What do You think about King Of The Murgos (1989)?
I'm beginning to recognize the issues these books have, and it's making me very sad. I'd gotten used to the gender essentialism. It's not great, but I was overlooking it because I liked the Belgariad so much. But in this book:1) Racism (the angular eyes of the Angaraks make them look alien, but make Prala look "exotic"? c'mon).2) Race essentialism (yes the Chereks are vikings how amusing oh wait Urgit HAS to be an Alorn because his dad was one and we CAN'T have a GOOD Murgo my GODS).3) Ce'Nedra
—Erin
As Garion said himself in the book, Mr. Eddings is just re-hashing the Belgariad. Something precious and important has been stolen from Riva and a motley party of extraordinary nobles are running all over creation chasing after it. They meet all the same people (or doppelgangers of them) and do pretty much all the same stuff. What annoys me most is that Mr. Eddings has fundamentally altered some of his characters' personae. I understand that some have grown up and gone through life-changing events, but others haven't. For example, Belgarath knew who all the necessary party members were to be in the Belgariad and had been following their families for centuries. But this time, Belgarath is vehemently fighting against having the necessary party members join them when he was already explicitly told who was supposed to be in their party. Another thing that bothers me is that Mr. Eddings completely ignores many of the tools the party members have at their disposal and makes them do things the hard way or end up at the mercy of people vastly inferior to them. Despite all the problems and inconsistencies, I still enjoy the story.
—Dan
Guided by the Orb of the God Aldur, Garion and Ce'Nedrea begin a great quest to rescue their kidnapped child. Making their way through the foul swamps of Nyisssa, then into the lands of the Murgos, they must ultimately face a horrible danger--to themselves and all mankind.... ### From Publishers Weekly King Belgarion and Queen Ce'Nedra are still searching for their kidnapped son Geran in this second volume of The Mallorean, Eddings's sequel to his bestselling fantasy series The Belgariad. After pursuing the Bear Cult in the last book, they now have information that the culprit is actually the evil Zandramas. Despite the seeming urgency of their quest, the journey becomes almost leisurely as the company, including the ancient sorcerer Belgarath, his daughter Polgara and the spy called Silk, stop repeatedly along the way. They visit the cave-dwelling mystics, the Ulgos, the imperial Tolnedrans, the forest Dryads, the Serpent Queen and the city of Rak Urga, where they make an unlikely ally of timid, wily Urgit, King of the Murgos. If this is seldom really gripping, the flavorful interplay among Eddings's stubborn, resourceful characters keeps the narrative continually entertaining. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. ### From Library Journal As the words of the Prophecy lead the Rivan King Garion and his companions across the lands of the Snake-Queen and the once hostile Murgos, the malignant Zandramaskidnapper of Garion's sonpursues another Prophecy which, if fulfilled, will lead to the triumph of Darkness. Eddings continues to provide solid fantasy entertainment featuring engaging characters and warm, wry humor in this sequel to Guardians of the West. Recommended for fantasy collections. JC Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
—Andrew Wilson
