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Re: David Eddings Legolas Send a noteboard - 16/03/2011 10:13:18 PM
Have you read anything by Eddings?

Yes. His four series (yes, I am pretending he didn't write any more :P), plus Belgarath the Sorcerer and the Polgara book.
If yes, how long ago did you (first) read it/them?

Started out with the Elenium when I was, hm, yeah, probably around ten to twelve. And as I recall, Guardians of the West was among the first books of any serious length I read in English, as my library only had the Malloreon in English.
- Do you reread?

Yes. They hold up, mostly, thanks to nostalgia, but on my last reread of the Elenium and Tamuli (incidentally, I do enjoy the Tamuli quite a lot, tons of hilarious characters), I was struck by how extreme the glorifying of violence is in those books. When you start thinking about it, Eddings is an extreme case of American warped priorities - all very innocent and "mind the children" when hinting at sexual stuff, but some of the main characters walk around cutting people in two with a sword and cracking jokes about it, particularly Sparhawk and company.
- What's your favourite of his series?

Hm, tricky. I could give arguments for each of the four, really... the Belgariad is the original, the Malloreon is a carbon copy of the Belgariad, true, but apart from that I kind of like it more and it has some great scenes. Then Elenium is ultra-violent but has Aphrael to liven things up, and an entertaining enough plot, and Tamuli is kind of camp at times, even by Eddings standards, but funny enough that it makes up for it.
- Favourite character?

Aphrael is a no-brainer, but beyond her it's also tricky to choose. Polgara or Silk, probably.
- Are the Elenium and Tamuli set in a version of Earth? Or is it a version of the world of the Belgariad and Mallorean?

I can see the reasoning for both, yeah. Suffice to say Eddings' worlds aren't the most original ones. Though I like the breaking thing with the Belgariad/Malloreon - particularly when it suddenly turns out to be relevant at the very end (I seem to recall reading Belgarath the Sorcerer before the Belgariad or anything else, it'd probably seem less impressive as far as planning goes to someone reading in publishing order :P ).
I've just reread The Elenium (bought the trilogy from my charity bookshop a few weeks ago) and I loved it. It's certainly my favourite of his series. I am torn about whether I want to reread The Tamuli, though. I want character closure, but it's not very good.

Like I said, I like the Tamuli, but I see your point. Plus, Eddings' heroes have a way of becoming all-powerful as the ending of the series nears, forcing him to employ increasingly convoluted plot devices to keep things a bit exciting. Though the thing with Ehlana in the Tamuli is actually a good find, it's a cliché from a different genre so not actually over-used in fantasy books.
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David Eddings - 16/03/2011 08:43:15 PM 1686 Views
Re: David Eddings - 16/03/2011 09:06:31 PM 1193 Views
Re: David Eddings - 16/03/2011 09:09:12 PM 1214 Views
Re: David Eddings - 16/03/2011 09:31:05 PM 1159 Views
Oh. Totally bad place to start. - 16/03/2011 09:45:40 PM 1100 Views
No. Never cared to read it, since I rarely read epic fantasies until 13-14 years ago. *NM* - 16/03/2011 09:33:52 PM 646 Views
Makes sense. *NM* - 16/03/2011 09:46:04 PM 583 Views
I sure have read Mr. Eddings - 16/03/2011 09:44:24 PM 1315 Views
- 16/03/2011 09:56:50 PM 1132 Views
Re: David Eddings - 16/03/2011 10:00:01 PM 1172 Views
Re: David Eddings - 18/03/2011 08:44:51 AM 1008 Views
Re: David Eddings - 16/03/2011 10:13:18 PM 1160 Views
- 18/03/2011 01:56:03 PM 1319 Views
Only the Belgariad. - 16/03/2011 11:24:32 PM 1202 Views
Re: Only the Belgariad. - 18/03/2011 02:05:30 PM 1014 Views
I read one of his books when I was in about seventh grade. - 17/03/2011 05:20:15 AM 1106 Views
LOL. - 18/03/2011 02:05:58 PM 1029 Views
I really liked the first two series but his style got really stale after that *NM* - 17/03/2011 01:30:33 PM 463 Views
Makes sense, even though I don't agree with you. *NM* - 18/03/2011 02:06:38 PM 464 Views
I really loved the first books - 25/03/2011 07:09:49 PM 1006 Views
Too many books. - 17/03/2011 07:10:16 PM 946 Views
He should have stopped writing after Polgara. - 18/03/2011 02:07:30 PM 937 Views
Re: David Eddings - 17/03/2011 09:55:23 PM 974 Views
Re: David Eddings - 18/03/2011 02:09:32 PM 1079 Views
Re: David Eddings - 24/03/2011 08:00:49 PM 1219 Views
I read Elenium 10 years ago or so - 17/03/2011 10:25:09 PM 1180 Views
Re: I read Elenium 10 years ago or so - 18/03/2011 02:11:41 PM 910 Views
Horrible, horrible writer. One of the worst I've ever had the misfortune to read. *NM* - 17/03/2011 11:00:41 PM 472 Views
You're quite lucky if he's one of the worst. *NM* - 18/03/2011 08:44:17 AM 443 Views
The Belgariad and The Elenium are both decent popcorn reads - 18/03/2011 11:40:24 AM 1123 Views
~nods~ - 18/03/2011 02:14:49 PM 1008 Views
Hate to say it, but about 30 years ago - man do I feel old now - 18/03/2011 12:34:12 PM 970 Views
Makes me feel a lot better about the 18 years I've been reading them. - 18/03/2011 02:15:47 PM 943 Views
After - 22/03/2011 02:12:34 PM 1015 Views
I know of him - 18/03/2011 02:58:44 PM 1072 Views
I read the Belgariad when I was 10 or 11. - 20/03/2011 04:14:07 AM 1182 Views
Re: David Eddings - 20/03/2011 02:02:44 PM 1128 Views
Re: David Eddings - 24/03/2011 07:55:05 PM 1173 Views

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