Taliesin

The Pendragon Cycle, Book 1

By: Stephen R. Lawhead

Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon

Length: 19 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

It was a time of legend, as the last shadows of the mighty Roman conqueror faded from the captured Isle of Britain. Meanwhile, across a vast sea, bloody war shattered a peace that had flourished for 2,000 years in the doomed kingdom of Atlantis.

This is the remarkable adventure of Charis, the courageous princess from Atlantis who escapes the terrible devastation of her land, and of the fabled seer and druid prince Taliesin, singer at the dawn of the age. It is a story of an incomparable love that joins two astonishing worlds amid the fires of chaos, and spawns the miracles of Merlin, and Arthur the king!

This is the first book of The Pendragon Cycle.

©1987 Stephen R. Lawhead (P)1995 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Highly recommended... Reminiscent of C.S. Lewis." (Library Journal)

"A fine storyteller, he brings the Arthurian characters to life without sacrificing any of the haunting pleasures of the legends." (Omaha World Herald)

5 star book, 1 star narrator

I'm a huge fan of Lawhead books and Taliesin in particular. But, this audible version of Taliesin is hard to listen to (having read the book so many times) because of the narrator. She has an English accent, but for some reason gives the Briton characters an Indian/Hispanic sound. Any time a Magi (and many other characters) speaks, she draws out each word for fiiivvveee seconnnddddssss. And, there's hardly any variation in voice between different characters. I haven't heard the narrator for the rest of the books in the series, but my suggestion is to read this great book and skip the audio. I hope the rest of the books get a better reading.

Worst reading I’ve ever heard

The story is amazing, the reading was so bad it was downright insulting. A Shane such a wonderful book was rounded by this woman.

Fantastic writing with a great message

Despite me not liking a woman reading to me, I quickly grew used to, and even greatly appreciated her reading of the book.

The book itself is written incredibly well. Mature without being boring.
If this is whatbthe rest of the series has in hold, then I'm sure it will be the best Pendragon tale I've ever heard/read.

Don't be a fool, get it!

Taliesin

This is a fantastic book. I was captivated by it. There are parts of the book that I can see would be slow or taxing for some who are addicted to the instant gratification of constant action. However, just as Tolkein's more detailed descriptions of landscape and character give that book the intensity of reality, so does Lawhead's descriptive style give depth and reality to this story.

Regarding the negative comments about the narrator, I both read and listened to the book alternately. I found the narrator?s interpretation provided depth to the characters and story that exceeded my own interpretation. I found myself returning and listening to sections that I had read just to hear how the narrator would interpret the section. I often preferred hers to mine. The only difference I would cite is that the narrator portrays the character of Charis as a little more rigid and cold than I had interpreted her to be.

For those who enjoy fantasy, I highly recommend this story.

An epic read for all fantasy genre lovers

What an astoundingly good epic read.

As a prospective writer I found this book amazing for resting and relaxing as well as a how to guide of how to write time lapses, logically and coherently in about 50 different ways.

The characters show real growth and in such an epic read it is a continual growth process not a onetime thing.

This is really one of the best ever epic fantasy books I have read in a very long list of books in this genre, I will most assuredly recommend this to all fantasy genre lovers.

I “read” this on audio and the mastery of the narrator . . . was worthy of a review and another 5 * review all on its own.

WaAr

Proceed if you have the patience of a saint

For me, this story dragged on... It had a lot of unnecessary sections and people that didn't serve a purpose. Quite a few things in the story would be talked about for a chapter or two, then be completely forgotten about by the next. It just felt like an unedited film. To further add to the slow feeling, the two main characters didn't even meet until around hour 14... There was little suspense as the book continued forward, primarily because the dark times everyone kept talking about never came. It just felt disappointing considering the subject matter.

the tale of Merlin's Family

Where does Taliesin rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I very much enjoyed this book, as I had never heard or knew about Merlin's family.

What does Wanda McCaddon bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I very much enjoyed Wanda's reading of the book. As

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I finished the book in one sitting. Will listen to it again as well.

Any additional comments?

If one enjoys the King Arthur lore this book it one to listen to or read again and again.

Repetitive and boring -- a disappointment

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Time well spent? Not really. The characters never came to life, their lives never really made sense in the context of a civilization facing utter ruin. How could a writer make the discovery of a drowned baby coming to life seem mundane? Oh, look, your luck has changed, better run down to the next village and find a convenient wet nurse, who is instantly the love of your life.

Would you be willing to try another book from Stephen R. Lawhead? Why or why not?

I don't think so. Why? This should have been an epic story and a gripping read. Instead it was a poorly patched together series of vignettes that seemed almost unrelated in context. I got the feeling that Atlantis was about 50 square miles in area with about 500 occupants.

Which character – as performed by Wanda McCaddon – was your favorite?

I suppose the bull dancing episodes were the most interesting, although the characters seemed to be fabricated from a sort of verbal paper mache.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Hard to say. Good movies have been made from mediocre books in the past, but I think it would take a world class producer to make a silk purse out of this pig's ear.

Excellent

I love all of Stephen Lawheads books and was worried in purchasing an audio book for my children to listen to traveling, I would be disappointed but I was supremely pleased. Excellent read/listen and the narrator did exceptionally well

Refreshing and surprising!

Amazing details. Creative interweaving of major stories. Spread the word. Needs to be rediscovered! Tru316.com