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The Golden Shrine: A Tale of War at the Dawn of Time Audiobook
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(3.01) - 79 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
The glaciers came and covered the world with ice. Now they are in retreat. North of the city of Nidaros, north of the forest, north of the steppes where the nomadic Bizogots hunt, a gap has opened in the ice-wall. And down through that gap come the men who call themselves "Rulers."
Their terrifying cavalry rides wooly mammoths. Their bows can shoot arrows farther than those of the southerners. Their wizards wield power that neither the shamans of the Bizogots nor the wizards of Raumsdalian Empire can match—a magic that can melt the stone beneath a man's feet, call down blasting fire from the sky, or decimate a tribe with plagues that have no cure. Scattered survivors of the Bizogot tribes hide from the Rulers. The Empire is shattered. The feckless Emperor Sigvat II is in hiding.
Against the Rulers stands Count Hamnet Thyssen and his small band of friends: Jarl Trasamund of the Three Tusk Bizogots; the adventurer Ulric Skakki; and, most important, Marcovefa, the female shaman of a cannibal tribe that lives atop the Glacier itself. Marcovefa has magic that the Rulers cannot counter.
But there are many Rulers, and they have many wizards. Marcovefa is but one.
Perhaps Hamnet and his allies can save their lands from the Rulers. But first they must seek out the legendary Golden Shrine—and the Golden Shrine has not been seen by human eyes since the time before the glaciers came.
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"Last of a trilogy. Suffers from only one fault, persisting in Turtledove's writing style, of not being easily read or enjoyed without the preceding volumes. Taking that into account a good story, well told, and marred by only a few unexplained things. "
— Bruce (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“Turtledove has proved he can divert his readers to astonishing places. He’s developed a cult following over the years; and if you’ve already been there, done that with real-history novelists Patrick O’Brian, Dorothy Dunnett, or George MacDonald Fraser, for your next big enthusiasm you might want to try Turtledove. I know I’d follow his imagination almost anywhere.”
— San Jose Murcury News -
“Beginning a new alternate history series with this tale of two eras on the brink of catastrophic change, Turtledove brings an era to life.”
— Library Journal on Beyond the Gap
The Golden Shrine Listener Reviews
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" Last of a trilogy. Suffers from only one fault, persisting in Turtledove's writing style, of not being easily read or enjoyed without the preceding volumes. Taking that into account a good story, well told, and marred by only a few unexplained things. "
— Bruce, 11/4/2012 -
" End of a nice thrilgy. Turtledove imagines an unusual place and time and dragged me in. Enjoyable diversion. "
— David, 2/14/2012 -
" Interesting end to the Gap series which flips the reader's time frame in the last few chapters. Be sure to read the 1st two volumes so you know the characters and situation. Enjoy! "
— Ron, 1/26/2012 -
" I found it relatively difficult to relate to the main protagonist, but there were some scathing moments of sarcasm from another character, which I absolutely adored. "
— Donnelle, 3/8/2011 -
" Not overwhelmingly great, but a decent read. Third of a trilogy, but I found it pretty easy to pick up what might have happened in the prior two books. "
— Elaine, 1/11/2011 -
" I can't get into Harry Turtledove's books. The plot progresses but the characters seem distant. "
— Russell, 12/10/2010 -
" I guessed the ending long before it happened The hero's actions afterward was very annoying and not all heroic. I'm wondering if this was an earlier work that the author fixed up. "
— Mark, 11/5/2010 -
" Not overwhelmingly great, but a decent read. Third of a trilogy, but I found it pretty easy to pick up what might have happened in the prior two books. "
— Elaine, 10/27/2010 -
" I guessed the ending long before it happened The hero's actions afterward was very annoying and not all heroic. I'm wondering if this was an earlier work that the author fixed up. "
— Mark, 10/5/2010 -
" I can't get into Harry Turtledove's books. The plot progresses but the characters seem distant. "
— Russell, 7/1/2010 -
" It probably deserves a 3, and maybe it is that I have simply read too many of his ‘World War’ type books, but this one was pretty formula. It has some good things, but nothing really new or creative. Supposedly set at the end of the ice age, or an ice age, its pretty standard fantasy fair. "
— Ryan, 5/27/2010 -
" Interesting end to the Gap series which flips the reader's time frame in the last few chapters. Be sure to read the 1st two volumes so you know the characters and situation. Enjoy! "
— Ron, 1/17/2010
About Harry Turtledove
Harry Turtledove, known as the “Master of Alternative History,” is the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author of a number of bestselling series and standalone novels. He received his PhD from UCLA in Byzantine history and worked as a technical writer for the Los Angeles County Office of Education before becoming a full-time fiction writer. He also served as the treasurer of the Science Fiction Writers of America. He has written a number of successful series, including the Crosstime Traffic series, the Darkness series, and the Worldwar I Colonization series, among others. His standalone works include Ruled Brittania, Every Inch a King, Conan of Venarium, Household Gods, and Justinian.
About William Dufris
William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.