[Tom]

With Eddings, the basic rule is this:

The Belgariad is good. It's a fun story, well written, and the characters don't annoy you too much. I've not read the Malleorean, so I can't comment on it, but I assume it's not too bad.

The Elenium was alright. It presented us with a nice, different setting and some interesting possibilities.

I got so bored reading the Tamuli that I put it down halfway through book 2. I feel no urge to go back and read it, whatsoever.

Lastly, Elder Gods is not even worthy of consideration. Absolute pap written so simply I could give it to my six year old. Who would probably find it more fun than I did.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

True enough. If I had read the elder gods as a 10 year old, I would have been disgusted with its simplicity.

[VigoTheCarpathian]

Yeah, after wasting my time with that series, it kind of put me in mind of the Star Wars prequels: no fully-formed ideas, no substance. Just a tired crapping out of old and mediocre ideas.

I've seen the Belgarath and Polgara books on bookshelves, and passed them by. I did read the 'Rise of Althalus' by Eddings a few years back, and thought it was passable, especially since the plotline proves that he could have probably written any of his series as one book. As a bonus, I don't think that there is a magic rock/gem involved in the book.

For me, Eddings is like the He-Man and Thundercats cartoons: they ruled when I was a kid, and when I went back and tried to watch them, I couldn't get through one episode of either, based on how simplistic they were.

My tastes have evolved, and like I said, I have nostalgia, but one would hope that people can move on from an author/series/show/band, and show some personal growth (some TG fans, I'm looking in your direction ).

[GardenGnome]

Tom said:

The Belgariad is good. It's a fun story, well written, and the characters don't annoy you too much. I've not read the Malleorean, so I can't comment on it, but I assume it's not too bad.

Actually, the Malloeron is bettern than the Belgariad IMO, expect for the basic flaw that there is no room for a sequel series after the first series - it ends with the universe being fixed again etc, so to me it allways seemed the extra series was just there to get money in.

Quote

Lastly, Elder Gods is not even worthy of consideration. Absolute pap written so simply I could give it to my six year old. Who would probably find it more fun than I did.

...That's kinda the point.

[Aimless]

If after a decade of living you can't get more out of a fantasy series than you did as a little kid, then I wonder if you really have grown or if you've just meandered ahead

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

I read the Polgara and Belgarath books back in the day. Back when I was in the frame of mind to enjoy Eddings, I enjoyed those too.

[drinksinbars]

i enjoyed eddings when i was younger, havent read one since i was like 15, and then i think it was the belgariad?? still enjoyed them immensely at the time, it was by the numbers like but it was well written for what it was. a bit to many happy endings but its was for kids:)

[polishgenius]

He didn't create them. He was one of the ones who made them overused in modern fantasy, yes, but he didn't make them up, or even cliched.
Not that I dislike the Belgariad for that, it's his reuse of the same plotline again and again that grates.

Also, fantasy existed before Tolkien. A long, long time before.

[Tom]

Tolkien himself stole I mean had most of his ideas inspired by the Ring Cycle Opera written by Wagner. Which was itself inspired by old Nordic myths. Ring Cycle had everything - magic swords, Gods walking and scheming among men, Dwarves, magic rings, giants. Sadly, it's all in German, which understandably puts me off slightly...

[polishgenius]

Hmm. Did anyone else know the Belgariad was being rebranded kid's fiction? I saw the first two books in garish covers in the teenage section of my local bookshop today.

[Raymond Luxury Yacht]

polishgenius said:

Hmm. Did anyone else know the Belgariad was being rebranded kid's fiction? I saw the first two books in garish covers in the teenage section of my local bookshop today.

I did not know that. Now that's he's properly labled, I can stop hating on him. It was the fact that he was being passed off as adult fantasy that irked me.

[Red_orbiT]

I read the Belgariad, Mallorea, Tamuli, Eleni blahablah, all of them when I was a kid. Really liked all of them. Later(10 years?), after reading George RRM, Steven Erikson and a little China Mieville and plenty of other stuff, I saw Elder Gods.
I had positive memories of all the earlier books(despite their repeating of the same storyline), so I thought: Nice, I'll take it!(was in a library, not a bookstore thank Jabber)

Was appaled. Looked in the other books that I hadn't read for years. Did I actually like this stuff? It's completely shallow generic cliche slush... confused me a good bit.

Suppose the books are good for beginners/kids though:)

[Aimless]

I have to admit I find the claims of Eddings being cliché and generic somewhat confusing... I can't recall having read any books older than the Belgariad that have been written in his style, and I can't really think of any more recent novels that are quite like his, either. If Eddings is cliché then I think it's all his own doing

[polishgenius]

It's the whole scullery boy saves the world thing, in a completely predictable (though fun, at first) style.
I mean, a lot of people copied Eddings, but he's the most obviously so.

[Aimless]

polishgenius said:

It's the whole scullery boy saves the world thing, in a completely predictable (though fun, at first) style.

Yes, but I don't see why that should be seen as a clich? in a negative sense! And, Belgara and Polgara are def. not scullery-boys Neither is Sparhawk!