Polgara the Sorceress

Rating:
Summary: Buy it, maybe
Review: If you are an Eddings fan by all means read this. Unfortunately, it does not come close to the literary wonder of Belgarath The Sorcerer. The Prologue is terrible, and it does not capture the mood and "color" as does his work. A good book, but it did not meet my expectations. I think another 3 weeks of writing could have made this a much better book. (All of you that disagree, feel free to E-mail me.)

Rating:
Summary: If you have the others, get this, if not, don't.
Review: This book pretty much wraps up the world of The Belgariad. I'm sorry to see it end, but I can't see anyplace left to go, except maybe some short stories (I'm eager to see how the main characters cope with the outbreak of world peace). Since I already had the other books, I'm glad to have bought this one, but I really don't think I'd have liked it if I'd started with it. I hope to see Eddings write some new stuff (Hopefully getting away from "Hero takes powerful intelligent magic rock and defeats gods," which has been fun, but overdone?).

Rating:
Summary: Happiness Incomplete!
Review: While neither Eddings best effort nor his worst, Polgara does offer a deeper persepctive, which Eddings' readers have glimpsed before, but not in the continuity offered by this work. Unlike the macrocosmic viewpoint of her father, displayed so ably in Belgarath, Polgara's perspective carries a microcosmic feel. She is intimately related to the people with which she comes in contact. Her task in the structure of the saga dictates her perspective. This viewpoint makes her vulnerable to storms of her life and humanizes her in the same way that Belgarath's vices do for him. Her seemingly perpetual grieving makes me like her more than the imperious bully that dictates policy to lesser mortals. When she is the vulnerable woman who cannot control all aspects of her life, the book possesses the vibrant narrative quality of Eddings' other works. On those occasions when she appears to rise above normal people, I found myself cheering for the villains at times. Poledra's presence in the story heightens those moments of vulnerability. Her character adds depth to her daughter by pointing out the flaws in Polgara's character. Once again, those flaws make her more endearing than the imperious queen of ice that she appears to be at times. Of all of their books, this one carries the most subtle edge. Being less concerned with the events than the human reaction to those events, Polgara presents a broader depth of meaning than Eddings' earlier works. That facet may put off some of their readers if they are looking for another adventure story. If nothing else, Polgara teaches us both the good and bad ways to deal with anger and grief. In fact, the book is helping me deal with my anger over the omission of the gender and names of Polgara's twins.

Rating:
Summary: A very good finish.
Review: The Belgariad and Mallorean are the best fantasy books I have ever read. And to all these people who give it a bad review, then don't read them. The world was a complex and rich tapestry of characters and Events. While my favorite books were "Pawn of Prophecy" and "Queen of Sorcery" this was also a very good book. And when I bought it I knew what it was about. It was about "Belgarath the Sorcerer" from a different perspective. And though it was an excellent finish to a great series, I hope it wasn't the last. There is plenty more to write about. Geran and Wolf? Polgara's twins? Where Poledra was? What happens to Eriond? Are the sorcerers still going to live thousands of years? What eventually happens to Zedar? Not to mention every other character from the series. You see there is a wide array of interesting things to write about. So PLEASE!!!! David and Leigh don't let this end here. Sincerely, a devoted fan.

Rating:
Summary: This is not suppose to be a new story!
Review: I was reading the reviews from the one's that gave this book a bad review. I think they missed the point of the book. This was not suppose to be a new story! Through all of the other books you didn't really hear what Polgara had to live with for all of those years she waited for Garion to be born. Watching her love one's be born, fall in love, grow old, and die. Over and Over. That has to get to you over time. Though most of this book was a story you haven't heard before, it was from the past and doesn't farther the storyline. After reading this Great! book, I feel I know Polgara a lot better and I'm glad she now has found happiness. Polgara The Sorceress is about her life before Garion was born. So read it that way!

Rating:
Summary: Recommended Staple for Newbie Fantasy Readers
Review: I first started reading the Belgariad when I was 15 years old. I'm now 22. If anyone is still hesitant about venturing into the fantasy genre,this is the best series to begin with. Eddings leads you into a world of warmth, courage, humour and colourful characters whom you wish were your family and friends!!! How many of us Eddings fans wish we could have Belgarath as our grandfather, Beldin as our favourite uncle(albeit a very dirty one!), Polgara as our mother and so on. As you can see, this commentary is not only of one book but of the whole series. Belgarath the Sorcerer is one of the best auto-biographies of a fictional character I've ever read. Others seem to be flippant or pompous (which I really dislike) but Belgarath is shown as your average guy who just happened to have a very strong Will and lived 7000 years. The Belgariad fills you with a sense of warmth and familiarity that's hard to find anywhere else. It provides solid grounding for the Malloreon later on. Truly, the best 'way' to read Edding's series would be to start with Belgariad, then the Malloreon, then the Elenium and end off with the Tamuli. At least, that was the best way for me. 7 years after starting the Belgariad, re-reading the books always brings fond and welcome memories. To the faithful, I'm sure you share the same sentiment. To the new, may this be a glorious beginning into the world of fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing effort by Eddings
Review: Even if it did have some interesting moments, this novel read more like a dime-store romance. The world, and the characters created by Mr. Eddings are complex and fascinating, but do we really need to read the same old story Again? If the author wishes to expand on his creation, how about a novel featuring Silk, with a storyline completely unrelated to the events we have already read about in the Belgariad, its sequel and its prequel Belgarath/Polgara?

Rating:
Summary: True Eddings admirer.
Review: The "Polgara View" of the whole "Eddings' World" is, yes, predictable, but lovingly and joyfully so. Polgara can be no one but Polgara and if the character was to be written any other way would be very disappointing. It's like coming home to a house that is filled with a familarity and security that generates a homey comfort. All of the Eddings' books have this quality along with the adventure and mystery, of course. I notice that the ones who give poor reviews of these books continue to read them. Why, if a person so vehemently dislikes a book, or anything for that matter, then why, why, WHY would they continue to torment themselves by reading the next book in the story series? If you don't like the Eddings style of writing, then quite naturally you won't have anything good to say about any of their books. It makes better sense for someone who actually likes this particular style of writing to review it in an honest fashion to promote significant feedback.

Rating:
Summary: Commanding Conclusion
Review: This book is a witty and complete conclusion to the epic that I had hoped would never end. The Eddings couple's versatility and complete change of style made this book that much more compelling. True it was not the same old comic adventure story that they usually write, but this book delved much deeper into the human spirit. I could read the entire epic over again, including this book. In fact, I think I will. Now where did I put Pawn of Prophecy?

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating book
Review: I found Polgara the Sorceress entertaining and worth the wait for the last volume of the Belgarion world. The story in Arendia was well scripted, and not the just the expected "love story". Garion's family members were more than just stick figures, as in the past. Polgara herself was strong and beautiful, with a strong vein of common sense. The story of Asrana and Vo Wacune was especially entertaining. I agree with the Eddings that this book should be the last in the series. While I enjoyed it, and enjoyed the series, a new world will be fun to anticipate. The last pages seems to hint at further mysteries about Geran and his friend Wolf - nice ending, but just for us to imagine? Anyway, I recommend the book.