Rating: Summary: Started it, blessedly forgot it and tried again. Review: Amazon doesn't like one word reviews, but this book deserves one. That one word is TRITE. I did not finish Pawn of Prophecy. The characters were one-dimensional and down right boring. If you are going to read a Tolkien pastiche, just read Tolkien.
Rating: Summary: GREAT BOOK!!!! Review: I remeber reading the Belgariad series first back in 1993, since then, i have read the series countless times, and i have owned several copies of the series, I read it over so often that the books fall apart and i have to buy them again ( I am on to my 7th set)If you are a fantasy lover, or if its the first you are ever reading fantasy, then the Belgariad is the series for you!!! You get sucked into the lives of the characters, they just seem so real! BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT! I guarantee you'll enjoy it. Put it this way, when i first read the belgariad i was in remidial english class,.....................after reading that series so many times i definitly know how to read!!!!
Rating: Summary: All together now Review: I am so happy that the Belgariad series has finally been condensed into two large books. I only wish that the same would be done with Eddings other series, like the Mallorean.
Rating: Summary: My absolute favorite series Review: I thoughly enjoyed it. It's Lord of the Rings with wit.
Rating: Summary: The Belgariad and the Malloreon even beat LOTR Review: The Belgariad series and the Malloreon series are far out the best books I've ever read. I am a huge fantasy fan, I've read a lot to compare with, but nothing can compare with this series. They are easy to comprehend, they keep you on edge and there is never a dull moment. It is useless to judge only one book, because the one is not complete without the others. I can only say that both series keep you fascinated from beginning to end. I believe its biggest asset is that you follow (Bel)Garion from when he is little, you can actually grow up with him, feel the life he's living. The built-up is amazing! You must absolutely read it for yourself, because no one can tell you of the grandeur of this story, you must find out on your own. Enjoy it because you'll never find another book as wonderful. I can only hope that some day I will be as captivated by a story again as I was while reading this one. Just one warning: don't start reading it whilst in the middle of something important because you will not be able to put it down.
Rating: Summary: Boomer's Favorite Review: The Begeraid is the best book I have read in a long while. I am a complete fantasy reader and was expecting this to be good book to begin with, but what I found just blew me away. This book is for everyone because it has adventure, romance, and comedy all in the same interesting and wild story. David Eddings has a way of keeping your attention even during parts that are supposed to be boring. This is still my favorite book, and I still enjoy reading it now. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a spicy story and just wants to escape from the normal predictability of daily life. Enjoy!!
Rating: Summary: One of the greatest Review: This is the series that started my love affair with all things david eddings. All of hsi series are the ppinicle of fantasy writing. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up!
Rating: Summary: Not exactly what I call good. Review: It mystifies me that Eddings is a well thought of author.True ,he has an exellent plot,true ,he has good characters,but does it get anywhere?No!!!!!!!!!!I mean,if these books were called:A tour of the West Kingdom of the Angaraks volumes 1,2,and3,I'd understand.Because that'what it is .A tour .Eddings has some strange urge for you to visit every single little place that he's invented.It's annoying. So here's what it's like to read one of his books :You really begin to get into it,it's getting really interesting,then what happens is something really pointless that happens to take up aproximately 200 pages is put in.I began to wonder if it would get somewhere .The first three books had virtually the same plot!Taking out various parts ,these first three books could have been one book about ...what 400 pages long!If you want fantasy that GETS SOMEWHERE,try Brooks,Jordan,Feist,Donaldson,Norton,anyone but this Eddings fool!
Rating: Summary: Great Introduction into the Fantasy Genre Review: I was first introduced to this genre by my husband who only reads fantasy and sci-fi. I never cared to read any of his books; I preferred the "Oprah" list or something literary like the Bronte sisters. However, I found my husband so keenly engrossed and absorbed in this series that I picked up the first book and after the first chapter alone, I was hooked. Eddings has a way of endearing the characters to the readers so that you truly feel as if you are on the journeys with each of them. Moreover, I was impressed with the fusion of humor and sensitivity that these characters imbue. There were times throughout the entire series of books that I actually laughed aloud at some of the antics and commentaries of the characters. Eddings made them so "real" and human that the reader forgets that it's fantasy. I loved this entire series and found the storylines easy to follow, comprehensible and plausible. Not a moment of tedium exists in any of these books; each is indeed a page turner. I fell in love with all the characters and even found one I could identify with. Enjoyable. Fun. Highly engrossing.
Rating: Summary: 4.5 Stars...I Love These Books Review: Part of the joys of reading these books is that they deliver what they promise, and that is an entertaining reading experience. Never once does Eddings promise that these stories are meant to be anything more than that. Eddings knows enough about the hisotry of the fantasy novel to know that there is no such thing anymore as an original plot or characters. And whereas Tolkein placed his emphasis on the (prudish) Vicotrian ideals, Eddings goes back to orgins of the fantasy novel (which is medieval romance). Importatntly Eddings also recognizes that writing genre fiction is about selling books (any author who tells you other is full of it). Since Eddings knew that fantasy was based on archetypes, he didn't take the pretentious route of an author who claimed that what they were doing was say somehting like "creating a new mythology" (the pretentiousness of Tolkein really bugs me). He alos knew that at the time of the book's first publishing (1982) that the main consumer of fantasy novels was the teenage male, so he wrote his novels accordingly. This doesn't mean that he employed a juvenille writting style, even as I read these novels as an adult there is never a feeling of Eddings talking down to me. It's just that he used a more simple approach (simple doens't mean bad, there is genius in simplicity). The characters were based upon easily recognizable archetypes, but Eddings gave them individuality. For example, even though they are both based on the same archetype, Belgarath is different than Gandalf or Merlin. Since these characters would already be somewhat familiar to the reader, he/she could more easily identify with them. The same could be said for the different races that populate the world Eddings "created". They are all based on cultures that are pretty easily identifiable...the Vikings, Romans, Monguls, Huns, Visigoths, Egyptians, etc. I believe two of the most important contributions that Eddings has made to the fantasy genre are (1) his (and his wife's) creation of strong, fully devloped characters, esp. female characters. They are complex, fully developed characters. Whereas too many fantasy novels I have read either relegate females to that damsel in distress role or if the females are put into a lead role their femininty and sexuality are usually greatly compromised. This never happens with the Eddings female characters (in any of his novels). (2) His emaphasis on diaglouge. This things his characters say to each other and the way they say them just adds an extra dimmension of realness to them. While these novels aren't meant to be philosophical treatise on the nature of man, relgion, magic, etc.; there are some interesting points that are brought up that did cause me to do a little extra thinking. Those would be the the role of religion in society and how it can utterly control a society. The idea that your "god" could be a mistake. Free will vs predetermination. The nature of time and mans need to compartmentalize it. The fundamental differences between men and women. And the idea that there is a world out there beyond what can be seen with our eyes.
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