The Elder Gods (The Dreamers, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

David Eddings (Author), Leigh Eddings (Author)

Book Description

Series: Dreamers | Publication Date: October 1, 2004

Somewhere beyond the farthest pole of the world, the land of Dhrall lies anchored by the will of four powerful Gods. Able to bend reality to their whims and influence the lives of mortal men, these deities are still bound by the laws of nature and cannot take lives. Yet the Gods are not the only power. For in the center of Dhrall lives a voracious horror known as the Vlagh. A nightmare made flesh, the Vlagh has bred a massive army of hideous monsters to overrun the world. In the coming battles the people of Dhrall will be aided by a ragtag force of foreign mercenaries and pirates, but the true champions of the war will be four enigmatic children known as the Dreamers. Raised by the Gods themselves, these children can alter the fabric of reality. But, unlike the Elder Gods, the Dreamers do not hesitate to kill...

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

David and Leigh Eddings introduce readers to their newly minted Land of Dhrall with The Elder Gods, the first book in the four-book Dreamers Saga. Dhrall is under the gentle rule of four gods representing the four compass points. These gods are reaching the end of their terms of power when the god of the North brings four children who are destined to take over for them into his siblings' lairs. The children are dreamers and able to see the possible outcome of battles in a coming war with the evil creature that controls the wasteland at the center of Drahll's map. Thus, the gods and their young charges undertake quests to hire mercenary armies and thwart the initial invasion into their lands.

The book unfolds like a children's primer. This pedantic style proves to be heavy-handed for adult readers and will quickly try their patience. If the Eddings were trying to concoct a book that would be suitable for reading aloud to fifth graders they've succeeded, but even the most die-hard fantasy fan will tire quickly of the sing-song approach and plot twists that can be sniffed out from miles away. --Jeremy Pugh --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Only die-hard fans of the bestselling Eddings duo (The Belgariad series) will enjoy this slow-moving, low-tension epic fantasy, the first in a projected four-book series. The Land of Dhrall dwells under the stewardship of four gods, each oriented with one of the four compass directions. Dahlaine and his brother, Veltan, rule the North and South, while their sisters, Zelana and Aracia, rule the West and the East, respectively. Dhrall's center is a wasteland under the control of That-Called-the-Vlagh, a dark, inhuman thing of vast patience, power and ambition. Prophesy speaks of the Dreamers, children whose dreams will defeat the Vlagh by controlling the natural forces of Mother Sea and Father Earth. Dahlaine and his siblings each raise a baby Dreamer; only after the precocious children start to dream does he reveal that they are actually fellow gods in the world's life cycle, reborn with no memory of their previous lives. Dahlaine and his siblings hire human mercenaries, who eventually meet the Vlagh's forces in battle, but the dark armies prove unexpectedly resourceful. Despite a variety of characters (pirates, gods, aboriginals, soldiers, etc.), all speak in the same unlikely, bland manner, and dialogue generally replaces action. The authors will have to pick up the pace in the next volume to keep readers interested.
Copyright 2003 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: 480 pages
• Publisher: Vision (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446613339
• ISBN-13: 978-0446613330
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.2 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (151 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #564,650 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Ghost written?, March 22, 2004

By 

Peter M. Brown (Gambrills, MD United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Elder Gods (The Dreamers, Book 1) (Hardcover)

Ghost written? That was my first thought as I passed the halfway point through this book. Surely this did not come from the hand (or wordprocessor) of what has always been one of my favorite pairs of authors? I have read and enjoyed everything else they've done, including their non-fantasy books, but this one just didn't cut it for me.

The characters lack any depth, are overly agreeable with each other and with new situations, and generally fail to draw you in. The attempt to add some depth and minor internal conflict to Rabbit seemed very forced and just didn't work.

The plot is predictable, plodding and has no real subplots of interest. The book is only as thick as it is because Eddings found it necessary to have characters repeat things over and over verbatim when explaining to other characters.

The only character that really seems to be typical Eddings is Eleria, and her overt cuteness and personality sticks out like a sore thumb among the other flat characters, making her more than a bit contrived.

I can only hope that the second book is better written. I'll definitely wait to find out before buying a copy, though. If it's anything like this one, this will be one of the only times I drop a trilogy after the first book.

Overall, this is just not compare with any of Eddings duo's previous work. If you buy this book based on the authors' reputation, you will be as disappointed as I was.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Somebody needs an editor! How did this get published?, November 14, 2003

By 

Melinda James (Monterey, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Elder Gods (The Dreamers, Book 1) (Hardcover)

First: I own all 12 of the "Garion" books. The Belgariad was the series that got me googoo-gaga over fantasy, and I've read the entire series enough to have to replace all the books twice. The Belgariad and Mallorean are examples of a saga gone right: fleshed-out and compelling characters you grow to love (or hate), a genius writing style that places you in the world without you even noticing, and of course, a bunch of Gods!

I made the mistake of buying The Redemption of Althalus and found that the writing style had changed completely: excessive use of "There is" and "There are", too many filler words, and the narrative told me what to think of these characters rather than showing me what they were like. Either David (who I believe has a masters degree in English) got hit hard on the head, or Leigh took over writing (and it's not her strong suit!)

Now onto this drivel. Unfortunately, my fiancee bought the hardcover for me at full price, knowing I love Eddings. I can't read this crap. The grammar errors alone are so distracting I can hardly get involved in the story. When I do, I find the first main character to be a very pale and annoying shadow of Polgara. I got to the second "mini-book" within the book and gave up, angry that I spent my hard-earned money on this book, bewildered that no editor turned it red and sent it back, and dumbfounded that it was published.

The overarching story is a great idea. The execution is horrendous. And as an avid reader, I consider the mechanics of writing to be most important... otherwise, anybody with a good idea should be published.

PLEASE: don't waste your money. We must somehow send a message to the Eddingses that their name alone won't make them money.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nothing really new here, November 27, 2003

By 

E. Teltschik (McLean, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Elder Gods (The Dreamers, Book 1) (Hardcover)

To preface, I've been a Eddings fan since his (their?) first foray into fantasy with the Belgariad (I still have the first printings of some of the books). Eddings soon moved into the rather short list of my favorite authors who I just read without bothering to even check the plot or the jacket notes.

Without getting into too much detail, I approached this book with a bit of trepidation: recent Eddings books had started to become pale imitations of his earlier works. The characters all seem to have the same character traits, the same speech patterns, etc. The only thing different is the name of the character from book to book. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like every Eddings series has the one woman who knows everything, who repeatedly says either "don't worry I'll explain later" or "see I told you so," and generally runs around putting everyone else into their cute little places.

Unfortunately, this book is no different. I even caught one character who's name starts with "Bel" - reminiscent of the tell-tale from the Belgariad for "important person who knows everything." I finished the book, but I admit I lost real interest around the second or third chapter.

If you've never read Eddings before, do yourself a favor and go read something else of his first. Preferrably the Belgariad series.