Edding's books (I've read all the ones you've listed, short of The Elder
Gods). But there is definitely a trend toward repetition in characters &
plots. Honestly, I think this probably happens to every author. It's
happened to pretty much every author I've read this quantity of books with.
Most groups do this musically too. When I was composing, it was incredibly
difficult to be working on something new & not have something old intrude on
my work.
Maybe that's what defines the truly exceptional artist.
Josh
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Campbell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, November 03, 2003 10:25 AM
To: CF-Community
Subject: The Elder Gods
I'm a guy in my late 20's so it goes without saying that I grew up with
Star Wars, and it was, not surprisingly, my favorite movie for a while.
I can watch it now and get past the rotten acting and stilted dialog and
Greedo shooting first (damn you, Lucas!), but I still appreciate the
effect it had on me as a child.
As a kid, I was also a big, no, HUGE fan of David Eddings - I read the
Belgariad over and over again, all five books in only a few days. The
followup series - the Mallorean - was equally welcome. I knew the
characters inside and out, I could get lost in that world in a
heartbeat. Two followup "autobiographies" of main characters from the
series "Belgarath" and "Polgara" are in my book collection as well,
along with the "Rivan Codex", something of a "behind the scenes" wrap-up
of the minutae and process of developing what, at that point was
essentially a duodecology.
So, the last statement is that I've been growing steadily more
disappointed with the Eddings' (he writes with his wife, Leigh), from
the second Sparhawk trilogy (The Tamuli), to the Redemption of Althalus
to the execrable Regina's Song - a non-fantasy set in Washington State,
filled with amalgams of every character they've ever written, put into
impossibly frustrating characters, in a plot with all the surprises of a
bowl of tomato soup.
So, I approached the most recent work from them - "The Elder Gods" with
some trepidation. On one hand, their writing had become routine and
extremely predictable. On the other, the prospect of another fantasy
series had potential - maybe they were going to clean the slate and
start over with new ideas, and strong characters and... no, it sucks.
Sucks is the best way to put it, as well. Eddings makes so much of his
knowledge of epic fantasy and classical literature, yet can't come up
with a unique idea anymore that's not wholly derivitave of his own
originally interesting characters. Oh, look, it's the snippy girl-god.
Oh look, it's the witty banter. Oh, look, a rag-tag cast of mismatched
characters. Oh, look, it's the good guys overcoming adversity and
suffering almost no casualties... on and on and on.
Eddings, like Lucas, can't be faulted for a lack of imagination.
They've both created rollicking, evocative, fantastic worlds that you'd
want to be lost in forever if you had the chance. However, the other
shared aspect of their personality is that they just don't know when to
throw in the towel and call it quits. Eddings will trundle out the next
three books in what will likely be the worst series he's ever written
over the next few years. The world waits, nauseously, for Lucas' last
Star Wars movie, knowing, despite so much optimism, we all know how it
will turn out.
Oh well. I'll always have Faldor's Farm to keep me company.
- Jim
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