Crown of Renewal

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 21 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's Summary

Acclaimed author Elizabeth Moon spins gripping, richly imagined epic fantasy novels that have earned comparisons to the work of such authors as Robin Hobb and Lois McMaster Bujold. In this volume, Moon’s brilliant masterwork reaches its triumphant conclusion.

The mysterious reappearance of magery throughout the land has been met with suspicion, fear, and violence. In the kingdom of Lyonya, Kieri, the half-elven, half-human king, struggles to balance the competing demands of his heritage while fighting a deadly threat to his rule: evil elves linked in some way to the rebirth of magic.

Meanwhile, in the neighboring kingdom of Tsaia, a set of ancient artifacts recovered by the former mercenary Dorrin Verrakai may hold the answer to the riddle of magery’s return. Thus Dorrin embarks on a dangerous quest to return these relics of a bygone age to their all-but-mythical place of origin. What she encounters there will change her in unimaginable ways - and spell doom or salvation for the entire world.

©2014 Elizabeth Moon (P)2014 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Soooo.... that's it?

What did you love best about Crown of Renewal?

I'm a Moon fan from way back>
There aren't too many authors I read everything I can get my hands on.
Elizabeth Moon is constantly one of them.
She doesn't forget about details and weaves a good long tale.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Paks of course, but she scarce.

What aspect of Susan Ericksen’s performance would you have changed?

Sounded very painfully deliberate.
voicing accents and giving good performances is well within her preview, but this book began stilted and wound up passably awkward.

STILL, miles beyond and above Dawe.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

no... we didn't stay with anyone or any one situation long enough to care.

Any additional comments?

Additional comments...
Sigh... yeah.
I follow Moon's twitter and there have been some real world interruptions that can derail a good book.
This was a contractual completion and it shows>
I would HAPPILY have waited another two years to have had this NOT seem like a rushed wrap-it-up-and-move-on effort.

In disappointment I shall return to the best of all of the Elizabeth Moon book and reread The Deed of Paksinarion trilogy and be soothed and sated.

Other recommndations from this author.
the Vata Saga (5 books)
Remnant (Novella)
Speed of Dark (Novel)

not a very gratifying end to a fantastic series

i loved both Pak series and all the other moon books but the last two books were disappointing. This seemed a hurry up and finish effort and i have to admit that van dyke spoiled me as a narrator...sometime mentioned this was a contract completion effort and there were other things going on inn miss moon's life during its writing. i can believe that.

i hope Ms Moon has a grand life in her later years...she gave us so much...time to relax

Find out the pronunciation, please!

What did you like best about Crown of Renewal? What did you like least?

I like the continuation of the story arc that started with Sheepherder's Daughter.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

All of the other audio books in the series have a certain pronunciation for the words devised by the author. As in Paks pronounced Pox. This narrator threw all of that out and read it in her own way. That is irritating as it breaks the continuity. Occasionally I was thrown out of the story by trying to figure out what the narrator meant.

Do you think Crown of Renewal needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes, there are still questions that need to be answered.

change not always good

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

i love this series. the narrator prefaced the performance with an announcement that all word pronunciations went through the author. I knew that had to be bad news. most of the significant names and locations including the MAIN CHARACTER are different. Right or wrong I've purchased and listened to the previous 4 books excellently narrated by Jennifer van dyke. now the flow is broken every time I have to translate the word that was said into the familiar places and people I've gotten to know so well.

Would you be willing to try another one of Susan Ericksen’s performances?

maybe. does she have a habit of jumping in and changing things her way? she tends to speak in a slow and ponderous manner.

Closure

I enjoyed the wrap up of the multiple story lines. Was a little disappointed with Camwin's story but others more than made up for it. I would recommend especially if you are a big fan of the series.

Finally an ending...

What did you like best about Crown of Renewal? What did you like least?

Loooong series, sad to say it probably would have been a tighter tale as a three book edit, meanwhile it's also an attempt to tie up multiple sprawling plotlines, each of which felt like it ought to take up it's own book. Mediocre success in crossing the two. Not her best work, either one book more or two less might have helped. If you're a fellow dedicat of the author and series, buy, if only for the answers to questions, otherwise, visit your public library and get on the waiting list. There will be one.

If you’ve listened to books by Elizabeth Moon before, how does this one compare?

Not her best work. Rushed and overstuffed at the same time. I enjoyed the previous books more. They were better and more evenly paced, this was by turns overly brief, poorly focussed or plodding. She's clearly a Tolkien worshipper, and I love it when authors do their homework the way she does.

Wonderful reader and stirring conclusion

So glad to be back with Susan Erickson as reader for this series conclusion. I have read and re-read these books ever since the original "Sheepfarmer's Daughter" was released so many years ago. One can still hope that perhaps Dorrin's adventures would be continued, but, if not, imagination can still follow the black horse's tail.

good but not epic

It was a good but not epic. Expected big final battles with the villains but little was provided.

The end left me wanting more.

Would you listen to Crown of Renewal again? Why?

Yes- easy listen and I am devoted to the characters.

What did you like best about this story?

The way this episode wrapped up all of the loose threads made it a satisfying end.

Which character – as performed by Susan Ericksen – was your favorite?

Duke Veriki.

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

A story that leaves you wanting even more.

Great read

Great story I cannot wait to start the next book in this series I started reading this series years ago when the first book came out I was very happy to find recently that there were more books in the series I am thoroughly enjoying it

Good story voice hard on the ears

A very very wonderful story. Wished there were more books in the series! Susan Erichsen started out, maby a bit less harsh in her voice, but when she raises her voice ia to shout (why do some narrators shout, when a lot of people uses earphones?) it comes back, at full speed 🥴 the tempo is good, and pronunciation is good to. But what got me through was the most excellent story 👍