29. David Eddings Discussion

[Philip Overby]

David Eddings, probably most well known for his Belgariad series, is number 29 on our list. He was quite prolific for much of his career and wrote several different series throughout. While I've never read his work, I have seen his Belgariad books mentioned several times as huge influences for several writers. Anyone have thoughts on Eddings?

 

[CupofJoe]

I am a fan of David [and Leigh] Eddings. In his later work he shared the billing with his wife and said she should always be thought of a co-creator of his works. I think I have everything DLE published... sometimes more than once [I'd buy paperbacks to read and then pick-up hardbacks second hand when I saw them].
I started reading DLE in the mid 80s and just ate my way through The Belgariad series and waited eagerly The Malloreon series. I needed escapism and fantasy and DLE delivered that in droves.
Yes DLE uses the farm-boy-chosen one trope.
And yes there is the stone-of-power as well [an idea that crops up more than once with DLE].
DLE's second arc was The Elenium and The Tamuli series.
I prefer the characters in The Elenium and The Tamuli. They seem more real. Sparhawk is for me one of the characters in fantasy.
Unfortunately after nearly twenty books that I enjoyed DLE started on The Dreamers series.
They really should have stopped... I did buy and read all of them but I wished I hadn't. There were some great ideas [multiple shared existences and identities, time scales far beyond human conception etc] but the writing/plotting was terrible. I read through the series waiting for the twist or kicker that would make the story make sense... and then it just stopped...
I will freely admit that DLE are not the most technically accomplished writing. But I still love reading the first two arcs. Usually with a nice cup of coffee on a cold winters' morning in front of a fire.

 

[Feo Takahari]

The Eddings I've read is The Losers, a political tract in the vein of Atlas Shrugged. I wrote out my thoughts on that book, but deleted them--I'm not sure they'd be allowed on a forum with a politics ban. The short version is that Eddings has an interesting idea, but doesn't know when to stop pressing it, to the point that his heavy-handedness both undermines the message and strangles the plot and characterization. It made me somewhat reluctant to try his other books.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I read the Belgariad as fairly young and I loved it. It seems to me that to many, this is sort of a "gateway drug" into the fantasy genre. It's light-hearted, easily accessible, escapism on a grand scale. However, it's at least twenty years since I read them so I really shouldn't comment on how they were written. I know I enjoyed the books about Belgarion the most though; the Elenium and the Tamuli felt too much like repetitions of the same theme.

A friend of mine said she started re-reading the Belgariad not long ago. She said she'd read them and enjoyed them before when she was younger but that she couldn't stand them now. The reason was the way the women in the books were portrayed. I don't remember her exact words, but it was something about there being too many sexist stereotypes involved.
Personally, I don't remember this, but then I was fifteen at the time and my world view might just have accepted that that's how women were.


Edit:
Additionally, it seems to me that Eddings is one of those authors that people "in the know" like to bash because he's successful and popular.

 

[Mythopoet]

I read most of the Elenium once. I can't remember why. And I can't remember much about the last book so I'm guessing I didn't finish it. I may, at some point, try to force myself to read the Belgariad but only because I care about being well read in the genre. You can guess from my tone that I'm not a fan.

 

[GeekDavid]

I agree with a couple of those who've already posted. I loved the Belgariad, Malloreon, Elenium, and Tamuli. I also read them fairly young, soon after my love of fantasy was sparked by The Hobbit, and I've no doubt they've heavily influenced both my taste and my "voice." Given the fact that all four of those series were huge bestsellers, I don't see that as a problem.

However, his latest series, The Dreamers, is far below his original standards. Like Raymond Feist, he seems to be resting on his laurels and depending on his name to sell books. If he wants to really sell a new series, he'll have to do far better than The Dreamers.

@Mytho: Not every book is for everyone. Some fantasy readers even dislike The Hobbit and LotR. To each his (or her) own.

 

[CupofJoe]

However, his latest series, The Dreamers, is far below his original standards. Like Raymond Feist, he seems to be resting on his laurels and depending on his name to sell books. If he wants to really sell a new series, he'll have to do far better than The Dreamers.

Leigh Eddings died in 2007 and David in 2009.
There is apparently one manuscript that could be published.

 

[GeekDavid]

Leigh Eddings died in 2007 and David in 2009.
There is apparently one manuscript that could be published.

I wasn't aware of that.

 

[Graylorne]

I'm with CupofJoe in this. I'm a great fan of Eddings's books, except for the Dreamers. Everything before then I've read several times and I still like them. His ease with the re-use of tropes is interesting.

The Dreamers shouldn't have been written. It can well be that one can get in a stadium that the need to write remains, but the brain can't fully cope anymore. After all, Eddings was in his seventies when he wrote them.

 

[Steerpike]

I tried to read Pawn of Prophecy, and I stopped about 1/3 of the way through. I can't remember why. Maybe I'll look at it again one of these days, I don't know.

 

[GeekDavid]

I tried to read Pawn of Prophecy, and I stopped about 1/3 of the way through. I can't remember why. Maybe I'll look at it again one of these days, I don't know.

It does have a long intro before the action starts. Some of the events in the intro come back into play later, tho.