The Phoenix Endangered

Book Two of the Enduring Flame

By: Mercedes Lackey, James Mallory

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

In The Phoenix Endangered, the second entry in "The Enduring Flame", Tiercel, a budding High Mage, and Harrier, a reluctant Knight-Mage, develop greater power - and learn of the evils of war when they see the devastation caused by the fanatical armies of the Wild Mage Bisochim.

The desert tribes, led by young Shaiara, flee Bisochim's evil, seeking a legendary oasis deep in the desert - a refuge that may hold the key to stopping Bisochim and preserving the Balance between Light and Darkness, or that may be the cause of Light's ultimate downfall.

©2008 Mercedes Lackey; 2008 James Mallory (P)2008 Tantor

very real characters to relate to

Which character – as performed by William Dufris – was your favorite?

That's a hard decision, I loved Tiercel but I also liked Harrier for totally different reasons. He made Tiercel's mild mannered self come true, but Harrier's temper was legendary and believable.

Any additional comments?

EPIC!!!

Not for all audience's

I recently finished listening to the Phoenix Endangered, the 2nd book in the Enduring Flame series. The book straddles a strange place somewhere between older YA (late teens) and adult. It is fairly standard fantasy fare and only the depth of the characters keep it interesting. It is basically another rewrite of the hero's journey, though I should add that it was a decent effort.
The narrator generally did a solid job as well.
Conclusion: I am not sure who this book is targeting. I might suggest it either for an older YA fantasy novel, however, I wouldn't suggest it for anyone else unless they are already fans of either authors work.

I love how the stories tie in to each other.

à am à à a a a a am a a a a a b j I f

Nicely done.

loved it can't wait to see what the boys do next and where is dragon

O.k., but somewhat boring.

The story is entertaining but there was a distinct lack of any action. My other criticism is that after about 3/4's of the book I got very tired of the incessant whining of Tiercel and Harrier. Hopefully, the next book will move at a better clip and find our protagonists with more backbone.

Wonderful Descriptions!

In the first book there were a few things that confused me for awhile before I got further into it and finally understood things. Now in the second book, things seem to be getting even better. The more I listen to the words of the characters and the tones of voice that the narrator uses, the more and more I like it. The narrator and the author do a very good job of protraying that Har and Tear are really just kids, albiet nearly adult kids. The things they say and do, the way the complain or try and reason things out reminds me of the way I thought about and did things when I was their age. The author has captured well the thinking, logic, and everything else that perfectly describes and portrays children of this age. I do think it a little odd that they are thrust into such adult concerning adventures and the like, but I understand that this is part of the story, part of the world that was created for them and it fits.

One problem I have had both in the first book and in this one, is that it is difficult for me to tell precisely when the narrator is speaking and thinking as Har and when as Tear. It sounds to me as if sometimes the narrator uses the same voice for both characters and then suddenly realizes it and changes to fit the voices he has set originally for the characters. So often I will get confused as to which one is talking or thinking until a name is actually mentioned. The narrator does do a wonderful job though of voices for the other characters. Those voices are quite distinct.

The other thing I have noticed in this book and not quite so much in the first one, is that this one, the descriptions seem much more vivid. The fighting scenes are so well described, and the feelings each character faces equally well described, makes you see and feel everything the character is feeling. You start to sympathize with them and you want to comfort them or fight along side them, or even go so far as to feel as if you might feel the same way were you thrust into the situation.

Now perhaps, though I'd have to listen to it again, this is the same in the first book and I just did not notice it because I was too busy trying to figure out what was going on and what certain words meant. But, I am enjoying these books and I look forward to listening to the third. I am anxious to see what the conclusion to the story is.

anticipating the last book

When I purchased this audiobook, people seemed to take issue with the characters being whiny. To this, I say that you take issue with the characters being real. If you don't like character development, you won't like this series. The characters are tangibly real and the storyline grabs you. The narration is a little odd, sometimes the voice sounds like a stereotypical anchorman voice, and sometimes it sounds more normal. Apparently it's the same guy, but I think his voice has split personalities if that's the case. It's still good, and worth a listen in my opinion.

opinion

Like with the first book in this Trilogy the only thing that I have a problem with is the pronunciation of some of the words compared to the first trilogy otherwise the narrator's voice is fine everything else is as well.

Give the kids a break!

The other reviews seem to get hung up on the "whining" of the main characters. I think what they are forgetting is that the main characters are just teenagers that have had the task of saving the world thrust upon them. They have recently (less than a year) found out they both have magic and have no real idea yet how exactly to use it and not a lot of help figuring it out. I don't know about anyone else but I get more whining from my teenagers about doing chores than the two main characters exhibit. This is a realistic reaction to the situation they have been thrown into and I think it makes it a more plausible storyline.

Decent read.

Overall a decent read. The story was a little lack luster at some points. Would give a 3.5 if possible overall.