Rating: 
Summary: Eddings is a literary genius
Review: Before Eddings,I hated fantasy.The only reason I picked up another fantasy book,which by chance was Eddings was because of the illustration on the main cover of the Elenium.However I have not regreted my decision in the least.When I read this series,it transports me to the Eosian continent.A door literally opens and I'm there,beside all the characters,seeing what they see and feeling what they feel.Eddings managed to describe everything vividly and in rich detail that I am convinced at that moment all the characters exist and are real. His characters are diverse and well developed to the point you feel you know them.He also makes you experience emotions and I rate any book that can make me sniffle at the end a superb book. I would gladly reread his books any number of times as I find myself never getting bored.
I would firmly recommend The Tamuli to anyone who's read The Elenium. There in that series, you will be reunited with all your familiar characters that you so love, you will chuckle along as they crack their dry sarcastic jokes and most of all Eddings will lead you into another whole new world beside the Eosian continent and let you experience new thrilling adventures. Kudos to Eddings!
Rating:
Summary: You must read this book!
Review: David Eddings is one of the most captivating authors I have ever read, and the Elenium is his best series. Unlike the Belgariad, the hero in this book is not young or particularly handsome. Sir Sparhawk, however, is my favorite Eddings character of all time. The characters in this book are vividly written, and you really get to know and love (or hate) them. The dialogue is witty and will make you laugh for hours.Once you pick up the first book of the Elenium, you can't stop reading until you get to the last book of the Tamuli. The series is wonderful and engrossing.
Rating:
Summary: Great characters make for a great book
Review: Although Eddings wrote his "Belgariad" series first, the "Elenium" was the first of his series I read. Therefore, my comments will tend to be skewed in favor of the Elenium, although most readers who read the Belgariad first will be more in favor of that series. It's a direct result of the fact that Edding's major flaw is a tendency to plagiarize himself, rather obviously. Therefore, if two books or plots are all but identical, the second one will almost invariably be set in your mind as a poorer copy. Anyways. The story opens with an old and battered knight, Sparhawk, returning home to the kingdom of Elenia after ten years of exile. The old king who exiled him is dead, and the new Queen Ehlana, whom Sparhawk tutored as a child, has pardoned him. But when he gets home, he finds that Ehlana came down with a deathly illness shortly after her coronation, and that to save her life, Sparhawk's old teacher in magic, the Styric sorceress Sephrenia, has placed her in a state of suspended animation, frozen in a block of crystal. Before they can bring her out, they have to find a cure for whatever illness Ehlana has. Sparhawk, of course, immediately signs up for the quest to save his queen. Along the way, he picks up various companions, including four other knights from various kingdoms, in a sort of joint effort of unity among the many orders of knights. That's the explanation given, at least, although of course the real reason is that Eddings absolutely loves creating secondary characters, and a quest story is always better the more people there are involved. There's plenty of sword-and-sorcery, a few monsters, but not so much that you feel like you're alienated from the universe he's in. (I think he does a much better job in this respect here than with the Belgariad, but again that's just me.) Say what you will, but Eddings really is good at creating characters that you can truly like and care about. And you can never go wrong with your basic quest story, which gets wonderful treatment here. I love this series, and "Diamond Throne" is an excellent start to it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent fantasy book
Review: This is my first introduction to David Eddings and I have to say that I thank my boyfriend, Alex, for introducing me to him. The book is filled with adventure, humor, chivalry, and it's very well written (D. Eddings was a college English professor in a prior career). The book is entertaining even if one is not a great fan of the fantasy genre. It reads really smoothly (no jumps in logic) and I easily got enthralled with it.
The plot is rather quaint: a knight must save the world from the evil darkness that threatens to overwhelm the world in which they live while trying to save his queen. But it's thoroughly entertaining because the characters are colorful and believable and the main character is not necessarily a saint.
The way Eddings brought elements of social and political allegory is really poignant! What this books editorially says of our world is provocative. I really liked the social, political, and religous comments he makes.
Next, I plan to read _The Ruby knight_ and can't wait to read more of Eddings' work.
Rating: 
Summary: Fine Story
Review: David Eddings knows how to tell a story. The Diamond Throne spins a tale of an occasionally sarcastic Church knight who must protect both his Order and his Queen from evil plots. The story moves across a continent which, fortunately, does not contain the mock-antiquity cultures we saw in the Belgariad. This is pretty much straight up Middle-Ages land, fleshed out just enough to keep the plot moving. As with the Belgariad, there is nothing original here - a rehash of other fantasy stories. Eddings' style requires some forgiveness by older readers. It seems like every time the main character speaks, Eddings rolls a die to see which other character gets to say, "Well spoken, Sparhawk!" Eddings also expects the reader to instantly have tremendous affection for each of the heroes, but his forced banter between them doesn't cut it. Arguably the biggest shortfall is the lack of true depth. The world of The Elenium is dominated by a Church whose theology is only vaguely discussed. What an opportunity to explore issues of spirituality, piety in an organized religion, devotion and hypocrisy - an opportunity completely wasted. But then one has to expect that from David Eddings. His books are always Fantasy Lite. There's no effort to explore deep issues, thus avoiding the pretentiousness of a Robert Jordan. There's no melodrama, either. The Diamond Throne is light entertainment, a fun read that taxes the brain cells not at all. It's rather like watching television, only without the commercials.
Rating:
Summary: Polished style supplants Belgariad...
Review: The story proceeds well, but it was a bit hard to follow, as it is a tale of political intrigue in a fantasy setting, and I have found intrigue hard to follow whether it comes from John Le Carre or Robert Ludlum. The religious and mythological back-story necessary to a reader's delineation of the political groups here ought to be bookmarked for easy reference. It comes in the form of a story told to a young thief who accompanies the knights. Be sure to do that. It will help you to keep things straight. Also, read the prologue about the Troll who enchants the stone carefully. This also doesn't come up again, but it ties into the political struggle and you need to understand it. THRONE gets three stars for its natural, even style, unobtrusive, which never gets rushed as it does sometimes in the Belgariad, and for its good characters and decent plotting.
Rating:
Summary: Up to par with Belgariad
Review: This novel is quite up to par with the Belgariad and all the books that follow. The writing is wonderful, and the book kept me interested for hours on end. While I will agree that you can find many character types in this book that are the same as those in the Belgariad, they still have different histories and life styles that make them unique. The Elenium is a must read for any Eddings fan.
Rating:
Summary: Eddings does it once again
Review: this is one of the greatest books, Sparhawk is one of the best heros eddings has created. his humor with his other companions is very funny. ithas it all, action, romance, comedy and heroism. very very good book to read if you are a eddings fan
Rating:
Summary: The Edding's Best Series!
Review: When I first came across this book while looking for something to read while on vacation, I had not read the Belgariad or the Mallorean prior to this. Once immersed in the worlds, I became enraptured and hurriedly obtained the entire Elenium, followed by the Tamuli series. This series has more political intrigue and looks into the delicate structure of Religion and the Monarchy of the lands. I discovered new big words (a good read for adolescents) without making it sound borish and over wordly. It has excellent action sequences that flow both with physical encounters (for those warrior types) as well as the magic action (for the mages) that so many fantasy readers love! There's also romance for the female readers, they leave a lot to the imagination. I mean, come on, honestly ... who can resist those knights, Sparhawk's ill-tempered horse, childlike Goddesses, maimed evil Gods and a beautiful blonde woman encased in crystal?
Rating:
Summary: The better series.
Review: With this book the greatest fantasy author-David Eddings began his better saga-Sparhawk'novels. Terrific reading!
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