Rating: 
Summary: Betrayal of the worst kind
Review: The saddest thing to me is that the advertising and publishing money used on this book could have been used for an unpublished talented new writer. I can't believe that this book was reviewed prior to publication. Even a test market would have revealed how horrible this book is. I, too, was a huge fan of Eddings books, which is why I feel compelled to write this review. Writers that haven't been published yet know that the only way they'll get published is if their readership is given something original, entertaining, and well thought out. Althalus is none of these. If my wife was a large part of my writing process and wanted to try her hand at writing, I would not want her to embarrass herself by producing something an eleven year old could easily produce. And if it was a collaborative effort with David primarily writing, the only explanation I can think of is that he or his editor have become senile. Shallow character development, summary-style writing, predictable plot, and no suspense contribute to this, the worst piece of fiction I have ever read hands down. Having expressed fully his ideologies and written his fantasy treatises in the Belgariad and Malloreon, Eddings brings across a lack of patience and a hurried restatement of previous novels. I want my money back. Eddings should refund the purchase price to every unsatisfied reader. It would take a truly great novel to restore my confidence in the Eddings. You can't judge a book by its cover. Great cover art, though!
Rating: 
Summary: Incrediable Complicated and Interesting
Review: I absolutly loved this book, and when I was searching for books online by Eddings I decided to read a few other reviews and was disappointed to learn that not very many people shared my opinion of this book. I thought that the plot was completely different from anything I have ever read before, and I love reading! Of course if you look at it in simple form there is a good and bad group fighting to save the world. But if you look outside the simple terms you will find enchanted doorways that take people to where-ever or when-ever, you will find magical books that teach people how to do things with simple words. Not only that but it is action packed, every new paged revealed, a love scene, battles, or plain old fashion trickery. I even laughed at the funny comments in this book! I hope that someone else will read this book and share my fondess for the plot!
Rating: 
Summary: disappointed
Review: I was looking forward to reading this book when I first bought it because I love a lot of his earlier works and the description of the story sound interesting. One of the author's strong points is his humor. But it gets extremely repetitive when the same characters making the same 'funny' remarks over and over again. Though I don't expect anything out of the ordinary for plots (fantasy novels are always good vs bad, where the bad is aiming to destroy the world, right ?) but the plot here is just too simple.
Rating:
Summary: It's Eddings, but dry and cookie-cutter
Review: Way back when (okay, twenty years ago), David Eddings wrote one of the best epics in modern fantasy, The Belgariad. It was fresh, incisive, and above all, it applied a simple approach to the grim fantasy genre that was highly appealing. The Belgariad has withstood the test of time. Eddings has showed little inclination to deviate from the formula that made The Belgariad a success. Redemption of Althalus is his first major attempt to do so, and it just doesn't work. The story centers around a thief (who is supposed to be selfish and amoral, but it never really comes across that way) that becomes entangled in a fued between ancient Gods. It has the wit and light-hearted approach of the previous works, but the story meanders, and the characters never develop beyond their shallw facades. The ending was somewhat anti-climactic, though I'd rather not give it away; it is sufficient to say that the ending lacked any impact, leaving the reader with the impression that the story just kind of fizzled out - which frankly, ain't what you want when reading fantasy. I was pretty disappointed with Redemption at Althalus. It had the potential to be great. But Eddings was not as daring as I had hoped he would be with the concepts. This will be the last Eddings book I pick up without reading reviews - and I never expected to say that.
Rating:
Summary: Same old same old
Review: I read the Belgariad and loved it, Eddings became one of my favourite authors, unfortunately every series/book since then has been a rehash of the same story with the names changed to protect Mr. Eddings earning potential. I recommend the Belgariad, but don't bother with the any other series unless you have a desire to spend money with no purpose other than to fatten the publishers wallet. I don't want you to make the same mistake i did and keeping hoping that Eddings will come up with an original story told in an original way. Every 'new' series or book, and this one is no different, uses the same basic plot, the same style of speech amongst the characters, and apart from subtle differances (so subtle you might miss them if the names hadn't been changed)the same characters. I didn't buy an Eddings book for years having learnt my lesson, i bought this the redemption of althalus hoping this one would be different, it isn't, don't buy it if you have read any other series by Eddings. If you want to buy something, buy George RR Martin, it is irritating that characters you get used to keep dying, but at least its original. Mr Eddings should be sued for breech of promise, new work is promised but the same old story comes back to haunt us time and again.
Rating:
Summary: In my honest opinion
Review: If you've read other Eddings Books this ones really similar to polgara the sorceress. The storyline is written much the same way and the only thing really different is the names. Even the dialogue of the various people in the book sounds much like all the other books. Ie Emerald & Althalus are virtually identical to Belgarath & Polgara. If you've read all of the other Eddings books, you'll find this book tends to be predictable. If its a first eddings book you read then It will be a great read. If you've read Eddings books before don't bother, you'll be bored with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: Being a big David Eddings fan, I have read especially his Belgriad & Mallorean series multiple times. It is disappointing to see more or less the same characters from his other fantasy series popping up in this book under different names. This is especially noticeable with the female characters. Andine, the Arya princess is just like Ce 'Nedra and Elena, fiery and spoilt. The goddess, Emmy is like Ariel and has shades of Polgara. The dialogues are also repetitive and also extremely irritating at points. The way all the 'good' characters speak is alike, they all speak in the same sarcastic way with the female characters being annoyingly cute. Whereas the plot is ok, several incidences are repeated to the point where you want to skip those pages. The battle is also too one-sided with the bad guys seeming extremely stupid except for one or two instances. If you are a David Eddings fan, give this a miss. If not, it is an ok read.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts well, dies a poor death
Review: Ho hum. Well, the start is very endearing and the idea of a talking cat is quite enchanting. However a book with Gods actively involved has one really serious problem... why bother? Why involve all the humans? Once 'the house' is in use the story becomes even more improbable, which is a real stretch for science fiction or fantasy. Looks like the Eddings family have other things on their mind and sticking it out to the end of the book was not a priority.
Rating:
Summary: The Redemption of Althalus
Review: Wow, this book is just plain terrible. I could not finish the last 100 pages. Very different from all of his other series books. The book starts out well and has a lot of promise but as you work in the gods with a house that can do just about anything. it just does not work.
Rating:
Summary: It's not the end of the world
Review: I'm a student, so I don't get to read quite as much during the school year, I've got other things to do than sit down to read. I read this book over spring break, and I thought it was a fanciful read. Sure, it's not as good as the Belgariad or other series, because you did lose character development and detail in cramming what could have been an excellent series into one book. However, I was just looking for something fun to read, a book that I could immerse myself into to just relax. I didn't want to put this book down. Granted, the plot is typical generic Eddings, but I guess I'm alone in enjoying that, with some change. It may be a tad cutsy at times, but it's that, along with humor and everything else, that set an Eddings book apart. When I finished reading this book I wished it didn't end, what I think to be a good sign. I also started caring about the characters, not as much as other Eddings books, but to some extent I did. I'd give this book a chance, sure, hardcore fantasy novel readers will give it negative reviews, but it's still a fun read that takes you for an adventure through another land and time. It's not perfect, but it does have an ending, which is a refreshing thing in these days of endless fantasy novels that leave you wondering for a year what's gonna happen.
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