Customer Reviews

The Treasured One: Book 2 of The Dreamers Series

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

This book is not up to Eddings old style or even the standard of later edition books by David & Leigh Eddings. It was sorely disappointing yet I kept reading, like probing a sore tooth!

The first book was not very good, the repartee is getting dull and standard as well as every character seeming to be a cardboard copy of those who have gone before - just about every man is an amalgam of Belgarath/Silk/Sparhawk/Barak etc etc- with none of the warmth, humor and originality that made them all such lovable characters. (the women are either Polgara's or the rather nauseating Elenia character childgoddesses)

In this book:
Zelana's domain has been secured from the invasion of the servants of insect-like overmind the VLAGH but now her brother Veltan is having a premonition of trouble along his borders. The Dreamers have dreamt of 2 invasions and a great deal of chaos.

Sadly the characters may as well be interchangable because they all have the same supposed to be dry humor but now standard overdone satire. This makes it hard to follow the conversations, as they all reads like one long monologue.

Is it because I read that Eddings book (was it the Rivan Codex?) where the Authors described their formula for writing? I cannot believe that the reason this book is so stale.

Every passage is described in at least three ways before we are allowed to move on, and the authors will always take the opportunity to retell a plot direction ie battle tactic, at least 3 times. As if this was not enough interminable repetition, I discovered to my horror around the 6th chapter that the past chapters & events are retold from different viewpoints.
The authors take this opportunity to describe origins and motives, (which seem to be similarly interchangable)and then go on to relate, in torturous detail, the past months happenings.

This is repeated at least 6 times and what makes this so boring instead of interesting, is we already know exactly what happens and has happened on account of it being described at least 3 times in great detail from one character to another already. . .

Is my review beginning to sound repetitive? Perhaps it's an infectious virus...

So. The child/dreamers are vile little know-it-alls, as well as being revoltingly snide, whilst at the same time that usual gooey sweetness (eg: "well I'm always right, now give me a kiss-kiss").. Urgh.
Still the children are also the most likeable figures, but are only briefly aired*

The mysterious benefactor we know exactly who it is.

The only arch villian appears in bug form, and alas we only hear his voice through roars. I am sure if the authors gave him a voice it would be full or the same sort of overblown sardony with which every other character speaks.

Can I bear to review my beloved David Eddings this badly? I think I must.

If you borrow it from the library you will be disappointed but not as much as if you brought it... I purchased this book at the airport to read on the plane and now, 5 months later I have read it, but it's not a page-turner.

Poor show from David Eddings and I must say I feel that his books have taken a turn for the worse since Leigh Eddings began to be credited as authoring.

It is still more enjoyable than some really poor grade fantasy books and my rating of 2 stars is in comparason to other Eddings books, not what is on the market.
The plot is quite good, the characters, were they depicted less stiltedly are still good, and I will read part 3, bc I'm hoping that a little bit further into the series they might pick up the pace a little?

I also confess to being intrigued with whether any of these dopey or dull men are intended for the ladies - the only girls are the goddesses & Ara, wife of stodgy farmer Omago who invents the spear? and various other weaponry.

*perhaps the authors are saving that for a separate book - book 2, point of view of dreamers??

Readers will find an interesting conclusion to the book wherein it seems that the armies needen't have been gathered at all, if only everyone had done a little more communicating. This may seem a bizzare statement to make, as I have already complained about the excessive and repetitive conversations, but there you go. Just a little contrast for you to mull over.

"The Treasured One" is the second book of David Eddings' new series "The Dreamers". The first book in this series, "The Elder Gods", was a complete disappointment and it is only my fondness and nostalgia for Eddings' earlier work that keeps me reading this series. After the Domain of the God Zelana was saved in "The Elder Gods", the enemy, the creature the Vlagh, has targeted another Domain for invasion: that of the God Veltan. As the Gods cannot actually act directly to harm another or protect their people and Domain, they must use good willed men and women to help protect the land of Dhrall.

Veltan has discovered that the Vlagh and the bug like minions of the Vlagh are going to invade his Domain. He is able to get his peaceful citizens to form and army and also hire out the mercenary army which helped save Zelana's Domain. Most of the characters from "The Elder Gods" only play minor, supporting roles here. Instead we are introduced to Omago, a favorite of Veltan. Omago, like any good hero is incredibly provincial but intelligent and quick witted. For example, Omago invented the spear. Perhaps this doesn't seem like much, but in Veltan's Domain nobody had ever seen or heard of a spear. So, while the rest of the world has had a spear for centuries (if not longer), Omago invented the spear. Omago is one of the leaders finding a way to defend Veltan's Domain. Meanwhile a former priest turned soldier, turned traitor has betrayed the Domains with the intent of acquiring all of the gold which was promised the mercenary soldiers for fighting.

If this all sounds kind of dumb, it is. But it gets worse. "The Treasured One" is told through the perspective of several characters: Omago, Jeltan (the traitor), and a couple of other characters. The trouble is that "The Treasured One" is more background than it is story. Eddings tells us the individual background stories which have nothing to do with the conflict at hand and all of this background leads up to the same place: the Vlagh is about to invade Veltan's Domain. But when we get back to the "present" time, we are then in another Section of the book dealing with another character's background. By the end we are brought up to the present a good four or five times with very little actual progress in the novel. Besides which, the writing here isn't very good, either. The characters are still variations on the classic Eddings characters of Polgara, Silk, Sparhawk, Talon, Barak, and Flute (and others). There is just nothing original here. The action is described the same, though with somewhat less detail. The characters all sound the same and act the same, and the old jokes are still repeated. I hate that I have to admit that with this series it appears that David (and Leigh) Eddings has lost whatever craft they had with their earlier series, and this is very disappointing because I grew up reading The Belgariad and I loved those characters, and I enjoyed his other three series and there should have been no reason why this series couldn't have been as good as his earlier work, except that it is so much work. If you must read this book, borrow it from the library. It's just not very good and right now I would be very surprised if the series gets better.

-Joe Sherry

I'm afraid to admit that since they wrote, "The Redemption of Athalus," the Eddings duo has done nothing but dissapoint me (albeit I have yet to read "Regina's Song"). I've read, "The Belgariad," and "The Mellorean," (not to mention his other two series that are almost the same but not exactly) countless of numbers of times. It's these books that keep me reading the stuff that keeps coming out by the Eddings duo and I keep hoping that they're going to strike gold again but they just keep striking out.
I was insulted when I read the begining of the book. It didn't get much better when I realized that the Gods in the land of Dhrall are all idiots. For the first half of the book I couldn't read more then two pages before I fell asleep. I did enjoy the segments when they gave insights into some of (okay most of if not all of) the mortal characters lifes, because while they were doing this they left out the sniveling idiotic Gods from the land of drool.
After Eddings beats it into you that these things had to happen and the many different point of views of them happening, it turns out that they didn't have to happen and now everyone is in the way. During a short anti-climatic war between the "churchies" and the minions of "the vlagh," who your never really sure which side is winning it seems like Eddings remembered that he had a dreamer and why not put him to use making a river that seperates "The Bla," from Veltans domain.
Please Eddings I put up with Flute in the Elenium and the Tamuli with nary a complaint but I think if I have to endear another kiss-kiss I'm going to yak-yak.

I love David Eddings' work. Usually. The Belgariad and The Mallorean are some of my all-time favorite series but clearly he just doesn't know how to break out of the mold. Every character is almost identical to characters in those previous series' but just have different names. There are no new original ideas or character developments. I honestly think he may just be going through the motions to make money because I don't feel there was any love behind these Dreamer books at all. Perhaps a new reader to Eddings' work might enjoy them because they might not have read his past books but I found them boring and tedious. I am proud to say that I don't have a single Dreamer book in my house - anymore. I have given them all away or just begged people to take them off my hands. What a huge waste of money on my part and effort on the part of the author. David, you should hide your head in shame for turning out such a piece of rubbish. His editor should shoot himself in the foot at the very least for letting such a waste of paper hit the shelves.

I seriously warn any Eddings fan from reading these books. He just respins old characters and ideas under new names.

Am I going to buy another one? Not on your life. If I could give this book and this current series a 0 star, I would.

Eddings Fans be warned.

I was not terribly impressed with the first book, but when I decided to read the second book I thought perhaps it would be worth it. Boy was I wrong. It was even more dull than the first book. The characters were flat and irritating. Not only that, but a good chunk of the book was spent going over events that happened in the FIRST book, events that weren't exciting the first time we read them. When I finally reached the end of this lengthly (and pointless) flashback, I thought "Finally, now we might get some excitement." Then to my horror I realized that the next huge chunk of book was written from the point of view of a character that had up to now had been exceedingly minor and that (surprise!) I didn't care about or even like. I gave up at this point and stopped reading. The bottom line is, don't bother with this book. If I could give it zero stars, I would. The truly sad thing is, I have liked David and Leigh Eddings' books in the past. What happened guys?

I'm sorry, but weren't David & Leigh supposed to be two of the best writers in the entire fantasy genre? Weren't they the same duo who brought us grand, sweeping epics i.e. The Belgariad/Malloreon and The Elenium/Tamuli?

Clearly the Eddingses have gone downhill with age. I had set high standards for their fantasies, and rightly so, because their first four serieses (serii?) inspired my own writing and probably the writing of scores of other aspiring fantasy novelists. Their characters were lifelike, sympathetic (even the villains!) and had personalities that reminded you of someone you know. (We all know a Ce'Nedra. Admit it.)

The Dreamers series thus far is a travesty and an insult to the name of Eddings. There are no standout characters, and even if there are, they are recycled from the leftover personality traits that their old heroes threw away twenty-odd years ago.

Most of the Eddings' novels are classic and impossible to put down. The Treasured One is not only boring, it's almost disposable. "Tedious" is not a strong enough word. It's as if David & Leigh wrote the first few chapters several times over. The bulk of the book consists of the same events repeated over and over, differing only in the point of view. It can be confusing to keep track of what's actually going on, since the plot (what little there is) is dragged down by repititious and superfluous backstory.

You want a good fantasy novel? Go back and re-read The Elenium for the fifteenth time, because it will still be less repetitive than The Treasured One and still manage to be ten times as entertaining.

I believe I have read every David Eddings' book but one (High Hunt). For a long time his unique combination of wisecracking characters on very serious quests produced some really unique novels. Inevitably, when an author pushes a formula for too long the stories become somewhat repetitious. But the Belgariad, the Malloreon, the Elenium, and the Tamuli were always good enough to stand one more rereading. Unfortunately Eddings has begun the dire process of reworking his style, and The Dreamers has so far been a weak series.

This isn't a quest, but the story of a world where human and god are pitted against the Vlagh, a hostile hive mind that uses evolution as a weapon. If the current gods cannot marshal a real defense, humanity will fail. And these Gods are bound by a rule that does not allow them to kill directly. To circumvent these limitations Dahlaine decides to change the rules and awaken the next cycle of deities early and keep them from realizing their true nature. Now human allies are gathered and between, battle and cataclysm, the Vlagh was dealt a severe blow at the end of the first volume. Now it is time for the next confrontation.

In The Treasured One, there are now two enemies. The Vlagh has bred new generations of fighters and is descending from the north. But in the Trogite Empire another menace arises. The corrupt Amarite Church has discovered that the land of Drahll seems to have an infinite supply of gold and slaves. For an Amarite priest, gold in someone else's hands is a terrible sin. So the armies fighting the Vlagh must fight on two fronts.

Where Eddings has improved is in the complexity of his characters, and the number of them that take an active role in the story. But he has toned down the sarcasm of his old novels, and the dialog lacks that old compelling spark. David and Leigh Eddings also use a device that I don't care for - continually switching viewpoints. The end result is that The Treasured One remains fragmentary for almost half the story so by the time the writing gets interesting you are already a bit tired of reading it,

The simplest thing to say is that if you liked Book One, you will no doubt like Book Two. But if you are waiting for the lightning of the Belgariad to strike again, you are due for some frustration. I'm still a loyal fan, so I will probably read the series through, but in paperback only.

The Treasured One is the only book by David Eddings I don't own. That should tell you something about how much I've enjoyed his work. While not great literature, every book reads like an old, entertaining friend.
Unfortunately, I made the mistake of buying the first book in The Dreamers series in hardback. Ouch--what a loss. It's the only Eddings book I didn't reread over and over again. And this book, I took out from the library. Let me tell you, it is a VERY BADLY WRITTEN book.
The dry wit that is typical Eddings has gone too far. Every character speaks in the same humerous voice--exactly the same voice. There is no difference between any character in this story. We are informed by the author if they are stupid, clever, quiet, funny, loud, young, or old. If we weren't constantly being reminded of the names and personalities of every single one of the cast of thousands, this book could be a monologue.
The manner of telling is also poor. There is about fifty pages of action. The rest of the book is spent giving a ten page life story of each one of the cast of thousands. The ten page lifestories always end in an account of the events that just happened in the current story.
There is no character depth. Eddings spends several pages of one of these backstories telling about the guilt and inner turmoil of a commander who pushes his nephew into a conflict that ends in the nephew's death. Then the commander happily forgets about the whole thing, it is never mentioned again, and the commander can be as painfully generic as every other person in this story.
Why do I give it two stars? The story, about four gods fighting a war against a "super-bad bug-villain" is actually interesting. There are interesting ideas about cycles of gods, and powers of gods. It would be more interesting if the story had progressed at all in the first two books of this series.

My first Eddings books was The Diamond Throne and since then I've been reading all his works. His early works are so readable that my very book shy bro also enjoyed them. Imagine my delight when I saw The Elder Gods in the book store. To put it very mildy, I was very dissapointed but kept reading it out fan's loyalty, all the time telling myself that the 2nd book'd pick up the pace and save the day. To my utter despair it hasn't.

If anything, the plot was even slower than the 1st book's. To start with, the same event is viewed from multiple perspectives by different characters. Even the tiniest detail is minutely examined and commented on, for instance: how the farmer Omago comes to invent a spear. If not for these constant repetitions, the book'd be half as thick! What's more annoying is the lack of characters' development- it seems that everyone has the same clever mouth and mannerism common to past Eddings characters (Talen comes readily to mind). I don't know what effects the Eddings were trying to achieve, but it's NOT working guys. This book is so boring that I finished it only after 6 months; reading it only when I had nothing better on hand.

It's a real pity since the plot is basically a good one and if done right has all the potentials to rival The Elenium and The Tamuli.

It seems the Eddings' have lost their knack for writing good fantasy novels. Sorry, but I'm not wasting my hard earned money on the 3rd book. I'd prefer to remember them from their earlier works.

I used to be a huge fan of Eddings. This books is so slow moving, I keep skip ahead to see where the book is going to pick up steam. Most of the books are using various characters to rehash their points of view of the same event, most of the character are not that interesting.
There are few good lines here and there, but it is not worth the money to purchase a Hardback.
I probably will read the next book(in PAPERBACK). If you like the old Eddings. I highly recommend Jim Butcher's new novel Furies of Calderon.