Crystal Gorge (The Dreamers, Book 3) [Hardcover]

David Eddings (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 23, 2005 | Series: The Dreamers

In the new epic fantasy from the masters of modern fantasy David and Leigh Eddings, the Ruler of the Wasteland challenges the Gods and wreaks devastation on their people. The Dreamers are children teetering on the brink of divinity. They have the power to change the world with their dreams. And then they have to tell the Elder Gods what they have dreamed, or chaos will reign in the Land of the Gods, and great danger will be upon them. The Elder Gods have defeated the Vlagh twice - with the aid of the Dreamers and the mysterious Treasured One who seems, worryingly, to be controlling them - but the unspeakable Creature of the Wasteland is on the fast track to world domination as the time approaches for the Younger Gods to take their place. Now all the varied resources of the domains of the Gods are marshalled to bring a halt to the spread of evil. But there is pestilence and skirmishing, and suddenly the balance of power shifts. The Ruler of the Wasteland has infiltrated another domain of the Gods, the land of short summers, where bison and deer roam. There the strange and marvellous crystal gorge, which can be no natural formation of rock, is destined to become a battleground of great beauty and great terror. The enemy is closer to knowing the secrets of the Treasured One and the Dreamers are in grave danger of delivering a nightmare to the world of the Elder Gods. A magical, on-the-grandest-scale, action-packed, totally engaging and characterful fantasy novel from the bestselling authors David and Leigh Eddings.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for David Edings: 'My ideal summer read! Having enjoyed the entire ten-book serial, I was delighted to be able to read this latest addition as it not only provides fantastic escapism in itself, but, being a prequel, will make my re-reading of the other books all the more fascinating.' The Irish Times 'All the verve and pace we've come to expect.' The Dark Side 'Offers an absorbing storyline and some memorable characters as, once again, the author touches 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. 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 begin exploring it.' Publishers Weekl

About the Author

David Eddings was born in Washington State in 1931 and grew up near Seattle. He graduated from the University of Washington and went on to serve in the US Army. Subsequently he worked as a buyer for the Boeing company and taught college-level English. His first novel was a contemporary adventure, but he soon began a spectacular career as a fantasy writer with his bestselling series The Belgariad.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Harper Collins; First Edition edition (May 23, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007157649
• ISBN-13: 978-0007157648
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,007,313 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars HORRIBLE, September 5, 2005

By 

MimiCookie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crystal Gorge (The Dreamers, Book 3) (Hardcover)

This book (and series) is both very different and very similar from the Belgariad and Mallorean. It is very different because it lacks the originality, style, wit, and charm of its predecessors. It is very similar because all of the characters from the previous series (including Elenium and Tamuli) have been regurgitated into this series. The characters are cookie-cut--but that's not the worst part. For some reason, the authors had difficulty separating their characters into distinct personalities--the characters all say the same things, speak the same way. This third book is particularly disappointing because the authors waste a lot of pages retelling us things we already know--either things from the previous books or things that happened earlier in the book. We are retold many things MULTIPLE TIMES in this book. The wit and charm in the Eddings' writing style and their characters from the previous series have become stale and overused in this series. As an avid fan of the Belgariad and Mallorean (of which the books "Polgara" and "Belgarath" are MASTERPIECES), I am really sad to say that the authors have completely lost their touch.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars So much talent gone to waste, November 26, 2005

By 

Peter Hobson (Groton, CT USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crystal Gorge (The Dreamers, Book 3) (Hardcover)

If anyone doubts that David Eddings has talent, read "The Belgariad." It's one of the best fantasy series to appear since Tolkien came down the pike. There are plenty of original ideas, good characterization, and excellent writing in "The Belgariad."

The basic idea for "The Dreamers" is pretty good. It's not original, but that's not necessarily bad. The evil critter wants to take over the world, the heroic warriors and magicians (the gods play this role) fight the evil critter, diverse alarums and excursions, the evil critter comes within a hair of winning, truth and beauty triumphs, The End. In the hands of a good story teller, which Eddings has proved he can be, this plot provides an enjoyable read.

Unfortunately, in "Crystal Gorge" in particular and "The Dreamers" series in general, Eddings seems to be coasting. As others have said, much of the book consists of the same incidents, seen by different characters. This would be all right, except there's no point in an explanatory scene with Red Beard as the Point of View character and then, 28 pages later, the same scene with Rabbit listening to the same information being given out. Since the two characters have the same reaction to the scene, why bother?

Eddings is recycling many of his characters from previous books. The characters who aren't recycled are interchangeable. Narasan has two sidekicks. One is sardonic while the other is cynical, but that's the only difference. Otherwise they're the same character.

I am quite disappointed in "The Dreamers" series. Eddings is capable of so much better.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars one star might be too much, November 3, 2005

By 

Michele "phillyfish" (Holland, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crystal Gorge (The Dreamers, Book 3) (Hardcover)

I just read this book last night. I was checking over and over to make sure I wasn't losing my place...because I would swear I was reading the same thing I read 2 minutes earlier. The characters even say the same phrases to eachother continually like they all have the same sense of humor. One character is mentioned to be quite somber and serious, then the next moment Eddings is writing about what a great sense of humor he has. ALL of the chracters seem to turn to one another and ask eachother if so and so has to be a certain way...for ex. some one makes a joke, cpt. Sorgan turns to Narasan "does he have to do that" he asks dryly...no lie, that senario must have occurred at least 25 times. Also, there are 4 children dreamers and 4 books. I would think each dreamer would play an intricate part (besides the dreams)of the solution...however, the helper/mother takes over and fixes it. Why even have the dreamers if the dreams and actions are coming from the helper/mother. The original idea was sound, a little repetitive, but now the third book has completely lost the whole entire focus the first two books set up. What a waste of a perfectly good idea. The Elenium is my favorite series because I actually read that serious first and I thought it was brilliantly written, and his other books are fantastic as well, but this book...sad to even say the words...is a total disappointment.