[Werthead]

And there goes another major epic fantasy author

He didn't write great literature, but The Belgariad was a solid 'gateway series' for many budding fantasy fans and The Rivan Codex is a brilliant 'writer's guide' for people who want to write formulaic, money-making fantasy. His honesty and candour will certainly be missed in a genre stuffed full of people who apparently write because of their love for art and 'important human themes'.

[Tarcanus]

Haha, same time topics. That's a first for me.




R.I.P. Mr. Eddings. I may not have enjoyed your books after discovering such wonderful gems as Malazan and The Black Company, but they were sure enjoyable when I was younger. Thank you for your contribution to the fantasy world.


http://scifi.about.c...ngs-is-dead.htm



If one of the mods could close and/or delete my topic of the same content, I'd be much obliged. I just copied what I had there into here.

This post has been edited by Tarcanus: 03 June 2009 - 05:10 PM

[Lisheo]

Done.

And might I say, David Eddings, while his stuff was formulaic and not the greatest literature ever, he was good for his time, and the Belgariad and Mallorean were both series I read as I grew up, and had a huge impact on me.
RIP, David.

[Coco with marshmallows]

Formulaic? yes.

But i got a great deal of enjoyment from them when I was a kid, and they'll always be a big part of growing up for me.

And Silk still remains one of my favourite supporting characters, far more interesting than the rest of Eddings writing in my opinion

[teholbeddict]

I too enjoyed the Belgariad, and grew up reading the rest of his works. Although I wouldn't read it now, I couldn't get my hands on enough of his works at the time. This is sad, and is a real loss for the Fantasy genre.

[bwgan]

I agree with what others have said. The Belgariad and Mallorean were my entry into fantasy, and I will always have a fond place for them in my heart.

[Vengeance]

I spent numerous hours reading and enjoying David Eddings early writings. I still have all of his books in my library. His books are perfect for early teens, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either the The Belgariad or The Malloreon to any young fantasy reader. Coco I agree that Silk was and is one of my favorite characters. I would have happily read a book or two based just on him.

[Aptorian]

I've only ever read "Elder Gods" by him and his wife. I was not impressed at all.

Guess I should get around to reading and hating Balgariad some day.

[MTS]

You probably will hate it now, but back in the days around 14-15, the Belgariad and the Mallorean were great. Not the best in the world, granted, but yes, good for his time and a great contribution to the genre. I bet he was responsible for a lot of fantasy readers entering the genre. Thanks for your contributions Eddings, you will be missed.

P.S. Silk was awesome.

[Macros]

too old now apt, you won't enjoy them.
Enjoyed the Belgariad when I was young, Mallorean was ok, but obviously a rehash, Tamuli, oh gods poor,
Althalus.....................
Elder gods........................................................................

the dots are for me not wanting to bad mouth the recently deceased, but they were shit.
Still RIP David, thoughts to Leigh and the rest of the family, the belgariad was a key series in my road into fantasy

[polishgenius]

Like many others I suspect, Eddings probably was the major influence on me becoming a fantasy nerd - Tolkien and Lewis piqued my interest but t'was Eddings got me looking for more of it and led to Magician and everything else from there. Even though they do not grow up well with the reader I've got to give him props for that.

RIP

[Cougar]

Regardless of what we may think of his style or quality, we should all be so lucky to die at 77 having given enjoyment to so many people. I read most of his stuff in my teens and I'll remember them fondly for what they were.

Can I please remind everyone that if you want to slate Eddings there are plenty of threads to critique his stuff. Lets show the old boy some respect today.

We don't want a repeat of the Jordan thread.

[Mentalist]

only thing I've ever read by him was Elenium, and it was inmy late teens, so it was alright, but nothing special/memorable.

From all that people say about him, I realize that he was an important landmark in th ehistory of the genre I love, however.

As such, I thank him for his work.

May he rest in peace, and condolences to his loved ones.

[Use Of Weapons]

Wow, I'm surprised by how sad I am at the news. The Belgariad wasn't a gateway fantasy for me (that was Alan Dean Foster's Spellsinger series), but it was one of the first I ever read. And the alt.fan.eddings group on Usenet was a haven when I first logged onto the net in 1995. Met a load of people off there, arrnaged meets in RL, had a great time. Fell out of love with the book, but will always remember them.

[caladanbrood]

Ahh crap That's a shame, as a kid I really enjoyed the Belgriad and the Mallorean

[Dolmen 2.0]

wow this is sad. used to spend breaktimes reading his stuff at school just to stay away from pool and water

I remember switching to the MbotF directly after the Belgariad and the jump came so easy, not at all like the jump to the Wheel of time. I that way Mr Eddings earned my gratitude and its really weird that he is no longer with us.

I just met a kid at my church into the belgariad last week and he is loving it. this news would
disappoint him but I think he now wants to read the MBotF so again his work really is pivotal

RIP Mr.Eddings and much thanks

[Grief]

Enjoyed some of his books in earlier years, and it was some of the first fantasy I read.

RIP David Eddings.

[Gem Windcaster]

I enjoyed reading The Belgariad and the Mallorean when I was younger. The Swedish translation of the books are actually better than the original (IMO ofcourse).

RIP Mr. Eddings.

This post has been edited by Gem Windcaster: 03 June 2009 - 10:14 PM

[RodeoRanch]

His books helped me get hooked on reading fantasy and are still good for a smile and laugh.

[stone monkey]

Bloody hell! That's a shame. His work (along with his wife, of course) was a pathway into fantasy for so many people. I couldn't stand to read them now, but back in my early teens me and my mates thought they were the business.

It comes to us all, though. Whoever we are. RIP