The Diamond Throne [Mass Market Paperback]

David Eddings (Author), Leigh Eddings (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1990

Sparhawk, Pandion Knight, and Queen's Champion have returned to Elenia after ten years of exile, only to find young Queen Ehlanda trapped in a block of ensorcelled crystal. As Sparhawk sets out to find a cure for Ehlana, he discovers that only he can defeat the evil plots that threaten her rule....

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Eddings begins his new Elenium series in a world that has different names but much the same feel as those of his bestselling Belgariad and Malloreon series. Fans will find themselves back in step as the Pandion knight Sparhawk sets off to find a cure for his poisoned Queen Ehlana. PW praised Eddings's "graceful, fluid style of storytelling."
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A young queen's life and a country's future lie in the balance as an exiled Pandion knight, a Styric "witch," an aging squire, and a mysterious child begin a long and arduous trek through foreign lands in search of an elusive cure for an unknown disease. The author of the popular "Belgariad" and "Malloreon" series draws once more on his particular strengths, combining heroic yet humorous characters with exotic settings and tangled politics to create a fast-moving fantasy that will appeal to his large readership. Highly recommended.-- JC
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (June 13, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345367693
• ISBN-13: 978-0345367693
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #574,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More 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 Aircraft Company and taught college-level English. His career as a fantasy writer, with his wife Leigh, has been spectacular.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great characters make for a great book, February 18, 2004

By 

Ashley Megan "amazonfox" (Vernon, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Diamond Throne (Mass Market Paperback)

Although Eddings wrote his "Belgariad" series first, the "Elenium" was the first of his series I read. Therefore, my comments will tend to be skewed in favor of the Elenium, although most readers who read the Belgariad first will be more in favor of that series. It's a direct result of the fact that Edding's major flaw is a tendency to plagiarize himself, rather obviously. Therefore, if two books or plots are all but identical, the second one will almost invariably be set in your mind as a poorer copy.

Anyways. The story opens with an old and battered knight, Sparhawk, returning home to the kingdom of Elenia after ten years of exile. The old king who exiled him is dead, and the new Queen Ehlana, whom Sparhawk tutored as a child, has pardoned him. But when he gets home, he finds that Ehlana came down with a deathly illness shortly after her coronation, and that to save her life, Sparhawk's old teacher in magic, the Styric sorceress Sephrenia, has placed her in a state of suspended animation, frozen in a block of crystal. Before they can bring her out, they have to find a cure for whatever illness Ehlana has. Sparhawk, of course, immediately signs up for the quest to save his queen.

Along the way, he picks up various companions, including four other knights from various kingdoms, in a sort of joint effort of unity among the many orders of knights. That's the explanation given, at least, although of course the real reason is that Eddings absolutely loves creating secondary characters, and a quest story is always better the more people there are involved. There's plenty of sword-and-sorcery, a few monsters, but not so much that you feel like you're alienated from the universe he's in. (I think he does a much better job in this respect here than with the Belgariad, but again that's just me.)

Say what you will, but Eddings really is good at creating characters that you can truly like and care about. And you can never go wrong with your basic quest story, which gets wonderful treatment here. I love this series, and "Diamond Throne" is an excellent start to it.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very entertaining read!, May 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Diamond Throne (Mass Market Paperback)

I have purchased all of Eddings' fantasy novels and I admit that I have read all of them at least 5 times over. Although the characters and plots are quite traditional (the requisite thief, knights,royalty,magic,etc.), what makes me recommend his books is the certain fun you will get from reading them. I really recommend these novels to anybody who wants an entertaining evening at home with a book in one hand and a pack of chips in the other! I would not call his books "serious" (unlike Robin Hobb's excellent Assasin series). Still, it is obvious that Eddings puts much thought into each of his characters, and I think you will find yourself liking even the most minor of characters in the series for what he/she adds to the story. His characters are all the type of people you would like to meet in real life; full of honor, humor, wit, loyalty, feeling and strength. Sparhawk's adventures are a bit more fastpaced than that of Garion's (the very first series) and you will definitely find common elements in both of them. The younger reader will enjoy Garion's story (as I did when I started out) but older readers will appreciate the great humour and fun to be found amoungst Sparhawk and his fellow knights. We can't always be in the mood for 'serious' fantasy and fiction...grab an Eddings book for some fun and relaxation instead!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Far Cry From The Belgariad, August 26, 2005

By 

Christian Teppic - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Diamond Throne (Mass Market Paperback)

Okay, it drives me crazy that people read Fantasy stories--which BY DEFINITION include magic and strange lands and sorcerers and special swords and the whole nine yards--and then they complain that a FANTASY story has magic and strange lands and sorcerers and the like. Do we complain that MYSTERY stories have *gasp* MYSTERIES to solve? No! We choose the genre we like and we read it.

David Eddings created a fascinating series here. Both the Elenium and the Tamuli are extremely well-written. Sparhawk is a well-defined character, and has a great supporting cast (especially Talen). The plots he created with the Gods as characters are both creative and intriguing. Ehlana and Aphrael and Sephrenia are excellent characters.

It irritates me that people compare this series to the Belgariad. I liked the Belgariad; I thought it was a little rough, but well-written. People compare the 'similarities' that this series has to that one, and all of them are superficial. First, they say that Sparhawk = Garion, which is a far cry from the truth. Garion is extremely powerful, and a KID, and very hesitant to do much of anything. Sparhawk is a seasoned veteran who relies on his combat abilities and not on his magic, because until the end of the Tamuli, he really wasn't that powerful. Sephrenia is not nearly as powerful as Pol, or even close to the same personality. The Orb is just a magic stone whereas the Bhelliom actually has a personality. Someone was actually complaining that they're the same COLOR. Yeah, that makes the two series COMPLETELY the same.

This book follows the path of the Belgariad in that each book in the trilogy, although having their own distinct beginning and ending point, is only a section of the main plot. Nothing is really resolved until the end of the final book in the trilogy, and so although the book is rather short, it's only a third of what you would need to read to appreciate the story. There's magic (although not nearly as much as many fantasy books contain) and sorceresses and Gods (as characters) and strange lands and everything that goes into making up a fantasy story. If you don't like those elements, read something else. If you do, however, like the story of the one guy who can save the world and his troupe of friends and followers who love him and will follow him to death, this story is for you.