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From: mangoe@umcp-cs.UUCP (Charley Wingate)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: _Belgariad_ review (slight spoilers)
Message-ID: <3353@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 24-Feb-86 23:00:41 EST
Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.3353
Posted: Mon Feb 24 23:00:41 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 26-Feb-86 08:56:09 EST
References: <838@bute.tcom.stc.co.uk>
Organization: U of Maryland, Computer Science Dept., College Park, MD
Lines: 46

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