Books

[annwfyn]

*yawns*

I'm feeling slow and sleepy this morning. This weekend became somewhat hectic, with bento in Camden on Saturday, followed up by people visiting, then more people visiting on Sunday (including wildrogue who I haven't seen properly in ages), then a mass of ZG stuff that I think I promised to run ages ago and then forgot, then moving helping ksirafai with the moving process, throwing out half her wardrobe in the process, and finally shopping for a new wardrobe for Ginnie and acquiring a laptop.

So. Yes. Kinda hectic. Failed to make commlal and flamma_lupus's BBQ as well, for which I am muchly sorry and have to blame the fact that I wound up with too many people to fit in a car.

Anyway, this morning I have been pottering, writing tat prose, and reading books, and found myself with an assortment of random and book related thoughts.

First of all, am I the only person who used to get read the Story Teller magazines as a small child? I used to get them monthly when I was little and adored them utterly, but appear to be the only person who has ever encounted them. Is this the case?

Secondly, am I alone in finding the David Eddings Malloreon series of books incredibly irritating for what they do to Ce'Nedra, and have never felt it makes sense.

Somehow David Eddings turns a girl who at the age of sixteen became a general of a massive army, goaded her father into fits so she could steal his legions, and was raised from her early years to know that she is an imperial princess into a rather mopey army wife, who just wants her baby back. It really bothered me at the time the Malloreon books were coming out - she changes from being the girl who ran away from home, slept on the ground, lead an army across the world and went crazy when cooped up sewing, to the wife who just wants female companionship around her and a nice bath. Oh, and her baby back. She's all about that baby.

I am now going to make the dramatic assumption that most of my readers have read the David Eddings Belgarion series. I'm also going to assume that most preferred the actually quite well written and innovative Belgariad to the slightly labored Malloreon. If I'm right, tell me what bugged you about the Malloreon. My pet hate is Ce'Nedra turning from 'cool wench' to 'mumsy'. What about you?

If I'm wrong, why am I wrong? What did that benighted series of books get right?

Opinions?

Comments

[suave-steve.livejournal.com]

I was forced to read the Belgariad cycle by an former girlfriend. I found them quite dull overall really. Haven't read any more Eddings since and don't intend to.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

The Mallorean watered down every character, except for Silk who became the UberDude. Ce'Nedra stopped being red-haired princess of cool and became a washed out version of Mrs Eddings. Polgara also followed shortly afterwards.

Ce'Nedra could have been toughened up by becoming a mother, given more focus and become even more impressive. Instead she just became flat.

But this is the series where they had a prophecy that someone would die, and introduced a character with zero development, that no one cared about and had no page time to kill just so no one's favourite had to die.

I have never heard of Storyteller magazine.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

The death of the mute was a massive cop out. That was another of my pet hates. It seemed like a stretch for Durnik to care.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

They might as well have called him "Toth the Red Shirt".

What happened to Eddings after the Belgariad? I wonder if there were drugs or a cult involved...

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

I believe David got sick, and Leigh started doing a lot more of the writing.

He may be able to write. She can't.

I also think he got really arrogant. Have you read any interviews with him? He's actually fairly obnoxious He 'doesn't take orders from readers', and doesn't actually like fantasy. He started writing it because he thought it was an easier market than the serious fiction he was trying to write at the time, so I think it was easy for him to get complacent.

[lilitufire.livejournal.com]

Don't read The Redemption of Althalus. I paid 4 Singapore dollars (about 1.30) in sheer desperation for something to read and was robbed!

The Mallorean just had cash cow written all over it to me, though I liked some of the new characters (Urvon, Zakath, the seeress binty).

But then Eddings' view of sex and love just turns my stomach. Everyone has to be matched up at the end, and you have Polgara, the 7000 virgin until the end of the Belgariad. FFS.

[twicedead.livejournal.com]

Althalus = Silk + Belgarath + Sparhawk

There are few books that are so bad that I stop reading them - I've completed entire trilogies by Kevin J. Anderson - but I couldn't finish that giant dung-heap of a book.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

But then Eddings' view of sex and love just turns my stomach.

Oh my yes! I'd forgotten about the icky horror that was the Silk/Velvet love story in the Malloreon. Silk's pure and perfect and unrequited love for Porenn bites the dust as soon as he meets that blonde that he's known since she was six.

So creepy on so many levels.

[headinclouds.livejournal.com]

No, you are most definitely not the only one who got StoryTeller magazines - they are the reason I know all the words to the Lobster Quadrille (http://www.online-literature.com/carroll/901/), which I am assured is not normal. :s

As for the whole Belgariad/Mallorean thing, what mostly annoyed me about the Mallorean is that it didn't feel like there was really anything new there - just a mercenary desire to make anyone who liked the Belgariad fork out for another five books in the foolish hope that there might be something worth reading in there.

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

*sighs*

And sadly, I did fork out for the five books. And I never stopped feeling dirty for doing it, even as I so did.

[headinclouds.livejournal.com]

Thankfully, when I read them I borrowed them from secretsloth, so I never wasted any money on them. I still feel slightly dirty all the same. :s

Unfortunately, various replies to your post are now reminding me of all the smaller things I disliked about those books as well - the Ce'Nedra thing, Silk/Velvet and dear god, don't get me started about that @%!*ing prophecy!

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

The 'everything will happening in the same way, over and over again, until a new McGuffin is found. Or something' prophecy?

It was awful! As were the multiple child of light nonsense things.

[headinclouds.livejournal.com]

That would be the one. Dreadful.

In fairness, I'm not hugely fond of the Belgariad, but all the same, I find it far, far less irritating than the Mallorean.

[cairmen.livejournal.com]

Yep. that's my pick for most annoying. Not only was the second series a re-tread, but even the *characters* knew it.

The Belgariad is very good, though.

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

I loved Story Teller. I didn't bother listening to the cassettes, mind, I just read the stories.

Wasn't Gobolino Story Teller? And the thing with the golden ogre? And all sorts of other cool stuff?

As for the Mallorean - I quite enjoyed it. Though largely 'cos it had a huge plague in the middle :)

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

Grogre the Golden Ogre! He's the reason I remember the entire series. I had him stuck in my head for days! Thank god it isn't just me!

[commlal.livejournal.com]

I used to get Story Teller, in fact I was thinking about it the other day. It was great :D

[riksowden.livejournal.com]

Was the Storyteller books and tapes? We got those for year and they were totally ace!

When my parents split up my Dad gave them to his girlfriends kiddy (IIRC), something for which he has not been forgiven...

[annwfyn.livejournal.com]

When my parents split up my Dad gave them to his girlfriends kiddy (IIRC), something for which he has not been forgiven...

That's an evil thing to have done! My parents just tidied the story teller magazines away into an attic, and then one day they were gone. All gone.

*sighs*

I am still looking for replacements via ebay. So cool!

[puddingcat.livejournal.com]

The Malloreon got nothing right; at least, not in the first 2 1/2 books. I nearly threw the third across the room, then decided it was probably best to avoid the rest of the series.

ANYWAY. How's your novel coming on? I need an update :)