Limits of Power

Paladin's Legacy, Book 4

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 20 hrs and 15 mins

Publisher's summary

Elizabeth Moon is back with the fourth adventure in her best-selling fantasy epic. Moon brilliantly weaves a colorful tapestry of action, betrayal, love, and magic set in a richly imagined world that stands alongside those of such fantasy masters as George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb.

The unthinkable has occurred in the kingdom of Lyonya. The queen of the Elves - known as the Lady - is dead, murdered by former elves twisted by dark powers. Now the Lady’s half-elven grandson must heal the mistrust between elf and human before their enemies strike again. Yet as he struggles to make ready for an attack, an even greater threat looms across the Eight Kingdoms.Throughout the north, magic is reappearing after centuries of absence, emerging without warning in family after family - rich and poor alike. In some areas, the religious strictures against magery remain in place, and fanatical followers are stamping out magery by killing whoever displays the merest sign of it - even children. And as unrest spreads, one very determined traitor works to undo any effort at peace - no matter how many lives it costs. With the future hanging in the balance, it is only the dedication of a few resolute heroes who can turn the tides...if they can survive.

©2013 Elizabeth Moon (P)2013 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Great book!

The book was a bit rushed in certain parts. Definitely interesting and a great follow-up to the previous ones..
I was used to certain Name pronunciations from the previous books. It slightly annoying when the narrator said Areniis instead of Aarenis, as an example.
And Stammel deserved better.. :(

Voice is too painful

I will find another way to consume this book. The narration is too painful to listen to. The second book in this series had the best of the four narrators. You should redo this book with her voice.

PLEASE re-record this book with another reader.

What did you like best about Limits of Power? What did you like least?

Here in Paksenarrion's world many story lines continue their development. All worthwhile. All engrossing. As usual, Elizabeth Moon thrills and rewards her readers with excellence and humanity (even for Elvenkind, Kapristi, and Dragon.)
Despite the quality of the writing this was a difficult "listen". The reader's voice is grating and whiney, the characterizations unconvincing, and the cadence identical, over and over and over and over, the exact same rhythm. Dying, loving, learning, speaking, doesn't make any difference. I could only listen in short increments before the sameness of the raspy voice and the bizarre pronunciations would exceed my tolerance. Please do not use this reader for any more of Moon's wonderful work.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Limits of Power?

Kieri's sojourn in the glade. Arvid's acceptance of his inner "voice." Stammel's protection of the villagers.

Would you be willing to try another one of Angela Dawe’s performances?

Never.

Do you think Limits of Power needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

We hear that the 5th volume will complete the tale (at least for now). I can hardly wait. Surely with a different reader.

Any additional comments?

Thank you, Ms. Moon, for writing for us!

Excellent story, poor narration

For those of us who listen in order and know the proper pronunciations, listening was a bit painful. The story was very good, but the constant mispronunciations of names and places were off putting.

So sad

With the wonderful performers like Jennifer van Duke and Susan Erickson previously used in this series, the choice of Angela Dawe for this volume puzzles me. Her constant mispronounciation of numerous names and her jarring Midwest accent with it's touch of a nasal whine really decreased my enjoyment. Such a relief to continue into "Crown of Renewal" with the superb performance of Me. Erickson. Ms. Dawe may excellent at a more modern tale, but for this, she was an unfortunate choice.

good overall, narrator was odd

the story is excellent but the narrator speaks in a sing-song way that can be distracting.

Horrible reader ruined this for me!

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

I would recommend the book to friends, but I'd advise anyone I know NEVER to buy the audiobook version of the story. The reader was horrible! She emphasized every single word like a 5-year old telling about recess. And she mispronounced names so badly that I had to go back and listen - sometimes twice! - to understand what she meant.

I had gotten used to the reader for the last couple of books, and then the publishers changed readers again. Each successive reader became worse throughout the series. It is like they get you hooked on the story-line and then start cutting corners to make more money. I think they picked up the last reader in a Starbucks or something.

The funny thing was that she'd actually do the dialogue better than the narration. Her voice choices, however, were poorly considered. And, some of them were just nasty sounding. The reader tends to make all the women characters (and Moon writes STRONG female characters - sound like they are incessantly whining.

Bottom line: buy the book; NOT the audio version. Don't let this reader ruin the story for you as she did for me.

How could the performance have been better?

The question was: How could the performance have been better? My answer: They could have gotten my 8-year old grandson to read it.

Was Limits of Power worth the listening time?

Elizabeth Moon's stories are always engrossing, but the reader really sucked much of the joy out of the experience for me.

Great Let down

producer pick the wrong artist.
the voice artist is good, but her style does not match all the rest of the books from Pak's World.
the director did not familiarize themselves with pronunciation of names, nor the style of the previous voice artists. Very disappointing the management choices, brings down the author's work.

Good book, performance was well enough

Overall an excellent listen, a reasonable performance by Dawe, but doesn't quite feel right. The story start from a cliffhanger and doesn't really let up til you're finished with the book.

Terrible narrator

It is a credit to Elizabeth Moon's Paladin series that I am gritting my teeth and listening to book 4 read by Angela Dawe. All during the Paks and Paladin series, there have been changes in readers. Some are just okay and some really good. But Dawe is the worst I have experienced. One thing that really bugs me about a series is the changes in pronunciation and accents when/if a new reader takes over. I would prefer keeping the same readers but at the very least, new readers should listen to the one that came before to get the same pronunciations and basic accents. The continuity makes a huge difference in story quality. I have finally figured out that there are story performers and then just readers who may or may not have the same talent. To be sure, I will be checking for this reader on any book I get in the future and will probably not listen to anything she does. This is the sad reality of all of James Michener's books...the reading is dated and is absolutely terrible which bugs me since I am a huge fan of his work. Much as I am enjoying the Paladin series, I am getting ready for the final one but if Dawe is reading it, I may just skip it and read it in print. I rarely give bad reviews but this one...well...I hope you enjoy her more than I have