| The Eddings Myth | Contributor: Martin | Posted: 12/02/07 | 14:56 |
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page 3 of 4 This bitterness on the part of one fan who spent many many teenage years not just reading The Belgariad but in fact re-reading and re-reading it, is not to say that there is nothing for the reader to enjoy in the Eddings' work. First time readers and lovers of fantasy devour the books, in huge quantities. Few writers can tell a story as easily and efficiently as the Eddings, and the quest format provides for plenty of action along the way. For example, The Belgariad and The Mallorean between them are the best part of 4,000 pages and at no stage does the story drag. Nor does The Elenium, even though midway through the series it is clear that there will be no surprises in the story or characters. It is really only in The Tamuli that things start to pale, and even then Eddings’ ability to string words together in an undemanding and entertaining fashion means finishing the novels is by no means a hardship.   Allegedly the same novel twice, although one obviously has a far nicer cover. For teenagers, the combination of likable characters and undemanding writing is a swift and effortless escape from reality. For slightly older and more jaded readers the lack of originality becomes apparent. Even Belgarath the Sorcerer, which broke new ground for Eddings as a biography of the Eternal Man and fleshed out much of the back story of The Belgariad, was swiftly followed by Polgara the Sorceress which told largely the same story from a slightly different perspective. In the Eddings’ world, if a thing is worth doing well once, it is worth doing again – and again, and again. It is not just the cynicism and repetition of the novels that irritates. Beneath the veneer of the story, the underlying politics of Eddings’ work leave a bad taste. Fantasy is a genre where deep readings of the text are never a good idea, and are seldom encouraged. Few fantasy readers look for deep themes revealing of the human condition, ambiguity or complex characters but in Eddings’ work the distinctive conservatism is unavoidable. |
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