Crown of Renewal

Paladin's Legacy, Book 5

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)

It's finished, but I want more!

Any additional comments?

I loved this series, but the ending of some subplots seemed to be the beginnings of another book. I want to hear about Dorrin's adventures, what Gird has in store for Arvid, how the new mageborn handle their powers and are trained!

such a joy

it was excellent. was so engaging it caused me to dream about it. and daydream as well

good but not epic

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

Ditto...Anita

If you could sum up Crown of Renewal in three words, what would they be?

Dorinsanarrion, mage's daughter. Not dis-ing this book or previous ones. It just felt like Dorin's journey to paladin(?)-hood. Only Dorin suffered the torture earlier in her life than Paks did.

Still LOVE Ms Moon and her magical characters. I followed her first then stumbled across Janny Wurtz. Not her recent stuff. Her Daughter of the Empire series with Feist is somewhat similar in it's flow and heroine. Although they start from much different strata of society, Wurtz's protagonist is worth reading if you're hungering for more alternative female heroes.

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

Good. Missed the mercenary-campaigning of the original Paks series but it's hard to come up with something new every time. Narrator was ok. Not my first choice but it's the story that keeps me coming back. If there's gonna be something to come back to.

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

Ooops, see above. Military campaign.

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

None. Nothing that was disappointing either. Pleasurable steady ride.

Any additional comments?

Thought I had read there was one more book in the series. Feelin' kinda depressed/sad if this is the farewell. But that happens with all great series.

Perfect performance. Epic book.

The previous book struggled but Susan Ericksen was perfect.

Elizabeth Moon, you best will get bored during this covid thing and build us some more books. Thank you so much for the entire series.

more please

i just want to continue the story. I hope the author has a new world for Dorin to share.

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.

I am not sure why bad reviews

I admit I’m not half way done yet. Because of the other reviews I almost didn’t buy the book. So far I’m enjoying it very much. The story seems well done. The narrator is doing a credible job. If she mispronounced something it’s probably something that I would have mispronounced also. I’m more interested in the story and character development. Something I’m enjoying so far. If it changes I will update my review.

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.