snootycrumb's review against another edition
2.0
Boring, boring, boring. Stilted, awkward, repetitive writing that reads like someone just trying to tick all the "I'm writing a fantasy novel" boxes. Can't even fathom reading an entire series of this sludge.
alex_wordweaver's review against another edition
2.0
Was given this as a Christmas gift a few years ago and just now read it. Meh.
decembermagpie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.0
marimoose's review against another edition
2.0
I tried really hard not to compare this to The Belgariad, but that attempt failed the moment I began reading. And then when I did start to compare the beginning of the two series, I got bored and found that I trudged through the pages just to see if anything interesting would occur.
And then....400 pages later, nothing. Absolutely nothing. From time to time, a little bit of action would take place. But chapter upon chapter spent most of it with a few people continually discussing the process with which these so called That-of-the-Vlagh would attempt to infiltrate and attack them. Yes, I'm aware Eddings likes a whole lot of chess and strategy (it was evident in his first high fantasy series). Okay, that's great. It's one thing to theorize one's next strategic move. It's definitely another to act upon them. And there was no acting. There was just ssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Hear that? ACTION SILENCE.
At least with Belgariad the characters were entertaining enough to keep my attention while they moved from one location to the next. There was a journey involved. Here, it's people congregating on different parts of the island, sharpening arrows and wondering about that gold in that cave where that cute little girl and that beautiful mentor are locked up in.
As for the characters, well, I was hoping he'd at least vary the women a bit. They're all Ce'Nedras and Polgaras. Except unlike Polgara, none of them pull off temper tantrums with more panache. The women are just dull. Zelana's supposed to be the most interesting one, but she just comes off as a spoiled hermit, and Eleria's supposed to be adorable, but she's just annoying as an alarm clock. Where are the Velvets? Ugh, lordy.
I thought about giving this a one-star rating, but there were some upsides. I liked the rest of the gods, Veltan particularly. Some of the characters mirrored Belgariad counterparts, too, albeit they are mere shadows. Rabbit, for example, is only a touch of Silk in all his glory, whereas Narasan is a shell of the fantastic Varana. The stuff written with the gods' search for their armies was pretty good, and it was only once the armies started congregating that things got from potentially good to horrendously boring. I kind of wanted to see Dahlaine and Aracia's choices of armies, but I don't think I'm tempted enough to pick up the rest of the series.
Bah. Silly book.
And then....400 pages later, nothing. Absolutely nothing. From time to time, a little bit of action would take place. But chapter upon chapter spent most of it with a few people continually discussing the process with which these so called That-of-the-Vlagh would attempt to infiltrate and attack them. Yes, I'm aware Eddings likes a whole lot of chess and strategy (it was evident in his first high fantasy series). Okay, that's great. It's one thing to theorize one's next strategic move. It's definitely another to act upon them. And there was no acting. There was just ssssssssssssssssssssssssss. Hear that? ACTION SILENCE.
At least with Belgariad the characters were entertaining enough to keep my attention while they moved from one location to the next. There was a journey involved. Here, it's people congregating on different parts of the island, sharpening arrows and wondering about that gold in that cave where that cute little girl and that beautiful mentor are locked up in.
As for the characters, well, I was hoping he'd at least vary the women a bit. They're all Ce'Nedras and Polgaras. Except unlike Polgara, none of them pull off temper tantrums with more panache. The women are just dull. Zelana's supposed to be the most interesting one, but she just comes off as a spoiled hermit, and Eleria's supposed to be adorable, but she's just annoying as an alarm clock. Where are the Velvets? Ugh, lordy.
I thought about giving this a one-star rating, but there were some upsides. I liked the rest of the gods, Veltan particularly. Some of the characters mirrored Belgariad counterparts, too, albeit they are mere shadows. Rabbit, for example, is only a touch of Silk in all his glory, whereas Narasan is a shell of the fantastic Varana. The stuff written with the gods' search for their armies was pretty good, and it was only once the armies started congregating that things got from potentially good to horrendously boring. I kind of wanted to see Dahlaine and Aracia's choices of armies, but I don't think I'm tempted enough to pick up the rest of the series.
Bah. Silly book.
laura_storyteller's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
nuphoc3's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the use of deadpan humor in this book. I am getting back into reading the author and this was an enjoyable way to do it
tita_noir's review against another edition
1.0
There is an evil entity in the Wastelands. It is creating minions to overrun the land of Dhrall. The four elder Gods of Dhrall attempt to combat this by creating young children known as dreamers (although these people aren't really young children and this is revealed fairly early on it the book). But the dreamers aren't enough and there aren't enough people in the land of the Dhrall to combat all the minions of the Vlagh. So the Elder Gods go out to recruit mercenaries from other lands and thus the beginnings of an epic is born.
I probably shouldn't be writing a review of a book I haven't finished, but...oh,well. I must preface this by saying that I've read and adored the Belgariad and The Elenium. So I was happy to see that Eddings has put out the beginning of a new book. However, I was quickly overcome with disappointment. The writing seemed overly simplistic and I the characters are boring. The good guys so very intuitive with good ideas and great skills and they all become the bestest of best friends. They are simply too good to be true. I've gotten very used to reading fantasy series where the characters are flawed and emotional and aren't always "good". I found myself disinterestedly flipping the pages. I simply wasn't engaged in the story. And I was just fed up with the character of Eleria who was just too, too precious for words. She seemed to embody the worst characteristics of Flute, one of Edding's earlier characters. If I want to read a story that includes the character of Flute I'll go back and re-read the much better written and more interesting Elenium.
I probably shouldn't be writing a review of a book I haven't finished, but...oh,well. I must preface this by saying that I've read and adored the Belgariad and The Elenium. So I was happy to see that Eddings has put out the beginning of a new book. However, I was quickly overcome with disappointment. The writing seemed overly simplistic and I the characters are boring. The good guys so very intuitive with good ideas and great skills and they all become the bestest of best friends. They are simply too good to be true. I've gotten very used to reading fantasy series where the characters are flawed and emotional and aren't always "good". I found myself disinterestedly flipping the pages. I simply wasn't engaged in the story. And I was just fed up with the character of Eleria who was just too, too precious for words. She seemed to embody the worst characteristics of Flute, one of Edding's earlier characters. If I want to read a story that includes the character of Flute I'll go back and re-read the much better written and more interesting Elenium.