Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings

[lunabee34]

thelastgoodname and I are at it again. This time we're reading David Eddings's The Belgariad series. She posted on the first book in the series, Pawn of Prophecy HERE.

Queen of Sorcery

I've got to say that I enjoyed this series immensely. I feel like most all the characters are real, fleshed out people and not just ciphers or symbols. The action feels real to me and I was in genuine suspense and sometimes pain and, more often, amusement at what I was reading. I am so glad we choose these books to read. See my comment in TLGN's post for more discussion of why I like the books in general.

And now to the specific.

Garion's quest to avenge his parents' death is rather odd to me. Now, on the one hand, it makes sense. Vengeance is a theme that runs throughout these books--Hettar and his consuming hatred for Murgos, Lelldorin and his rather ridiculous notion of well everything, hell Torak himself. We are shown again and again that vengeance is a course that dehumanizes people (or at the very least makes them incredibly silly). And when Garion is consumed with the desire to avenge his parents, okay. Whatever. That's what happens in these adventure novels. And he's warned by those wiser than him that revenge will probably end up hurting him even more. But then he accomplishes his goal so quickly and with so little fallout that I'm left scratching my head. I almost feel like Eddings included the revenge plot because that's the sort of thing you're supposed to do in this genre.

I love the sense that Belgarath and Polgara and their ilk are rather like TPTB in the Buffyverse--not bound to anything *good* in the traditional sense of the word but rather an overarching fate that must be accomplished no matter how many individuals must be sacrificed to ensure that the grand scheme of things plays out. Belgarath says of the destruction of a town that apparently was dear to Polgara centuries ago, " 'We're not who we are and what we are in order to get mixed up in things that don't have any meaning.' " I am very intrigued by the idea that they simply sat by and watched pain and suffering that they could have averted simply because that suffering was necessary to the fulfillment of the prophecy they protect. There is a coldness, an Otherness, an indifference to everything but the mission in these characters and I love the hell out of that. I love how it complicates them. I love how it prevents them from being too deus ex machina because they actually frighten me as a reader; they seem so unpredictable.

I like that each country's government is constructed differently--Sendaria where rank is of no consequence (" 'What a man does is more important than what he is.' " Garion*) and Arendish feudalism and the theocracy of the lands that serve Torak.

I very much enjoyed Belgarath's tree punishment for Andorig and I love the little hints that Polgara is falling for Durnik.

I also was surprised at how explicit the sexual content is in the book. We've got the sensuality of the Nyissans and the near nakedness of the women in that country coupled with Garion's stint as a bona fide sex slave. This book is a little rawer than anything we've read thus far and I'm enjoying that.

*By the end of the series, I am still not certain whether what happens proves Garion's statement right or wrong. Thoughts?

Comments

[thelastgoodname.livejournal.com]

Garion's revenge plot seemed tacked on to me, too, but in a way that's good: it's not as if he were waiting for the opportunity for revenge for years and years; it came up suddenly when he discovered how his parents died, and was dealt with just as quickly when he confronted their killer. Rather than fester, it burned itself out and left Garion feeling appalled at himself -- possibly for the feelings as much for the actions.

I really like Polgara and Belgarath's position as TPTB. They can't care that much about individuals, most of the time (3,000 years of hanging around waiting for Garion to be born so she could raise him must've been pretty boring), but they have to care about everyone because they're tying to save the universe. For me, it nicely balances the whole prophecy thing: they have no choice in the big stuff, so each choice they make in the small stuff means more. I thought Polgara was already feeling pretty strongly for Durnik (from the beginning, when Garion wants them to get married) but she can't, which is sort of thing I'm talking about.

I loved Garion as sex slave, but I think even though he's a young adult protagonist, this is not a young adult book. (Not the 10-12 range of young adult, anyway. The 14-16 range, maybe, but those kids are good for adult books.) Or maybe it is: people expect kids to read and understand To Kill a Mockingbird.

I'm not entirely sure why these are separate books, though, since they're not really separate books, unlike the other series we've read. Other than the fact that it's hard to find a publisher for a 1,500 page book.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes yes.

This should be a Robert Jordan Wheel of Time monstrosity. You are so right that these books are just one interrupted in a way that really only the Golden Compass was in our reading.

[lunabee34.livejournal.com]

Also, I love love love the thwarted love angle for Polgara because I'm certain that if you told the Durnik of books 1 and 2 that Polgara could possibly ever return his feelings, he'd call you a fool and smack you with the broad side of his sword. He thinks it's impossible because of their stations and because of his natural reserve and she thinks it's impossible as well.

*loves*