The Redemption of Belgarath (oops! sorry, wrong series) (The Redemption of Althalus - David and Leigh Eddings)

Member Name: thanatoszane

Product:	The Redemption of Althalus - David and Leigh Eddings
Date:	09/07/01 (102 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Only one book

Disadvantages: Same as all the others

What can I say about 'Redemption'?

It's not that it's BAD or anything, just that it's not possible to describe it as GOOD unless you've never read any of his other books.

The Belgariad and Malloreon were a series of five each plus three other books. The Elenium and the Tamuli were similar to the Belgariad and the Malloreon, but cut down into two sets of three books.

The redemption of Althalus is virtually the same plot all over again, but with only 1 book to do it in, meaning the characters don't develop as well (but, since they're so similar to characters in the other books, you can just fill in the gaps yourself!)

Take the first part or so: 'He' was a thief, 'he' ends up in a 'building' with a 'divinity'. 'He' cannot read, the 'divinity' teaches him to read. The process takes a very long time, but 'he' doesn't age, since time does not matter in this 'building'. Once 'he' has learned to read, 'he' learns the power of words to perform magic, and, instead of the 'divinity' making lunch, 'he' does so himself using magic.

Then in the last part ‘he’ goes and meets some annoying companions and goes to fight an evil god.

Swap 'he' for Belgarath or Althalus, 'building' for tower or house and divinity for Aldur or Dweia. Pick a book, any book, it doesn't matter, they're all the same!

To say that its a condensed version of his other series is bad enough, but how about this: There is a dream sequence that is repeated word for word several times throughout the book! The total amount of repetition adds up to quite a few extra pages by the time you’re finished, and it’s so boring having to skip over all that rubbish! Did he have a word count that he had to meet?

The fact that it is almost a repeat won't bother you if yo
u haven't read the others, and it IS an entertaining read - a kind of Belgariad for busy people. It could be a good introduction to Eddings - if you hate it, you'll hate all the others, and if you enjoy it, and would like to see the same story again, but a little more fleshed out, then you will enjoy the Belgariad. You get to find that out without wasting a lot of money on buying the whole series, AND without spending a long time reading them all!

If you are a person who likes David Eddings, but isn't an obsessive fan, then this isn't really for you unless you fancy playing 'spot the parallel'. The chances are you will be frustrated by the repetition.

I would like to know WHY it's such a blatant repeat - does David Eddings think that he can get away with it, that his fans are that stupid? Could he just not be bothered to write a new story, but felt that his royalties were dropping a bit? Does he even care what his fans think?

I don't want to tear this book apart, since taken by itself it isn't a bad book - it's just that it isn't original and there can't really have been that much effort put into it.

I grudgingly recommend this book to those unfamiliar with Eddings, but I think it ‘get out of the library’ book, not a ‘buy now!’ one. I doubt I’d re-read it myself, although I might read one of his other books, which amounts to the same thing!

Summary: