The Losers / High Hunt

by David Eddings, Don Maitz (Illustrator)

Two masterful tales of magic, fantasy, adventure, and the epic struggle between good and evil come to life in a collection by the best-selling novelist that includes The Losers and High Hunt.

High Hunt:

Down below in Tacoma, a group around Dan Alder's brother had been together by a mutual taste for beer, liquor, and endless arguments- with a little lying and wife stealing on the side. But now, high in the mountains on a test of endurance to see who could bag the biggest deer, everything was falling apart. Were they hunting animals?? or man...

The Losers:

Raphael, a golden-boy quarterback, falls prey to his evil college roommate who manipulates him into a wild affair with an older woman and causes a car crash that cripples and emasculates him. 40,000 first printing.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

501 pages, Hardcover

First published August 20, 1994

About the author

David 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.

Reviews

[Stuart Whitmore · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, but it was definitely a good read. The two stories are completely unrelated to each other, apart from being by the same author and taking place in the same general geographic region. They both show that they were written in and about a different time, especially High Hunt (all that drinking and driving, for example!). Despite being separate stories (characters, settings, etc.), both The Losers and High Hunt delve into what makes people tick, and Eddings doesn't shy away from the darker, baser motivations. I felt that The Losers offered more insights, while High Hunt was a more engaging read. Not something for young audiences -- sex, violence, bad attitudes, adult problems, etc. run throughout both stories -- but a good read for mature audiences. I'd give this book 3.5 stars, so as usual I'll round that up to 4.

[Katy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this double book before I read it, especially as the blurb on the jacket made it seem a more male-oriented type than I cared for in my reading choices but, with my OCD telling me I should read it if I owned it, I started the book.

The Losers surprised me a lot. It started off okay, but I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it much. It did start to grab me into the story, though, and made me realise just how easily our lives can change because of other people.

The story had a few twists and turns I hadn't seen coming and, overall, although I enjoyed reading it and, in the end, it got me thinking about the choices I've made in my life, and how I'm so glad I didn't end up like so many of the characters in the story, it didn't really grab me.

I started High Hunt the day after finishing The Losers, as I wanted a little time to absorb the first, before starting the second, and I'm glad I did, as it really hit me in a different way.

I loved the tension that Eddings created between his characters, even before they went on to the Hunt, and the way he drew each one into the plot was something that made me want to keep on reading, even after it was well past my bed time!

I kept on reading, expecting the story to have the ending I'd been drawn in to expect, so I was really surprised at the actual ending - in a very good way, too, as I'd expected to get nightmares.

All-in-all, I did enjoy reading both books, but I'm not sure they have a place on my to-read-again shelf.

Having so little space left, I'm only keeping those books I know for sure that I'll love reading again but, although I did end up enjoying these, it just wasn't enough for me to keep them.

Maybe they'll find a space on somebody else's shelf though 🙂

[Lisa Dice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Completed The Losers: While not a favorite, still an interesting read. I liked the social commentary on our American Welfare system, how the participants in truly hate the system, which seems to incompacitat them more than the actual helping. That as participants, they lose all control of their lives to the government. How the social workers themselves are under an illusion that what they do is really needed or required by the participants. I have seen this first hand and agree. I am greatly saddened by our welfare system. It's purpose is noble but its actual results are negligible to that purpose.

[Esther · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love both of these books, though I am not certain if I would love them as much separately. Both deal with notions of humanity, and selfhood, as well as how we see and interact with others. Rich and transformative. Update, 12/17: I have just reread The Losers, and I cannot decide if the harsh attributes assigned to people who enter the welfare system are Eddings' actual opinions, or merely a reflection of the prevailing view in the early 90s, before the Welfare Reform Act of 1996 really worked its magic in ruining the safety net. It did sort of take the edge off my liking for the book.

[Shardis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have these just to say I do, really. These were his first attempts at writing, prior to the Belgariad series, I believe. I like his fantasy much better.

[Michael Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eddings is my favorite author. These two gems are incredibly well written and original. Must-reads for anybody.