Belgarath the Sorcerer

Rating:
Summary: brings back the memories
Review: I enjoyed this book, as it brought back a lot of the memories of the Belgariad and Mallorean which I'd read 10+ years ago and enjoyed tremendously.

There were a few inconsistancies between this book and the original series, especially with the character of Belgarath himself. I'm currently reading "Polgara the Sorceress" and find the same true there. In the original series, Belgarath is THE legend, the eternal man, almost holy in many cultures. In this book, you finally see that despite being 7000 years old, he's still a little slow and requires almost constant input from "the Necessity" or Aldur to be able to do anything. Seldom does he do anything clever on his own, and he frequently depends on the stupidity of his enemies (Torak, Urvon, Zedar etc...) to succeed.

This destroyed some of my image of the character and it's just due to lazy writing. I get the distinct impression that most of this material was written before the first series of books (in proto form anyway) just to give background to this one character. This is fine, but it takes a lot of work to make a character intelligent, and you just don't see this here. A 7000 year old man should have unique perspective, be enormously clever and outwit practically everyone. That would have been too hard to do however, so you have to see the 7000 year old man who's pretty much just like everyone else. It succeeds in the first book because Belgarath is rarely the main character and the story isn't told directly by him (i.e. first person).

Still, if you liked the Belgariad, you really can't fail with this book, most of the history is at least somewhat entertaining, especially the initial calling of the diciples of Aldur to the Vale. I found that most interesting.

Rating:
Summary: Simply great
Review: This is not going to be a thorough review, but rather a comment on the reviews of others.

Many state that this 1) is slightly disappointing and lacks the humor of the Belgariad/Mallorean 2) should be read only AFTER reading the Mallorean and the Belgariad. I, however, read BtS before starting on M/B and I found it tremendously enjoyable, and my experience when reading M/B was only enhanced by this.

Anyway, that's what I think.

Rating:
Summary: Fun to know
Review: This book is really only for those that have already read the Belgariad and Mallorian series. It tells the tale of the Great Belgarath from thief to "holy man". It really isn't an exiting read but it's well writen and the plot (if you can call it that) is well laid out, but lacks any punch. It has the thinks that always bothers me in all of Eddings work and that is repetativnes, same jokes and characters tend to say the same thing (if somebody says a word that doesn't exist then the others always say something like "Gee I wish I could make upp word like that" and so on). I wish that he could think of new dialogs. Theres nothing new or original in this book but some times it's good to read a tried and tested formula specialy when it involves some of ones favorite fictional charachters.

If you have already read Eddings other works then this is a must, if not the give it a miss..

Rating:
Summary: Entertaining no matter what.
Review: I love this book. Even when I reread it I loved it.And I don't think anythings going to change that.

Its partly the magic in it. Also, I like Polgara (the person) besides just liking Belgarath . I was surprised and glad to find out that she had her own whole section.

Anyway, someone who has read The Belgariad should read Belgarath The Sorcerer.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it, but...
Review: It's been years since I read the original books in this series, but I enjoyed them a lot. So I was excited to find two new books in the series, this one and "Polgara." It was fun to revisit characters and events that I had read before. I really enjoyed the beginning of the book that covered Belgarath's origins up through the cracking of the world.

The rest of it is OK, but there was very little suspense present. (Note: This was NOT because I already knew many of the events. I read the original series too long ago to remember most of the details.) Part of it has to do with the whole "predestination" aspect of the series. After a while, it makes you wonder if many of the choices that these characters make really make any difference in the grand scheme of things.

The first person narrative is a mixed bag as well. At times I enjoyed the more personal observations by Belgarath, but it grew old in a book this long.

My favorite parts were in some of the more "trivial" events such as Belgarath's gold mining adventure or his fishing trips with his Grandson. I wish that there had been more of these "human" stories. Too much of the book read like, "This happened, then THIS happened, followed by THIS," and there wasn't much that made me really care about the characters.

So, it's worth reading after you read the original books, but it could have been much more entertaining.

Rating:
Summary: The best of storytelling!
Review: Belgarion bullied his grandfather into writing the missing tale of what happened before the Belgariad and Malloreon series, and like Garion himself, I was very curious about Belgarath's life. The book therefore did not dissapoint me! David and Leigh Eddings are now at a true literary level with their writing, for besides even their great style of writing, they can capture readers and make them part of the lives of their characters.

Every fase from Belgarath's life was different and intriguing and like the sorcerer himself, you're sorry when they are over. But new times bring new thrills and even as Belgarath experiences for himself, one time will replace the next. His peaceful time in the Vale was replaced by his friendship with Cherek and his sons; the loss of his wife was compensated by his daughter Polgara, whom he had to educate.

Belgarath is a wonderful, complex character and when you read this book, it's like hearing him tell the story to you in person!

Rating:
Summary: return to the beginning
Review: After reading the Belgariad and the Mallorean series, this book takes you back to the beginning of it all. It explains the origins of the young man who becomes Belgarath, and skirts the edges of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. It also nicely fills in the gaps from the beginning to the battle of Vo Mimbre. A great book for the Fantasy reader, and I highly recommend the series.

Rating:
Summary: Belgarath the sorcerer
Review: In my opinion this book was more or less unbeatable, but as i said thats my opinion. If you dont like heavy reading, i suggest you read the Belgariad and Mallorian first. in Belgarath the sorceror there are a lot of names to remember,and the belgariad introduces these at a lesser extent so you can actually remember what its telling you!

Rating:
Summary: THE CULMINATION OF A SERIES THAT CHANGED MY LIFE
Review: My sister first introduced me to the Belgariad when I was 7. I had often laughed at her for sitting for weeks on end, burried in those books... I finaly found out why. Finding myself instantainiously gripped by the story, and all the wonderful characters, such as; (Bel)Garion, Polgara, Belgarath... and so on and so on... I ended up not beeing able to go anywhere without my precious books... which is the main reason why I have had to replace them each about 4 times...I simply read them to pieces...

One day, shopping with my parents, I suddently saw this book. I spent the rest of the day hopping around it, hoping my parents would buy it...and at last they did.

Now, I have made it my life goal to buy the whole series, as I havent read the Malloreon yet. I am looking forward to once again be gripped by the tale... to once again let the thoughts flow... to immagine beeing that little boy in Sendaria...suddently dragged off to the end of the world and back...in search of a stone...

I can't wait.

A word of warning though, Once you have read one book, YOU HAVE TO READ THEM ALL! RESISTENCE IS FUTILE! Kind regards Yago

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, amazing novel
Review: This is the first book I have read by Eddings, and I find it absolutely difficult to put down. Of course I had to read the other books by Eddings after coursing through this book, and I found the rest just as great. Anyway, the plot and everything are highly imaginative, though it doesn't ruin it for people who haven't read the other. I highly recommend this book because it is fascinating, imaginative, and definitely addictive.