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.


From AudioFile
This fantasy adventure is a sequel to The Tamuli, set in the exotic Tamul empire. Narrator Glover conquers the obscure and original vocabulary of this imaginary world, making the fantasy nomenclature sound like ordinary words. He does very well with a variety of accents and full casts: young and old, good and evil, human and inhuman. The program features extensive musical support, from single instruments to full symphonic styles. The music rises and falls with the action. In the tradition of radio, extensive sound effects are used. M.G.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


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.


Book Description
Book Two of The Tamuli. The New York Times Bestseller!
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.



From the Inside Flap
Book Two of The Tamuli. The New York Times Bestseller!
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.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Years past, the Child-Goddess Aphrael had hidden Bhelliom, the Stone of Power. It rested at the very bottom of the deepest ocean, that nevermore should its awesome power sing temptation to mortal men. Now Sparhawk, Knight and Queen's Champion, must retrieve that Sapphire Rose from its briny sleep. For only with the might of Bhelliom could he hope to thwart the fiendish schemes directed against the Tamul empire, and against his own homeland. Sparhawk's journey to recover Bhelliom would be fraught with peril. Only with Goddess' help could he hope to recover the stone. And that would only begin his quest, for the forces of evil sought to capture the gem for their own diabolical ends. Sparhawk and his loyal companions must keep Bhelliom safe from those who sought to steal it, as well as from the horrors which those evildoers had already loosed upon the world. Most feared of all the monsters that terrorized Tamuli were the Shining Ones: dreaded, glowing beings whose merest touch could melt human flesh from bone. All too soon, Sparhawk and his allies found themselves stalked by those fell creatures out of myth. For the Shining Ones, too, had designs on Bhelliom - designs that would change the very shape of the world... David Eddings launches a triumphant new chapter in his bestselling saga, The Tamuli, an astonishing quest ranging across majestic continents and among strange peoples. Once again Eddings weaves his unique and compelling brand of magic into an unforgettable tapestry of men and women and Gods, of sorcery and valor, and of an ancient world on the brink of cataclysm.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly