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The Redemption of Althalus

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 7,318 ratings · 252 reviews

The Redemption of Althalus is the first stand-alone, single-volume high fantasy saga written by the bestselling husband and wife team of David and Leigh Eddings. Their previous beloved series include the Belgariad, the Malloreon, and the Elenium, and although Althalus is bursting with all the daring escapades their multitude of fans expect, it is also an engaging departure...more The Redemption of Althalus is the first stand-alone, single-volume high fantasy saga written by the bestselling husband and wife team of David and Leigh Eddings. Their previous beloved series include the Belgariad, the Malloreon, and the Elenium, and although Althalus is bursting with all the daring escapades their multitude of fans expect, it is also an engaging departure for the authors. Althalus is a grand adventure that is bound to enthrall readers of the authors' previous, multivolume epics, but it features a precision of plot and language that can be achieved only by having an actual resolution.

Althalus is a young thief and occasional killer known for his skill and incredible luck. A number of capers end without much monetary reward for him, until he stumbles into a shrine built to the fertility goddess Dweia. Soon afterward he meets with the wizard Ghend, who hires him to steal the Book, a magical tome that can be found in the bizarre House at the End of the World. There, Althalus discovers Dweia in the form of a black cat and learns that she has chosen him to aid her in a war against Ghend and her evil brother, the destroyer god Daeva. Together Althalus and Dweia use the power of the Book and gather together a small team of questionable heroes who must battle Ghend's supernatural forces and armies. The thief Althalus can only hope his luck holds out for this one last task, since the very fate of humanity is at stake.

A stand-alone epic fantasy is a rarity in the modern-day publishing world and a concept that should be embraced more often. The Redemption of Althalus gives us all the action, sorcery, humor, and soaring imagination of a grand series but doesn't leave any loose threads, fractured subplots, or loss of momentum. A great deal of fun action and generally good-natured exploits are punctuated by the authors' usual satire on religion and high society. In one clever turn, Althalus enters a city where the wealthy are forced to hide their riches and live even worse than the poor in order to avoid taxation. Althalus is well-polished and smoothly constructed, with real storytelling muscle and a gratifying finale. The Eddingses should be praised for their willingness to put a cap on this particular story in an effort to offer other wonderfully developed worlds to their readers.

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Paperback, 800 pages

Published October 30th 2001 by Del Rey (first published 2000)

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Nov 02, 2012 Eric rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: David Eddings fanatics only

Shelves: fantasy

Let me start by saying I am a huge David Eddings fan. His Belgariad series is one of my favorite fantasy series -- in some ways more so than even the holy The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

That being said, I couldn't stand this book. He reused, recycled and regurgitated his characters and story-lines from his more successful works and threw it together into the altogether uninspired Redemption of Althalus.

If you want to read something good -- no, fantastic -- from Eddings, read the Belgariad, a fiv...more

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Sep 26, 2007 Adam Reinwald rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: no one

I read fantasy stories because I like to see epic stories of love and evil played out. I like to think that the evil may win, and that the good sometimes doesn't have a chance against overwhelming odds. I like to read grand battles where things...you know...happen. I like the evil side to be just as intelligent as the good side; an even match so you question the ending.

If you like these things, don't read this book.

It's predictable from start to finish. The "bad guys" as they so often refer to t...more

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Aug 07, 2010 Lexis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Redemption of Althalus is not something I can compare to other fantasy books. This is because, generally speaking, I don't read these kind of books. The epic fantasies.

For the pure and simple reason that I have nothing to compare it to, I'm going to say that Redemption of Althalus is a good, clean, fun book. There are a sea of characters for readers to choose from, including the self-proclaimed best thief in the world, Althalus, and Gher, the eight-year-old with the brightest ideas on the planet...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Smcleish rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

Originally published on my blog here in August 2001.

Although this stand alone epic fantasy has all the familiar ingredients that have characterised the Eddings' writing in the genre since Pawn of Prophecy, it does have some differences; the most obvious is of course that it is in a single, if lengthy, volume.

Althalus is a thief, hired to steal a book - an item rare enough that he doesn't know what it is - from the House at the End of the World. When he gets there, he doesn't expect what he finds...more Originally published on my blog here in August 2001.

Although this stand alone epic fantasy has all the familiar ingredients that have characterised the Eddings' writing in the genre since Pawn of Prophecy, it does have some differences; the most obvious is of course that it is in a single, if lengthy, volume.

Althalus is a thief, hired to steal a book - an item rare enough that he doesn't know what it is - from the House at the End of the World. When he gets there, he doesn't expect what he finds: a talking cat. Slowly educated by her, Althalus eventually comes to understand something of what the book is about - the creation of the world. Time means little in the House, and Althalus is surprised to find that when he leaves with the cat, it is over two thousand years later; they set out to gather a group of companions to oppose the attempted destruction of the world by the people who originally wanted the book stolen.

The style of The Redemption of Althalus does not present any real surprises to readers of earlier fiction by the Eddings. It is written in the usual easy to read prose, with the trademark arch and sometimes slightly annoying humour. This is less of a problem than the characters, which are rather too similar to those of the Elenium and Tamuli series - time to move on!

Like all of the Eddings' fantasy, a central theme of the novel is the relationship between humans and their deities. The theological framework of the novel is less complex than any of the others; there are three deities, two male, one female, who basically represent creation, destruction and evolution respectively. This is quite an important difference from their earlier theological schemes, which tend to have titular deities for each major ethnic group. The overlap of and conflicts between their spheres of interest provides the background to the novel and could easily provide inspiration for a lot more than is used here; a virtue of the novel is that it doesn't exhaust the possibilities but leaves many others which are only hinted at, which makes the world seem more complete.

The Redemption of Althalus continues both the virtues and failings of earlier novels by David and Leigh Eddings (although Leigh's name has only been coupled with that of her husband in recent novels, David has acknowledged considerable involvement on her part before that). It is likely to appeal to all their fans but would probably not convert any who disliked an earlier novel.(less)

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Oct 25, 2012 Lucinda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This single-volume epic fantasy tale will delight all fans of Eddings, being totally fantastic as to blow you away!

As an already devoted aficionado of David Eddings and his lengthy collection of magnificent works within the fantasy genre (the Belgariad, the malloreon, the elenium and the tamuli), I was naturally extremely excited upon hearing the news of ‘The redemption of Athalus’. This slab of a book has such a striking, spellbinding cover that is really beautiful, magical which brings the fa...more This single-volume epic fantasy tale will delight all fans of Eddings, being totally fantastic as to blow you away!

As an already devoted aficionado of David Eddings and his lengthy collection of magnificent works within the fantasy genre (the Belgariad, the malloreon, the elenium and the tamuli), I was naturally extremely excited upon hearing the news of ‘The redemption of Athalus’. This slab of a book has such a striking, spellbinding cover that is really beautiful, magical which brings the fantasy genre to life. Rich and inventive this book contains such originality within a very popular genre, standing out from many other works with its remarkable design. David Eddings shows the reader how he has raised the bar high above many others who aspire to his standard with epic, modern fantasy at its very best that is current and contemporary. His style is like that of the older type of fantasy works (such as being similar to Tolkien or Robin Hobb or Kate Elliot), but at the same time combined with a modern twist to give it an edge so that readers of today will love it. David and Leigh Eddings really are the modern masters of fantasy and it would be hard to compare them to another work of similar outstanding caliber.
Athalus a burglar, an armed robber and murderer is one day commissioned to retrieve a book by Ghend, a mysterious and illusive cloaked stranger. Journeying to the end of the world Athalus prepares to steal this book without question, until he is trapped within the house unable to escape the clutches of a talking cat. Once he does escape Athalus is able to read the book of Deiwos, thus discovering a mighty weapon of destruction that could be fatal in the wrong hands. The secret of who is trying to unmake the world is revealed, as what lay beneath the surface comes into the light, leaving the hero in the middle of a quest that stands on but a knife’s edge. Emerald is the sister to two conflicting Gods and plans to use Athalus to stop Daeva returning all of them to primordial chaos. Athalus teaches her to lie, cheat and steal in receipt of her enlightening him on the truth, of justice and morality at stake. The entire fate of the world rests on the shoulders of a young man, being a rouge that is deemed to steal the hearts and minds of all readers.
This gripping tale of adventure that is shrouded in hidden secrets and mystery will have you sat throughout in suspense, unable to turn your gaze from its pages. The perilous quest is both exciting and spine chilling, from the moment that the main character opens the book to read its contents. Being six hundred and ninety three pages long it will certainly keep you busy for a long time, as you loose yourself in one of the most astonishing and thrilling stories ever told. I am constantly amazed by this master of a writer who has perfected his craft over the years, now being unbeatable when it comes to producing new works. If you love fantasy, magic and myth then I urge you to open the book The Redemption of Athalus that brings ones dreams to life. This book is just spectacular and incredible, with brilliant characters that end up as the most memorable protagonists in literature.
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May 17, 2012 Rachel Macwhirter rated it 2 of 5 stars

Originally posted at my blog here!
And since this is being posted on Goodreads, I'd like to clarify that its wonderful beginning is what saved it from the dreaded one-star rating.

On to the review!

For someone who has built their career and reputation on being the world's luckiest thief, a seemingly endless string of misfortune is a devastating blow. Just as things couldn't be looking worse for Althalus, he is offered a high-paying job to steal a book from a house at the end of the world. Though he...more

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Dec 21, 2011 Seth Swanson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

I just read this again after getting the Kindle edition. Full of fond memories I tried to get back into it making it close to my forth or fifth reading of this book. In the end though, I ended up giving up. I'm not quite sure what it was, that made me take another look at this but I started getting annoyed by the characters and the plot line.

My main complaint the last time around was that it was becoming difficult to tell one character from another. All the women were given to say just about the...more I just read this again after getting the Kindle edition. Full of fond memories I tried to get back into it making it close to my forth or fifth reading of this book. In the end though, I ended up giving up. I'm not quite sure what it was, that made me take another look at this but I started getting annoyed by the characters and the plot line.

My main complaint the last time around was that it was becoming difficult to tell one character from another. All the women were given to say just about the same thing when talking to about or too the men and the same conversation happened in pretty much the same way between multiple characters.

(view spoiler)

Granted, there are still things I like about the Redemption of Althalus, but I'm thinking this is where Eddings might have started going downhill. I just could not get into the Dreamers series.

If you're a fan of Eddings and haven't read it yet, go ahead and check it out from your library. Chances are, it'll be a good enough read, but you'll not a lot of similarities between the characters here and those in the Belgariad or the Mallorean.(less)

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Aug 19, 2011 Sergei Moska rated it 2 of 5 stars

Pretty crappy.

This is the 3rd fantasy book I've read in my life, and I did so at the recommendation of a friend who said that he loved it in high school. I don't know enough about the genre to be able to determine the target audience for this book, so I'm reviewing it from the perspective of a 30 year old guy who asked for a suggestion for some light reading.

There are a lot of problems with the book, but I'll list three.

First, the dialogue is awful. At one point the word "fairly" was used at lea...more Pretty crappy.

This is the 3rd fantasy book I've read in my life, and I did so at the recommendation of a friend who said that he loved it in high school. I don't know enough about the genre to be able to determine the target audience for this book, so I'm reviewing it from the perspective of a 30 year old guy who asked for a suggestion for some light reading.

There are a lot of problems with the book, but I'll list three.

First, the dialogue is awful. At one point the word "fairly" was used at least once every two pages. Italicized words are also very, very common here. These issues are tied into a more general complaint: everyone speaks in a "funny sarcastic understated way". Characters constantly use understatement for a sort of "winking" effect - for example, they'll say something like "'I'm sure he'll be fairly upset about it, but I'm sure his master won't punish him too badly', Blah said with a wicked grin." It's a perfectly valid device, but when you're whacked over the head with it for 800 pages, you sometimes just put the book down in disgust

Second, the gender relations between the protagonists is really, really annoying. I understand that this is fantasy and things are stylized. I'm not asking for a 3rd wave feminist critique. But the frequent references to sex and how the characters look at each other in a certain way peculiar to how boys and girls look at each other (the authors' [my book has two authors listed, not just one] phrasing, not mine) just make the characters less likeable. At least to me.

Third, there are very few points of tension throughout the book. In 800 pages, I counted three "Oh snap! The bad guys might have something here!" moments, and they were all resolved within 20 pages each. So most of the time it's able to heroes planning to kick ass, and then proceeding to do so. This kills any type of dramatic tension.

There are other problems, but I'll stop there. The story was still good enough to get me through until the end, but I might have read it in half the time if some of the problems were ironed out.(less)

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Jun 01, 2010 Aphd rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

Wow, this was a big disappointment. I read it several years ago and remembered enjoying it quite a lot. Apparently my tastes have changed. But this was just painful to read. Between the terrible (and repetitive, and explain-y) dialogue, the lack of any sort of tension, the lack of internal plot coherence, ridiculous situations which were supposed to seem severe but were solved within a page or two, and the supposed 'god' who couldn't be bothered to think up the most simplistic ideas until after...more

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Jan 24, 2010 Sara Werne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

It is a really good book. A few years ago I would've given it five stars. But well... Let's start with the good things anyway.
I like the characters, I know them. Some I like less, but that's the way it should be. Just have to say that it must have been awfully fun to write Gher, he's like my thoughts. Fast, without any pauses for breath, kind of logic, thinks too much. If he'd lived now, he'd been doing exactly what I'm doing: learning how to type correctly, to type faster to be able to capture...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Aimee rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Any Eddings Fans

Redemption of Althalus is brillinant. Althalus is the worlds greatest theif who believes that Lady Luck always shines on him, so when things start to go wrong he becomes increaingly aggravted, when he is offered a deal to steal something from the house at the end of the world he feels that he has nothing to lose and that is where everything changes and things start to get really interesting, with the help of a mismatched group of different character and a charming cat called Emerald, it becomes...more

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Jan 22, 2013 Josie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Caution... spoilers below.

I have been putting off writing this because in a way, I feel like it is a waste of my time. Perhaps I just feel resentment for how long was spent in reading the 900+ pages…

The book is fantasy fiction. It is about Althalus, a thief, who has a string of bad luck before being hired by a man named Ghend to steal a book from the House at the End of the World. The house is not what it seems, and neither is the book. Althalus is effectively imprisoned by a Goddess, in the for...more Caution... spoilers below.

I have been putting off writing this because in a way, I feel like it is a waste of my time. Perhaps I just feel resentment for how long was spent in reading the 900+ pages…

The book is fantasy fiction. It is about Althalus, a thief, who has a string of bad luck before being hired by a man named Ghend to steal a book from the House at the End of the World. The house is not what it seems, and neither is the book. Althalus is effectively imprisoned by a Goddess, in the form of “Emerald” the cat, who teaches him to read the book. 2000 years later Althalus sets out on his new mission, following directives from Dweia (the Goddess, still in cat form), and the knife, which is in fact Dweia’s book.

Althalus proceedes to recruit his band of followers: Eliar, who is a warrior from a kilt-wearing warrior tribe; Andine, a young Regent with a very loud voice; Bheid, a type of monk; Ghed, a boy who is perceptively clever; and Leigha, a mind-reader, rescued from death sentence for being a witch.

Althalus is up against Ghend, the man who originally hired him to steal the book. Ghend has an equal band of followers, who all ultimately serve the dark lord, Daeva, who wants to unmake the world. Daeva is one of Dweia’s brothers, and the other brother is named Deiwos, the creator. Deiwos has his own cameo appearance as a mad-man/lunatic found wandering near the edge of the world.

So, with cast in place, there’s the usual battles pitting equal gang members against each other. The goodies win, of course. The thing that makes this book a bit different to the normal format is perhaps the lack of final grand battle, when Althalus goes up against Gheid. There is a stand-off, but it isn’t entire armies against each other, but more of a fizzle back at the house at the end of the World.

Why did I rate this so poorly? Without sounding too condescending, it was really down to writing style. I found the pace was slow, and the dialogue extremely tedious. David/Leigh use too much telling, and not enough showing. Many times the exchanges are punctuated with “demanded”, “objected”, “blandly”, “ominously”, “shortly”, “boasted”, “shyly”…. enough!

There were some good parts. I liked some of the thinking, mostly coming from the boy Gher, who comes up with some lovely schemes to get one over the enemy, which use the house that may be anywhere, at anytime. However, another grumble, it glosses over (or I missed) the consistency. How could it happen that the same person be in the same time and place and seemingly displace themselves. i.e. Althalus goes back to a point before he sets off to steal the book, and does some things differently. He replaces his original self. That doesn’t sit right with me, his original self should be there, and could potential meet a future self. In any case, I prefer Dr Who’s take on things – you can’t go back within your own timeline!

After reading this, I would not rush to pick up another Eddings book.(less)

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Dec 20, 2012 Matthew Harrington rated it 4 of 5 stars

Cheesy, but fantastic.

The Redemption of Althalus is, to me, David Eddings summed up in a single book. His characters are witty and lovable, the plot is engaging and epic in scale whilst still being simple and easygoing. This book was one of a few that got me into fantasy when I was younger, and while it's probably not the greatest book of all time- it's still a good story well told, if slightly lacking in depth.

As a standalone novel, it's perfect for the job- everything is all tidied up and reso...more

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Dec 15, 2011 Natalien rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Natalien by: Dean

Shelves: about-love, adventure, beautiful, mythology, animals

Ticks off all the details for fantasy book and I liked it but it felt too familiar maybe because of it. It was epic in terms of time, distance, war, characters, world but it lack in the marvelousness of things ;) I don't get why the same story had to be repeated so many times over and over, it was boring - it was overdone. Seemed like every character was a cynic and the cynicism alone was well executed but the same formula was repeated throught the whole book. Seriously, I don't think the author...more

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Aug 23, 2011 Daniele rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-books

Questo libro si potrebbe chiamare anche il ritorno degli Eddings :)<br />La storia di per se non è niente di che, il classico scontro fra il bene ed il male dove lo sfigato di turno dovrà salvare il mondo, ma quello che fa meritare al libro 3 stelline sono gli elementi che in un romanzo fantasy normale fanno da contorno.<br />In questo libro gli autori si concentrano di più sul lato umano e psicologico dei personaggi.<br />Alcune volte mi sono domandato "ma chi è veramente il c...more

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Feb 27, 2009 Izlinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: alternate-realties-worlds, fantasy

I read this book years ago. My sisters and I were big fans of David Eddings and when this book came out, we were excited. While the characters are very much archetypes, I did enjoy it back then. Rereading it now, I may get a little frustrated at repetitions, but it's still an enjoyable read. I have favorite scenes I reread.

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Aug 09, 2012 Peter Gorman II rated it 4 of 5 stars

Eddings comes through in this lengthy fantasy stand alone novel. Sometimes your just not into reading a trilogy, or 10 book series. As an avid fantasy reader, this can be a difficult proposition, because most of these writers have lavish countrysides to describe, entire cultures, etc etc. The one novel approach from a fantasy writer is a breath of fresh air, and well executed. Sharing some similarities to the Talisman by King, you will be rooting for an imperfect hero, as he juggles his past wit...more

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Feb 12, 2012 'chrys rated it 2 of 5 stars

I loved this when I first read it, and then it started to bug me in the days thereafter. I've read it multiple times, even owned it at one point but it never was a favorite. I have always felt that this would have been better had the time been taken to make it into a trilogy at the least to give a chance to actually develop the characters rather than have them "taste" like leftovers being whipped into something new to clean out the fridge. Not a -bad- read, but not a great one either. I blew thr...more

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Sep 03, 2010 Tom Weaver rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

If I had never read David Eddings before, I suspect I would have found this immensely enjoyable. I loved the last four series, they were excellent and the characters had superb depth.
With Althalus, the story was fine, and the characters....... but I found myself getting very frustrated because they were identical characters to previous ones (or some sort of subtle combination).

It was more the in jokes and language they use, little asides and retorts to each other that are pretty repetative.

Its a...more

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Nov 24, 2010 Ralf rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Der Dieb Althalus, der gerade von einer Pechsträhne verfolgt wird,
wird von einem Mann namens Ghend dazu angeheuert, ein Buch zu stehlen.
An dem Versuch wird er von der Göttin Dweia gehindert, die ihn danach
für einige tausend Jahre mit Hilfe ebenjenes Buches, das ihrem Bruder,
dem Schöpfergott Deiwos gehört, in der Kunst der Magie unterrichtet.

Danach schickt sie ihn wieder in die Welt hinaus, um einige Gefährten
zu rekrutieren. Die beiden Götter haben nämlich noch einen dritten
Bruder, den Dämonen Da...more

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Sep 17, 2009 Joy-Aisling rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, portal-quest, swords-and-sorcery, wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey, cliché-pie

This was the first Eddings that I read, so I quite liked it, because I wasn't used to their style or the books' dry humour. Of course, if you read one Eddings, you've read them all; his superior-goddess, endearing-thief, bewitching-girl and war-as-chess tropes are in full flower here, but this seems to be the book that breaks Eddings' mould the most. The recycled motifs are at least explored more than in other books, and as a standalone it avoids the ponderous predictability of the trilogy forma...more

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Sep 02, 2012 Cole rated it 2 of 5 stars

I got this at a bookstore/coffee shop because it looked interesting. It is interesting, and it is a fun read, but David Eddings seems to be more concerned with having a bunch of little parts of the book be funny or cool than making the overall book a good read. The world Eddings created for The Redemption of Althalus is an interesting one, and Althalus is an interesting character. In fact, most characters are pretty interesting. The plot seems pretty run-of-the-mill however. There are plenty of...more

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Jun 25, 2012 Suzanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure why they chose to make this one super long book instead of breaking it up into a trilogy. At times, some of the motives and plans of the characters were inadequately explained or rushed through, and the way the good guys 'won' made no logical sense, even taking into account that this is fantasy.

I think the Eddings have a very high quality of writing, but after The Belgariad and Mallorian, it just feels like they're recycling all the character traits and quirks, plot devices, and dia...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Schwana rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed RE-reading this book. It was just as good the 4th time around as it was the 1st. The characters were entertaining in themselves, but when you added them together it really made a complete "family". It was entertaining to watch how Althalus was "encouraged" to take up the journey to the House at the Edge of the World and once there how Dweia "sunk" her claws into him. lol The way the story moved from one character to the other and made sure you did not become confused by jumping...more

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Mar 09, 2009 Arthur rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: disliked, bad-fantasy, stand-alone-read, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 13, 2011 Will Wight rated it 5 of 5 stars

David Eddings' Belgariad cycle ranks among my favorite series of all time, and the only one of his other works that compares is the stand-alone novel "The Redemption of Althalus."

Althalus is a thief in an ancient fantasy world hired to steal a book from a goddess. She steals him instead, teaching him magic and leading him on a time-hopping journey to gather a team of extraordinary disciples, with whom they will stop the end of the world. The action never stops, the characters are unique and lova...more

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Jan 06, 2009 KC Anton rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Fantasy and End Twist lovers

I love David Eddings WHEN he writes with his wife Leigh. This is a one off book which does a good job of taking a miscreant thief and making him the saviour of the world. Yeah other people are involved which add to the humor and allow epic wars to rage across the centuries and lands Athalus doesn't really care about. But hey, its Eddings, that means a down to earth epic.

When Eddings writes well, like in the Belgariad series, the characters have depth and real world difficulties to over come. "R...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Shane rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a great single volume piece that holds all the usual Eddings-isms one came to expect from this fantasy stalwart. And I love that! With that being said, there was nothing revelatory or new about the story-telling. They had an excellent formula for fantasy, and this work stuck to that formula. It's that alone that stop me from giving the book a full 5-stars, as I've seen it before in his other work. I just think that it would have been nice to see something a bit different! Nevertheless, i...more

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Nov 18, 2008 Ashley rated it 5 of 5 stars

I usually hate Sci-Fi, but Jake made me read this one because it is one of his favorites. I have to admit, I loved it.

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May 01, 2012 Simon Turney rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having been an Eddings fan throughout the Belgariad, Mallorean, Elenium and Tamuli, I was a little disappointed with the cash-in prequels Belgarath the sorcerer etc. I was so pleased when I discovered that he'd stopped the endless cash-ins on his early work and written an entirely new work.

In all fairness, I never finished Redemption. I have just given up on my fourth attempt at the book. I find it dull and long-winded with 2 dimensionl characters and a protagonist I just couldn't find it in my...more

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About David Eddings

David Eddings is an American author who has written several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels. David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings, is uncredited as co-author on many of his early books, but he has lately acknowledged that she contributed to them all.

David Eddings' first books (which were general fiction) sold moderately well. He later switched to writing epic fantasy, a field in which he...more

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Books by David Eddings

Enchanters' End Game (The Belgariad, #5)

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The Redemption of Althalus

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