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The Dreamers #1
The Elder Gods
While most continents float freely on the face of Mother Sea, the Land of Dhrall survives anchored by the will of the Gods. All Gods, Elder and Younger, share the people and the land of Dhrall equally. But the one place they never enter is The Wasteland: a barren and hideous wilderness ruled by the Vlagh -- a god-like creature whose young are evil spawn.
Now, as the Elder Gods are about to transfer their power to the Younger Gods, the Vlagh plans to take advantage of their weakened state and neutralize them, eventually conquering the world. To do so, it is breeding a terrible force borne of monsters and demons. But one ray of hope shines through the darkness: four children called the Dreamers. They alone hold the power to change the course of history . . . and stop the Vlagh in its quest for total world domination.
Now, as the Elder Gods are about to transfer their power to the Younger Gods, the Vlagh plans to take advantage of their weakened state and neutralize them, eventually conquering the world. To do so, it is breeding a terrible force borne of monsters and demons. But one ray of hope shines through the darkness: four children called the Dreamers. They alone hold the power to change the course of history . . . and stop the Vlagh in its quest for total world domination.
448 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
449 people are currently reading
4025 people want to read
About the author
David Eddings
220 books5,560 followersDavid Eddings was an American author who wrote several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels. David Eddings' wife,
Leigh Eddings
, was an uncredited co-author on many of his early books, but he had later acknowledged that she contributed to them all.
They adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David, then two months old. They adopted a younger girl between 1966 and 1969. In 1970 the couple lost custody of both children and were each sentenced to a year in jail in separate trials after pleading guilty to 11 counts of physical child abuse. Though the nature of the abuse, the trial, and the sentencing were all extensively reported in South Dakota newspapers at the time, these details did not resurface in media coverage of the couple during their successful joint career as authors, only returning to public attention several years after both had died.
After both served their sentences, David and Leigh Eddings moved to Denver in 1971, where David found work in a grocery store.
David Eddings' first books (which were general fiction) sold moderately well. He later switched to writing epic fantasy, a field in which he achieved great success. In a recent interview with sffworld.com, he said: "I don't take orders from readers."
On January 26, 2007 it was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of his novels. He was flushing the fuel tank of the car with water when he lit a piece of paper and threw into the puddle to test if it was still flammable.
On February 28, 2007, David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings (born Judith Leigh Schall), died following a series of strokes. She was 69.
David Eddings died on June 2, 2009 at the age of 77.
They adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David, then two months old. They adopted a younger girl between 1966 and 1969. In 1970 the couple lost custody of both children and were each sentenced to a year in jail in separate trials after pleading guilty to 11 counts of physical child abuse. Though the nature of the abuse, the trial, and the sentencing were all extensively reported in South Dakota newspapers at the time, these details did not resurface in media coverage of the couple during their successful joint career as authors, only returning to public attention several years after both had died.
After both served their sentences, David and Leigh Eddings moved to Denver in 1971, where David found work in a grocery store.
David Eddings' first books (which were general fiction) sold moderately well. He later switched to writing epic fantasy, a field in which he achieved great success. In a recent interview with sffworld.com, he said: "I don't take orders from readers."
On January 26, 2007 it was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of his novels. He was flushing the fuel tank of the car with water when he lit a piece of paper and threw into the puddle to test if it was still flammable.
On February 28, 2007, David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings (born Judith Leigh Schall), died following a series of strokes. She was 69.
David Eddings died on June 2, 2009 at the age of 77.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 330 reviews
April 5, 2008
Ouch. Redundancy is the name of the game in this book. Every time a new character is added we get to read a recap of what we've read so far. Its a lot like listening to a 3 year old tell you about the trip to the zoo you just took. Over and over and over again. I think I'd have enjoyed the story otherwise. It's not a great literary work but could have been enjoyed as a nice fluffy diversion of a read...instead it never truly gave you the opportunity to get into what was happening or to care about what was going to happen next.
February 13, 2012
Very disappointing. David Eddings seems to have given up on creating anything new. He puts the same characters in slightly different worlds. The Belgariad was phenomenal. The Malloreon was a rehash of the Belgariad, but good. The Elenium was quite good. With the Tamuli everything started to fall apart: the quality of his writing worsened and it became evident that his creativity had gone with it.
In this one, all of the supposedly strong-willed characters fall right into line. The little goddess is exactly the same as Danae from the Elenium. The plot isn't very interesting, and the writing is completely flat.
In this one, all of the supposedly strong-willed characters fall right into line. The little goddess is exactly the same as Danae from the Elenium. The plot isn't very interesting, and the writing is completely flat.
March 21, 2010
OK at best. Sloppy writing style, thin, unstimulating plot. Unimaginative characters, 2 dimensional, I couldn't form a bond with any of them, try as I might. And the gods themselves were dull and not that bright. The gratitutous usage of the word 'on' directly after verbs was just plain irksome; again, sloppy and distracted me in my annoyance. A few times OK, but all the time, it becomes intolerable rather quickly.
I find it hard to believe Eddings is touted as a great Fantasy Master. Maybe if he were a 12 year old writing for 12 year olds, sure, but for a grown man with a grown audience, no.
I was so excited to read this series, but after this first one, I won't be picking up the rest. I am so disappointed and I can't stand when that happens.
I have heard that his solo writing is much better. I have Pawn of Prophecy which I will read at a future date, but this will be his only chance to redeem himself in my eyes. And after The Elder Gods, I'm in no rush to experience Eddings any time soon.
I find it hard to believe Eddings is touted as a great Fantasy Master. Maybe if he were a 12 year old writing for 12 year olds, sure, but for a grown man with a grown audience, no.
I was so excited to read this series, but after this first one, I won't be picking up the rest. I am so disappointed and I can't stand when that happens.
I have heard that his solo writing is much better. I have Pawn of Prophecy which I will read at a future date, but this will be his only chance to redeem himself in my eyes. And after The Elder Gods, I'm in no rush to experience Eddings any time soon.
January 14, 2008
There is an evil entity in the Wastelands. It is creating minions to overrun the land of Dhrall. The four elder Gods of Dhrall attempt to combat this by creating young children known as dreamers (although these people aren't really young children and this is revealed fairly early on it the book). But the dreamers aren't enough and there aren't enough people in the land of the Dhrall to combat all the minions of the Vlagh. So the Elder Gods go out to recruit mercenaries from other lands and thus the beginnings of an epic is born.
I probably shouldn't be writing a review of a book I haven't finished, but...oh,well. I must preface this by saying that I've read and adored the Belgariad and The Elenium. So I was happy to see that Eddings has put out the beginning of a new book. However, I was quickly overcome with disappointment. The writing seemed overly simplistic and I the characters are boring. The good guys so very intuitive with good ideas and great skills and they all become the bestest of best friends. They are simply too good to be true. I've gotten very used to reading fantasy series where the characters are flawed and emotional and aren't always "good". I found myself disinterestedly flipping the pages. I simply wasn't engaged in the story. And I was just fed up with the character of Eleria who was just too, too precious for words. She seemed to embody the worst characteristics of Flute, one of Edding's earlier characters. If I want to read a story that includes the character of Flute I'll go back and re-read the much better written and more interesting Elenium.
I probably shouldn't be writing a review of a book I haven't finished, but...oh,well. I must preface this by saying that I've read and adored the Belgariad and The Elenium. So I was happy to see that Eddings has put out the beginning of a new book. However, I was quickly overcome with disappointment. The writing seemed overly simplistic and I the characters are boring. The good guys so very intuitive with good ideas and great skills and they all become the bestest of best friends. They are simply too good to be true. I've gotten very used to reading fantasy series where the characters are flawed and emotional and aren't always "good". I found myself disinterestedly flipping the pages. I simply wasn't engaged in the story. And I was just fed up with the character of Eleria who was just too, too precious for words. She seemed to embody the worst characteristics of Flute, one of Edding's earlier characters. If I want to read a story that includes the character of Flute I'll go back and re-read the much better written and more interesting Elenium.
April 9, 2015
David Eddings is one of my favorite authors with the Belgariad and the Malloreon being at the top of my fantasy list. This series however was terrible. The characters had the same personality throughout most of the series, being almost indistinguishable through books 2 and 3. Only through the beginning of book 1 and the end of book 4 was there any real difference between them. The books also followed the same plot format so by book 3 it was easy to know exactly what was going to happen. It was the same story just in a different location. A good ending could have made things a little better but unfortunately he failed there as well. If it would have been any writer other than Eddings I would never have even finished the first book but I kept expecting it to get better. It didn't. Eddings is still in my top three for fantasy writers but I would suggest sticking to his earlier works.
October 23, 2014
No one in my family liked this series & we were all thrilled with his Belgariad series. There are 4 of us with varying tastes in fantasy & not one of us wanted to get the second book. We just couldn't like or identify with the main character or his issues. Blech.
May 11, 2019
the eddings' nuances that made their cute appearance in the belgariad and the malloreon return, but with less appeal and can be downright tiresome
a bit repetitive, too
still, i'm down to the duo's last three books and would like to finish
p266: longbow had been standing off to one side, listening but not saying anything.
a bit repetitive, too
still, i'm down to the duo's last three books and would like to finish
p266: longbow had been standing off to one side, listening but not saying anything.
December 30, 2012
I'm a huge fan of Eddings work and of the man himself. I probably come at this from a slightly emotional place because I remember him coming into a bookstore where I worked to pick up our order of his book, Regina's Song, to take them home so he and his bride could sign them. This was a perk, I suppose, of living/working near such an amazing, kind, and talented man. He would sign all copies of his books and he would order a book of poetry every Valentine's Day for "his bride" as he always called Leigh. I will be honest that this is not my favorite of his works, but at the time that Regina's Song came out I had started to wonder if he would ever put out more fantasy. Having been forewarned by our store owners and the manager that he would probably stop by and that he was a reserved man during his visits I curbed my excitement, helped him, and quietly told him that I had not read any of his fiction or joint works, but that I was a huge fan of his fantasy writing that I had read. At that point he thanked me and told me that he had several thousand words of a new fantasy work completed. After he left I went bouncing to the back office of our store where the store manager just shook her head and laughed at my enthusiasm. I never mentioned the new work to Mr. Eddings again, but when this book came out he remembered and he offered to personalize a signed copy. So I guess you can say that I was a fan who then grew a soft spot for one of my favorite authors. As for this book specifically...at times it moved a little slow, but I liked a number of the characters. Longbow dedicating his life to eradicating the object of his anger is somewhat trite, but it develops him for a larger purpose. He is that crusty character that you root for other, more easily likable, characters to succeed in cracking. Rabbit has many talents, but lives life dialing it back until his skills are leveraged for the cause. I've heard others say that these are recycled versions of older Eddings tales and I guess it's been long enough since I read them that I don't feel that way, but I also love each story for what it offers individually and I find that with each author I read there is a certain amount of carryover...themes that ring with them as they write and new twists as their own life experiences influence them and the way they write. I enjoy the developing interaction between the Maags and the Trogites as they are brought to help Zelana's people in Dhrall fight against the Vlagh. It's not perfect and the beginnings of their willingness to interact are tenuous and based in greed, but the bonds that grow as each side finds that their preconceived notions are not as solid as they thought add depth to what would otherwise be a straight, boring, they're paying us lets get it over with tale.
June 27, 2013
Want a fantasy epic without dwarfs, elves and orcs? A threat that doesn't involve dragons or dark lords? Want also a witty writing style that'll glue you to the pages? That's the Eddings. That's The Dreamers series!
For a long time I looked for fantasy stories that weren't Lord of the Rings clones. The alternatives were authors clearly influenced by Tolkien who desperately tried not to imitate «The Lord of the Rings». Then I found David Eddings and was saved.
This is a story about four gods who are reaching the point when they have to hibernate and let their domain to a second generation, in a cycle that span the aeons. But their land is threatened by a godlike creature that only thinks about wanton and destruction. So they each set to different continents to find people to fight for them. And my god how fun this saga is!
I fell in love with David and Leigh Eddings with The Redemption of Althalus, which I consider the best fantasy I've read in my life. «The Elder Gods» keeps it up. All the characters are very well constructed and it's incredibly enjoyable to follow their brilliant and witty stratagems to win — which they do with muscle but specially with brains.
«The Elder Gods» is a clever book that no fantasy fan should afford not to read.
For a long time I looked for fantasy stories that weren't Lord of the Rings clones. The alternatives were authors clearly influenced by Tolkien who desperately tried not to imitate «The Lord of the Rings». Then I found David Eddings and was saved.
This is a story about four gods who are reaching the point when they have to hibernate and let their domain to a second generation, in a cycle that span the aeons. But their land is threatened by a godlike creature that only thinks about wanton and destruction. So they each set to different continents to find people to fight for them. And my god how fun this saga is!
I fell in love with David and Leigh Eddings with The Redemption of Althalus, which I consider the best fantasy I've read in my life. «The Elder Gods» keeps it up. All the characters are very well constructed and it's incredibly enjoyable to follow their brilliant and witty stratagems to win — which they do with muscle but specially with brains.
«The Elder Gods» is a clever book that no fantasy fan should afford not to read.
November 11, 2014
20 years ago, David Eddings was one of my favorite author with the Belgariad series, I still have all the books.
I finally decided to start this series... but I didn't enjoy this as much as I remembered liking his previous work.
First when you start with pink dolphins, it didn't get me into the story enthusiastically :)
The characters have the Eddings touch but the story is too long... I know he got to introduced a new universe, but my main complaint is that he repeats the same element too many times, I'm sure you could cut 100 pages and the books won't suffers. Ex. Two characters planned something and you follow the reasoning (great) but after that one goes to his boss and explain the same reasoning and idem for the other so you read three time the same thing (not great).
Eddings killed surprise: when characters suddenly taking interest in something, you know it will happen right there.
Eddings likes 'clever' characters but some characters are to clever for their background...
The Elders Gods could be a good idea.. but still on the fence.. not believable enough right now
I don't know if I judged this book too severely because I got huge expectation from Eddings.
But I will read the second book... I still can't believe the author I liked so much won't surprise me... three stars only because it's Eddings...
July 10, 2009
I think some of the reviews here are a bit harsh. This was an unpretentious, fun fantasy. Aside from that...well, there are a lot of things aside from that.
I mean...this book is so formulaic, it's almost as if Mr Eddings has cracked open his 'How to Write a Fantasy Novel' Handbook and just gone through it ticking all the boxes. Map at the front of the book? You know it. A bunch of good guys who live in the south? Yep. A horde of foul-smelling bad guys who live in the North? I think so. But...shock horror, the bad guys are going to invade the good guys! Cue four hundred pages of endless, stilted conversations among the good guys followed by a big battle in the end (which the author isn't going to describe because he can't be bothered).
I don't want to sound like a bullying critic here but seriously the dialogue (and the description as well, come to think of it) in this book was shameful and would insult the intelligence of a child. The most annoying thing about it which made me want to hurl the book across my room was the way in which every time a new development is pushed forward by the plot, the characters have to have a recap on what has happened. A character finds something new from another character. That character goes and repeats EXACTLY the same conversation with some different people. The conversation is copied and pasted into the next scene with more characters. Argh, what are you thinking Eddings? Sorry David: it just wasn't very good. I'm a fan of some of the other stuff that Eddings has done but this was just rubbish.
I mean...this book is so formulaic, it's almost as if Mr Eddings has cracked open his 'How to Write a Fantasy Novel' Handbook and just gone through it ticking all the boxes. Map at the front of the book? You know it. A bunch of good guys who live in the south? Yep. A horde of foul-smelling bad guys who live in the North? I think so. But...shock horror, the bad guys are going to invade the good guys! Cue four hundred pages of endless, stilted conversations among the good guys followed by a big battle in the end (which the author isn't going to describe because he can't be bothered).
I don't want to sound like a bullying critic here but seriously the dialogue (and the description as well, come to think of it) in this book was shameful and would insult the intelligence of a child. The most annoying thing about it which made me want to hurl the book across my room was the way in which every time a new development is pushed forward by the plot, the characters have to have a recap on what has happened. A character finds something new from another character. That character goes and repeats EXACTLY the same conversation with some different people. The conversation is copied and pasted into the next scene with more characters. Argh, what are you thinking Eddings? Sorry David: it just wasn't very good. I'm a fan of some of the other stuff that Eddings has done but this was just rubbish.
February 22, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. It wasn't compacted heavily with pages upon pages of description and exposition when it really could've been. I found that it was very easy to read.
This book is kind of an adventure book whereas you travel a lot of the time. There are a few elements of this book - such as the powers/personalities of the dreamers, that I'd love to see further explored.
The book felt quite formal. Almost as if it took itself to seriously. But personally I found it to be more coherent this way - every little detail was explained in a way that wasn't too hard to understand.
The dialogue is probably where the most formality was noticeable. It could be called stiff but I didn't really mind it, at least it made sense and had some sort of flow.
Immediately picking up the next book!
This book is kind of an adventure book whereas you travel a lot of the time. There are a few elements of this book - such as the powers/personalities of the dreamers, that I'd love to see further explored.
The book felt quite formal. Almost as if it took itself to seriously. But personally I found it to be more coherent this way - every little detail was explained in a way that wasn't too hard to understand.
The dialogue is probably where the most formality was noticeable. It could be called stiff but I didn't really mind it, at least it made sense and had some sort of flow.
Immediately picking up the next book!
April 20, 2022
The Elder Gods is one of the single worst books I’ve ever read. Written by a titan of the fantasy genre, it is a combination of recycled parts from his better books - specifically Elaria v Aphrael - and then a collection of halfhearted notes, seemingly written between drinks at a pool bar.
None of the characters are engaging or well-developed. The plot lacks literally any dramatic tension or cohesion. When it ended, I was begging Eddings to kill off some characters- and not JUST because I have no emotional attachment to any of them. Mostly because I wanted something, anything to happen that might pique my interest. But no. It continued to wallow slowly forwards in a slow-moving stream of utter mediocrity.
I wish I could give it no stars. Please, please nobody waste their time on this.
None of the characters are engaging or well-developed. The plot lacks literally any dramatic tension or cohesion. When it ended, I was begging Eddings to kill off some characters- and not JUST because I have no emotional attachment to any of them. Mostly because I wanted something, anything to happen that might pique my interest. But no. It continued to wallow slowly forwards in a slow-moving stream of utter mediocrity.
I wish I could give it no stars. Please, please nobody waste their time on this.
October 2, 2019
Oh dear god this was boring.
May 19, 2025
This seemed to owe more to historical fiction and mythology than it did to Epic/High Fantasy. This type of approach is not my favorite, but I was still swept along with the story and enjoyed myself.
February 15, 2012
I'm spoiled. I started reading David Eddings with his series The Elenium and The Tamuli. I fell in love with those books. It was great Fantasy Lite reading and I ate all six books up. I followed them with The Belgariad and The Mallorean. And it was then I started seeing a pattern. The Redemption of Althalus confirmed it. David Eddings seemed to have a formula and he was determined to stick to it.
There isn't much imagination in Fantasy writing. It's nearly always about a quest and there is always someone in that quest discovering something about themselves. There are massive battles, there are deaths and there are magical beings. This is found in all fantasy books, not just David Eddings'. But he hangs onto these tropes like his life depended on it. The verbal exchanges are almost the same, the buddy-buddy between the male characters. The female characters always needing love and affection physically; their habit of always being flighty and whimsical is the same as well. Each book/series of books can be laid side to side and lines of comparison drawn between everything.
I didn't mind it because the books were still enjoyable but- BUT in this book it's bordering on the ridiculous. The well rehearsed quips between characters are getting predictable, the small child who always wants kisses is now becoming annoying (where as in the Sparhawk series it was almost endearing), and the questing group of characters is back again with everyone filling in their required roles.
I don't want these books spoiling my enjoyment of the Sparhawk series but I'm starting to think less of Eddings because of his more lazy approach to the writing of fantasy.
I'll finish The Dreamers series, so I can say I have read all of Eddings' books. But I'd have to say these are not his best. And I would not direct a first timer to these. Read The Elenium, The Tamuli, The Begariad and The Mallorean in that order. And those books only. Love David Eddings for his good works. Don't let the other books spoil it.
There isn't much imagination in Fantasy writing. It's nearly always about a quest and there is always someone in that quest discovering something about themselves. There are massive battles, there are deaths and there are magical beings. This is found in all fantasy books, not just David Eddings'. But he hangs onto these tropes like his life depended on it. The verbal exchanges are almost the same, the buddy-buddy between the male characters. The female characters always needing love and affection physically; their habit of always being flighty and whimsical is the same as well. Each book/series of books can be laid side to side and lines of comparison drawn between everything.
I didn't mind it because the books were still enjoyable but- BUT in this book it's bordering on the ridiculous. The well rehearsed quips between characters are getting predictable, the small child who always wants kisses is now becoming annoying (where as in the Sparhawk series it was almost endearing), and the questing group of characters is back again with everyone filling in their required roles.
I don't want these books spoiling my enjoyment of the Sparhawk series but I'm starting to think less of Eddings because of his more lazy approach to the writing of fantasy.
I'll finish The Dreamers series, so I can say I have read all of Eddings' books. But I'd have to say these are not his best. And I would not direct a first timer to these. Read The Elenium, The Tamuli, The Begariad and The Mallorean in that order. And those books only. Love David Eddings for his good works. Don't let the other books spoil it.
June 24, 2022
It has been several years since I read anything by David Eddings and reading this book felt like slipping into a comfortable pair of shoes. The writing style made it easy for me to be introduced to new characters (something I often struggle with). Being the first in the series, there were many necessary introductions. The story moves quickly and is engaging. The only drawback comes from repeated conversations as one character will refer to a previous conversation in near exact detail just a few pages after it happened.
May 27, 2008
I am almost done with it and i am loving it. David & Leigh Eddings really bring to life the wqorld they create. I love the elder gods charators and it really has a great seeting for the next 3 books.
June 16, 2016
So. Much. Dialogue.
90% of this was dialogue and it was made up of either exposition or war strategy.
This novel is very much an introduction to the series, and I am interested to see where it goes. Not sure when I'll pick up the next book however.
90% of this was dialogue and it was made up of either exposition or war strategy.
This novel is very much an introduction to the series, and I am interested to see where it goes. Not sure when I'll pick up the next book however.
February 13, 2025
I didn't like this much the first time I read it, so unlike the rest of my Eddings collection, I don't revisit it every year or two. Picked it up last week when I was craving fantasy and enjoyed it more than I remembered. It's no Belgariad, but still a good read.
December 6, 2017
I don't know whether to carry on in horrified fascination and spoil my memories of Garion, or give up now.
Read
September 21, 2022DNF @ pg163. 14.09-21.09.22 very repetitive, very boring, just going to hard pass on this series
April 1, 2022
I've approached the Eddings duo in a rather magpielike fashion, picking at their bibliography through my partner's collection. First the Pawn of Prophecy, then the Diamond Throne and now this - the start of their final cycle and far from their best. The Dreamers is set in a land occupied by living gods, who can do everything except for when they can't. There are lands to the north, south, east and west but they are barely fleshed out. Rather than a grand fantasy tapestry this reads like a meandering barely-edited ramble - characters state aloud what their plans are multiple times to different characters and then those plans slowly and tediously come to pass. The linearity of it all is breath-taking, mind-numbing.
There's still a ghost present of what makes the grand fantasy of the Eddings' so appealing, the characters, the core of whom do make it mildly diverting but then they all do lapse into the same, mildly snarky slightly bickering rhythm. You imagine the two elderly Eddings, sarcastically sculpting the plot together and to be honest - that's probably the nicest thing about it. They are the elder gods, and as their phase is coming to an end they are growing slower and are being wrong-footed at every turn by the evil ever-evolving scourge that is my desire to be enthralled by a good fantasy book.
There's still a ghost present of what makes the grand fantasy of the Eddings' so appealing, the characters, the core of whom do make it mildly diverting but then they all do lapse into the same, mildly snarky slightly bickering rhythm. You imagine the two elderly Eddings, sarcastically sculpting the plot together and to be honest - that's probably the nicest thing about it. They are the elder gods, and as their phase is coming to an end they are growing slower and are being wrong-footed at every turn by the evil ever-evolving scourge that is my desire to be enthralled by a good fantasy book.
July 6, 2019
3 ½ Stars
The Elder Gods is the first book in The Dreamers Series by David Eddings. This series takes place in a new ‘universe’, but the stories feel a lot like Mr. Eddings other books but are my least favourite of his stories.
I did enjoy the books, but for me they don’t feel quite as epic as his other reads. These books were a little slow in places, and I found it hard to ‘get into’ the stories- in comparison to his other works. Some of the books, especially the first book, feel way too long- and would have worked just as well, if not better, if they had been shortened. There was a lot of dialogue, and a lot of repeated information, which was frustrating and slowed down the flow of the story/stories.
The world building though, was really well done, as expected from Mr. Eddings. The fantasy and adventure was fun- if not a little corny and cheesy in parts.
This is a story of Gods, Monsters, and humans- and even though I have rated it lower than his other work, it is still worth the read for a true fantasy lover.
The Dreamers Series Books are:
-The Elder Gods (Book #1)
-The Treasured One (Book #2)
-Crystal Gorge (Book #3)
-The Younger Gods (Book #4)
Happy Reading!
The Elder Gods is the first book in The Dreamers Series by David Eddings. This series takes place in a new ‘universe’, but the stories feel a lot like Mr. Eddings other books but are my least favourite of his stories.
I did enjoy the books, but for me they don’t feel quite as epic as his other reads. These books were a little slow in places, and I found it hard to ‘get into’ the stories- in comparison to his other works. Some of the books, especially the first book, feel way too long- and would have worked just as well, if not better, if they had been shortened. There was a lot of dialogue, and a lot of repeated information, which was frustrating and slowed down the flow of the story/stories.
The world building though, was really well done, as expected from Mr. Eddings. The fantasy and adventure was fun- if not a little corny and cheesy in parts.
This is a story of Gods, Monsters, and humans- and even though I have rated it lower than his other work, it is still worth the read for a true fantasy lover.
The Dreamers Series Books are:
-The Elder Gods (Book #1)
-The Treasured One (Book #2)
-Crystal Gorge (Book #3)
-The Younger Gods (Book #4)
Happy Reading!
January 11, 2019
Interesting idea (older angrier Gods cycle back as children), expressed in a stilted and overly formal way. The narrative is repeated again as every new player enters the story, so I feel like I've read it all four times. Yet I did enjoy it. There are some intriguing characters (Longbow, Red Beard) that despite occupying stereotypical roles I felt attached to and would like to continue their story.
January 19, 2023
DNF (don't know how to mark this in GoodReads) - Did some research and found out authors were imprisoned for child abuse. Will never, ever read their works again. This book was the first and will be the last.
The story was also terribly written and dragging on anyways that I had already planned to DNF before I found out this awful bit of information. Trash.
The story was also terribly written and dragging on anyways that I had already planned to DNF before I found out this awful bit of information. Trash.
December 16, 2023
I know that the Eddingses just wrote the same story five times with slightly different filters, but BOY HOWDY, DID THEY EVER. Anyway, I am having an absolute BLAST picking this series apart for what bits came from the Belgariad and which came from the Elenium. It is very silly and very great.
November 22, 2022
Was given this as a Christmas gift a few years ago and just now read it. Meh.
December 29, 2019
A cool concept. Not so cool writing. Veltan is bae.
May 23, 2020
On the fence with this one. Will see how the story develops in the next one.
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