Customer Reviews

The Seeress of Kell

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Book 5 of the Mallorean

Finally we come to the conclusion of the adventures of Garion, Belgarath, Polgara, and everyone they traveled with. While this is specifically the conclusion to the 5 book series "The Mallorean", this is really the conclusion to the story that began 10 books ago with "Pawn of Prophecy". In this book, Garion will reach the end of the road in the quest to rescue his kidnapped son and also fulful for the final time the prophecies that have been shaping his world for more than 7000 years. Garion is nearing the end of the quest and if you have read the previous nine volumes, you have an idea of what to expect. This is still lighthearted, simplistic fantasy and is fairly enjoyable to read.

The Mallorean (and Belgariad) is an epic series of Good vs Evil, Light vs Darkness, and of Gods, Kings, and Men (not to mention women, but I meant humans). There is magic a plenty, an abundance of sword play, a long epic quest, humor, action, and drama. One can accuse this series (and Eddings) of telling the same story twice, as the plotlines do follow those of The Belgariad, just in a different location, but Eddings actually built that into the story so well that events are supposed to be repeating themselves. Rather than blatantly rip himself off, Eddings set up his world and the events in it such that some repetition is necessary. To be honest, if you are a fan of the Belgariad, you are likely going to have enjoyed reading through the Mallorean. The ending, though anti-climactic, is nice, pleasant, and a good way to say goodbye to the friends you have made over the course of reading 10 books set in one world dealing with the same set of characters. They may be cliché and repeat themselves and tell the same jokes, but these are characters you can come to care for and they are familiar like family.

After reading nine novels set in this world, nothing anybody can say will convince you to either like or dislike this book any more than you already will. The opinion the reader will have of this novel depends entirely on his or her enjoyment of the first 9 books (if one makes it that far). This is fast reading fantasy, but is enjoyable all the same. At one time these were my favorite characters and my favorite world, and while this is no longer true, I have a certain amount of fondness for Silk, and Polgara, and Zakath and everyone else in this world. To me, this was a fitting way to conclude the series.

It's with a sense of relief that I can finally turn to the last volume in this series. While the Malloreon is better written than the Belgariad, Eddings overplayed his hand in telling a story which is a derivative echo of its predecessor, and then using a repetitive architecture to expand the tale to five volumes. Had this series been whittled down to four, or even three volumes it would have been easier than on the reader.

Belgarion, C'Nedra, and the rest of those one the quest for their kidnapped child must now follow the last steps in fulfilling the prophecy that will enable Cyradis, Seeress of Kell, to make the final choice between alternate futures. Two candidates exist for the God who will replace Torak - who was slain by Belgarion in the first set of books. Errand, who has been in the care of Polgara and Durnik, will stand for Belgarion, the child of light, and Geran, Belgarion's own son is Zandramas's offer. If Geran is chosen darkness will fall and Belgarion will face having to kill his own child.

They voyage first to Kell, then to Perivor, and finally to Korim where the last clashes will be fought. There is a complex set of requirements to be fulfilled before Cyradis can make her choice, and Zandramas is intent on making sure that there really is no choice. Tense times come as Belgarath solves the last puzzles just in time and the find the altar in the place that is no more.

Seeress of Kell is noticeably better paced than Sorceress of Darshiva. It doesn't really bog down at all until after the choice is made, when Eddings proceeds to take 80 pages to wind down the tale in epilogue. Again, it's not Eddings writing ability that is at fault, but his inability to know when to stop. If you go on to the Elenium you will immediately discover that when Eddings keeps to three volumes and is carefully edited he is still capable of a story compels and entertains. Again, the best thing one can say about the Malloreon is that even with flaws it is much better than many attempts at epic fantasy, which is a far more difficult genre than you might believe.

The Malloreon started off very well, with books one, two and three packed with suspense. Book four, was an average book when compared with the other three, but this one was deeply disappointing.

My primary criticism would be that the ending was absolutely terrible. The book did not require nigh on a third of its contents to be devoted to a happy ending. I found that it ruined what was otherwise a great story.

Secondly, there was little development of the characters in this book. We learn nearly nothing about any of them, and I found them to be mostly two dimensional, with a couple of surprises thrown in to make them appear more realistic. With the notable exceptions of Silk and Sadi, I could not gain any insight to the characters' minds, and I found this to be very disappointing.

Finally, I found the book to be very repetitive, over using phrases, in the futile effort to give it some depth. Given the standard of Eddings' previous works in this series, I really feel that he should have taken a lot longer to write the book, if all he could write was something of this quality.

I was also very disillusioned by his addition of characters from the previous series, in a very amateurish fashion. One can only hope that he is planning to remove the final two volumes from his list of published works, and rework them into novels worthy of their forebears.

If you want a really good and enjoyable read, I would suggest that you avoid this book and buy one of Janny Wurts' excellent War of Light And Shadows series instead.

The Belgariad and the Mallorean were some of the best series I have ever read by far... they were interesting, and I absolutely loved the characters! This book definitley needs another one to tie up some more loose ends. I really want to find out what happened to Vella and Beldin, the names of Pol's twins. DAVID EDDINGS WRITE ANOTHER BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!

By the time I had gotten to the end of this series, or should I say both series, I was extremely sad. I found myself homesick - not for my house but for the vale. This was definitely a good climax to the whole saga, not only because it ended in the destruction of all the evil, but also because it explained all the loose ends. The loose ends are another reason I liked David Eddings writing, he makes it so you know as much as Garion does and you have to figure things out along with him. As I read this series, I noticed I would be mumbling to myself, and I would be giving Garion advice on who people really are, or where "place that is no more" is, or other things such as these. I even dreamt of walking through the vale talking to Belgarath. The books made me have a personal relationship with each character. I was sitting on the edge of my seat (metaphorically speaking because I was actually lying on my bed) while I read this last book. It was definitely an exciting end to a series started by the docile pawn of prophecy (I think of the two series as one).

David Eddings may be the most lazy author in print. All the "good natured bantering" in this book is lifted verbatim from the first book and endlessly repeated through the next nine. His characters are never in any real danger and calmly take on 2,3, or even 10 times their number with only a scratch or two. I wonder how the Angaraks could ever be considered a threat when the heroes dispose of them in such an offhand manner. The second five books have virtually the same plot as the first five. This series is like a bad song for me; I can't get it out of my head. And how about the companion who dies?! He chickened out and killed off the least interesting and important character. If you are looking for a good fantasy series, don't read this one. Try Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow and Thorn" or George R.R. Martin's "A Game of Thrones", which is looking like it will be a great series (people actually get hurt and die).

A deeply, deeply satifsying conclusion of the Malloreon (and the Belgariad) saga. Eddings builds the tension up until the finale - and (opposite to the Kirkus Review printed above) DELIVERS. I liked this finale very, very much. It is exciting and, like another reviewer stated here, gives you everything a fantasy-fan can hope for: (SPOILER AHEAD!!!) Sword & Sorcery, a big dragon, a demon and the saving of the whole universe. (SPOILER ENDS)
One more wonderful thing: The book doesn't end at the finale, there are still 100 pages ahead. Eddings lets his heroes go home and shows what becomes of them. After taking the reader through ten volumes he grants them a big payoff. I LOVED IT. This is exactly what made THE LORD OF THE RINGS so wonderful for me and THE SEERESS OF KELL is one of the best fantasy books I've ever read.
Suffice to say: This is the best book in the two sagas.

Warning: People who do not like happy-endings should skip this book. This book has one of the happiest happy-endings you can imagine...

Great how things end up in this book.(i don't like it that it's already over though). It's great that it doesn't end right after the final battle between good and evil like in so much other books,this time everybody gets dropped of home. It was a big surprise that Sadi became one of the good guys and i was releaved that Kheldar came along again(he's the best). Why didn't we got to now where Beldin and Vella went? And what are the names of Polgara's twins,are they boys or girls or both?Well mr.& mrs.Eddings reason enough for another book, don't you think? It was also nice to see Zakath turn to his good old self again. I have to say that the Belgariad/Mallorean series are the best ever. David and Leigh Eddings are the number one Fantasy authors of the world.

This was a very entertaining book, the characters were great, and it was a fast paced read. My only complaint is that I felt the main plot suffered a minor breakdown by the end of this book. The plot in the first series, the Belgariad, was better. Overall the Mallorean and the climactic chapters in The Seeress of Kell were a great read.

Many people think David Eddings is overly formulaic which he is a bit but since I enjoy the tale he tells I do not mind reading it over again. His characters always have great humor at their core and you can't beat a good epic tale for entertainment value. This particular book is one of my favorites by him.