Rating: Summary: It got me hooked!! Review: This book really caught me. I am now a big David Eddings fan! The characters really develop and you start thinking of them as real people. This is a story of heros, magic, gods, and a whole new exciting world. And as in all good books you really don't know how everything is going to work out and what is going on behind the screen, so to speak. But some advice to those who read this. You must read the next to as well. They are even better
Rating: Summary: Another Review Review: This is what fantasy is supposed to be. Not Harry Potter, not the Hobbit, but hard-hitting, with a realistic storyline. Eddings does an excellent job of developing the politics of the land, an item often overlooked in fantasy writting. He also makes the characters deep and sincere, not two-dimensional as is so often the case. Magic is present, but is not the primary focus and the scenes of warfare are unmatched in modern fantasy writing.These books differ greatly from the Belgariad. If you liked that series, you will not necessarily enjoy this one, although I loved both. I always look forward to Edding's next book and I hope he will soon return to the land where I began my adventure all those years ago.
Rating: Summary: Disagree Review: Unfortunately I cannot share the common appraising view of thisseries for several reasons. Firstly though I have to say that I Liked the humorous touch and can understand the point of view that this trilogy is not intended to be taken totally seriously. Unfortunately this is soured by the monotony of moving from one place to another again and again - after starting the third book every new locale seems to echo the others in the format of walk, fight talk and walk abit more with a few anticlimactic moments thrown in to lengthen the piece. Also the near total lack of character development leaves the reader feeling slightly ripped off at the end of the piece- this is what annoyed me most about this book, it contains minimum emotional involvement, a tired plot(magic gems and evil gods sound familiar to anybody out there?), and it gives the reader the impression of having wasted their time and money.
Rating: Summary: Sleepless nights.... Review: Well, it's been couple years since I read all of Eddings' novels, all four series. Now I'm back to own them all. All I remember are countless nights of little sleep and one of the books from this series in my hands. Eddings has the ability to get you attached to characters. He's a master at character development! Love all his books and I'm sure you will too. His writing, IMO, ranks up there with Tolkien and other great writers. Enjoy!
Rating: Summary: How to thwart a quibbling prelate. Review: Although my tastes in fantasy may not be the finest in the world, I easily consider this a politics-and-swords-and-sorcery novel of the highest caliber. Finely characterized and filled wih luscious imagery, the first book of the Elenium series combines the traditional (and somewhat cliche) band-of-heroes epic with a healthy dose of realism, political intrigue, and a masterfully wrought background. The plot centers around the kingdom of Elenia on the Eosian continent, in the twentieth century of world filled with ritualistic magic. A dark force gathers on the horizon, while the power-hungry Prelate of Eosia attempts to cripple the kingdom by crowning an illegitimate monarch, dishonoring the knighthood, sparking a belligerent movement in the Southern lands, and otherwise bringing himself closer to the ageing Archprelate's throne. Queen Ehlana herself falls deathly ill and is only saved through magic that channels the knights' life forces to nourish her. So begins this novel about a race against time to find a cure and to save the kingdom. If the plot sounds a bit overused, it is saved by the deeply cynical narrative, nicely developed characters (the novel is told mainly from the perspective of Sparhawk, the Queen's Champion), and the novel's overall believability. Eddings certainly took his time creaing a variety of mileaus for the heroes to visit, building up every aspect, from the visuals to the local cuisine to architecture to religion. Magic in the novel is usually divine in origin, and not quite as rampant as in ny number of other fantasy novels, but even this aspect is tied nicely into the remainder of the plot. Oh, yes, the book contains lots of references to death, torture, a variety of sexually explicit situations: in other words - "action". It makes a nice transition from the standard high fantasy genre to the more realistic forms of fantasy.
Rating: Summary: First in an Interesting Series Review: I pulled this book off of my BF's shelf out of curiosity. And I'm sorta glad I did. As one reviewer mentioned before, the format is fairly traditional--brave knight must rescue damsel in distress while battling to save the world. That leaves the characters and plot somewhat one-dimensional. You KNOW how the story is going to eventually turn out--good triumphs and hero beds heroine, as Roger Zelazny once put it. The fun in this book and series is the journey itself. I won't say there were any plot twists, but the book moved along at a nice pace. Lots of action, fairly believable dialogue. I'd reccomend this book and series as a light read, perhaps something for the beach or a rainy day.
Rating: Summary: The Diamond Throne Review: I thought this was the most amazing book! I have friends that have been pressuring me to read the Belgariad Series, and I will definately do so now. The imagery is wonderful, you can see everything that is going on. The whole book itself is totally believable, something that could be out of a history book! Wonderful and highly reccommended!
Rating: Summary: Entirely GREAT! Review: I was told I HAD to read this book by a friend of mine and I must say, had I voluntarily read opening scene, I'd be just as hooked. The way Eddings introduces characters is very well done in that he spaces it out evenly and introduces new concepts which are entirely acceptable. The entire series is brilliant. I find it difficult to concieve how people can dislike it. At times, Eddings does get a little far-fetched in the characters predicting what happens at every twist but it is still for the entertainment factor. I LOVED the whole Elenium and Tamuli series.
Rating: Summary: Bre's Review: The Diamond Throne is one of the first David Eddings books I have read and I enjoyed it very much. It had all the characteristics I would expect of a good fantasy novel. The characters were well realised and easily related to. The dialogue is natural, and the plot is excellent. The one problem I had was the fact that the author continually kept referring to previous events without allowing the reader to understand what has happened, but other than that, a great read.
Rating: Summary: Same story, different venue Review: I had rather mixed feelings after reading this first novel of Edding's new series. While it was very detailed and paid a great deal of attention to character development, it seemed to be a repetition of characters from his previous novels. Sir Sparhawk is almost a direct equivalent of an adult Belgarion, Sepherenia is Polgara, Silk is talen, etc etc etc. His men and women act just like they did in the Belgarion/Malloreon. Similarly, the story follows the same flow as did the adventures of the Belgariad/Malloreon. They start in the calm, sedate west and wind up with an Emperor in the east. The books were worth a quick read. If I hadn't read eddings' previous 10 novels (The belgariad / malloreon) I might have enjoyed them more.
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