I bought a hardcover fantasy novel from the discount rack.
It’s almost too difficult to admit - I bought, “The Dreamers”, by David and Leigh Eddings.
Trying to read this HORRIBLE book is comparable to poking myself in the eye. Poking and poking and poking and poking. There was a time, long long ago when I looked forward to a David Eddings novel.
I’m not sure who I should inflict this junk on since I just CAN’T throw a book away. Any takers?
when I was 14 the Belgariad was my favourite series of books. I had to bid a fond farewell to Mr Eddings after wading through Redemption of Althalus. I have no intention of picking up the Elder Gods series.
I just introduced my son (13 years) to the Belgariad, and he zoomed through all five books rather quickly. I don’t have the heart to tell him that his other stuff isn’t nearly as good.
Oh, dear lord. I read the first in the Elder Gods series and my intestines tried to leap up into my throat to strangle me in an attempt to escape the horror. :eek:
I had that moment with Regina’s Song (or whatever it’s called). I remember how much I LOVED the Belgariad/Mallorean when I was a young teen, and how every character seemed full of life. Now it seems like caricature and heavy-handed symbolism.
Once you read someone like Gene Wolfe, you can’t go back to the Eddings of the book work. So sad.
I like the Belgariad, the Malloreon, and the two trilogies (I forget what they’re called). I didn’t much like the Dreamers, for reasons that others have stated.
I liked the Belgariad and Malloreon. I read them and Redemption of Althalus (which I enjoyed) every so often still. Usually when I’m on a nostalgia kick.
Regina’s Song was okay, but forgettable. The Sparhawk books I only slogged through because I was under the impression it was the same world as Belgariad, but for whatever reason I didn’t realize that it wasn’t so until I got through the first trilogy. I started reading The Dreamer’s, but after a couple of times getting it out from the library and not getting anywhere beyond the first chapter I decided it wasn’t meant to be.
Not to mention, racist. A character’s dominent personality trait is almost always defined by what nation they come from. Everyone from country X is greedy, everyone from country Y is sneaky and devious, everyone from country Z is stupid and easily manipulated. Eddings doesn’t try to relate his fictional races to real-world races, so it’s not actually offensive, but it’s just as stupid and lazy as real-world racism.
I read them somewhere around 1998, and kept re-reading them every six months or so. Then I eventually realized that Eddings has one story type and does it to death. At least these were three-book series, unlike the Belgariad which took five books to tell the same story.
The only thing I’d buy from Eddings these days is if they ever put the Belgariad/Mallorean on unabridged audio tape. I didn’t even particularly enjoy the two spin-off novels (who’s names escape me…the one’s about Polgara and Belgarath), though they were much better than his later tripe.
Did anyone read The Losers? I had read the Elenium directly before that, liked it, and was a bit shocked by The Losers. I’ve never read the Belgariad, should I bother?