The Shining Ones

The Tamuli, Book 2

By: David Eddings

Narrated by: Kevin Pariseau

Length: 20 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's Summary

Years ago, the Child-Goddess Aphrael had hidden Bhelliom, the Stone of Power, at the bottom of the sea. Yet now it is needed again to stop a malign force from spreading evil and destruction across the lands. Sparhawk, Queen's champion, sets out to retrieve the Stone. But others seek the gem for their own diabolical ends. Most fearsome of these are the Shining Ones, whose mere touch melts human flesh from bone. Now Sparhawk finds himself stalked by these creatures out of myth...whose touch is all too real.

©1994 Del Rey (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

A good continuation of the series.

Here is the bottom line. If you like David Eddings and the previous series you will like this audiobook. If you did not then you won't. Mr. Eddings work is a fairly polarizing point amongst readers. You usually either love him or hate him. I think this is a good read although it gets 3 stars because it bogs down in unnecessary details at points.
Some others did not like the narraration of the series but I am not one of them and found it enjoyable. There is nothing groundbreaking hrer, but it is a good solid comfort story.

could have been much better

The book is great. The proformence was atrocious. And the musical interruptions are very erritating.

I thought it was a good story

good book but the narator should listen to the other book to keep constant pronunciation

David has magic

With the knowledge of what god is a threat to the tamuli empire Sparhawk and his friends have to go out and get the one item that can fight the strength of a god. at the same time the queen starts to help the emperor overthrow his own government.

David here goes back to writing with two points of interest again. sparhawks adventure recovering the blue rose and his queens point of view as she helps uncover who is a undermining the government and how to overthrow it. this is where he excels I think. unlike his other books in the belgariad series where it was one persons story in each part here they are happening at the same time keeping things more linier.

A cast of thousands in one narrator

I thought Kevin Pariseau did a great job with the first book in this series. Imagine my surprise when he stepped up his narrating game for the second book. He has the knack for interpreting the emotional intent of written conversations. So happy with this listen. Can’t wait to hear the next book in the series.

A classic fantasy for me

If you could sum up The Shining Ones in three words, what would they be?

Surprising Great Characters

What other book might you compare The Shining Ones to and why?

Malloreon

Have you listened to any of Kevin Pariseau’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Nope, performance is great

Any additional comments?

One of the best series I have read when I was young. David Eddings' books introduced me to fantasy and I have been hooked ever since. Although this is the middle book, there are a lot of surprises to be had here. It also shows how the characters like Aphrael, Sephrenia, and especially Elana have grown. Overall, a must buy for me :)

Love it.

Glad these are on audible. My books are packed away and I was missing reading them

Mixed feelings

This is a great book, that sadly has a terrible narrator. All in all, a mixed bag.

Outstanding (Part 2 of 3)

Outstanding story and very good second part to the Trilogy. my only complaint is about the performance and you can read my review of the previous book for details. Just not easy to ignore the mispronounced names and a voice choice for a viking like hero who talks like a 12yr old computer hacker in mom's basement.

story is awesome!

Another great

Eddings is the master story teller! The characters are inviting and you get sucked in to the drama.

What a let down.

Would you try another book written by David Eddings or narrated by Kevin Pariseau?

David Eddings is a great author and I have loved his books and read them all. but the narration is awful, I cannot recomend this to anyone.

Almost perfect

'Domes of Fire' redefined what a perfect book was to me and this follow up is close to it's perfection with one small hiccup; a small part of this book retcon's the first trilogy to tie it better with this trilogy,. The first brief element of this retcon was brilliant fixing my main complaint with 'The Sapphire Rose', however subsequent elements seem to be too perfectly moulded, not crafted but almost forced. It's such a small element in a book where the characters, setting, pacing and direction makes this a most read AFTER 'Domes of Fire'.

Gets better.

I was sure when I first started listening to book one but it grew on me enough to move on directly to this book. It hasn't disappointed and I am eagerly waiting to download book three on completion of this review!

Name pronounciation sounded a bit weird.

Mirtai was Mirtay, Danae was Denay. No real biggie but the reader likes his Ay.

Another good story - well narrated

Well red and good story by David Eddings again, looking forward to listening to the last in the trilogy

Spoilt by poor narrator

Had bought all three in a sale a while ago so felt obliged to listen as I can't return. Loved these as a kid and they have a nostalgic value to me. the story is quite basic but my tastes have changed in fantasy style. However they would be more enjoyable if the narrator didn't butcher the accents/voices, seriously I would rather he read it monotone. The awful random Irish accent for Zalast borders on the offensive and the voice of Flute gets more aggravating in its attempt at being smug. This has become a book I stick on while I'm working and a chore to get done.

Entertaining

An interesting storyline, not sure about the character voices, particularly Tinian, but they do allow separation of character, not an easy task for one narrator,

The reader did pronounce the names different

The reader did pronounce the names different than the last reader so I hard time to follow the story occasionally.

Eddings Brooks are my all time favourites, Belgarion books was my introduction to fantasy!

my take on this book and it's narrator.

I simpl6t love David Eddings's books a great mix of fantasy and humour. I find myself laughing out loud at times.

The narrator did a pretty good job except for mispronouncing certain words, i.e. styricum when intonating the second syllable. very annoying.

Good story but everything else is a let down.

Being reminded of what book you're listening to, halfway through the story is annoying and puzzling. I think, having gotten through half the book, I would know what I am listening to.
The narration isn't that good but I have heard worse. The story does make up for all the things that are bad.