Barak, Hettar, Silk and X'Nedra

[slowfox]

Mandorellan: What say you, Barak? There can only be a couple of hundred of them...

The Belgariad by David Eddings is not good writing... But it was the first, non-LotR fantasy series I ever read, and as such it warrants a mention.

Five books: Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician's Gambit, Castle of Wizardry and Enchanters' End Game (and if you think the titles are just a smidgen laboured, I'll certainly concur).

Garion is a farm boy, who lives on a farm with his 'Aunt', Polgara, and another farmhand, Durnik. I forget the exact set-up, now, but Polgara's father - Belgarath - turns up and drags Garion and Polgara off on a quest to complete a prophecy. Durnik comes along too.

The 'Bel' in front of 'Garath' denotes that he's a sorcerer, just like the 'Pol' in front of 'Gara'.

Anyway, The Gang set off across their world, slowly picking up a team of characters as required to fulfil the prophecy (which speaks to Garion directly, in often sarcastic manner), and Do Great Things.

Even as a 14-year old kid slap bang in the middle of this book's target market segment, The Belgariad made me uncomfortable with its casual racism: all people of a given land have exactly the same characteristics. Come from Drasnia? Then you're a thief or a spy. Garion's home land (whose name I forget, but which obviously also accounts for Durnik) is supposedly home to honest (but slightly... dim) good workin' folk.

OTOH, it has its moments - X'Nedra's kinda cool - although Eddings chickens out of showing and gives us a tell when she gets to be the great orator of her time and delivers a rousing battle speech to the masses. Definitely cheating.

Garion goes through a whole 'coming of age' thing with regard to the prophecy, X'Nedra starts off painful, but gets better, and it all moves towards one BIG FAT HAPPY ENDING, but it's a pretty nice, brainless ride there.

There's a sequel (series), The Mallorean, which I think I staggered through, but have (I hope) managed to scrub my brain free of most of the detail since.

Comments

[slowfox]

And Durnik was Sendarian.

Impressive! Most impressive!

The Mallorean had that bit with the Bear Cult, where Barak and Mandorellan are suggesting that the cult's members, priding themselves as they did on their fighting ability, would be perfect for spearheading attacks. "Losses would be heavy..." :-)

I haven't gone near Elenium nor Tamuli (what?), because the Mallorean was enough of the same recycled garbage to make me think that Eddings was something of a ½-trick pony.

[yvi]

I only read the Elenium and the Tamuli. Lots of plot-recycling going on. And "Domes of Fire" was one of the most boring books I ever read.

[slowfox]

Really feeling the love, here :-P

[yvi]

I actually liked them except for "Domes of Fire". I was also 12 and am afraid to ever re-read them because I am pretty sure I would hate them now.

[slowfox]

I'm thinking of setting P loose on the Belgariad - he's 11 - because I think he'd like them. Like you, though, I'm wary of re-reading them myself, because I suspect I'm bound to reappraise even further my somewhat lukewarm assessment of them.

[uninvitedcat]

Hey, don't praise me for remembering that!

For all their faults (and there are many, many faults), there are a few classic moments in Eddings' books. And I may well be mis-remembering, but I think the conversation you're remembering between Barak and Mandorallen happens in the Belgariad - near the end of the cycle. I'm fairly sure that it's just after Islena has arrested every Bear Cult priest in Algaria and sent them all off to join Ce'Nedra's army. Or something like that.

The Elenium and Tamuli (trilogies both) are focussed on the country of Elenia and the continent of Tamuli respectively. However, you can read them and spot the character mash-ups from the Belgariad. There's some refinement of ideas, slightly improved politics, but an awful lot of more-of-the-same.

Actually, I think you can just read The Redemption of Althalus and thus absorb the essence of all of Eddings' stuff!

[slowfox]

I thought it was the Bear Cult who kidnapped Belgarion and X'nedra's son, which means that it must've been the Mallorean, because Garion and X'nedra weren't quite at that stage in the Belgariad! (or if they were, I really need to brush up on my subtext parsing)

[uninvitedcat]

I can't believe how much of this stuff I'm dredging up from my memories but here I go...

The Bear Cult do indeed steal Belgarion and Ce'Nedra's son (sorry, I'm using the Tolnedran spelling for Ce'Nedra!) but they were being used as patsys by the Child of Dark. The first book of the Mallorean (or is it the second? I'm sure as hell not checking!) Belgarion et al do their level best to exterminate the Cult, giving the CoD time to escape towards Mallorea.

However, I'm increasingly sure that the exchange you first reference, (where Barak and Hettar are grinning at the thought of the heavy losses the Cult will probably sustain) happens in the Belgariad, at the point where they've just hoisted the ships up the escarpment. Islena's husband (I can't remember his name or what his kingdom is called - thank god!) has just had a letter from her. He charmingly prefaces it by expressing surprise that his wife even knows how to write, and then explains that all the Cult priests are on their way to join the rest of the army.

I think this happens in the last book - when Ce'Nedra's raised the army to act as a distraction while Garion, Belgareth and Silk try to 'creep up' on Torak. The Bear Cult had managed to keep many of its members behind, and was close to getting its hands on some real power in the various Kingdoms. Or something like that...

[slowfox]

Damn it! There's only one way to settle this, now, isn't there? I'm going to have to re-read the Belgariad... I prefer the Dryads' spelling of X'Nedra :-P

[uninvitedcat]

Oo - I can save you some effort! Enchanter's End Game, chapter 12 (about halfway down this file).

It's a conversation between Anheg and Rhodar. Anheg gets Rhodar to confirm that the cult prides itself on its fighting abilities, and then continues:

"They'd be perfect for spearheading any attacks, wouldn't they?" Anheg's grin grew positively vicious.
"I imagine that their casualties will be heavy," the King of Drasnia suggested.
"It's in a good cause, after all," Anheg replied piously.

Although, don't let me stop you from re-reading them if you really want!

[slowfox]

I knew you were a quick reader, but I didn't realise, until just now, that you were that quick!!! Re-reading the Belgariad between 6:44pm and 10:47pm (although, to be fair, you evidently only reached ch12 of EEG, so I s'pose I should add on another 15 mins for you to complete it)!!! *impressed* :-P

More importantly, I stand corrected. Or sit corrected. But yes, I bow down to your excellent recall on this one. Clearly, I need to re-read them, since the plot's evidently very hazy in my memory (I can't even remember Anheg)...