Limits of Power

Written by Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by Angela Dawe

Elizabeth Moon is back with the fourth adventure in her bestselling fantasy epic. Moon brilliantly weaves a colorful tapestry of action, betrayal, love, and magic set in a richly imagined world that stands alongside those of such fantasy masters as George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb.

The unthinkable has occurred in the kingdom of Lyonya. The queen of the Elves—known as the Lady—is dead, murdered by former elves twisted by dark powers. Now the Lady’s half-elven grandson must heal the mistrust between elf and human before their enemies strike again. Yet as he struggles to make ready for an attack, an even greater threat looms across the Eight Kingdoms.

Throughout the north, magic is reappearing after centuries of absence, emerging without warning in family after family—rich and poor alike. In some areas, the religious strictures against magery remain in place, and fanatical followers are stamping out magery by killing whoever displays the merest sign of it—even children. And as unrest spreads, one very determined traitor works to undo any effort at peace—no matter how many lives it costs. With the future hanging in the balance, it is only the dedication of a few resolute heroes who can turn the tides…if they can survive.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Jun 11, 2013
• ISBN: 9781469263083

Elizabeth Moon

Former Marine Elizabeth Moon is the author of many novels, including Echoes of Betrayal, Kings of the North, Oath of Fealty, the Deed of Paksenarrion trilogy, Victory Conditions, Command Decision, Engaging the Enemy, Marque and Reprisal, Trading in Danger, the Nebula Award winner The Speed of Dark, and Remnant Population, a Hugo Award finalist. After earning a degree in history from Rice University, Moon went on to obtain a degree in biology from the University of Texas, Austin. She lives in Florence, Texas.

Reviews for Limits of Power

[Amanda Howell · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Angela Dawe, the narrator, ruined this story to the extent that I had to skip this entire book. I only made it to chapter three.

Elizabeth Moon is an amazing writer and this is a rich, epic fantasy, but it is very unfair to the author to ruin the second last book in the series this way when there are clearly at least two other skilled narrators.

Angela Dawe’s characterizations are non-existent. They all sound pompous or whiny due to her nasal twang. Strong female characters sound like bratty children and the men are all guttural and lacking any character nuance. It is very hard to figure out which character is speaking.

She only reads in her own accent and has an extremely annoying habit of uptalk at the end of most sentences. The story takes place in multiple countries on a huge continent with different languages and both human and non-human races, so why do they all sound identical? There is plenty of material to drawn upon to do better and she just…. Didn’t? Her cadence is generally robotic, and it’s just impossible to listen to or follow the story.

[barbara ballard · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Loved the book. Narrator was distracting, losing track of who she was voicing and voicing most sentences as if they were the most important in the book.

[altheaann · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Reviewing 'Echoes of Betrayal' and 'Limits of Power' together, because I read them back-to-back, and there isn't any radical distinction between them.
Both books are very middle-y. Not really middling, just middle-of-series-y. You're expected to know the characters already (that's OK, because I do), and to be invested enough in their ongoing drama that you're not expecting each book to be it's own individual story with clear rising-action-falling-action-conclusion plotting - they're not - but that's (mostly) OK. This series really does have enough engaging characters and interesting scenarios that I'm fine with just following all the characters around and seeing what happens next. It's good entertainment.
The content - well crafted, but fairly typical fantasy fare - kingdom-shaking issues regarding magic, royal marriages, human-elf interaction, evil wizards, dragons... all that good stuff.
I love Moon's strong female characters, and her realistic portrayals of warrior/military women.
The one small thing that annoyed me was how much everyone talks about Paksenarrion - with all that talk, I feel like she should've made more of an appearance.
I'd recommend this series to anyone who's looking for a nice, solid, but non-genre-bending fantasy series with a large number of pages to get lost in - but I'd recommend starting at the beginning.

[gsb68 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love that the world which seemed so straight forward in the original Paksenarrion series continues to get more complex. The only reason I can't give this five stars, is that it feels like a book setting up the big finish in the next installment. I honestly don't know how Mrs. Moon is going to tie everything up in a single volume but I can't wait to find out.

A wonderful scene with King Kieri, and continued development of Arvid were among the highlights of book 4 for me.

[amphipodgirl · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was kind of bored until Arvid came back into the picture...I like Arvid. Has a definite " to be continued" feeling.

[ladycato · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I can't go into details because this is deep into a series and I don't want to drop any spoilers. I enjoyed the book immensely. There's no big climax here, but Moon writes a story that is consistently interesting even as it addresses mundane day to day matters on an estate or among an army. The wide cast here is easy to follow as the voices and places are very distinct.One thing that came to mind as I read is that I enjoy Moon's Paks books far more than GRRM's Song of Ice and Fire. Moon isn't any easier on her characters, but there's a different, far more positive vibe--her people have some inherent goodness, even if they are incredibly flawed. I'll be sad when the series ends after the next book.

[isisunit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Eight Kingdoms are under threat. Throughout the north, magic is re-emerging after centuries of absence, popping up in family after family-even those with no known mage parentage. Nor is it confined to the privileged classes, but is appearing in rich and poor alike. This is bad enough in lands where such powers are not considered illegal, but now some kingdoms are instituting pogroms, killing everyone in whom the powers emerge, no matter how young or old they might be.And with one very determined traitor at work, intent on undoing any effort at peace no matter how many lives it costs, the future hangs in the balance. It is only the dedication of a few resolute heroes who can turn the tides... if they can survive.The story continues where it left off in Echoes of Betrayal, with each of the smaller lines of the make up the greater whole cloth of the story being followed. Arcolin, King Kieri & Queen Arian of Lyonya, Duke Verrakai, King Mikeli of Tsaia, Arvid and Dattur, all of their stories crisscross throughout the book. Like the other books in the series it can be a bit confusing at first, when you leave one character's story and go back in time to the next character's story, as the events for each are happening simultaneously.In Lyonya they must deal with the iynisins treacherous attack on the Lady. The attack which was successful, killing the Lady (and therefore the elvenhome), and almost having Kieri blamed for the murder of his own grandmother. There is also the aftermath of the war with Pargun, Queen Arian's miscarriage by poison, plans for river trade, and preparation of defenses for Lyonya should Alured the Black attempt the invade via the river in his potential bid to take over the entire land.Arcolin has his hands full becoming a Duke, leading his entire Company so that it is all in the south for the fighting season, finding an acceptable wife, and learning the Law for reasons that become clear as time goes on. As well he has dealings with Arvid, former Thieves Guildmaster turned Girdish. Arvid and the gnome Dattur left the Inn where they had been guests to move in with Fox Company for more protection from retaliation from the local Thieves Guild; Arvid had taken his revenge upon the local Guild, recovering his stolen goods and something totally unexpected.Duke Verrakai has suddenly adopted the one of her young squires as her heir, the only way to save the young squire's life according to law. Dorrin and her new heir go see Kieri, King of Lyonya and her former Duke and commander, and exchange what news they can while still maintaining loyalty to their respective kingdoms.King Mikeli of Tsaia has his hands full, between the royal regalia that Duke Verrakai brought to him as a gift, and the sudden resurgence of mage talents across his kingdom and others. As more and more young people begin to show talents as mages, controversy runs rampant, leaving the King in a very tough spot. Should he support the pogroms to kill anyone manifesting a Mage talent, which is basically the law, or should he and the Marshal-General work to alter law and perceptions about mages? If he follows the letter of the law things would go from bad to heinous in a heartbeat.Elves have come from the holding that was discovered in Luap's scrolls, the scrolls Paks had been given as a reward. These Elves demand that all humans be recalled so that they may close the gate to protect from greater damage by the iynisins, and that includes the be-spelled human magelords. Of course no one knows how to awaken the magelords, and don't know if they even should, knowing nothing about them. However it may be a good idea to wake the magelords, as all the youngsters showing ability will need an adult to train them, and Dorrin is the only adult magelord people know and remotely trust, and she is already overwhelmed with jobs. The royal regalia is becoming more restless and demanding, and has begun speaking to a few others that we know of; there is real fear that Alured the Black wants this regalia, and may become unstoppable if he gets it and can use it. And it is looking more and more likely that this is a real possibility. The continuation of this epic fantasy remains strong and engaging, though it is starting to feel as if this story is nearing a conclusion. I remain undecided about this story ending yet, but will let the Crown of Renewal tell me what it can.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very good story - but definitely a middle book. A lot of arcs continued; a few more started - or at least, finally become explicitly visible to the reader - and...OK, one more or less concluded. I don't think there's much more to be said on that one - though the island may become important later on. The elves become very interesting - and Kieri and Arian develop new tricks. Arvid also develops a lot of interesting twists...but it was Arcolin who gave me the best surprise. I read a chunk of the book, then decided I needed to reread the rest of the series to refresh my memory of where stuff started - when I got back up to Arcolin's surprise it was just as enjoyable the second time. Lovely, and eagerly waiting for the last book...

[readinggeek451 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is still very much a middle book, with lots of movement and no resolution. Not as much sheer action as the earlier books, but a lot of revelations and maneuvering for later. There will obviously be at least one and probably two (or more) further books in this sequence.