Belgarath the Sorcerer: Amazon.ca: Leigh Eddings: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

In this epic fantasy, depicting thousands of years of sorcerous, noble and godly machinations, the Eddingses return to the world of their multivolume sagas, The Belgariad and The Malloreon. This prequel to the earlier books, presented as Belgarath's memoirs, offers an absorbing story line and some memorable characters as, once again, the authors touch all the right fantasy bases, with warring gods, political intrigues, supernatural creatures and appealingly human magicians involved in a titanic war over the course of seven millennia. Because of the vast scope, the sense of ages passing and of destiny unfolding is well conveyed; but that same scale confines the authors to handling some events and characters only briefly, and it mutes the story's emotional power. Nonetheless, Eddings fans will no doubt snatch this novel off the shelves, while readers new to the authors' world won't find a more appropriate place to beginning exploring it. 400,000 first printing; major ad/promo.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

While relating his event-filled life, the immortal sorcerer Belgarath weaves a compelling tale of two opposing Necessities that spans 7000 years and bears witness to the rise and fall of human hopes and destinies. The latest effort by the authors of The Belgariad (Ballantine, 1986) provides a new spin on material familiar to series followers. It illuminates the mysterious past of a world cracked apart in its infancy by the jealousy of its gods. The sometimes humorous, sometimes sharply rueful voice of the narrator provides a welcome anchor in this lavishly portrayed journey through time. A welcome addition to most fantasy collections, this title can be enjoyed apart from its predecessors.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Product Description

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.

First Sentence
The problem with any idea is the fact that the more it gets bandied about, the more feasible it seems to become. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

(What's this?)

Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)

commander and den asaan rautu(1)

sword and sorcery(1)

Customer Reviews

152 Reviews

5 star:		(100)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(5)

Average Customer Review

4.3 out of 5 stars (152 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars What is in it for you? :), Jan 9 2007

By

M. B. Alcat "Curiosity killed the cat, but sa... (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Belgarath the Sorcerer (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are one of the many fans of "The Belgariad" and "The Malloreon", here is another treat for you. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading those wonderful epic fantasy series, make yourself a favour and read them before tackling "Belgarath the sorcerer". You can thank me later for introducing you to a wonderful new imaginary world and to likeable characters :)

"Belgarath the sorcerer" starts just where "The Malloreon" ended, that is the book "Seeress of Kell". And, strangely enough, it is nothing less than Belgarath's autobiography. As those who have read the series already know, Belgarath is a notoriously lazy sorcerer, probably the least likely person to feel the need to write his story. Unless someone compels him to do so, of course. But to know who or what could do that to an all-powerful sorcerer, you must read this book.

What is in it for you?. Well, lots of fun, and the opportunity to know how things really started, from the point of view of one of the main characters in the series. You get to accompany Belgarath from his birth in the small village of Gara, to the fateful day when he met Aldur and became first his pupil and then his disciple. In case you are as curious as me, you will also be grateful to know that this book will allow you to learn more about Belgarath's family, and to live wondrous adventures with him and his friends.

Personally, I found the opportunity of "living" the things I had merely read about in the previous books specially rewarding. The fact that Belgarath's memories span thousands of years gives the reader the opportunity of gaining a good perspective on all the things that happened, thus preparing him to read the previous books in the series in a different way. A warning is in order, though. If you haven't read the previously mentioned books, this book has big-time spoilers, so please don't risk ruining the surprises those series have for you. Do first things first, and read "The Belgariad" and "The Malloreon" before "Belgarath the sorcerer".

All in all, I loved reading this book, and I highly recommend it to those who don't feel ready to leave the world of Belgarath and his friends. Enjoy it!

Belen Alcat

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars A warning to potential readers..., July 18 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Belgarath the Sorcerer (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is a great addition to the saga; a real added bonus for those who already love Eddings' work. Its wry humour and great storytelling style make it a definite page-turner, despite a few qualms I had with Belgaraths' little 'asides' to the reader - amusing to begin with, but a few of his quips fell short with me. However, overall, an extremely enjoyable read.
However, I must add a word of warning to potential readers out there. A lot of reviewers have been recommending Belgarath the Sorcerer as a good way to start on the Belgariad and Mallorean series - it IS a nice summary of the world Eddings has created but some people might want to avoid it until they have read the other series as this book reveals many of the plot-twists which, for me, made the Belgariad and Mallorean so enjoyable. Eddings' device of starting and ending this book with episodes from Garions' current life, set after Seeress of Kell, is a good idea but it means that a new reader will quickly find out what happens to the gang in the end - if you're the kind of person who flicks to the ends of books anyway then that's alright, but if you want to save the surprises for later then don't read this book yet! A friend of mine picked up Belgarath the Sorcerer before reading the other books and was disappointed that she then knew what was going to happen to Garion and his friends. Also, the world-building which came quite gradually in the Belgariad and Mallorean is now crammed into one book here, and I think many of the references to events in the other novels would be lost on new readers here, especially towards the end of this book when emphasis is heavily on the background of characters such as Silk, Barak and Garion.
Overall, a great book, but you'll get more out of it if you've read Eddings' previous works already!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars great for the fans, Mar 23 2004

By

arto (Finland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Belgarath the Sorcerer (Mass Market Paperback)

I thought this thick book would be at worst repeating things already mentioned in the saga, as the style of Eddings is similar to fairytales rather than an attempt for a realistic feeling world, and the stereotypes (particularly describing the various peoples and cultures) he already created in books 1 to 5 were repeated enough as it is. I was right about that, he repeats some things but generally speaking 90 percent of this book is all new material, as the history from Belgarath's point of view.

I had a great deal of good laughs; the book has a slower pace and allows for greater detail at points, but Eddings spares us a lot of boredom and still manages to capture not only great events but also everyday life. Robert Jordan could learn a thing or two from Eddings even though he might have greater talent.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 152 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 175 reviews 4.3 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tale of Generations...
I own all the books from the Belgariad and Mallorean series + Polgara and the Rivan Codex and this books fits perfectly with the entire collection. Read more

Published on Mar 4 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Eddings Dairy of the Wolf is grand
I always like Belegarath from his sense of dry humor to his ability to tell great stories. Well this book was his greatest of all his stories and helped fill in alot of gaps which... Read more

Published on Sep 1 2003 by R. Reinhart