Rating: 
Summary: Fun & silly story, but not what I expect from Eddings
Review: The Belgariad and Mallorean are much better in every way.I became increasingly annoyed with "Althalus" each time someone said, "Watch. Watch and Learn." The contrived sarcasm between the characters was more an insipid attempt at wit than anything else. Other expressions were also worn out to the point of being irritating, as was the exaggerated "old English" speech sprinkled through the book. Without revealing what happens to the characters, I will say that you may find yourself saying, "Where did that come from?"; the characters change according to the whims of the author, rather than acting as real people. As another reviewer wrote, things were far too simple for our heroes--if anything went wrong, well just use a door, and hey presto! Everything would be fixed. Can the doors do that? Well, this is a fantasy book; doors can do anything. I was disappointed with this book--especially after having read and thorougly enjoyed the Belgariad and the Mallorean. If it hadn't been for a long flight and an excess of free time on my recent vacation, I wouldn't have finished it.
Rating: 
Summary: No Honor Among Writers and Theives
Review: I am very glad in reading other reviews that I am not alone in my opinion of the Edding's first stand alone novel. The lack of depth in this book is astounding. 1. There is very little character depth - the dialog among these people who are supposedly in a life or death struggle for all of the earth is so simple it's comical. The characters' lack of overall believability in their actions and responses is just plain annoying. 2. There is very little environment depth - our protagonists wander around in a land made up of stereotypical people and places and everyone they meet seems to have an IQ of 5 with no self image. 3. There is very little plot depth - There is no excitement, no thrill, and certainly no feeling that the "heroes" are ever in any real danger. It is like reading bad episodes of the A-Team. Hannibal (Athalus) comes up with a plan and the A-Team executes it just like he envisions it. In many cases I felt like I was reading the same story twice - once when they describe the plan and once when they put it in place. If life were this perfect, I would quit my job, put on a cape, and fight crime. Overall, I was very disappointed (mostly with myself for wasting hours reading a story that I knew how it will end after the first 100 pages). If you are looking for a meaningful plot in a fantasy story, look elsewhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Eddings' has done better
Review: I was so anxious to read this new book. David Eddings is my favorite author, I've read the Belagariad more times than I can count. The problem with this new book is that it felt rushed. We didn't have time to learn to love (or hate) specific characters. The dialogue did get kinda bad (with the whole "daddy" thing). And I didn't understand why the bad guys were so dumb; why didn't they use the doors more to their advantage? I think Eddings would do best to continue writing multiple books in a series instead of trying to cram it all into a stand-alone book. For people wanting to purchase a book, read The Belagariad & The Mallorean for some truly wonderful tales!
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent
Review: I loved this book! The only disappointing thing is I would love to see a sequel! I need to know what happens on the other side of the rift and to Kevin and his unborn. I absolutely loved it! Would like to see the story continued with the two 'nations' living together.
Rating:
Summary: I was stunned by the sheer silliness in the book...
Review: I must admit that only after having read the Belgariad and the Mallorean did I read this book, expecting something fresh and different... Not to say that the two previous series were bad, infact they were really good... This story is however extremely thin on the plot side with the usual 'all powerful opposing forces in the universe' and the 'small but talented team of people who act as the chess pieces to whom the responsibility of saving the world falls down to'. It seems that there are also too many characteristics of the characters that flow through the Eddings' books. For instance the character of Althalus has distinct undertones of both Belgarath's and Polgara's personalities and the whole Leitha "Daddy" thing is ridiculous if you ask me... Anyway.. it seems like this book was written a bit hastily and there ALWAYS is a solution for every problem that the 'goodies' have and they always end up winning... Like the House is such a cheaty device... the whole everywhen and everywhere thingo... END ADVICE: Do not spend money on this book in my opinion... You're better off reading it at a library and then realising how crap it is... You're stunned feeling will only be emphasized by the fact that we know that the Eddings' can do much much better...
Rating:
Summary: I want to be a faithful fan, I really do...
Review: Sorry, David and Leigh, but we deserve better than this. For the first time in my life, I didn't finish a fantasy novel. The fact that the book was an Eddings novel just added to the depression. I grew up with the characters of the Belgariad/Mallorian, and honestly, Eddings could keep turning out books on those characters and I would continue to buy them. This book, however, is atrocious, for 3 reasons: 1. I hate the heroes!!! Not just apathy, here... I can't stand them. They are annoying, shallow, fake... and I think this comes from the attempt to force us to like them. I didn't like the characters in the Belgariad because they were "cute"... I loved them because I watched them grow, I knew their habits and nuances, and their lively interactions were intertaining and absorbing. 2. The number one rule in writing is SHOW, DON'T TELL. Why on earth did they break this rule?!?!?! Giving a list of characteristics is amateurish, and I've never seen the Eddingses do it... until now. This was a blow below the belt to me, when I know they know how to do it right!!! 3. "Sort of?" "Kind of?" These phrases have no place in the narration of a professional novel. As a long-time reader, these stand out to me like sore thumbs. I was thrown out of the story every time I encountered one. I remember reading the reviews for this book, before I purchased it, and thinking, "It can't be that bad, it's an Eddings book! These reviewers must be wrong." Well, my friends, I was wrong. I hope you don't make the same mistake I did. Save your money: get it at the library. If they don't carry it, email me and I'll send you my copy. On the other hand, if you'd like a good read, try the Belgariad. Start with Pawn of Prophecy and read them all. These Eddings classics are well worth the time and money. If you've read them before, read them again! That's what I'm about to do... hopefully it will wipe away memory of reading this tripe.
Rating:
Summary: The worst and most painful book I have ever read.
Review: I loved the Belgariad, I liked the Mallorean. There seemed a little deja-vu in the Mallorean but I ignored it. The Elenium and Tamuli series were simply repeats with name changes. With Redemption, the authors simply took the worst parts of the earlier series and combined them all into one mind-numbingly dull and repetetive book. How many times can a person say "sort of" in one sentence? How many people tag the name of the person they are talking to onto every sentence: "You're a bad man, Althalus"? Wrap it all up with a convenient time travel plot? Call every person you have ever met "old boy"? It is simply the worst and most childish writing I have ever encountered. Don't read it, don't even go near it.
Rating: 
Summary: Give this book a chance if you want an entertaining read.
Review: It's been a long time since I was truly sucked into a Fantasy book, despite that being one of the few genres I read... but this book accomplished it. Granted, it won't stretch your mind too far or make you reassess the meaning of life, but if you're looking for enjoyable, entertaining Fantasy, I'd suggest giving this book a chance. I genuinely laughed aloud in parts, had trouble putting it down so that I could sleep, and found myself disappointed when I realised that there wasn't any sequel. All in all, this isn't the best Fantasy book I've ever read, but I don't think it deserves the bad reviews it's gotten. If you're looking for an entertaining Fantasy read, I'd recommend giving this book a look.
Rating:
Summary: pure junk from someone who had so much potential
Review: It's been a long time since I read any Eddings work. An impulse buy that I hoped would turn out good. How wrong I was. Eddings is still writting the same trite pap and pablum that he has been forking out for the 15 years since I first read a novel of his. In that younger age of mine I marveled and enjoyed his simple dialogue, straight forward no depth characters and simple tale of how Good wins simple because it's fore-ordained or destined to. I understand how writers will get their own personal beliefs and thoughts into their books, but Eddings seems to have gone over the edge in his fatalistic beliefs that no one has any control over anythings in the world. All those that weren't exposed to the grand design would be wearing colostomy bags so we wouldn't mess our trousers because someone didn't tell us to use the potty. Besides just philosophical differences I have with his works these days.. this books characters brought back almost instant recognition to his original characters in the Belgariad series. They may not have been exact carbon copies and some traits split out into different characters, but when I hit page 201 when Andine has Gher sit down so she can do his hair... the build up and resolution is almost an exact copy of Ce'Nedra and Garion.. just condensed. This book is just a poor abridged version of all his earlier works. Eddings is in the same trap Feist and Jordan are... he can't write anything but the same tired story over and over again. If he tried to stretch himself and his imagination I'm sure he could come up with something that would knock everyones socks off.
Rating:
Summary: Dreadful
Review: I couldn't finish this book. The plot is silly beyond belief, the characterization as thin as the paper on which the paperback edition is printed, and the quality of writing is awful.
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