The Shining Ones [Hardcover]

David Eddings (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 1996

Continuing the epic tale begun in Book One of The Tamuli, Domes of Fire! Prince Sparhawk and Queen Ehlana must remain with their retinue of Pandion Knights in the Eastern land of Daresia to assist the beleagured Emperor Sarabian. The rebellion against Sarabian within the walls of the famed pearl-encrusted city of Matherion was defeated. But Sarabian's enemies will regroup and plan an attack that will be less easily routed. Trolls despoil Atan in the North, and vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghouls and Ogres form a vast conspiracy to take over the Empire. Most disturbing of all are reported sightings of Shining Ones among the hordes. These luminous beings inspire more fear than the rest combined. Queen Ehlana has taken Sarabian in hand and is educating him in ruthless statecraft -- her skill in which has always inspired Sparhawk's admiration. The Pandion Knight meanwhile resurrects the Bhelliom -- with Flute's help (actually, Sparhawk has no idea where it is, but Flute, fortunately, does) -- and awaits the arrival of the full complement of Pandion Knights needed for the coming battle. The enemies of the Empire know that possession of the Bhelliom makes Sparhawk as dangerous as any god. But gods are among his foes. The outcome of the conflict is beyond the possibility of prediction! and while Sparhawk defends the far-flung Tamul Empire, he cannot also protect his beautiful Queen.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sir Sparhawk and his wife, Queen Ehlana of Elenia, encounter ever more sinister plots in the second book of The Tamuli , following Domes of Fire , as they try to help the emperor of Tamuli take a firm grasp of the government. In a world of many gods, whose powers depend on the number and fervor of their worshippers, the royal couple find themselves pawns in the struggle of one entity to free his followers, albeit bloodthirsty and un-neighborly, from constraints placed upon them eons previously. Unrest spreads throughout Tamuli, with indications of sorcery and meddling by various gods, prompting the goddess Aphrael, reincarnated as the royal couple's young daughter Danae, to retrieve the powerful sapphire-rose jewel Bhelliom, hidden a few years earlier after being used to destroy the evil god Azash. While Sparhawk, Aphrael (now in the guise of the child Flute) and various companions race through a hostile countryside, encountering the mythical and abhorred Shining Ones, the queen and emperor play a more stylized game to keep the enemy at bay. Neatly blending simplicity and complexity, this tale of comradeship, dastardly doings, multiple gods, strange races and noble and ignoble humans is vintage Eddings.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Book Two of Eddings's latest trilogy (Domes of Fire, 1992): a second set of yarns about the Pandion Knight, Sparhawk, his wife, Queen Ehlana, and a supporting cast of thousands. This time out, our heroes quickly learn who is behind the latest crop of troubles: Zalasta, the Styric sage, who for hundreds of years has secretly nursed a virulent hatred of the child-goddess Aphrael, her sister Sephrenia, and the good guys in general. Sparhawk, meanwhile, learns to communicate with Bhelliom, the powerfully magical blue jewel that he has just retrieved from the sea with Aphrael's help. He has also made contact with the legendary Shining Ones, supposedly ghoulish types whose touch is death; they turn out to be victims of Zalasta's treachery and a centuries-old misunderstanding. The Shining Ones, in the process of becoming transcendental, need Bhelliom's assistance; in exchange, Xanetia, who can read minds, will help to expose the conspiracy that Zalasta created against the emperor Sarabian. Behind Zalasta, it emerges, is the god Cyrgon; he's prodding the Trolls to go to war by pretending to be their gods (they are actually trapped inside Bhelliom), so again Sparhawk must do rapid negotiating: the Troll-Gods, in return for their freedom, agree to restrain their Trolls and help defeat Cyrgon. Finally, Ehlana, left idiotically unprotected, is kidnapped by the bad guys. And so to volume three. Very little action, a great deal of chat, and lots of rather pointless embroidery. At least those who enjoyed volume one should be happy; non-fans need not bother. -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Random House Value Publishing (January 30, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517165880
• ISBN-13: 978-0517165881
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,545,820 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Eddings was born in Washington State in 1931 and grew up near Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington and went on to serve in the US Army. Subsequently, he worked as a buyer for the Boeing Aircraft Company and taught college-level English. His career as a fantasy writer, with his wife Leigh, has been spectacular.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Kind of like mashed potatoes - in a good way, July 11, 2001

By 

Lady Minstrel (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shining Ones (Book Two of The Tamuli) (Mass Market Paperback)

Eddings is one of my "comfort" books. His style makes you feel warm and fuzzy, there's nothing much you need to worry about, and it's great light or bedtime reading. I have noticed that the reviews here are quite polar. People seem to love it or hate it. I'm in the very-fond-of-it section. I do see why people have complaints with it, though. It is similar to the Elenium, with different races and characters subsituted in. Personally, I like the Elenium better but Tamuli is still good fun.

For the record, I don't believe that a book needs to be dark, complex or even make you think too hard in order for it to be labelled a success. Perhaps a writer like George R. R. Martin might produce a more complex plot and more realistic adventures, please understand that this is a matter of style. While I do appreciate that Martin's books are of a more detailed and possibly more thought-out nature, it is still Eddings that I read more. This is for the simple reason that Eddings is fun, funny and easy to read. It doesn't depress and it's quite catchy.

I recommend the Tamuli series if you enjoyed the Elenium. (I haven't read the Belgariad/Mallorean yet). If you found the Elenium tedious, I suggest that you probably not enjoy the Tamuli.

However, Eddings does rate 4 stars for me because it is such a readable book. I find the characters are chasrismatic, even though they might be slightly two-dimensional. There are, however, separate characteristics for separate characters, if you care to look. Even if they become slightly blurred (they start to resemble each other) in the Tamuli, that's not enough for me to despair over the series. While the Tamuli does rely on the success of the Elenium, it is an excellent series by itself. In fact, I accidently read it before the Elenium, and I still loved it.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Full of typical stereotypes a la Eddings, November 1, 2002

By 

Jan-Thorsten Reszat (Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shining Ones (Book Two of The Tamuli) (Mass Market Paperback)

When I read the first book of Eddings' Tamuli trilogy ('Domes of Fire') several years ago, I was disappointed because Eddings just tried to repeat his success of the previous Elenium trilogy by featuring the same cast of characters and mixing them up with an all too familiar threat from evil foes, who'd just be there to offer Prince Sparhawk's crew of Pandion Knights some sparring partner for their, admittedly amusing, undertakings.
Now, some years later, I picked up 'The Shining Ones', because I had felt it was time to give Eddings a new chance. Oh, boy, how wrong I was.
The Shining Ones is just another string of Pandion Knights antics who stroll across the land pretending to fight for right and justice. Justice? Heck, Eddings' heroic knights are in fact nothing but a bunch of self-righteous, arrogant and brutal bullies, who order the murder of hundreds of humans just because they happened to work for the wrong side (not knowing how ill advised they've been when they chose that side) and whose biggest concern appears to be making the most wittiest comments. Sorry, I rather live without such a band of 'heroes'.
But not enough, the plot itself is horrible. The so-called enemies are plainly brushed aside like leaves in the autumn wind by Eddings' oh-so-kewl Prince Sparhawk and his omnipotent jewel Bhellion. The major informations necessary to understand the evil side's schemes are revealed by a mind-reading witch, thus successfully killing all suspense for the reader. And the name-giving Shining Ones, who are carefully built up in the first half of the book as an unpredictable force to be reckoned with, just get assimilated into the ever growing bunch of flawless heroes assembled around Sparhawk, his perfect wife Queen Ehlana, and the plainly bothersome Child Goddess. Bleh.
So, how many times will Eddings write a tiring tale about a group of witty heroes set out to rescue the world from some evil forces who are doomed to get wiped away by the protagonists who never err nor fail? I hope not many more: The Police Academy movie series also stopped after the sixth sequel....

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Satisfying as a book to relax with, September 13, 2009

By 

Alicia Harding (San Antonio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shining Ones (Book Two of The Tamuli) (Mass Market Paperback)

The Shining Ones is a book right up the natural alley of the Eddings productions, with an adventure in a world where there is an easy relationship between humanity and the supernatural gods of the land. It's a fun read, not meant to challenge the reader or force you to think long and hard about the plot or the topics. Sparhawk's adventures are just right for a pleasant book to read at the beach on a plane or just before falling asleep at night, when all you want to do is let the story unfold and provide entertainment.