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The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches

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The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches

By: Robert Stanek
Narrated by: uncredited
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About this listen

 After the Great War that divided the peoples, the kingdoms of men plunged into a Dark Age that lasted 500 years. To heal the lands and restore the light, the great kings decreed that magic and all that is magical, be it creature, man, or device, shall be cleansed to dust. The cleansing raged for so long that no human could recall a time without it and it is in this time that the Dark Lord Sathar returned from the dark beyond. The one hope of the peoples of Ruin Mist was Queen Mother, the elf queen of old. She saw a way out of everlasting darkness, a path that required the union of the divided peoples. And so it began.©2002 Robert Stanek (P)2005 Reagent Press Epic Fantasy Sword & Sorcery

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Critic reviews

"[A] complex tale...sure to attract fans of graphic novels and classic Tolkien alike....Stanek will likely draw a cult following....This cliffhanger guarantees fans, and those fans will be ready to wield their swords against the Dark Lord in Stanek's next installment." (Voice of Youth Advocates)
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When a book wins as many awards and accolades as these books have, you know they're pretty good, and they are. The writing throughout the series is a sheer delight. The reading is superb as well, with spot on voicing of the characters and the narrative.

Having read all the novels previously with my sons I can honestly say The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches is one of the best things going. Each book in the series is better than the one before. My favourite of all is this one. The sweeping scenes and rich prose make this more than a good book; it is an excellent book.

The series is four books. The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches #1, #2, #3, and #4. Don't start if you don't plan on listening to them all, because you won't be able to stop. If you start, you have Edward Tallyback, Erravane Queen of the Wolmerrelle, King's Mate, kingdom trios, the elf queen, king cats, eagle lords, a dragon king, and more to look forward to.

With all the dastardly villains and endearing characters, Mr. Potter could find himself with some serious competition. Certainly one of the most richly imagined novels I'm come across in all my years of reading.

Full praise to Robert Stanek.

Read it

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This is one of my favourites - I read it a few years ago and loved it then. It is the start of one of the most engaging series I have had the good fortune to read. A must read for all, as it will have something for everyone that reads it, drama, action and a brilliant plot. My sister who had never touched a Fantasy book before got hooked on it when I gave it to her on Holiday. She's read all four now. To get the whole experience you have to read at least books one and two.

You have to read it

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Starts simple, but keep going because it picks up in the second one. A must read series.

My favourite!

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I have listened to about two thirds of this book but have decided to give up. The narrator ruined it for me. I couldn't distinguish between the characters because the voice sounded so similar so had to concentrate on the name of who was meant to be speaking. Also the narrator made it all sound so bland

Not an enjoyable listen

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Did the narrator do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

I found the narrator irritating: something about the inflection seemed to be very repetitive.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

This is perhaps the most disappointing audiobook of the nearly 100 I have listened to. I found the characters so uninteresting, and the story so slow that I kept drifting off, and thinking about other things such that I was not really following the story

Any additional comments?

Despite being a fan of the fantasy genre, I cannot recommend this audiobook, unless it is to help you go to sleep

Very disappointing

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OK, maybe this picks up after a while, but I listened to the first hour and then gave up, it was just too much effort.

Given the other good reviews, maybe I should read the book rather than listen to it. The other reviews seem to be talking about 'reading' the book, rather than listening to it. It just seemed too complicated a book to listen to, so I couldn't grasp what was going on. I didn't find the narrator that easy to listen to either.

I may see if I can find a copy of the book (paper version) in a library to read to see if that's OK, as it seems to be easier to understand books with lots of detail in their plots when you can go back and look at things again and so on.

Gave up listening to it...

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After reading some of the other reviews I was looking forward to hearing this, however I did not get past the first 20 minutes. The reader spoilt the whole experience, either he was being paid a fixed fee, so was doing the job as quickly as possible or it was his first reading role. The experience is that he reads too fast without conveying anything of the text or showing any feeling of the book. He also speaks in a breathless way which is very disconcerting and he his either trying to do a British type accent or a posh American which you spend all your time trying to analyse without listening to the content. Overall a very poor attempt and I have obviously been spoilt before with this being the first time I have had such a bad experience. I cant really comment on the content or quality of the writing as the reader takes your whole attention.

Is this the readers first book?

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