Jeremy Preacher (jpreacher) - Austin, TX (1,097 books)

Jeremy Preacher liked Cecily's review of The Sapphire Rose:

" Well, yay textbook mediaeval warfare! Jane-Rhea caught me laughing out loud when I got to the point where (not really a spoiler, this) they were being right well besieged in ~~Rome~~ that warm-temperate city with all the basillicas and popes and things a... "
Read more of this review »

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

The Elenium: The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight & The Sapphire Rose (The Elenium, #1-3)
by David Eddings

My rating:

I finally gave in and traded my used hardcovers for this single-volume version just to save some shelf space, but I've read these books probably a dozen times each - so this is a very jaded review. (And they get four stars out of pure nostalgia, and ...moreI finally gave in and traded my used hardcovers for this single-volume version just to save some shelf space, but I've read these books probably a dozen times each - so this is a very jaded review. (And they get four stars out of pure nostalgia, and also because they're almost as addictive as the Belgariad, but if I were just encountering them now I'd probably give them three.

There's not much point in addressing them as individual volumes, because it's basically one long adventure. And it's an entertaining adventure - let me start by establishing that. The Elenium is focused on Sparhawk, who is a 40ish knight with a hell of a lot of experience (in contrast to the Belgariad, which is a pure bildungsroman.) Sparhawk is essentially a good, honest, honorable guy, but he's also ruthless and willing to look first in his scabbard for the solution to his problems. This is mitigated in large part because the series is essentially an ensemble piece, and the various stock characters he surrounds himself with (Dumb but Good-Hearted Best Friend, Wise Older Companion, Beautiful and Mysterious Enchantress, Cocky Young Thief, etc etc) balance out the various encounters.

I like these books, don't get me wrong - they're fast-paced and fun and the election sequence in the third book involves some of the most readable political shenanigans I've come across in fantasy - but they're far from perfect. Eddings doesn't have a ton of range in either his characters or his dialogue, and while this is not the same as the Belgariad at all (mostly in that it's an R-rated series - lots of blood and guts and even some sex, or at least the implication of sex) it's particularly jarring when he re-uses lines of dialogue. It really highlights his limitations.

And the worldbuilding is just sloppy. Sloppy! The Bhelliom (the magic jewel they spend the first two books questing for) changes origin and powers every fifty pages. It's evil! It's True Neutral! It's the force that created the world! It's too dangerous even to look at, although it was displayed on a hat that kings wore for centuries! We must destroy it! We should probably destroy it although it might blow up! We might have to destroy it even though it will probably take out a few mountain ranges when it goes! Sparhawk can touch it because he has the rings! Sparhawk can touch it because he was destined to! No one else can touch it, except those inconvenient kings and the Troll and a goddess and possibly the hundreds of people who've been searching for it for millennia!

The Mysterious Enchantress has different powers depending on the situation, Berit is an apprentice knight then an novice then an apprentice then a novice and then, finally, is "promoted to a rank seldom used by the militant orders," an apprentice knight. And in the most obvious and laughable example, at the end of the first book, Sparhawk "for the first time in his life, contemplated the deliberate murder of an unarmed man." Except that in the very first chapter, we see him picking up some wire to use to strangle a drunkard when he comes out to pick up some more wine.

I don't think these issues totally detract from the entertainment value of the books, but they do stick out to me after all these rereads, and I don't have the patience - or maybe the obliviousness - I did when I was 15. The trilogy pretty much reads like Eddings sat down one day, started at the beginning, and shipped each chapter off without ever reading it again. Which is fine, I guess, but I hold my epic fantasy to higher standards nowadays.(less)

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm
by Roseanne Barr

My rating:

This was much more readable than her first book - the lack of terrible poetry was a huge relief. I find Roseanne as a character fascinating in a trainwreck sort of way, and I have to keep reminding myself as I read that she's a comedian, she's totall...more

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

Kings of the North (Paladin's Legacy, #2)
by Elizabeth Moon

My rating:

Also an excellent addition to the universe. I appreciated that it comes to a satisfying conclusion while still leaving some major plot threads hanging for the third book (which comes out tomorrow - how convenient for me!)

I find Moon's prose workmanl...more

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

Oath of Fealty (Paladin's Legacy, #1)
by Elizabeth Moon

My rating:

I have had a mixed experience with the Paks books - liked the original trilogy rather a lot, disliked Surrender None, loathed Liar's Oath - so I approached this with a little trepidation.

But it's good! Maybe even better than the original books, if ...more

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

A Touch of Dead (Sookie Stackhouse #4.1, 4.3, 5.1, 7.1 & 8.1)
by Charlaine Harris

My rating:

I wish I had found some of these sooner, especially "One Word Answer," but they were fun even read out of order. None of them were all that profound, but they mostly featured the bits I like best about the series - clever worldbuilding and small-town...more

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse, #10)
by Charlaine Harris

My rating:

This is also sort of all over the place, but in a much better way - the various bits hang together and the emotional arcs build off of each other rather than being distracting.

Eric's "family" is fascinating, although I have seen about enough of the "...more

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, #9)
by Charlaine Harris

My rating:

Ah, yes, the torture scene. Pretty much inevitable in urban fantasy. I never like it - I doubt I ever will. But when you've got to write fourteen books, you have to keep upping the stakes.

I like the fairies as a concept, but they seem awfully one-sh...more

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse, #8)
by Charlaine Harris

My rating:

Kind of a muddled mess, plot-wise, although it was nice to get resolution on so many long-running subplots. The body count in the series has passed the point of no return, for me - it's probably inevitable in any really long-running mystery series, p...more

Jeremy Preacher gave

to:

All Together Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, #7)
by Charlaine Harris

My rating:

On the one hand, I like the larger picture featured here - I'm always into worldbuilding and seeing more of the vampire government and culture is neat. I also appreciated the return of Barry Bellboy - he's a great character to provide an alternate pe...more

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Jeremy Preacher liked Cecily's review of The Sapphire Rose: " Well, yay textbook mediaeval warfare! Jane-Rhea caught me laughing out loud when I got to the point where (not really a spoiler, this) they were being right well besieged in ~~Rome~~ that warm-temperate city with all the basillicas and popes and things a... " Read more of this review »
Feb 20, 2012 04:14pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: The Elenium: The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight & The Sapphire Rose (The Elenium, #1-3) by David Eddings	My rating:
I finally gave in and traded my used hardcovers for this single-volume version just to save some shelf space, but I've read these books probably a dozen times each - so this is a very jaded review. (And they get four stars out of pure nostalgia, and ...more
Feb 20, 2012 04:02pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: Roseannearchy: Dispatches from the Nut Farm by Roseanne Barr	My rating:
This was much more readable than her first book - the lack of terrible poetry was a huge relief. I find Roseanne as a character fascinating in a trainwreck sort of way, and I have to keep reminding myself as I read that she's a comedian, she's totall...more
Feb 20, 2012 03:27pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: Kings of the North (Paladin's Legacy, #2) by Elizabeth Moon	My rating:
Also an excellent addition to the universe. I appreciated that it comes to a satisfying conclusion while still leaving some major plot threads hanging for the third book (which comes out tomorrow - how convenient for me!) I find Moon's prose workmanl...more
Feb 20, 2012 03:20pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: Oath of Fealty (Paladin's Legacy, #1) by Elizabeth Moon	My rating:
I have had a mixed experience with the Paks books - liked the original trilogy rather a lot, disliked Surrender None, loathed Liar's Oath - so I approached this with a little trepidation. But it's good! Maybe even better than the original books, if ...more
Feb 20, 2012 03:16pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: A Touch of Dead (Sookie Stackhouse #4.1, 4.3, 5.1, 7.1 & 8.1) by Charlaine Harris	My rating:
I wish I had found some of these sooner, especially "One Word Answer," but they were fun even read out of order. None of them were all that profound, but they mostly featured the bits I like best about the series - clever worldbuilding and small-town...more
Feb 20, 2012 02:54pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse, #10) by Charlaine Harris	My rating:
This is also sort of all over the place, but in a much better way - the various bits hang together and the emotional arcs build off of each other rather than being distracting. Eric's "family" is fascinating, although I have seen about enough of the "...more
Feb 20, 2012 02:51pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, #9) by Charlaine Harris	My rating:
Ah, yes, the torture scene. Pretty much inevitable in urban fantasy. I never like it - I doubt I ever will. But when you've got to write fourteen books, you have to keep upping the stakes. I like the fairies as a concept, but they seem awfully one-sh...more
Feb 20, 2012 02:41pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: From Dead to Worse (Sookie Stackhouse, #8) by Charlaine Harris	My rating:
Kind of a muddled mess, plot-wise, although it was nice to get resolution on so many long-running subplots. The body count in the series has passed the point of no return, for me - it's probably inevitable in any really long-running mystery series, p...more
Feb 20, 2012 02:34pm · see review
Jeremy Preacher gave to: All Together Dead (Sookie Stackhouse, #7) by Charlaine Harris	My rating:
On the one hand, I like the larger picture featured here - I'm always into worldbuilding and seeing more of the vampire government and culture is neat. I also appreciated the return of Barry Bellboy - he's a great character to provide an alternate pe...more
Feb 20, 2012 02:25pm · see review

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