#malloreon

[bluebirddiary]

I was robbed! The glitter did not show in the photograph!

A continuation of the Mystery World Map I made while listening to Conan the Barbarian. It's giving Isle of Riva vibes from the Belgariad.

[mask131]

I have such a love-hate relationship with the Eddings fantasy series. I tried to explain it in a post... But it turns out either into an insanely long dissertation, into a completely unhinged rambling that sounds like pure chaos. But it is a good reflection of how complex and frustrating it is to deal with these series.

So for now I will just say that these series have so many good things for them, and have a key part in the evolution of fantasy literature... And yet have just as many things to be hated for, and so many reasons to be disliked.

I think the most important point is that the Eddings couple was good at two things. On one side, the subversion and twist of fantasy tropes - well, what WAS at the time fantasy stereotypes and cliches - and as one reviewer said, the Eddings would have probably produced better books if they were fantasy parodies or humoristic novels. On the other side, they are excellent at character concept, basic worldbuilding and iconic scenes... but fail when it comes to complexity or plot-building/narrative-flow. Which is why, as I said previously, the Eddings would have been excellent at writing campaign scripts. Just take the Malloreon: it feels SO MUCH like a campaign manual rather than an actual novel series...

Note: By the Eddings series, I refer specifically to The Belgariad, The Elenium and The Malloreon. I do plan on reading the Tamuli at one point, but I am NOT speaking about The Dreamers because I went through more than half of the first book and its shit. Pure shit.

Back to the topic... Yes, the Eddings series are so frustrating as a whole.

They are funny, but very dated. They have cool concepts and ideas, but they have typical 80s-American-prejudices and vaguely pedophile tones (not so much The Belgariad, but the Elenium and Malloreon have... worrying stuff). They subvert Tolkien's work and changed the game in fantasy literature - but then repeat themselves in a drab and dreary way, robbing their own inventivity. They are weirdly positive and weirdly negative at the same time.

And if the books themselves weren't complex in their over-simplicity and problematic in their strange worldview, there is also the big problem of the audience/fandoms literaly not understanding what the books are about. Like people missing out completely that the Elenium is supposed to be "dark fantasy", not "high/heroic fantasy" like the Belgariad ; and there's also something to be said about a very interesting double-standard people have when it comes to the use of "races" in these works - but that will be for another time.

For some, the Eddings series were a "gateway fantasy" to have a short and simple introduction to archetypes, plot beats and the general ambiance of "typical" fantasy. For others, they are a "comfort read" to enjoy something while shutting your brain off. And I agree that this is what these series ultimately are: they were never meant to be high or great literature, and they are very simple and dated, and I personally used them as "waiting reads". Because these are books I can easily get in or out of when waiting for my computer to start, for my train to arrive, for my class to begin. It's a "snack-read". I did feel involved in The Belgariad because everybody agrees that it is the best of all the four series - when the Eddings really struck something good. But by the Elenium and the Malloreon, I literaly was not as invested and I just read it because. To see the characters, and the ideas, and the concepts. Because no matter how poor these series can become, they are always a BIG source of inspiration for fantasy material.

Even The Dreamers, which is pure shit, had one of the most interesting concepts of a fantasy "big villain" thrown to us in the first pages, and this is why I even stepped so far into the book, before giving up by realizing the rest was just... garbage.

[athenavine]

“You know the rules, Yarblek. You want to keep your guts on the inside, you keep your hands to yourself.”

-Vella the Nadrak Dancer, Guardians of the West, The Malloreon by David Eddings

[blackrigante]

The Child of Dark

I enjoyed these books for so long and I had something new come to me.

In the Seeress of Kell we learn that the Child of Dark messed up and sent nightmares to everyone trying to mess with their heads and scare them away, or confuse them.

In Castle of Wizardry Garion is spending his first night in Riva and it's before the big day. He has a nightmare, is he ready, reliving key points in his life, the chess game of the awareness (plural) and ultimately confusing him. At the ceremony I have the feeling both the Light and Dark awareness spoke in unison. Could Garion's restless night sleep be because of the Dark awareness trying to trip him up? Or was it the Light trying to prepare him for the day? I have some sneaky hunch it was the Dark half.

[athenavine]

This Halloween’s David Eddings cosplay is coming along like a bitch’s dream. Don’t get too close.

[athenavine]

Her Grace, the Duchess of Erat, Lady Polgara the Sorceress.

[athenavine]

Cosplay: Her Imperial Highness, the Princess Ce’Nedra of the House of Borune, the future Rivan Queen

[oxalisvgotwot]

"'I told you once, dear, that you should never cry in public,' Polgara said to [Ce'Nedra]. 'You just don't have the right coloring for it.'"