# A non-ranting, but negative comment on David Eddings **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 21, 2001, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332 "2001-08-21T14:03:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/1 "2001-08-21T14:03:29Z")
I’ve never read much fantasy aside from Tolkein, but Mrs. RickJay loves the stuff and they’re all over the house. One of the seemingly endless serieses we have lying around isthe David Eddings series “The Belgariad” or whatever the heck it is… it has, uhhh, Garion and Polgari and Ce’Nedra and all those people. The Murgos are the bad guys, I think. Anyway, I figured, what the hell, I’ve read all my books, and so I grabbed an Eddings book and dove into the adventures of Garion and pals. Holy CRAP, that’s a bad book. Maybe the story ends up going somewhere, but after about six chapters I was beginning to seriously condier the Dorothy Parker approach to dispensing of it. I can honestly say that I’ve never read a worse-written novel. Don’t these people have EDITORS? - Endless extraneous crap - I cannot begin to recount the number of times there’d be two or three paragraphs of irrelevant filler. Eddings’ 400-page book is a 90-page novella in anyone else’s hands. - Absurd dialogue - I don’t expect New York City dialogue, but we’re talking about some of the worst dialogue I’ve been witness to since my elementray school plays. - Just plain bad writing - Evidently Eddings is a firm opponent of “The Elements of Style.” Are all fantasy writers like this? Geez, I was sort of hoping I could get into these books because Mrs. RickJay loves them so much, but I don’t think I can stomach more Eddings. ---
**Author:** ![dalovindj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/65b543/32.png) [@dalovindj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalovindj)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/2 "2001-08-21T14:09:06Z")
I dig it. The Bellgariad was 5 books and then there were anther 5 book called something that begins with an M… oh well, don’t feel like looking it up. Save you the time of having to read the rest: Life’s a game of chess. Are you a black piece or a white piece? Dalovin’Dj ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/3 "2001-08-21T14:21:19Z")
Eddings is an author to be avoided. If you are looking for quality literature, try some of my favorites, of course: **Peter Beagle** , **Lord Dunsany** , and **Gene Wolfe** for starters. If your tastes are anything like mine, you will not be disappointed. MR ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/4 "2001-08-21T14:27:11Z")
Jump on down into the Robert Jordan thread, my friend. I loved reading fantasy books as a kid, but I stuck with the greats: The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Mists of Avalon, The Once and Future King, The Hero and the Crown, Dragonriders of Pern, lots of Ursula K. LeGuin, etc. I regret to inform you that a lot of the genre is horrid, fetid, purple prose. Unless I discovered a fantasy author before age 16, I won’t go near the stuff. Just run, run away. What many genre writers\* don’t get (this goes for mystery, westerns, science fiction, and fantasy), is that the standards for quality of dialogue, character development, and plot are not relaxed the second your characters start wearing chain mail or space suits. An interesting story set in the far future or distant past or on another planet has to be made as compelling as a story set in the present. The author has to do the work to make his or her world and people as believable as possible, move the plot along convincingly, and make you like the characters. No amount of swordplay, otherworldy creatures, magic spells, time travel, or descriptions of aliens can cover up failure to do this. \*I’m not sure many readers get this, either. There is no other explanation for the continued sales of Piers Anthony books ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/5 "2001-08-21T14:33:00Z")
Easy-- new readers who never read the stuff when it first came out in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Akke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Akke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akke)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/6 "2001-08-21T14:37:21Z")
If you want compact and intelligent fantasy, check out Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, the Vlad Series by Steven Brust or the Black Company series by Glen Cook. None of these are of the cookie cutter variety like the works of Eddings, Jordan, Goodkind and Feist. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/7 "2001-08-21T14:40:29Z")
Poorly written book gets published and becomes a hit! Alert the media!! Film at 11:00. Stay tuned for our special reports: Much Of The Stuff On TV Is Crap and Big Budget Movie Not As Good As The Trailers ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/8 "2001-08-21T14:54:42Z")
Shamed admission: [sub]i like the Belgariad[/sub] Well, I liked the story the first time he told it. Unfortunatly, so did he and he’s repeated it in 3 other series of books. The Belgariad has a rough charm to it that I quite enjoyed. I eagerly devoured each book as they came out. The Mallorian was a cheap, disgusting merchandising gimmick “I made a mint with the first series so I’ll just rehash the first five books with the lame excuse ‘It’s happening all over again!’ and repeat the story point-for-point.” The other two series with Sparhawk are _again_ the same story: Child god(dess), magic all-powerful blue stone, etc, etc, etc. And don’t even get me started on the Polgara and Belgarath pieces of arsewipe. Feh. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![Rosebud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rosebud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rosebud)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/9 "2001-08-21T15:04:42Z")
I used to just pick intersting looking books off the shelves and bring 'em home (after paying for them of course). The constant trend towards crappiness after the first 20 pages or so is why I don’t do that anymore. I’ve been lucky enough to discover some wonderful authors “on my own,” like Kay, T.H. White, and Zimmer-Bradley but I’m tired of buying clunkers. And Jordan… argh. :: yanks braid in annoyance :: Actually, one of the ways I’ve discovered some wonderful stuff lately is via the “Recommend a Sci-Fi/Fantasy” threads that get going here now and then. Thank you, SDMB, for introducing me to P.C. Hodgell. ---
**Author:** ![Myrr21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Myrr21](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myrr21)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/10 "2001-08-21T15:15:32Z")
The general quality (or lack thereof) in fantasy is the reason I continually thank god for the existence of enough Terry Pratchett books that I still haven’t obtained them all. Plus three to five more out in the UK that will make their way over here sometime in the future. ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/11 "2001-08-21T15:20:53Z")
Another shameful confession. But I have an excuse! Honestly, really! I started reading the Belgariad when I was about nine or ten, and continued into the Mallorean because, well, I was still young. My only excuse for reading the tripe of Polgara and Belgarath was that it was sort of like watching a train wreck. You’re disgusted, but you can’t turn away, and have to buy it in hardcover and read it the same day. Try some **Robin Hobb**. Pick the Assassin trilogy before you get to Ship of Magic and the rest. ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/12 "2001-08-21T15:40:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rosebud \* > \*\* Thank you, SDMB, for introducing me to P.C. Hodgell. \*\* Tee hee, that was me! She’s another one that needs to finish her series, though. :yanking braid: ---
**Author:** ![caircair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@caircair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caircair)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/13 "2001-08-21T18:50:50Z")
May I offer a differing opinion? I LIKE Eddings stuff. Yes, it’s repetitive, yes, it’s tripe, but it’s GOOD tripe. Once in awhile I like to read “mind candy” – a good story that doesn’t tax the senses. Eddings fills that bill perfectly. I will say, though, I liked the Belgariad the best. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/14 "2001-08-21T19:10:13Z")
> [@](#): > > Try some Robin Hobb. Pick the Assassin trilogy before you get to Ship of Magic and the rest. Ayup. She tells a wonderful story. Except for the last hundred pages of the final Assassin book. It got a little too…uh…metaphysical for me. And you can’t go wrong with **CS Friedman**. Definitely check out _Black Sun Rising_. It’s better than it sounds. MR ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/15 "2001-08-21T19:15:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Maeglin \* > Ayup. She tells a wonderful story. Except for the last hundred pages of the final Assassin book. It got a little too…uh…metaphysical for me. I finished _Assassin’s Quest_ at around 7 am one morning after a marathon overnight session to finish the book. I was sleep deprived while I struggled through lectures that day, and I had the strangest half-asleep dreams. Reading my notes after sleeping was quite a trip - ‘Kettricken’ and ‘carving our dragon’ were mixed with ‘Defense of the Realm Act’ and other aspects of British politics from early last century. I’m still determined to get through _Mad Ship_. I’ve tried twice and abandoned all hope twice. Someday, though… ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/16 "2001-08-21T19:48:33Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m still determined to get through Mad Ship. I’ve tried twice and abandoned all hope twice. Someday, though. No kidding…I really enjoyed _Mad Ship_, even if I found much of the characterization juvenile and frustrating. It was a good, easy read, if a non-remarkable experience. I read Friedman’s _When True Night Falls_ in the midst of final exams one semester. Bad, bad move. Almost as bad as when my friend, girlfriend, and I rented an N64 to play Gauntlet Legends during reading week. No breaks until level 99! MR ---
**Author:** ![coffeecam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc8723/32.png) [@coffeecam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coffeecam)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/17 "2001-08-21T19:52:18Z")
Gah, I read both the Bel-whatever and the followup, and wish I hadn’t. If you’re looking for fun and/or whimsy in SciFi or Fantasy, can I suggest Christopher Stasheff’s Warlock Series. Although it gets wishy-washy towards the end, the books are quite fun to read. Cameron ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/18 "2001-08-21T20:10:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LNO \* > \*\*Try some **Robin Hobb**. Pick the Assassin trilogy before you get to Ship of Magic and the rest. \*\* You _do_ know that Robin Hobb=Megan Lindholm, right? She wrote at least a half-dozen books in the '80s under that name. One of “Lindolm”'s books The Wizard of the Pigeons I remember as being excellent. Very Charles DeLint in a good way. Fenris ---
**Author:** ![magdalene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@magdalene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magdalene)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/19 "2001-08-21T20:12:32Z")
With a name like The Wizard of the Pigeons that had better be a damn good book. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2001, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332/20 "2001-08-21T20:17:28Z")
David Eddings is great juvenile literature. I loved 'em when I was a kid, they were some of my favorite books. If you’re older than fifteen, though, you’re going to find better reading on the back of a box of Cap’n Crunch. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-non-ranting-but-negative-comment-on-david-eddings/77332.md?page=2)