- Mass Market Paperback: 800 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey; Reissue edition (Oct 30 2001)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0345440781
- ISBN-13: 978-0345440785
- Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 3.3 x 17.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 408 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (338 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #73,003 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
As the first stand-alone one-volume epic fantasy by the popular Eddings team (whose series include The Belgariad; The Malloreon and The Elenium), this hefty saga about Good trouncing Evil plumps an engaging young reprobate hero into the arms of aDliterallyDdivine feline heroine. A professional thief and occasional murderer, Althalus accepts a commission to steal a supernatural tome known as the Book. When he arrives at the mysterious House at the End of the World, a lissome black cat with emerald eyes turns out to be the fertility goddess Dweia. Together they enlist a Mission Improbable team to out-sorcel the assorted villains marshaled by the sorcerer Ghend, who is bent on converting this medieval-like world from the worship of Dweia's good god-brother, Deiwos, to awful servitude under their wicked sibling Daeva. Plenty of derring-do spices up the first two-thirds of this jolly romp, and some zingy flashes of wit home in neatly on stuffy human institutions like overorganized religion and landed aristocracies. Unfortunately, the Eddingses can't resist a lengthy time-traveling reprise, which drags the story down into so-so conventionality. Though the Eddingses' multitudinous fans will likely feel right at home here in their safely magical realm of good-natured fun, this circle of would-be faerie has been trodden so often that here it yields very little deep-rooted literary greenery to munch on or to savor, still less to ruminate upon.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
The Eddings, whose fantasies usually sprawl for several volumes, had to cram to get their latest adventure into a mere 700 pages (768 in galley form). The first section, covering more than 2,000 years, sets up the premise: a talented thief, Althalus, is hired to steal the Book from the House at the End of the World. Althalus, who doesn't know a book when he sees one, gamely enters the house, is trapped there by a talking cat, and remains for 2,500 years, learning to harness the Book's powers. The talking cat, Emmy, is in fact Dweia, one of three sibling gods who rule the world. Her brothers, Dewois (the creator) and Daeva (the destroyer), are choosing up sides and preparing for battle. Dweia enlists Althalus' aid to obtain a knife covered with runes that can be read only by those companions chosen to join the fight on the side of good. Althalus, traveling with Dewois as the cat Emmy, seeks and enlists the help of several unlikely accomplices, including a young boy, a priest, a witch, a warrior, and a princess. Once the companions are gathered, the Eddings hit their stride, and the story takes off. The interactions between characters, straightforward plotting, and doses of wry humor keep the tale humming. Judging by the popularity of their other books, this is a sure purchase for fantasy collections. Candace Smith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Althalus the thief spent ten days on the road down out of the mountains of Kagwher to reach the imperial city of Deika. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Althalus the thief spent ten days on the road down out of the mountains of Kagwher to reach the imperial city of Deika. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
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Most helpful customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Boring!,
By Max Nevill (BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Redemption of Althalus (Mass Market Paperback)
I didn't like this book after reading the Belgaraid and the Mallorean. I couldn't believe Eddings would use such cookie cutter methods to writing his book. It was hardly suspenceful or surprising. There is no climax. The cultures and characters you meet in this are flat and not interesting. It was hardly worth reading.The only redeeming feature were the dreams that rewrote history. But that couldn't save this book. I wonder if David Edding's wife Leigh is a bad influence. I say this because the Belgaraid and the Mallorean were written just by David Eddings. Then his wife comes along and writes this book with him and the Elder Gods, (total flop, do not read it btw) and they both suck.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Horrible novel,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Redemption of Althalus (Hardcover)
I picked this book off the shelf knowing that this was a novel by David Eddings, writer of the Belgariad. I was expecting a consice victory of literature that I experienced in Eddings' other novels. I was wrong.The first part of the book is interesting enough, but this quickly fades with the plot, and the overuse of cheap sarcasm. The most aggravating part of this novel was the plotline (or lack thereof). According to any story format, the novel is supposed to build up to a climax. Not so in this novel. The reader is introduced toa very vague idea of an enemy, and until nearly the end of the novel, the characters spend their time laughing and telling cheap jokes. This book could have been written in four hundred pages less, leaving out all the fluff which does nothing for the story. Overall a disapointment as a novel. No intruiging thoughts, no great character development, and a plotline that wilts to nothing by the end of the story. Not worth your money.
1.0 out of 5 stars
So bad it left me hostile,
By Gordon Wong (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Redemption of Althalus (Mass Market Paperback)
Other reviews have really said it all. Horrible writing. Stereotyped characters that have the most trite and repetitive of dialog. Boring. Offensively stupid. Glaring plot holes. Ridiculously overpowered, unchallenged heroes. The list goes on and on. I'm ashamed that I read the whole thing. The last line made me throw the book, first against the wall and then away.
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