David Eddings Options

[nome]

Eddings... lots to say. excellent books.

I've read his Belgariad and Mallorean series (I place them next to Redwall, Tolkein, and Rowling), but haven't gotten my hands on the other books. anyone read them?

and I would LOVE a big discussion on his books.

~Nome

[ancarett]

Ooookay, let's see, what can I add to the thread after my mind's been wasted on a Saturday with the kids?

I came to the Belgariad when the second in the series had been published. I'd seen a review of the first in a Star Wars fanzine that managed to propell me past my queasy "Not ANOTHER endless, generic fantasy series" and buy the first two books. Then I was hooked! I adore Eddings' humour and while sometimes he flirts on the edge of caricature (he has a hard time portraying female characters without going to one extreme or another), he has a deft hand at humanizing his party of heroes. It's also obvious that Eddings adores the wisecracking hardened-only-on-the-outside hero -- he really goes to town in the Elenium with this!

Speaking of characterizations, though -- it seems to me that Eddings has gotten into a bit of a rut with his last one-shot. The motley crew that comes together on the epic quest bears a strong resemblance to those of the Belgariad. He needs to shake that up a bit in future!

Edding has some clear ideas about mythic archetypes and storytelling -- this comes through more explicitly in the Mallorean, the Elenium and the Tamuli. I like to see that the author (or in this case, really, authors, since David Eddings has acknowledged his wife's active participation in writing) has some ideas about the mechanics of the game.

Anyway, the Eddings books are a staple on my bookshelf. I pull the lot out about once a year or so and re-read. There aren't many other authors that I keep coming back to so often (Austen, McKillip and so forth) so he has to be doing something right!