David & Leigh Eddings

The Malloreon — (1985-1991) Sequel to The Belgariad. Publisher: Garion has slain the evil God Torak and is now the King of Riva. The prophecy has been fulfilled–or so it seems. For there is a dire warning, as a great evil brews in the East. Now Garion once again finds himself with the fate of the world resting on his shoulders. When Garion’s infant son is kidnapped by Zandramas, the Child of Dark, a great quest begins to rescue the child. Among those on the dangerous mission are Garion and his wife, Queen Ce’Nedra, and the immortal Belgarath the Sorcerer and his daughter, Polgara. They must make their way through the foul swamps of Nyissa, then into the lands of the Murgos. Along the way, they will face grave dangers — captivity, a horde of demons, a fatal plague — while Zandramas plots to use Garion’s son in a chilling ritual that will make the Dark Prophecy supreme...

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Books related to The Belgariad and The Malloreon —

The Malloreon

Take the plot from The Belgariad, add in the same characters, plus a couple of new ones that look strangely similar to ones in The Belgariad, and you have The Malloreon. Instead of chasing the Orb, the gang is chasing Garion and Ce'Nedra's son.

This is a quest type of fantasy, and the same things that made The Belgariad so enjoyable are here: interesting characters and a humourous banter that makes for a quick read. The pace is fast. The difficulty is this: this is the same story as The Belgariad. The humourous banter is starting to get tired, and some of the jokes are recycled.

The characters stopped developing at the end of The Belgariad, except for the new ones, which show some personal development, but development that is totally out of context with their background and surroundings.

David Eddings's style is light and quick. These are not books that one will ever get bogged down in. They are also not books that require a great deal of brain power to process. They are a light read, and due to the repetition of the previous series, this is getting a little boring, like a sit-com in its third season. I would gladly suggest these books and their predecessors to anyone 12 and up. There are no sex scenes, though there are definitely suggestions of sex, and the violence is not the stronger stuff that we see in fantasy today.

I am somewhat indifferent to these books. When I read them, I looked forward to them because I had loved The Belgariad so much. However, The Malloreon is just more of the same. It is virtually identical so, in the words of B.B. King, "the thrill is gone".

In conclusion, if you loved The Belgariad and need more of Eddings and these characters, then read this series. If you read The Belgariad and were satisfied, stop now. You would do better with a re-read of the original. —Angus   Comments

The Tamuli — (1992-1994) Sequel to The Elenium. Publisher: Danger stalked Queen Ehlana's realm. When an ambassador from the far-off Tamul Empire begged for help, Sparhawk, Ehlana's champion and Prince Consort, was the Emperor's last hope. For surely the knight who had killed the evil God Azash could prevail against the terror in Tamul. But waiting for him was a glittering court seething with corruption, treachery — and the greatest danger Sparhawk would ever face!

Domes of Fire

I could not bring myself to finish Domes of Fire. I stopped somewhere towards the end and thought "why am I wasting my time?" This book is another repeat of the Eddings "gather a group of characters and send them on a long journey" formula, and I just could not do it again.

I can't give a synopsis, because I didn't finish it, but I don't really need to. The plot is the same as everything else that Eddings had written up to the time that this series was done. The narrative is almost pure dialogue with no description at all, and the dialogue is repetitive beyond belief. I got the strong impression that Eddings really was milking his name for all it was worth, because there was nothing redeeming about Domes of Fire at all. Sparhawk even stopped being Sparhawk. The characters just started to run together in a gluey, non-distinctive mass, and I could not go further.

Do not read these books unless you are a die-hard David Eddings fan and you have a particularly forgiving heart. —Angus   Comments

Stand-alone novel:

The Redemption of Althalus — (2000) Publisher: It would be sheer folly to try to conceal the true nature of Althalus, for his flaws are the stuff of legend. He is, as all men know, a thief, a liar, an occasional murderer, an outrageous braggart, and a man devoid of even the slightest hint of honor. Yet of all the men in the world, it is Althalus, unrepentant rogue and scoundrel, who will become the champion of humanity in its desperate struggle against the forces of an ancient god determined to return the universe to nothingness. On his way to steal The Book from the House at the End of the World, Althalus is confronted by a cat — a cat with eyes like emeralds, the voice of a woman, and the powers of a goddess. She is Dweia, sister to The Gods and a greater thief even than Althalus. She must be: for in no time at all, she has stolen his heart. And more. She has stolen time itself. For when Althalus leaves the House at the End of the World, much wiser but not a day older than when he'd first entered it, thousands of years have gone by. But Dweia is not the only one able to manipulate time. Her evil brother shares the power, and while Dweia has been teaching Althalus the secrets of The Book, the ancient God has been using the dark magic of his own Book to rewrite history. Yet all is not lost. But only if Althalus, still a thief at heart, can bring together a ragtag group of men, women, and children with no reason to trust him or each other.

The Redemption of Althalus

The Redemption of Althalus was almost as bad as Domes of Fire (see my review above). I read it because I thought that maybe David Eddings got better. Unfortunately, it was more of the same. That’s the end of my review. Otherwise, I’ll just be repeating myself.
—Angus   Comments