The Elenium: More of the same

THE ELENIUM by David Eddings

I loved how The Elenium started. Sparhawk has to be the best character David Eddings has ever imagined. I thought, with the first book of this trilogy, that this series was a real departure from the world of Belgarath, Garion and Polgara.

The story starts as the publisher indicates, and it quickly becomes a quest for a mystical jewel that is buried somewhere. A cast of characters develops, and they go looking for the thing. However, this is where disappointment sets in. Though the characters in these books are different, the banter is the same, the narrative is almost pure dialogue, and after a while, you can’t tell which character is speaking.

The pace is the typical Eddings speed, due to the formulaic plot and due to the simple prose. The characterization is hollow, and there is very little development. There could have been, especially with the bad guy Annias, but that opportunity was horribly squandered. Ages 12 and up could easily read these books, but they are a little darker than the earlier Eddings fare, so I will say 14.

I got very bored, by the end. This was more of the same for Eddings, and it was particularly disappointing after the The Diamond Throne started with so much promise. He lost half a star for that from this reviewer. Not terrible books, by any stretch, but neither are they very good.

ANGUS BICKERTON practises law in a small town in Eastern Ontario. He lives with his wife, their two youngest children, and their black lab in a 160 year-old stone home, which also holds his law office. He has become, through inadvertence bordering on negligence, an expert in money-pit properties, and in do-it-yourself repair and construction. He has always dreamed of writing novels, but so far he has only self-published a play about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ entitled The Gate.