David Eddings

[Combat311]

Belgariad series is a excellent series. This is a must read. Eddings world is fun to explore and his characters memorable.

[SirRob]

I read the first in his Elenium series and it was pretty average: full of cliches, the story rushed along too fast and the characters were quite flat, (and they weren't helped by the cheesy dialogue) but a few were quite funny. Which is why I'm not rushing ro pick up any of his other books.

[brian]

I actually remember someone swearing by the "Belgariad", but I never actually read it. I didn't lose out, then, did I?

[Princess Ivy]

I have long been a fan of Eddings, ever since I first picked up a copy of Pawn of Prophecy.
Loved the Belgarid, Mallorian, Tamuli and Ellinium.
However, all has not been love and wonderment, he wrote a couple of prequels to the Belgarid and Mallorian, which were not really worth having, Big disapointment as these were Xmas listers for me. I have also since read the 'Redemption of Althulas' and a most peculiar one, the title of which escapes me. Both of these were re-hashes of his previous works.
He does however now have a new series out, and silly me, I have them on order. But I will not be fooled again. This time my order is with the local library!

[Trimac20]

I too have read the first book in the Elennium, the Diamond Throne. In fact I bought it from a second hand bookshop not really knowing who David Eddings was (when I was just getting into fantasy). The dialogue was a bit cliched and the characters a bit inconsistent. For example, Sephrania, the ageless sorceress, was supposed to be the authoratative character, yet more than often came across sounding vulnerable and a bit whiney. The writing itself was very restrained; no sweeping literary descriptions.etc which was a nice change from the usual over-wordy fantasy. But strangely enough, I'm not aching to read the next in the triology. But then again, I rarely only read the first of a triology. There are just too many books out there to read.

[Stenevor]

I read The Belgariad and The Mallorian series a long time ago and enjoyed them at the time. However I recently read The Redemption of Althalus and really didnt like it. My main problem was the complete lack of any sense of danger and the annoying banter between the characters. All that Emmy and Althy stuff left me cringing.

[The Ace]

Originally Posted by brian

I actually remember someone swearing by the "Belgariad", but I never actually read it. I didn't lose out, then, did I?

Unfortunately, you did. The Belgariad is a stunning fantasy epic that only gets better when you re-read it. Eddings seems to have lived his career in reverse as his first fantasy was unbelievably good, the Malloreon wasn't bad, but after that he seemed to fall apart.

[FeedMeTV]

I read Althalus and have to say I really hated it. Do you think its worth me trying any more of Eddings works? The Belgariad is popular here!

[devilsgrin]

Althalus IS a bad place to start with Eddings... As many have said it lacked a certain element that made you feel for the characters. Though he's by no means the best writer, i would place him amongst my top five fantasy authors purely for the simplicity of his storylines and characters. Theres no great mysteries, theres no sudden shocks, but they are entirely enjoyable and even memorable books. All except Althalus and anything after. The Dreamers series has been out for a while now and so far i've read only the first two...i have the third one but have yet to even take it out of the bag i bought it in. The Belgariad is his best work by far, but the Malloreon is essential if you like the Belgariad. The Elenium introduces a similar plotline - though it does have a sense of urgency that the belgariad does not - though the world is a bit closer to our own, more relatable. Its a bit dirtier, its a bit more brutal, but it shines for it.

[Nesacat]

The Belgariad was my introduction to Eddings and I loved it along with the Mallorean. It had a wonderful storyline and the most menorable cast of characters. It's been years since I first read it and the books have been re-read many, many times. I've got the two companion volumes on Belgarath and Polgara and while I did not like them as much as the original series, I thought they made good reading and fleshed out these two characters a little more.

Am also very fond of the Tamuli and Elenium sets though I did read this from the library first before buying them. The Redemption of Althalus is not one of Eddings's bettet books and is really not a good place to start at all. Come to think of it, the book is maybe not a good one to end with either since you then get the impression that it's just a rehash of his other works.

But the Belgariad and Mallorean are definitely good reads.

[Stormpirate]

Eddings was how I was introduced to fantasy. My dad had all of The Belgariad and The Mallorean, and I raided his bookshelves and read them all. I loved them, and haven't left the world of fantasy since. I actually snagged them from my dad when I moved out (shhh, don't say anything ) and I've read them several times since then. I'd love to read them again, but once I've committed myself to a series I'm done reading anything else until that series is complete.

The Redemption of Althalus, Regina's Song, and The Younger Gods I think are his weakest works -- which pretty much includes all his books since Garion's adventures ended. Redemption started out strong, I think; it was a slightly different premise, but when the other characters started showing up and just mimicked his earlier characters, I finished it just to finish it. The same with The Younger Gods; I bought the first book, but because I don't like to leave a series unfinished either, I'm perservering until the end!