Rating: 
Summary: a return to a familiar world
Review: Book 1 of the MalloreanThe Mallorean is the second 5 book series set in this world. The first was the Belgariad, which introduced us to Garion, Belgarath, Polgara, and the world of Kings, Gods and Men. Guardians of the West picks up several years after the end of Enchanter's End Game. Garion, the young farmboy from Sendaria is now King Belgarion of Riva. He is trying to rule his island nation wisely. One day he is woken during the night by the voice of the Prophecy. He is told to "Beware Zandramas!" Nobody knows who or what this Zandramas is, only that it is dangerous. Garion had thought that his adventures had come to an end when he slew the evil god Torak. The more research Garion and his family does into this Zandramas, the more it appears that it is all beginning again. As the book progresses there are attempts on the lives of his wife and others in the Rivan government. It is clear that there is a larger conspiracy which initially implicates friends and allies of Garion, but the true evil behind this has not come out into the open. This first book of the series is rather slow moving, which is fine for a fan of the series, but might be somewhat off-putting for those who are reading this book for the first time. Eddings spends a lot of time introducing what will be the overall conflict of this series. Reading David Eddings was what first got me interested in the fantasy genre. The Mallorean does not have the same feel of the Belgariad, the characters have grown up a bit more, but it is an enjoyable trip through a familiar world. The fantasy of David Eddings is a bit simplistic, but that is also part of the joy of reading this author. It is a pleasure to read...just make sure that you've read the Belgariad first, though.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: After reading the magnificent Belgariad series I was so happy to see that Eddings would give us more on Belgarion and the rest of the crew. Eddings has this ability to make us care about each and everyone one of the characters. So while some people thought this book was boring and slow, I loved it because it dealt with the characters and how they adjusted to everyday life. I loved how each of the main characters got their own section. Slowly Eddings introduces the main plot for the series and then we're off and running. I was a little disappointed that our favorite characters like Hettar, Barak, and Mandorallen wouldn't be coming along, but luckily he was able to introduce new and interesting characters. A lot of bad reviews of this book and series... I don't care... I love this book, series and author. I've read the Belgariad and Mallorean so many times I honestly cannot give an accurate count!! So read the Belgariad, then the Mallorean... you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 
Summary: Read the Belgariad instead
Review: This is the first book in a five book series. After reading and thoroughly enjoying the Belgariad, I patiently waited for YEARS while Eddings wrote all five books to the Malloreon. Finally, though, the fifth book was released and I started reading. What a let down! Why was it a let down? I'll tell you... Technically, you could call what I'm about to write a spoiler. However, this bit is discussed through out the series so I don't really think I'm giving much away. Don't start reading this book unless you want to read through five books only to have the entire adventure decided by someone who, in effect, says, "The guys on the left - they win!" Through out the series, I kept figuring that there would be more to the "final confrontation" than that. I was sure that something big would happen, something that would "sway" the "choice" of the chooser (a blind woman, for what it's worth). It didn't happen. I mean really, why bother with a quest when all you need to do is flip a coin to begin with? Imagine if The Lord of the Rings ended with Sauron meeting Frodo on Mount Doom so Gollum could choose which one of the two would get the ring. Don't get me wrong, the series is well written and not a bad read. But the final payoff just isn't there. Try just about any other series from Eddings as they're all good, but this one can be skipped.
Rating: 
Summary: Dissapointed
Review: This book had a lot of good reviews, so I was suprised that I couldn't get past about page 30. I tried to read the other series with the same characters, and couldn't get into it either. The characters are utterly stereotypical and forgetable, and I didn't care what happened to any of them. I have only not finished about 5 books ever (and I read at least one thick fantasy or sci-fi book a week), and this author scored 2 out of the 5. Skip this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent book in a terrible series
Review: David Eddings must have had the urge for a new car, because he decided to write an uninspired 5-book sequel to the Belgarion. This first book shows promise, as it reveals what has happened a few years down the line since the end of Belgarion series. It was interesting to see how the character's grew and what each one has accomplished. One of my major complaints about the Belgarion series was that plot was only worth 2 to 3 books, and was stretched to 5 books. This series is only worth about half a book, but it's stretched out to 5 agonizingly long and boring books. This book is probably the best of the bunch, not because it's really better, but because you haven't got sick of the series yet. In this book, Garion is a King, but his son is kidnapped by a some mysterious person leading them to another prophecy that slowly becomes unraveled. He meets up and starts a journey with many of the same characters in order to find his son and figure out the prophecy. As usual, Eddings has a good writing style. Unfortunately, the dialogue is predictable and stale, and no real new characters are introduced.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth your time
Review: Picked this up based on Amazon.com reviews, thinking that he was a proficient writer of high fantasy. By page 25 I realized that the writer is unable to realistically portray any type of interpersonal relationship or engaging character. I only made it through the first third of the book - it was all I could force myself to get though. I ended up getting so frustrated with the book that I left it on the Subway hoping a bum could put it to better use by using it to fuel a fire. What I was able to make it through was scattered and lacked direction. The characters are cliche and lack any emotional depth. Worst of all the book reads on what must be a 7th grade level - which is great if you are in 7th grade - but last I checked this wasn't a Young Readers book. If you are looking for high quality epic fantasy, look elsewhere and save your cash.
Rating:
Summary: Lackluster start to unoriginal series
Review: Like the five-volume Belgariad, the Malloreon is one continuous narrative split into five books divided at meaningful plot points. So "Guardians of the West" isn't really supposed to be a stand-alone novel, and I really don't think it can be evaluated outside the context of the series it begins, so I'm going to talk about the series as a whole here. This is a quest story told in a fantasy setting, and like any story written in this genre it owes much to Tolkien. It also owes much to Eddings' earlier work. The reader is more or less told straight out that the basic outline of this story will be identical to that of the Belgariad. This turns out to be true. The result is that The Malloreon is utterly predictable. I had figured out what would happen at the end of the series by the middle of the second book. I kept reading hoping I was wrong, and that there was some surprise awaiting me at the end. There wasn't. Some of the characters here turn out to be very badly handled. A couple examples spring to mind: Belgarath and Polgara see a number of odd happenings associated with one of the people in their care, remark on it, *say* they need to think about what they saw, and then do nothing about it for the next 5 or so years of story time. In one episode early in the series (I think it's the second book) Durnik accomplishes by sorcery a commonplace, if laborious, task for a blacksmith which causes absolute astonishment in Belgarath and Polgara who, in their millenial lifetimes, apparently never learned how steel was made. Ce'Nedra is merely shunted aside for pretty much the entire series in a depressive funk, as if Eddings simply didn't want to deal with her this time around. Eddings continues to display stylistic ineptness. He has only one narrative voice for all occasions. No matter how earth-shattering an event is being portrayed, he describes it in the same tone he'd use to describe doing the dishes. (The same problem was evident in The Belgariad, especially at the climax. There's no improvement here; if anything, it's worse.) He attempted a high style in the quotes from fictional histories that begin each volume, but they don't really come off; it's obviously a foreign dialect for him. When he does use a word or two not in everyday speech, he doesn't always appear to understand what it means. For example, in the first volume here Belgarion has occasion to seek out the original manuscript of an ancient prophecy called the "Mrin Codex." Eddings must have used "codex" just because it sounded mysterious, because the manuscript turns out to be a scroll. To sum up, if you've read The Belgariad, you'll get essentially the same story here, differing only in the details. Go for it if you can find it cheap enough -- it's a quick enough read, so it won't take up too much of your time -- but don't waste a lot of money or effort on it.
Rating:
Summary: DON'T BUY IT!
Review: PLEASE don't waste your money on this book. It is SO boring that I put it down halfway through. Unless you like a book that puts you to sleep in the middle of day. So, please, turn off your computer and go outside and play. NEVER TOUCH THIS BOOK! By the way, is it possible to give it zero stars? Now, go read a Tolkein book because they are really good.
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: This book matches the Belgariad in everyway. It's a great connector between the two series!
Rating:
Summary: A human relief from Tolkien's bloodless grey
Review: I have read both Tolkien's magnificent The Lord of the Rings and the Eddings' The Belgariad, The Mallorean, The Elenium and the Tamuli each several times. By the way, the Swedish translation by Åke Ohlmarks of The lord of the Rings is rather better than the original.
My problem with Tolkien is that his world, altho awe-inspiring, is essentially grey of various shades and tints and that his characters are essentially bloodless. Not even the hobbits are really real.
The Eddings on the other hand write about real people, albeit some are very remarkable, with their quirks and defects and good
points and all in natural colors. I include in this
characterization also the goddesses and the gods and even the
trolls and monsters. They are all real. This is why I consider
the Eddings' tales to be far superior to Tolkien's.
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