Rating: Summary: a kid could write better Review: After reading the domes of fire I really hoped that the story would get a kick and get exciting again but noooo... This book turned out to be the worst book I've ever read. Same jokes, same fights where Eddings tells the outcome of the fight BEFOREHAND, strange. I can only recommend this book for two purposes: first, you can burn it, and you'll get thick gray smoke that lasts for many days, the book is SO big. Or, if you have problems sleeping, this is the PERFECT cure, guaranteed.
Rating: Summary: Great plot the first time Review: Although I am a huge fan of the Belgariad and the Mallorean, I must say I was disappointed. This is another sad Eddings entry into the epic fantasy genre. The standard plot -- retrieve the good blue rock, foil evil religious types -- begins to pale after the sixth or seventh rehash. The characters are also stale and old. Sephrenia the mother figure, Sparhawk the gruff but tenderhearted warrior hero, Talen the sly thief, etc etc. The characters ramble through uninspired prose studded with the same jokes used in the Belgariad (to better effect, the first time). If you like Eddings, stay away from the Tamuli as well as the Elenium. It gets better (slightly) with Polgara the Sorceress.
Rating: Summary: More of the same - but that's not necessarily bad Review: Basically, another adventure with the same characters from the Elenium, with a few additions. Although it isn't radically different from Eddings' other books, it's still worth the read if you have an empty weekend. Just one gripe - why does Eddings find it necessary to rework and change around everything we thought we knew about the Bhelliom? It doesn't add anything, and gives the impression that he changed his mind mid-series.
Rating: Summary: Please someone take away his typewriter Review: Boy, his first series was kind of fun. Nice, juvenile fantasy, nothing special. His second series wasn't THAT bad. Move the characters around a bit. His third series wasn't very good. The same characters as the first two series, just with different names. His fourth series is the characters from the third series in completely predictable situations. It's pretty damn bad. The characters are never in any danger, spend all their time coyly batting their eyelashes at each other, and the dialogue is unbelievably bad. You end up vigorously rooting for the bad guys, but it's no good because they never had a chance.
Rating: Summary: Kind of like mashed potatoes - in a good way Review: Eddings is one of my "comfort" books. His style makes you feel warm and fuzzy, there's nothing much you need to worry about, and it's great light or bedtime reading. I have noticed that the reviews here are quite polar. People seem to love it or hate it. I'm in the very-fond-of-it section. I do see why people have complaints with it, though. It is similar to the Elenium, with different races and characters subsituted in. Personally, I like the Elenium better but Tamuli is still good fun. For the record, I don't believe that a book needs to be dark, complex or even make you think too hard in order for it to be labelled a success. Perhaps a writer like George R. R. Martin might produce a more complex plot and more realistic adventures, please understand that this is a matter of style. While I do appreciate that Martin's books are of a more detailed and possibly more thought-out nature, it is still Eddings that I read more. This is for the simple reason that Eddings is fun, funny and easy to read. It doesn't depress and it's quite catchy. I recommend the Tamuli series if you enjoyed the Elenium. (I haven't read the Belgariad/Mallorean yet). If you found the Elenium tedious, I suggest that you probably not enjoy the Tamuli. However, Eddings does rate 4 stars for me because it is such a readable book. I find the characters are chasrismatic, even though they might be slightly two-dimensional. There are, however, separate characteristics for separate characters, if you care to look. Even if they become slightly blurred (they start to resemble each other) in the Tamuli, that's not enough for me to despair over the series. While the Tamuli does rely on the success of the Elenium, it is an excellent series by itself. In fact, I accidently read it before the Elenium, and I still loved it.
Rating: Summary: Kind of like mashed potatoes - in a good way Review: Eddings is one of my "comfort" books. His style makes you feel warm and fuzzy, there's nothing much you need to worry about, and it's great light or bedtime reading. I have noticed that the reviews here are quite polar. People seem to love it or hate it. I'm in the very-fond-of-it section. I do see why people have complaints with it, though. It is similar to the Elenium, with different races and characters subsituted in. Personally, I like the Elenium better but Tamuli is still good fun. For the record, I don't believe that a book needs to be dark, complex or even make you think too hard in order for it to be labelled a success. Perhaps a writer like George R. R. Martin might produce a more complex plot and more realistic adventures, please understand that this is a matter of style. While I do appreciate that Martin's books are of a more detailed and possibly more thought-out nature, it is still Eddings that I read more. This is for the simple reason that Eddings is fun, funny and easy to read. It doesn't depress and it's quite catchy. I recommend the Tamuli series if you enjoyed the Elenium. (I haven't read the Belgariad/Mallorean yet). If you found the Elenium tedious, I suggest that you probably not enjoy the Tamuli. However, Eddings does rate 4 stars for me because it is such a readable book. I find the characters are chasrismatic, even though they might be slightly two-dimensional. There are, however, separate characteristics for separate characters, if you care to look. Even if they become slightly blurred (they start to resemble each other) in the Tamuli, that's not enough for me to despair over the series. While the Tamuli does rely on the success of the Elenium, it is an excellent series by itself. In fact, I accidently read it before the Elenium, and I still loved it.
Rating: Summary: Eddings can do no wrong Review: I love the Tamuli books, if there is any way in which you have reached this point without having read anything by David Eddings, you must convert. He has enjoyed the sort of universal acclaim of the Harry Potter novels, and with much better reason & writing.
Whilst it is true that by the time he wrote the Rivan Codex and more co-authored with Leigh Eddings they seem a little over impressed with themselves, this is a stand alone Eddings and well worth the read.
Satisfying & occasionally silly go ahead and read it - if you haven't already, congratulations it's a great book, a great series and I am confident that you will enjoy yourselves.
So I believe that David Eddings can do no wrong -- unless you rate Polgara the Sorceress as a grevious sin...
Rating: Summary: To read this book means to waste a great deal of time Review: I really liked David Eddings' Belgariad and Malloreon books but the Tamuli Saga shows how poor Eddings' writing style is. This book doesn't have a climax and the protagonist is never in real danger. The plot was so boring that I was always tempted to read another book. Some characters in this book behave in such a childish way that I wondered why Del Rey published such a low quality book.
Rating: Summary: Save Your Time and Read the Belgariad Again Review: I wish I hadn't purchased this book. The first series, the Belgariad, which starts with Pawn of Prophecy is wonderful. The second series, the Malloreon, is interesting. The first Tamuli series with Sparhawk and Ehlana is interesting. However, this second book of the second Tamuli series which started with Domes of Fire is predictable and boring. The plot rehashes plots from the earlier books. Occasionally there will be an enjoyable sequence but overall not. I will finish the series (The Hidden City) because I enjoy the characters.
Rating: Summary: Save Your Time and Read the Belgariad Again Review: I wish I hadn't purchased this book. The first series, the Belgariad, which starts with Pawn of Prophecy is wonderful. The second series, the Malloreon, is interesting. The first Tamuli series with Sparhawk and Ehlana is interesting. However, this second book of the second Tamuli series which started with Domes of Fire is predictable and boring. The plot rehashes plots from the earlier books. Occasionally there will be an enjoyable sequence but overall not. I will finish the series (The Hidden City) because I enjoy the characters.
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