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Pawn of Prophecy

Pawn of Prophecy

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $6.29
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Eddings : Under-rated for such an exciting Author!
Review: I came-across this series at the age of eighteen and purchased the entire set, thinking that it would be a good way to spend the winter months. However, although it was still warm and beautiful outside, I became caught-up in the magickal journey and spent the next week and a half devouring the series! At the time, I was an avid fisherman and spent almost every free moment traversing the countryside fishing, wade-fishing, hiking and spelunking.... Yet, the books called to me and I found myself holed-up in my room day after day, instead. The day I finished the series, I realized the journey was over and I couldn't believe I had read the books so quickly! This required another trip to the bookstore, to stock-up for the cold months. There are many things in Eddings' books that you will not find in other fantasy worlds...like this Monk-like character, who walks through solid rock...with detailed descriptions of the process. I feel compelled to give this guy a plug, because his name just doesn't pop-up enough, in the genre. Eddings is well-worth giving a try, despite his lack of recognition.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: In the beginning...
Review: David Eddings Pawn of Prophecy is what first attracted me to the fantasy genre. It was recommended to me by one of my chldhood friends as a "good read". I took him up on the offer and read like a teeenager possessed. It was the sort of fun and adventure I needed to feel a part of. I felt I was along side the band of heroes adventuring with them.

I highly recommend this series for the beginning fantasy reader or an old pro looking for a light read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I loved it!
Review: The only thing I didnt get was time. Evryhing SEEMED to be in the Middle Ages, but then some things seemed very, very recent... The first series is awesome and filled with new discoveries at almost every page. The characters are great, and i loved how Eddings explained how each nationality came to be. Like Algars = Horsemen Chereks = sailors Austurians = bowmen etc The Mallorean wasnt as thrilling but you should still read it for the outcome. You should definetely read Belgarath the Sorcerer, but Polgara the Sorceress is a waste... Only thing i didnt like about the series is that you know that no one will die since the Prophecies wouldnt allow it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: These are the best books ever written
Review: I wish I could impart to you how special these books are. These characters are all so real that you "see" them, instead of read about them. This is an Epic beyond all I've ever read. How else can you describe a story that takes 10 full books (and now 2 more) to tell properly?! These books are special gems. The highest praise I can give is that after not reading a single chapter of a single book for 6 years or more, I've now re-read all five books in as many weeks. I haven't read like this is years, all because Eddings style is so masterful.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: *WARNING* Addictive
Review: The warning is correct. I was never a real fantasy fan but my boyfriend forced me to read "Belgarath the Sorcerer" and then I was hooked. The series is intense and suspencefull, and extremely entertaining. Every book is filled with action suspence and humor. I recommend this book to everyone.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not a Nobel-Prize...
Review: This series were bestsellers- I actually don't know how the books got there. I read all Belgariad books, there actually was some tension, some fun, some goose flesh - it wasn't a bad book at all, but it lacked depth. All characters were so simple, so very, very predictable. What surprised me most is the fact that there were simply no complots, and it was most of the time just Garion and his companions running around and slaying easily everything coming their way. It was too straight to be a great read - the evil never really seemd to be a challenge for the characters or just overwhelmingly powerful. Having read the first couple of books of the Wheel of Time or the Greenangel-Series I'd say that there are two different worlds: those were intricate and mysterious novels, this was a hero-comic in prose. However, it does not mean that you get bored while reading it.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good for younger readers
Review: Although I enjoyed reading David Eddings' series as a young teenager, I doubt they would be very satisfying to older readers. Eddings' characters are very flat and offer little in the way of development. Personal, national and sexual identity are painted in only the broadest of strokes. His dry, sarcastic wit is amusing for a while, but that alone fails to carry through two series of books which essentially rehash the same plot as The Belgariad. His foray into the now-cliched issue of good vs. evil in fantasy is adept, and pulled off with more flair than most writers, but in the end still comes off as rather simplistic.

He also sidesteps issues of personal responsibility, presenting a reprehensible character who undergoes a profound personal transformation, and shows no remorse at being responsible for tens of thousands of deaths. I also grew very bored with his unfunny pokes at gender differences. All the men, no matter how supposedly powerful and wise, were ultimately still just neanderthals needing a woman to tell them what to do. Similarly, all the women, at one time or another, are portrayed as petulant and childish, and these are touted as attractive qualities.

To be fair, these books are fast-paced and action-packed, and will more than satisfy that side of a fantasy-lover's craving. For those interested in deep, ever-evolving characters and lushly detailed worlds where good and evil are only subtly different shades of the same color, I'd suggest George R.R. Martin, Katharine Kerr or Guy Gavriel Kay.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: This book is the entrance fee to the rest of the series
Review: This book is worth reading for one thing only: It is the start of the rest of the series, and provides the background for it.

The book itself ... don't you just hate it when the plot depends on such artificial devices like "Oh I am so noble I won't kill this man, even though he is obviously (for the rest of the book and then some) going to go out of his way to make life miserable for me and my friends, and preferrably kill us if he can." and "Gee, I think I'll take the long way round, since some people's feelings will get hurt if I take the shortcut, even though the fate of the universe depends on me getting to my destination in time."

Also, and this unfortunately applies to the later and far better books in this series as well, Eddings is so deep into "properness" like gender stereotypes, parental authority and kinging and queening that it gets downright annoying at times.

On the good side, Eddings has a fluent prose which makes the books an easy read, and he has the occasional deep observation made through Garion. But these benefits really don't get to the fore until the later books in the series.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Really Good!
Review: This book is really well written, and definitely worth spending time on. I enjoyed the plot and the subtle humor. The characters are all well developed, and it is easy to empathize with them. Even though the idea of a quest is somewhat trite, this book does a good job of making the storyline interesting and amusing.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: a little bit too long, but precious
Review: in my opinion, the complete series is a very beautifull story, well telled and with a fine rithm. the only thing i did not like is how long it is. i mean, eddings should have writen a trilogy instead of a 5 book series, and it would have been supreme. like it is, it has a slight tendency to repeat some things.

anyway the whole series is beautiful, and we can easily forgive him the length. i really recommend the book to people who are interested in fantasy, it will not make your life change, but it will help you to dream a bit more.


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