Customer Reviews

The Shining Ones (Tamuli)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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....

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.

This adventure wouldn't be the same without the reappearance of Bhelliom, the rose with a bite. Sparhawk threw it in an unknown ocean at the end of the Elenium, hoping to never see it again. But events in Matherion have convinced the visiting Elenes that the situation is a bit too dire for a small company of knights, a mage, and a goddess. Trolls are massing against the Atan legions, revolution dogs the steps of the Tamul empire, and everywhere you look legendary heroes and resurrected dead are raising chaos everywhere. With it clear that at least one god is working on world conquest it is time to bring Bhelliom back into the fray.

The reader will be surprised to discover that the Blue Rose is a great deal more than a powerful trollish toy. In fact, it has its own personality and agenda and Sparhawk plays a very central part in its plans. With Bhelliom on their side, the Elenes have a chance, but the odds still aren't very good. Somehow the enemy seems to be able to counter everything they try, as well as throw in a few punches on their own.

As the plot moves toward an earth-shattering crisis, Ehlana provides much of the comic relief as she instructs an emperor almost twice her age in the fine art of overthrowing his own government. Also a source of comic relief is the courtship of Mirtai and Kring. But the seriousness of the main plot sets the mood. The more Sparhawk and Ehlana discover about the convolute plots around them, the more desperate the struggle becomes. They face old enemies and new, betrayal and old hatreds will either kill them or make them stronger.

This volume bogs down a bit in the middle as Eddings seizes an opportunity to inform the reader of a great deal of the history behind the current problems in a narration that borders on tedious and isn't absolutely necessary. Even so the overall work is good with a conclusion that is flashier than Eddings' norm. The characters flesh out a bit more (although one has a habit of speaking in dialect that makes my eyes cross. If nothing else, one can say that this is a much better followup series than the Malloreon, which was at least a volume too long.

Boy, his first series was kind of fun. Nice, juvenile fantasy, nothing special. His second series wasn't THAT bad. Move the characters around a bit. His third series wasn't very good. The same characters as the first two series, just with different names. His fourth series is the characters from the third series in completely predictable situations. It's pretty damn bad. The characters are never in any danger, spend all their time coyly batting their eyelashes at each other, and the dialogue is unbelievably bad. You end up vigorously rooting for the bad guys, but it's no good because they never had a chance.

Ok, first, I do love these books. As previous reviewers said, they are light and quite comfy. While entertaining, they are not all-encompassing and are nice to take up a weekend or even fill the gaps from one newly bought book/series to another (which is what i'm doing right now actually). Yes, Eddings goes to the well far too often but I still find myself interested and loving most of the characters.

Having said that, I do kind of wish he wouldn't make EVERY single character have that arrogance they all seem to have. Not every single character in a book has to be the absolute best at what he does. ESPECIALLY Ehlana! Eddings did this in the Belgariad books too, he just outright makes me hate the hero's wife! As a matter of fact this book has one of my favorite moments in all of his books I have read. Right after she "commands" Sparhawk to once again make a fool of himself and put her ring back on her finger like a good little sheep, Bhelliom basically takes her arrogant haughty center-of-the-world attitude and let's her know that it's not impressed. I think I actually cheered the first time I read it. I have no problems with authors empowering women at all (for god's sake I love the Drizzt novels and you just don't mess with the women in those books!!), but Eddings takes it to an annoying level. Arrogant spoiled brat does not equal strong independent woman. I think even women readers would get sick of how often some of the women in these books get their way by being bratty, not convincing.

Still, I gave this 3 stars because for all my complaints about him going back to the well, I do that same thing every time I pick up his books and read them again.

This second book of the Tamuli is again a little bit less interesting then the first book, which in turn is less then the Elenium books, which are less then the Belgariad and the Malloreon ... Still, an easy and fun enough read to give it 4 stars. The large number of characters introduced make things a bit hard to follow, with all the different governments, positions, kingdoms etc.

Basically, another adventure with the same characters from the Elenium, with a few additions. Although it isn't radically different from Eddings' other books, it's still worth the read if you have an empty weekend. Just one gripe - why does Eddings find it necessary to rework and change around everything we thought we knew about the Bhelliom? It doesn't add anything, and gives the impression that he changed his mind mid-series.

Not the best of the series (that honor belongs to The Hidden City), but a good book overall. While I didn't like Sephrenia's bigotry near the middle, I realize that it creates a gaping window into her history and her character. I hope that he might continue the adventures of this troupe in another series.

This book was about adventure and love, er, friendship. Eddings catpured manny views of wizardry, honor, and intelect. This was a good book, and it IS worth reading.