Rating: 
Summary: something for the child in you
Review: The story follows very classic, epic fantasy, with a bundle of characters who's lives are intricatly woven. The story was brought togther well, and I don't think I have wanted to find out how a book ended so badly since I was a child. Edding's characters mimicked the real world, while maintaing the air of fantasy. It was brillant!
Rating: 
Summary: Uninspired showing from Eddings
Review: I've come to expect a lot from David Eddings. Those of his books that I have read, the Belgariad, Mallorean, and Belgarath the Sorcerer all had excitement, wonderful character interaction, and more than just a dash of humor.The first 50 pages were a joy to read. The book's main character, Sparhawk, appeared to be a singularly headstrong and arrogant character. His early conversations involved a lot of insults, and much of the bantering between friendly characters that has become a staple of Eddings' work. However, the story soon showed itself to be very unoriginal, and Sparhawk, along with all the rest of the characters, saw a sharp drop-off in distinctiveness as soon as he left the Pandion stronghold. The book was reasonably well-paced but rather unexciting overall. And as in most of Eddings' books, there is no character development to speak of. This book did not entertain me sufficently to make me buy the next one.
Rating:
Summary: Good but could be better
Review: I may be a bit early to give my complete review of the story since i have only read the first book, but i thought i should give my opinions anyway. This being my first Eddings book i must say i was a little disappointed given the wonderful acclaim he has received. My main gripe with the book is the fact that Sparhawk was really made to be a bit infallible. In every attempt at doing something daring or risky he escaped virtually unscathed. This left very little suspense in the book since by the first 100-200 pages you realize that Sparhawk can do no wrong and is always successful. This made his character almost god-like in a way. With the exception of Sephernia (sp.) and perhaps Vanion, he is pretty much smarter than everyone and he always has a better way to go about things making the other characters esp. Kalten seem lost without him. Also, the lack of a cunning villain made the story a bit bland for my tastes. After the first 200 pages you realize that Annias is a complete idiot and the only villain who sparks any interest is Martel and he doesn't even make his appearance until the last 30 pages or so. But i must praise Eddings on a well written plot full of political intrigue and mystery. This is probably the main reason to read this book and continue the series. All in all i seemed to get the impression that this book mainly introduced the series and is setting the stage for the following books. Like I said, i haven't finished the series so my critiques may be a bit premature. Hopefully the story will really pick up and some more characters will be developed in the next two books of the series.
Rating: 
Summary: A good but a little predictable read
Review: Although I enjoyed the book (and the series) I can say some cahrachters (the cahracters that are NOT Ehlana, Sparhawhk, Serphenia or Flute and some others) were not developed fully, they were too one dimensional and sometimes a little too alike. The plot is tipicly fantasy-novel like, a good guy and his helpers on a quest for something good, in this case to save his queen and later to save the kingdom and the world, but the sub-plots are good and that saves the story. I liked the different people the author invented (the Tamuli, the Styrcs, even the trolls :) )
The main character is Sparhawk, a good, honest and dedicated Pandium knight. His queen Ehlana (queen of the kingdom of Elenium) is ill and her life is preserved only by magic wich will not last forever, so he has to find a cure for an uncurable poison.
The character that impressed me the most was Serphenia - a styrc magician and her godess. She is the most multi-layerd character of them all, and the most mysterious one.
The story has all the attributes a fantasy novel should have - a fantasy realm, a hero, his sidekicks, magic, a woman wich is the main heroe`s love wether he knows it or not, a ruler (or more rulers), swords, axes, magical objects, Eddings also included gods, wich are not just somewhere up above, but even take a part in the adventure (well some of them at least) and last but not least - a war.
I also liked how the kingdoms and their politics were described, with many details and sometimes strange laws and customs or even stranger rulers.
The author puts together a good story, the plot is as I already said somewhat predictabe but readable and never dull. The turns it sometimes takes are interesting and there is quite a bit of humor in the dialogues, so you can even expect a laugh now and then.
Read it. If you don`t like it from the start it will grow on you.
Rating:
Summary: great read
Review: i think this is really a great book. I'm not a new reader to David Eddings, in fact, i read the whole Belgariad and Mallorean twice, plus the companion novels. I don't think that this is as good as those, but then again, I've only read this book. It's great, though, and I would recommend reading it any day.
Rating: 
Summary: This is why u do not begin a new series while writing anothe
Review: There was absolutely no point in even writing this book. The reader gains no information except that the queens sick and who the characters are, which could easily be dealt with as a backgroud in another book. The one star I gave it goes to the exceptional prologue, which is the only thing that did not make me throw the book. Pointless, absolutely pointless. Over 400 pages of pointlessness.
Rating:
Summary: Now here's a good book. . . the entire series is great. . .
Review: The Elenium - David Eddings (Review) Note: This is a review on the entire series, not just the first book. Some people speculate upon what makes David Eddings (and his wife as a coauthor, in some cases) such a good author. Others, though, dislike his writing and don't speculate on the opposite of such. Myself, although I have only read two David Eddings series (The Belgariad and The Elenium) enjoy what I have read of Eddings very much, and plan on reading the other series/books quite soon.
Unlike Garion of the Belgariad, Sparhawk, the main character in the Elenium, is a mature man, devoted to cause and justice, but his queen Ehlana most of all. He is more than just a knight; he is a pandion. Regarding that statement, no, even after reading the whole series, I do not really know what a pandion is. Since he and his other pandion companions can use magicks, if only basic ones, I guess that a pandion is something similar to a Paladin. (A common term and figure in fantasy literature. Best describe as a spell-casting knight.) In this book, he returns to his home country that he serves, Elenia, with dismay, for his queen has been poisoned and will die unless something is done about it. The Primate Annias is in power during Ehlana's state of illness, a corrupt leader who aspires to the position of Prelate. As much as Sparhawk hates Annias, and leaving him in power over Elenia, searching for the cure for Ehlana is his first priority. The cure is Bhelliom, a magical stone thing that is extremely powerful but extremely difficult to attain, as well. That is roughly the plot line of the first two books in the series. (The third is a bit different!)
The Elenium is a highly acclaimed fantasy series, one of my personal favourites. I've read it twice already, and have definite plans on rereading it sometime this year. The characters are unique, quirky, and fun to read about, the whole book's dialogue stylized with David's trademake witticism.
So is the series worth reading? Of course! In fact, believe it or not, this was the first series that got me into the fantasy genre, which may surprise some. Perhaps that is why I like the series so much. Like the Belgariad, there are two mentor characters that guide and help the main character. In the Belgariad, there is Polgara and Belgarath, and in this book, there is Sephrenia and Flute (otherwise known as Aphrael, a child-goddess!). I like both greatly. Flute is a quite charming, and full of surprises, and Sephrenia is very wise and perhaps more so because she does not wield as much power as Polgara and Belgarath do in the Belgariad.
Most of the characters, save the mentor, are knights. (Or pandions, I keep on having to remind myself!) For some reason, I greatly enjoy reading about knights, powerful armed figures marching/riding around beheading people at whatever their whim may be. Perhaps, though, that is an exaggeration.
Anyway, the whole series is exciting and flawlessly good, perhaps even (In my opinion, definetely!) better than the Belgariad, a classic series that many love and doubt can be topped. In all aspects I can see, the Elenium is a much better saga, with mature characters, more exciting battles, a more compelling and complex plot, and is written with significantly more experience that the Belgariad was.
So, to conclude this review, I advise that one should read this series. It is well worth one's time, appeals to all, fantasy and non-fantasy fans alike, and is written by possibly one of the best fantasy authors ever.
Rating:
Summary: I CANNOT READ ANY FURTHER
Review: i've read this series all the way up to Domes of Fire... and i just want to say that the characters and plot get very, very boring! although the characters are very unlike the ones from the Belgarion and Mallorean series' they just seem like they become more and more oppisate... for example Ce'Nedra and Queen Ehlana are just oppisates from each other, and you can see that in EVERY thing they do! but in addition to that, it would like to say this would be a good series if you don't read the other works by david eddings.....
Rating:
Summary: Enthralled!
Review: This is amazing...I love Sparhawk...Although we're led to believe that he's not all that great looking, I disagree. At first he doesn't seem all that likeable, but all things take time. I fell immediately in love with Kalten, Sparhawk's boyhood friend, probably because he uses his brain only when he absolutely HAS to. He's so loveable though! Faran, Sparhawk's horse is just like his owner, and is the greatest as well. Sephrenia and Vanion are both amazing, and you begin to have suspicions about how they really look at one another. Sparhawk comes back to Cimmura from a 10 year exile, only to find his queen deathly ill, and encased in crystal to save her life. As long as the crystal is in place, Ehlana is safe, but she would die if she was out of the crystal for a single day. Sparhawk sets out to save his queen's life, and Sephrenia informs him that he is the only person in the world who can do it. We follow sparhawk's journey with comedy and peril.
Rating:
Summary: David and Leigh at their best
Review: This series even more than the Belgariad and the Malloreon immortalized the Eddings' in my mind. This beginning was great, this intro is haunting and hypnotic. Sparhawk is NOT Garion the whiner. Now I love and own every single Eddings book there is, but this series while I don't know if I can say it's my favorite, the Belgariad has a special place in my heart being the first series by them that I read, it is definately better written. The dialogue is sharp, the characters memorable and beautiful. The story is epic set against and land full of intrigue and violence. Smarter is another way I could compare this to the Belgariad, it's just more real to me. I don't know why. It's like the Belgariad was written to be a "legend" and the Elenium is as if we are experincing everything all at once for the first time. Everything has a sense of immediacy. If you don't know David and his wife Leigh Eddings, if you've never read a story by them, this is a great place to start. If you love epic fantasy, this IS what it's all about and no one in our day and age does it better. No one.
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