Rating: 
Summary: A fantasy not to everyone's tastes
Review: I'm probably one of the very few people that actually admit reading David and Leigh Edding's novels now. Especially since Tolkien has come back into fashion in a big way. But I've always been a great admirer of Eddings novels - their plots are EXACTLY the same as Tolkien's literary classic, right down to the location names ("Cthol Mishrak", anyone?). Despite all that, there are two things that keep drawing me back to their novels.The first strength is how strongly their characters are written. It's so easy to believe that these characters COULD exist in real life, because they're so flawed...and yet so noble and heroic. A good example is "Belgarath the Sorcerer" - Belgarath is DEFINITELY not a Gandalf clone. He's a thief, a liar, a cheat, and loves keeping the company of woman of questionable reputation. Despite all that, he's still one of the most adept masters of "The Will and the Word", and can perform heroic deeds when called upon. The Edding's other strength is their narrative. The plotline IS a rip-off of Lord of the Rings, but it moves along at such a good pace, and is so well written, that you totally ignore that issue as soon as you read the first page. The only conclusion I can come to is that although the main plotlines are similar, their execution is totally different. Now...onto the book review. Of all five books in the Belgariad, this is my favourite. And a large portion of that is due to the battle at Thull Mardu. The plotline in this book revolves around this single event - we see the lead-up (gathering the troops), the battle itself (which is realistically written), and the aftermath. In the lead-up, we get a much better look at some of the protaganists - especially the Alorn Kings. We're also introduced to General Varana, a character who will return in the Mallorean. All of them are very well written, and each of them has a character quirk that endears them to us. We start to care about what happens to them. The battle itself is quite realistically written. The Edding's strength in this area isn't the body count - we don't seem to get a real idea of how many people die. It's their portrayal of individual events that make it so powerful. There's one quite affecting scene involving a young boy playing a flute on top of a hill that is very well written - and is also used to portray the stupidity and waste of war. It's also important to point out that the good guys are actually outnumbered in this battle, and very nearly don't win. My only complaint about this section of the book is that the Edding's don't provide a really good explanation of exactly how the good guys escape in the end. It just seems to reach a particular point, and then, seemingly satisfied that things will turn out alright, we immediately switch to the battle between Garion and Torak. As for the battle between Garion and Torak? It was every bit as interesting as I thought it would be. I would love to see this scene portrayed in a movie. The one aspect that really surprised me was HOW Garion defeated Torak - anybody who's read the book knows what I'm talking about. In the end, it wasn't through Garion's skill with a sword, instead it was through taking advantage of a certain aspect of godhood. In retrospect, this makes sense. After all, a god is totally infallible but does have one obvious weakness. In conclusion, I enjoyed the battle at Thull Mardu far more than the final battle between Garion and Torak. Both were equally powerful events, it's just that one had more time devoted to it than the other. I actually read the Mallorean novels before I read the Belgariad, so it was interesting seeing the events that lead up to the second set of books. I can certainly see why so many people like the Belgariad more than the Mallorean. As for me, I enjoy both saga's equally, although I have a soft spot for the Mallorean because I read it first.
Rating: 
Summary: A review of the whole series from a reader who loved it
Review: I'm reviewing the whole Belgariad series here, and I thought after this book would be the most appropriate place to do it. I am so thankful that a friend of mine loaned me the first three books and said, "Here, try this out." I was hooked from the start. I don't think the plot was too simple at all; Eddings created a whole world of his own, with different countries, each with their own set of rules, religion, personality, and politics, and reading about all of the ins and outs of each kingdom was really interesting to me. The characters are like people you would love to meet in real life, especially Garion, Polgara, and Silk (and I have to agree with all the other reviewers who said that Silk needs his own bio, like Belgarath and Polgara have). Most of the story is told from Garion's perspective, and it is amazing to watch how his character matures throughout the events (or EVENTS as Eddings likes to call them in the later books). I loved all their adventures, they made me imagine what it would be like to wake up one early misty morning at a medieval inn, mount your horse, and set off along a cobbled road, not knowing what lies ahead... And I really like how Eddings handled the confrontation with Torak at the very end. (except it was kind of cheesy the way Belgarion and Torak suddenly became giants during their duel...) I was truly enchanted with this series. I'm pushing these books towards my other friends who are fantasy fans but haven't yet read this series (?!). This series opened me up to the fantasy genre, and I consider this sort of like the cornerstone for me. David Eddings is a creative genius in my opinion, and is a master at characterization and dialogue. If you are a fantasy fan, definitely get acquainted with Eddings and his fascinating world.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: I've read all of the books related to this saga, and I own Belgarath the Sorcerer. To the people who say it is a typical story, KEEP READING! It only gets better. If you want something more complicated and you want a backround on the story, read BELGARTH. Or Polgara the Sorceress. Happy reading!
Rating: 
Summary: *sigh*
Review: Just another example of why fantasy is considered pulp, and suitable only for 11 year old social outcasts. I read this when I was twelve and found it to be childishly written and poorly conceptualized, with paper-thin trite characters to boot. Oh well. If you read this series, and still want to give fantasy a try, read "Memory Sorrow and Thorn" by tad williams. It is everything these books are not.
Rating:
Summary: The Golden Arches of the Fantasy genre.
Review: Looking at the average rating for this book left me absolutely shocked, I find it impossible to believe that anybody could find anything even remotely interesting in this series, or any other by David Eddings. Firstly, the plot in this whole series is so shallow it is almost insubstantial, and gives the reader so much information that there is no joy in trying to piece together the story. The information in itself was not such a bad idea, but unfortunately Eddings gave too much away, and quite often I had guessed the outcome of an event a hundred pages before it was finally revealed. Also the series was made boring by the fact that the enemy was never all that evil, and the 'good guys' always seemed to have the upper hand in all areas. Secondly the characters in the entire Belgariad/Mallorean series are completely inappropriate for their chosen roles. They are reasonably well developed, but completely and utterly unconvincing - they seem to behave as if they are showing off to their mates, not at all as if they were out performing the seemingly serious task of saving the world. The main character Garion seems to undergo almost no psychological change at all after all his experiences, his behavior and attitude is the same when he is a nine year old kitchen hand as when he is a sorcerous king of the world. Aside from this the characters and the plot are so hollow and predictable you feel dissatisfied and ripped off when finishing the series because it fails to deliver any of the things such as plot, character development and suspense, which are so essential for a novel's success. One good point, however, the series is so long that you ca really become emerged in it for a short while, but unfortunately this only adds to the disappointment at the end of the series. I have heard people criticise this book for being unorigional, but in actual fact these criticisms are unfounded, the book is original - nobody else has ever written such a linear, empty and predictable example of fantasy literature. Finally, to all those people who think this series is god's greatest gift to fantasy readers, do yourself a favour and read Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings", you will not regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Great! Wonderful!
Review: More, more, more! This is such a great series! The ends of all of these books leave you hanging for more. The Malloreon is just as good. Right up there with Harry Potter and The Secret of Platform 13!
Rating:
Summary: WHATABOOK!
Review: Of all the books that I have read, this is the best. Nobody does it better than David Eddings. His style of writing is so unique in a way that you'd think he's actually been there. The words that describes the scenes and objects that the characters see just sinks into ones mind.
The characters' actions, characteristics, and the way they talk makes them alive. And it almost makes you believe that your right next to them and seeing all the action in front of you, but you theres no way you talk or respond to them.
The way Belgarath and Garion communicates with wolve, and the way they describe wolves is so unbelievable that it's great. It's like seeing and feeling how wolves acually are. David Eddings description of how Torak was slayed and the action of the other gods were incridible. Nobody is better than David Eddings himself
Rating:
Summary: It's still good...
Review: Okay, I'd agree that Eddings is repetitive, and the plotline is similar to Tolkien, but what I enjoy the most are the interactions between the sexes, which Tokien definitely does not have. What I like about Eddings is the humour and the realism. The characters are life-like, fun, and endearing. Besides, the repetitions are what you would really notice if you thought in book-report-format: "and then they did this, and then this", but I think that there are enough details that differ to keep it interesting. I like this book best of the series because it wraps up all those loose ends and of course, there's all the surprises, so touching since by the time you reach this book, everyone in the book is like family...
Rating: 
Summary: A excruciating end to a juvenile story
Review: Ouch. I hate to leave any story unfinished, so for that reason, and that reason alone, I managed to stagger to the end of this series. Bad move. In most heroic fantasies, we get to see adolescent (or at least naive) heroes grow and mature over time to become truly extraordiary individuals. Not so in the Belgariad. While the magical powers of the characters grew, there was no growth whatsoever in the morals, courage, or other personal qualities of any of the characters. Also, the characters and storyline actually seemed to become more juvenile and trite as the story "progressed". For example, two of the main adolescent characters who have never fought with horse and lance manage to win a jousting tournament in a land of "ultimate" knights with only some minor magical aid. And the interaction between the male and female characters in the book bore far more resemblence to a junior high school than to the way one would expect the most powerful individuals in the world to behave. The "evil" characters were too stupid to be threatening, and the heroes' demeanor was more like they were on a picnic than involved in a life or death struggle against evil. If Mr. Eddings insists on publishing more of this drivel, he should arrange for someone to pummel that annoying hag Polgara. Her condescending treatment of every male character might have been appropriate if they had all acted like immature brats, but -- oh, yea.
Rating:
Summary: LOVE IT!
Review: Polgara is my favorite character. I love her in the other, REALLY love her now.
*WARNING SPOILER*
When she said she would give up her power I was shocked! And even more so when she still had it! To give up something she has tremendous strength and one hell of a will
*END SPOILER*
I love how Belgarath and Polgara interact- it's a very complex father/daughter relationship. Belgarath says that Polgara is a pain- evemn questions if he sould have bought her back from a Nadrack (I know I spelled it wrong) man. But he still loves her so muich that he wouldn't let her go after Zedar. Even melded her will to his.
I love this story and can't wait to read the next ones!
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