[Astra]

I read Belgariad 5 years ago when I was preparing for a test.

It fitted well. Very light read. Not a page turner. Easy to close a book and put down at any given moment. Noaddiction to the story, so you can go for a day or two without reading.
One year later, the same situation - I read Elenium. More or less the same.
Yet again one year later and I read Tamuli.....even though I was busy, studying a lot and needed something..not too attractive, Tamuli was bad.
The last thing I remember happened yet one more year later, I read The Redemption of Althalus. It was horrible!!! Just ...just ...a parody on fantasy. I could not believe something like that had been published and what is worse liked by many!

No more Eddings for me.
(Though Belgariad and Elenium served well their purpose. I believe if I read the books when I was 10 years younger(or more) I would enjoy Eddings a lot more)

[Varunwe]

Quote

Yeah, those books needed a really tragic moment. LIke the death of Ce'nedra - I'd have totally cheered.

That wouldn't have been tragic, it would have been a relief

[Cougar]

Varunwe;281573 said:

That wouldn't have been tragic, it would have been a relief

I'd have cried with joy if they'd have let Torak kill her.

[Optimus Prime]

If he would've stepped on her after he grew to super huge size at the end...it would have been a classic moment of Literature...for readers down through the ages to enjoy....sigh...

[Cougar]

Xander;281702 said:

If he would've stepped on her after he grew to super huge size at the end...it would have been a classic moment of Literature...for readers down through the ages to enjoy....sigh...

HA HA! I'd still be laughing now.

[Kalahinen]

I suddenly find a striking similarity between the Belgariad and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the movie, haven't read the comics). The Belgariad characters have great names like:
'The Terrible Bear'
'the Horseman'
'the Knight Protector'
'the Nimble Thief'
'The Man With Two Lives Who Was Buried In The Wounded Knee In Between'
'the Archer'
etc.

And the League:
'the Invisible Man'
'the Immortal'
'the Vampire'
'the Spy'
'The Hunter'
'the Hulk...er, I mean the hulking monster Mr. Hyde'
'the Sailor'

So basically the same idea: a group of characters that each possess a singular special skill necessary to save the day.

[Cougar]

Kalahinen;281714 said:

I suddenly find a striking similarity between the Belgariad and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the movie, haven't read the comics). The Belgariad characters have great names like:
'The Terrible Bear'
'the Horseman'
'the Knight Protector'
'the Nimble Thief'
'The Man With Two Lives Who Was Buried In The Wounded Knee In Between'
'the Archer'
etc.

And the League:
'the Invisible Man'
'the Immortal'
'the Vampire'
'the Spy'
'The Hunter'
'the Hulk...er, I mean the hulking monster Mr. Hyde'
'the Sailor'

So basically the same idea: a group of characters that each possess a singular special skill necessary to save the day.

Well that's a relatively common concept in myth and fiction, going back millenia, look at the crew of the Argo for instance. Members with specific skills or characteristics which help or hamper the crew/band/squad in their epic journey.

[polishgenius]

Like Cougar says, it's not a new concept. You'll find it in any JRPG and most comic-book superhero teams, just for obvious examples. Though Eddings does make it rather game-ish for a book by actively dedicating a part of the plot to party-building, each time.

[Kalahinen]

Yes, and Tolkien's Fellowship of the Ring is yet another example. The Eddings version is just very (as polishgenius mentions) comic-book like. Which does not make it bad reading, though.

[q21]

I remember reading The Belgariad and Mallorean back when I was 15. I loved them, but a little later I read Gardens or the Moon. I knew instantly that I could never go back to Eddings, so I never reread any of them and I never read any of the others. I like to remember them as good books rather than reread them and hate them.

Also I must add, Silk FTW...

[Aimless]

Kalahinen;281714 said:

I suddenly find a striking similarity between the Belgariad and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the movie, haven't read the comics). The Belgariad characters have great names like:
'The Terrible Bear'
'the Horseman'
'the Knight Protector'
'the Nimble Thief'
'The Man With Two Lives Who Was Buried In The Wounded Knee In Between'
'the Archer'
etc.

And the League:
'the Invisible Man'
'the Immortal'
'the Vampire'
'the Spy'
'The Hunter'
'the Hulk...er, I mean the hulking monster Mr. Hyde'
'the Sailor'

So basically the same idea: a group of characters that each possess a singular special skill necessary to save the day.

Have you read Duncan's A Man of His Word series? He uses that idea in a way that is unusual in fantasy, with a group of such characters who are all cursed in such a way that only one of them can exist at a time.

I'd like to point out that Eddings does bring in some tragedy, in the books about Polgara and Belgarath. I mean, come on, every single one of their loved ones die at some point... at one point, a whole CITY dies! That's pretty sweet.

[Kalahinen]

@Aimless

Haven't read Duncan, but sounds interesting.

Maybe Eddings could have elaborated more on the tragic part of Belgarath/Polgara's longevity. But then again, the target audience probably wasn't that optimal for it. I myself have pondered on exactly the same matter when planning my own work. What would it feel like if everything you once knew, all the people, places and such would exist only as your own memory? I like to ponder on similar questions every time I visit an ancient site (I'm a student of archaeology), although the deep sorrow that embraces me on such occasions is quite bitter.


EDIT: BTW, the original HIGHLANDER -movie handled this matter masterfully, which made it one of my favourite movies.

[Varunwe]

Quote

So basically the same idea: a group of characters that each possess a singular special skill necessary to save the day.

In the Rivan Codex, he even says he writes his books to that scheme :eek: No wonder they're all pretty similar.

[Salt-Man Z]

Yes, I must admit that Durnik's "death" at the end of The Belgariad shocked me, but only because I had already read the back of the first book of The Mallorean (my wife was reading them at the time) so I knew he survived, and I was confused.

[Optimus Prime]

I was always keeping my fingers crossed for a hard core sex scene between Polgara and Ce'Nedra...and it never materialized

Eddings, good until you reach about 14.

[Vengeance]

Yeah that would have been hot....Maybe a little 4 way action with that hot queen that silk had a crush on and silks wife......Oh and toss in that dagger chick who turned into a bird....


Vengeance all about making childrens books into Hard core porn....

[Ain't_It_Just_]

If Torak had stepped on Ce'nedra...I would suffocate after the breath I would expend shrieking with laughter. Hell, the idea of it makes me do that.

I pretty much agree with everything that Eddings-haters have said; except the fact that there are OK characters. There aren't, IMO.

[GanoesSavesTheWorld]

The thing that annoyed me the most about the Belgariad was the generalization of the peoples. Everyone from where Barak was from was big, liked to hunt, and could smash you with a club. Everyone from Silk's land was a really good spy. Everyone from that one place was a really good archer. Everyone from that other place was a knight, talked funny, and was also really, really stupid.

But, yes, those were fun was I was a kid.

[Ain't_It_Just_]

Another thing he acknowledged was that the different places were based on Earth kingdoms and countries and stuff, e.g. Arendia=Middle Ages.

You know what really irked me? How they were going on a quest to save the universe (eye-bleedworthy in itself), they act like it's a fucking Sunday stroll. Tote up another one on the register.

[Macros]

thread necro ftw!

Eddings - one ok series (for YA), repeat until ideas so washed out it becomes terrible (I tried crystal gorge, had to throw away)
and the peoples, that REALLY pissed me off by the time I got to redemption.