The Golden Shrine, Harry Turtledove
The Golden Shrine, Harry Turtledove
2 Rating(s)
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The Golden Shrine
A Tale of War at the Dawn of Time

Author: Harry Turtledove

Narrator: William Dufris

Unabridged: 13 hr 56 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/30/2009


Synopsis

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.

About Harry Turtledove

Harry Turtledove (he/him) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer whom Publishers Weekly has called the "Master of Alternate History." He has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the Hugo Award for Best Novella, the HOMer Award for Short story, and the John Esthen Cook Award for Southern Fiction. Turtledove's works include the Crosstime Traffic, Worldwar, Darkness, and Opening of the World series; the stand-alone novels The House of Daniel, Fort Pillow, and Give Me Back My Legions!; and over a dozen short stories available on Tor.com. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, novelist Laura Frankos, and their four daughters.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Outmind on January 31, 2016

3.25/5 (both for the book, and the series as a whole) You know, i enjoyed the first book a lot. The characters kept discovering interesting things and meeting interesting peoples, and at the time their constant babble didn't irritate me. By the time got to the 3rd book however, i couldn't wai t to fi......more

Goodreads review by Dan on December 31, 2020

My favorite book in the series. There was still a lot of walking but they finally got to the story. Epic battle with the Rulers and a good closing of all of the series storylines including the Golden Shrine.......more

Goodreads review by Joel on February 26, 2017

Count Hamnet has tried everything in his power to stop the invasion of the lands below the glacier from the Rules, who have invaded through the gap which has melted through it. Unfortunately, the Rulers have a superior military, including mammoth cavalry, and superior wizards and sorcery, which neit......more

Goodreads review by Kent on December 07, 2022

Interesting read This is the second time I read this book and it is not bad the second time around. I have no idea where the book falls in Harry Turtledove's writing career but it, while good, does not equal his World War books. The only real complaint I have about the Golden Shrine is his tendency t......more

Goodreads review by Mark on November 30, 2019

Looked forward to this, the final one in the trilogy. Tore through it, enjoying the characters and situations. The ending was a little predictable and too-neatly-wrapped-up, but still fun. Sad to see the series end, as so often with Turtledove's books. But thoroughly enjoyable. I am more into the al......more