mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate) (02/25/86)
Summary: I liked it, in spite of flaws in Book 5. Longer review: Yes this is yet-another-growing-up saga; in many respects it is quite similar to the 5 Lloyd Alexander "Taran" books (aka _Black Cauldron_). It's also a quest novel, and a theological novel, and several other standard fantasy themes rolled up together. Yet it somehow manages to rise above all this. The first three books are immensely enjoyable. Eddings has strikingly vivid characters with lots of complexities, and, although the plot advances somewhat leisurely, it's fun simply to watch the characters do their thing. The cosmology, which is revealed gradually through the book, is familiar and yet somehow new and fresh, and there are interesting and amusing detours through prophets, scriptural interpretation, and the like. The plot moves very deliberately, not really getting on the track until Book 2. By the end of Book 3 it really begins to pull the reader along, to the point where I and all my friends spent many months chewing our nails waiting for the last book. In middle of book 4, however, the plot line forks for a second time. In Book 5 this split persists, and furthermore, it explodes into many plot lines, all of which Eddings tries to carry simultaneously in the middle of a colossal battle; needless to say, it takes a bit of work on the part of the reader to keep everything straight. Finally, we come to the second big conclusion, and everything is resolved-- right? Well, not exactly. During the Climactic Scene, the plot quite suddenly becomes very mechanical and feels a bit contrived; one could argue that the scene indeed demands such a change in style, but nevertheless it takes a lot of the punch out of the scene. So the last book is not so satisfactory as the rest of the story. Another thing that is an occaisional problem is a bit too much preachyness. The various races of the region are occaisionally used as exemplars of human social problems, with mixed results. Sometimes it falls flat; other times, however, the characatures produced are quite amusing. Another thing that is entertaining are the little stories which serve as introductions to each book. Again, those of the last two are not so good, but the story of the Grolim which begins the third book is a marvelous story and a delightful parody as well. Overall, this series is well worth reading. THe first four books are delightful entertainment, and, while the fifth has some serious troubles, it does not ruin the work as a whole. C. Wingate
CREW@SU-SUSHI.ARPA (03/11/86)
From: Roger Crew <Crew@SU-SUSHI.ARPA>
Re Belgariad:
Sorry, guys. I have to give this a lukewarm
recommendation at best. Entertaining even, if you don't
mind the fact that it is completely predictable. This might
still have been good had not the author felt compelled to
stretch it out over five volumes (...this is a disturbing trend
in itself, but this flame is long enough as it is...)
(*** SPOILER WARNING ***)
The least he could have done was to throw in a plot twist.
Yes, just a little something unexpected, that's all I ask.
There were all sorts of things I was hoping he would try:
1) Have Torak turn out to have some plausible
purpose of his own other than basic evil and nastiness (we
never did get to see what it was the other prophecy wanted,
but Eddings probably never bothered to try coming up with
anything reasonable, anyway...),
2) Provide Aldur with his own faults/evil-tendencies
(maybe have that prologue to Volume 5 [ Torak's side of the
story ] be true in some important respect...)
3) Have some of the bad feeling towards Angaraks be
due to centruies of accumulated prejuidice (an episode with
Garion running into some Murgos who weren't completely evil,
vicious, and nasty might have been a good idea...).
4) Plant some doubts to make us think that Garion
could actually become like Z'akath or Chtuchik someday...
(i.e., corrupted by power). I mean that if you're going to
make your protagonist powerful enough to blow everyone else
off the face of the earth without any particular effort
involved, you better do *something* to make the story
interesting.
Let's face it, there were all sorts of wonderful
opportunities for some heart-rending moral dilemmas that
were just thrown away (this actually bothers me more than a
bad story, namely, an o.k. story with lots of potential
that never gets realized). It's not as if Eddings wasn't
interested in this either (witness the scenes of anguish
when people start getting killed in the big battle in Book 5).
But all we ever get are these lamentations like CeNedra's
``Gosh, I'm raising this whole army and they're all going to
get killed. But I have to do it, 'cause the prophecy says
so...'' Convenient thing, having that prophecy to justify
everything they do, ``Yup, we're on a mission from God....''
And of course, nobody really gets hurt (you may as well take
all of the people that get killed and put red t-shirts on
them that say CANNON-FODDER (or SECURITY-GUARD if you're
into Star Trek...)).
I also have trouble with these endings in which EVERYBODY gets MARRIED.
Notice how we're also set up for a sequel (the further
adventures of the Orb... coming soon, no doubt -- sigh, --
I'll probably end up buying it, too).
roger
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