Product Description

The fantasy masterwork complete in one volume -- 1456 magnificent pages: DOMES OF FIRE THE SHINING ONES THE HIDDEN CITY Prince Sparhawk and Queen Ehlana are married and their union is blessed with a very special daughter named Danae. But in the Tamul Empire far to the east, unrest of paranormal origin is brewing. The pre-eminent Styric magician Zalasta suggests that the Empire look to the legendary warrior Sparhawk for help. 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. While Sparhawk resurrects the Blue Rose and battles the enemies of the empire, Queen Ehlana is taken, captive, to the Hidden City of the Cyrgai. The City is protected by magic and by the invincible Klael. The ultimate battle must be fought. This spectacular trilogy is fantasy at its best.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15910 in Books
• Published on: 1999-07-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 1462 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
David Eddings' fantasy career began with Pawn of Prophecy in 1982, opening his massive Belgariad sequence. This omnibus collects the 1992-4 Tamuli trilogy: Domes of Fire, The Shining Ones and The Hidden City, totting up to 1,429 pages of slick storytelling. Following from the Elenium trio (1989-91), this takes hardbitten knight Sparhawk, his feisty queen and wife and various companions--including a terminally cute Child Goddess--to the hard-pressed Tamul Empire. Here a revolutionary movement is reanimating ancient warriors and horrors, while treason runs riot in the civil service, and at least one of this world's many gods is secretly behind it all.

Sparhawk must recover that all-powerful talisman the Bhelliom, which at the end of the Elenium was hurled into the depths of the sea. Quirky political manoeuvres and plausible battles abound. Eddings is a fluent storyteller whose humour, banter and unfaltering narrative flow conjure entertainment from highly familiar plot devices. The sense of danger is muted, though: spear-carriers may perish in their thousands while villains are sentenced to burn eternally, but major goodies bounce back from fatal injuries (even a stab in the heart) thanks to epic mercy dashes and healing magic. This is cheerful comfort reading and is a long, and undemanding, enjoyable fantasy. --David Langford

Review
'A graceful, fluid style of storytelling rare in fantasy writing' Publishers Weekly 'Others may vie for the top position! but Eddings reigns supreme' Publishers Weekly 'Sparhawk is the best-realized hero in current fantasy ' Daily Telegraph

About the Author
Born in Washington State in 1931, David Eddings 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 company and taught college-level English. His first novel was a contemporary adventure, but he soon began a spectacular career as a fantasy writer with his series The Belgariad. He consolidated his success with two further popular series, The Malloreon and The Elenium.

Customer Reviews

A fine piece of storytelling
Contrary to the unjustified opinions of some reviews of this series of books, I believe this sequel to the Elenium is a strong example of Edding's powerful fantasy fiction.

Firstly - don't read this if you haven't read the Elenium! Of course you are going to find it difficult to engage with the characters if you enter the series after all the exposition has been accomplished. Also, as a sequel, you have to expect that the "bad guys" are going to be somewhat less straightforward than those of the first series, who were unsurprisingly defeated at the end of the Elenium.

Next - don't complain about it being similar (okay, very similar) to the Elenium/Belgariad/Mallorean. From the blurb you can tell that it's going to be about a quest (fairly standard for fantasy fiction) to rid the world of evil (sound familiar to anyone?). There are only a certain number of ways to accomplish this, namely by killing the evil involved. The real strength of Edding's writing is in the detail and dialogue of the story, not necessarily the unpredictable plotline.

One of the problems with The Tamuli is that when Eddings and his wife were creating the world, it was done so in a much shorter time than that of the Belgariad. This has led to a lack of depth in some areas, but by no means is it a superficial world. The cultures are all developed beyond those you will find in many books, there's no use of typical "monster" sterotypes, since the Trolls and Ogres of this world have been portrayed as more intelligent than most.

To those who find the characters to be "dull" or "unimaginative" I say that the range of different personalities is enough to keep most people interested. The presence of Aphrael throughout is somewhat irritating I'll admit - the Child-Goddess takes a lot of the threat elements in any fight situations.

The inclusion of political elements in this book pushes it above the more recent works of the Eddings, namely The Redemption of Althalus and the Dreamers, where the more adult themes are removed due to the more primitive societies in which the books are set. The Tamuli encourages the reader to see a conflict across all layers of the Daresian continent, and one that engulfs all citizens of the world of the Elenium and Tamuli.

The climax to the series is fulfilling, whilst perhaps lacking the emotional resonance of the Mallorean, which is to be expected as it is the culmination of only six books, rather than ten.

In conclusion, if you're new to Eddings, read the Belgariad first. It's still his best work. If you've read that, and the Mallorean, then read the Elenium! Again, that is a superior example of storytelling. Only then should you tackle this series of novels.

eddings hasn't lost his touch!!!
In this work Eddings proved that he can continue developing characters in a new setting. For once things don't end with a wedding, but just continue, leading the reader to a nwe adventure far away from home. And finally we get to see that Kalten has a heart and just how much the little, impish childgodess really does depend upon the mortals. In this fascinating trilogy we meet old and new friends and a lot of previous mysteries are cleared. Of course with the right touch of humour in between. It was fun to read and impossible to put down. I wish there were more books like these. Thanks a lot for spoiling me!

One of the greatest epics of the fantasy genre
David and Leigh Eddings have created a masterpiece with this book. I have read and re-read all of the books in the Elenium and Tamuli series. Sparhawk has become, not just a character in the books but almost a friend. This book is a must for any fantasy reader. It takes you through all of the must have elements in a good fantasy book but the skill of the writing takes you beyond into the realms of actually being there with Sparhawk et al during the battles, the pain, and the euphoria. The masterful writing leaves just enough to the imagination so you create the visions of Tamuli, Matherion and Cyrga. This is a literature classic of the highest order. All I can say to anyone is read it and you will understand why when you read it once you will read it again and again.