importance as the story progresses. I was always anxious to see what was going to happen next. This series keeps you interested, and I must say, is one of the only series out that I think is worth it. I read this then plunged right into #2 like everyone recommended. Book #1 gets the story rolling. Book #2 is 5 stars all the way! So are #3 and #4 by the way. Read these books. You'll be looking forward to listening every day.

Well, it's about Princesses and Elves and stuff...

I like SciFi and some Fantasy, but I don't live and breathe it.

The ratings for this series are incredible, so I took a chance and listened to it. It's just another Fantasy series, folks - it seemed a little underwritten to me, but maybe it picks up in later books, I don't know. I'm not going to spend the money to find out.

If you REALLY like this sort of thing, go for it. I was bored.

Whats with this guy?

Man...the story was decent but the guys voice was driving me insane. I was glad when it was over. I'm looking forward to the next one unless the same guy reads it, then I'll just buy the printed version.