Scan barcode
nlord's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-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? Yes
4.25
iroshiroi's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kenz463's review against another edition
Realizing that the story is very predictable and is losing intrigue. I like the characters and the setting but the same things keep happening over and over. Durnik always finds the place they'll camp, they're ambushed while sleeping, Silk trades in every town they visit, etc. While I appreciate the development of Garion, it's getting tiring to read the same situation unfold over and over. Going to put this down and perhaps try again another time.
branomir's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, I rushed through this in a mere 5 days. The only reason it took me so long was because I had work and other stuff I needed to do. Actually I tried to delay myself so I could enjoy the book longer and I failed miserably. I love the more old fashioned Tolkien styled fantasy so series is right up my alley. The story itself doesn’t progress all that much, it really does feel like setting up the board, but the characters are wonderfully diverse and the interaction ranges from deep, to touching to simply hilarious. They all fit together so well and add their own little bit to the group and the story. It is kinda sad we can’t get to know them all too deeply though. Eddings focuses mainly on his main characters and the others aren’t as developed as they could/should be. I’m also not too fond of the whole “prophecy/predetermined” stuff in a story, nor the “just trust, don’t ask questions” undertone at times. But it can’t dampen the fun, I could not put this book down and I cannot wait to start the next one. A great coming of age, fantasy quest style story with awesome characters. If he keeps this up the next three books, this series well most definitely reach my top ten and probably quite high at that.
2021 reread: This is still such a fun and relaxing series to love. The worldbuilding especially is fun and that is what this series is focussed on. It's definitely more a plotdriven and atmospheric novel than a character driven one. Not a whole lot of character development, which would be fine with a cast this huge, but I do feel he should have put more work into Garion and Ce'Nedra. Eventhough the latter is off to a better start than I remembered. One of the problems is that Eddings doesn't really respect his younger characters (unsurprisingly when you know a bit about the guy), Garion is bright for his age and stupid for his age depending on what the plot needs. The one thing that bothered me most is the (again unsurpisingly) bad parenting style of Polgara. Her sarcastic and no nonsense attitude are funny and cool when Garion is actually being childish, but the problem is that she is like that all the time, unapolagetically so, even when Garion is genuinly upset and even traumatised. She comes across as cold and uncaring, even slightly verbally abusive at times. Yet the narrative clearly wants us to be on her side and condemn Garion. Just a sad insight into Eddings' mind with regard to children and parenting which sadly partially sours a series I otherwise love.
2021 reread: This is still such a fun and relaxing series to love. The worldbuilding especially is fun and that is what this series is focussed on. It's definitely more a plotdriven and atmospheric novel than a character driven one. Not a whole lot of character development, which would be fine with a cast this huge, but I do feel he should have put more work into Garion and Ce'Nedra. Eventhough the latter is off to a better start than I remembered. One of the problems is that Eddings doesn't really respect his younger characters (unsurprisingly when you know a bit about the guy), Garion is bright for his age and stupid for his age depending on what the plot needs. The one thing that bothered me most is the (again unsurpisingly) bad parenting style of Polgara. Her sarcastic and no nonsense attitude are funny and cool when Garion is actually being childish, but the problem is that she is like that all the time, unapolagetically so, even when Garion is genuinly upset and even traumatised. She comes across as cold and uncaring, even slightly verbally abusive at times. Yet the narrative clearly wants us to be on her side and condemn Garion. Just a sad insight into Eddings' mind with regard to children and parenting which sadly partially sours a series I otherwise love.
sunshine_assassin's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
5.0
booksarebetter's review against another edition
5.0
Still don't care much for Pol. A bit too manipulative and cold. Garion continues to be interesting, and the rest of the characters are fascinating to read.
samueldhall's review against another edition
4.0
This book gets off to a slow start but eventually finds its way into territory that has me looking forward to the third instalment. If you like staple fantasy you'll find it hard to dislike this book or series.
myngerrys's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
listless_librarian's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5