There’s something I don’t fully understand. You’ve written a hugely successful series of fantasy books. (Well, you’ve actually written four, but let’s not worry about the other three right now). You’ve written a prequel to one of these series. That’s fine with me, so far, even if the prequel was a little limiting. The bit I don’t get is this – why do you need a second prequel? The “show me the money” bit from “Jerry Maguire” is running through my head for some reason.Buying this book is a little like putting “go faster” stripes on a 1.0 litre Metro City. Sure, it might look a little more impressive when you’re done, but it has no noticeable effect, as it’s still essentially a Metro, it adds nothing to the car, and all you’ve done is wasted a few quid.Well, David Eddings’ “Belgariad” series, which this and “Belgarath the Sorceror” are the prequels to, is far from being a Metro City. They’re novels of a decent pace, some mystery and intrigue, and they don’t break down on the M4, but keep going and leave you wanting more.However, where “Belgarath the Sorceror” succeeded, and made you, if not glad, but at least not horribly disappointed about the £8 you’d spent on it, “Polgara the Sorceress” fails. Although it is still well written, as you’d expect from Eddings, it has little of the warmth, humour, and excitement of the previous novel. Whereas “Belgarath the Sorceror” filled in holes from the series that you discover needed filling, this is filling holes for purely cosmetic purposes. Sure, it looks a little more complete, but it wasn’t going to fall down if you left it alone.Polgara is the daughter of Belgarath. In the eight thousand or so years leading up to the birth of Garion, and the beginning of the Belgariad series of books, they both had tasks to ensure that the world kept turning. However, Belgarath kept flitting from country to country, looking after families, making sure no-one died who was supposed to have ancestors five thousand years hence, killing the odd person here and there, and performing random acts of sorcery. Oh, and drinking a lot, and having a little fun here and there.Polgara, on the other hand, was the Guardian of, firstly, the country of Arendia, and then the ancestors of Garion, ensuring that he was born by coupling off his relatives, and making sure they had children before they died. Essentially, what you have in this book is a novel based on the longest babysitting assignment in history. I’m sure that anyone who has done any babysitting will tell me that it’s more fun that I give it credit for, but would you really want to do it for two thousand years?The novel begins at a point even before Polgara was born, which is certainly an interesting place to start what is essentially an autobiography. However, being the daughter of a sorceror and the disciple of a God clearly gives you additional sensory input and your life starts that little bit sooner that the rest of us. Polgara was born at a point when Belgarath was out of town, and the early years of her life are spent hating her father, and doing things just to spite him. I guess it’s kind of reassuring to know that people who can perform acts of sorcery can be normal teenagers, anyway.Eventually she grows up, more or less forced into it by her twin sister, who has her own task to perform. She enters into a grudging sort of happiness with her father after her sister gets married and leaves them. They end up clinging to each other for the lack of anyone else. Over the years Polgara learns the art of sorcery, and how to be an adult, and her and her father snipe at each other fairly regularly, each trying to put one over on the other – Polgara so that her father doesn’t keep thinking of her as his little girl, and Belgarath so that she knows to respect her elders.Finally, she receives a task of her own, something to give her life a little purpose. She is sent to look after the country of Arendia, whose three Duchies, Wacune, Mimbre and Asturia are constantly at war with each other, and have been for thousands of years. Polgara’s task is to stop them from doing it. Oh well, easy.Unfortunately, she mostly succeeds. Fair enough, this is a good thing if you happen to live there, but five hundred years of peacetime isn’t nearly as interesting to read about as five hundred years of war. Fair enough, there’s the odd fight here and there, but no full-scale war of the type that makes books and films so much fun.Eventually, war does break out. Unfortunately, this ends with the complete destruction of Wacune, the Duchy Polgara has always preferred, and the death of her loved one. Whilst this does pick up the story a little, it sets the book on a course which it would have done better without. From here on, Polgara’s life seems to be one big funeral, a point which she makes on several occasions. Whilst you can understand her sadness, it does set the book on quite a depressing slope, which makes it subtly different from “Belgarath the Sorceror”, and removes any sign of good humour, which made that novel vaguely appealing.From this point on, Polgara then becomes the babysitter for Garion’s ancestors. The book suddenly starts to repeat itself fairly frequently. Boy is born. Boy gets a trade and becomes a man. Man gets married. Wife has son. Man’s father and mother die. Son gets a trade. And so on. There are various diversions. Occasionally someone tries to corrupt one of the men, and the family has to move on. Sometimes the deaths aren’t of natural causes. Belgarath stops by every so often, and is usually told to go away and mind his own business. There are births, deaths and funerals with alarming regularity. The book turns around on itself so many times that you start getting dizzy.Fortunately, something happens to stop this cycle, just at the point where you’re about to fall over. The bad news is that this something is Torak’s invasion of the Kingdoms of the West. Whilst this does prove to be a diversion from the circularity of the plot so far, and whilst it is undoubtedly an event that has great meaning and whose effects are felt even onto the times of the Belgariad, still several hundred years into the future, it’s an event of such great magnitude that this is the fourth occasion it’s been retold in Eddings works. Although we’re getting a slightly different perspective on it, there’s nothing so startlingly new that it’s worth the price of the book. You learn more about the involvement of Poledra, Polgara’s mother and Belgarath’s wife, but she was always nothing more than a peripheral character, who appeared occasionally at opportune moments and never really added a great deal to the plot.And then you return to the old cycle, until the birth of Garion. From this point on, the Belgariad, a much better work, begins. The Belgariad is a journey through fantasy. If you think of the Belgariad as a foreign holiday, a couple of weeks lying on a beach under the warm sun, “Belgarath the Sorceror” is a place where you change flights part way back. You’re not on the beach any more, but you’re still on holiday, even if the end is in sight. “Polgara the Sorceress”, by contrast, is the point at which you land back at Heathrow (or whatever your nearest airport is). And discover that it’s raining.I don’t like to speak ill of David Eddings. Over the years his novels, both pre- and post-Belgariad, have given me immense pleasure. This, like all his work, is well written, and gives a human, friendly face to fantasy characters. However, the infinite sadness that is an ever-present part of Polgara’s life colours this novel, and removes a lot of the fun from the prose, which has always been one of the better features of Eddings’ writing. The little asides, which were an integral part of “Belgarath the Sorceror”, are still present, but here they are little sniping pieces of one-upmanship, as opposed to the “told a little joke at your expense” style of Belgarath. The differences between the two characters are evident in the way the two books are written, and Polgara is far too serious for her own good. And for ours.By all means, read the five books of the Belgariad. And the five that make up the Mallorean series. Even for the non-fantasy fan, which I was before I picked them up, they are an enjoyable read, if a little expensive if you end up buying them. If you want a little extra colour, read “Belgarath the Sorceror”. And then stop. This book is not really worth the money. If you feel as if you have to read this book, and please ensure you’ve read at least the eleven books I’ve mentioned before first as this book does not stand alone, try to borrow it, don’t buy it.This review may also appear under my name at any or all of www.ciao.co.uk, www.thebookbag.co.uk, www.goodreads.com, www.amazon.co.uk and www.dooyoo.co.uk
A magnificent epic fantasy novel that is an absorbing read, which combines a complex plot with remarkable imagination. David and Leigh Eddings have triumphed again with this spectacular novel, to add to your collection of original fantasy works by masterful writers. No one can compare within modern fantasy writing like Eddings, whose distinctive style and unique flair is second to none and which is at the top with all the greatest writers of this genre. Having delighted in his various series’ ‘the Belgariad’ and ‘the malloreon’ together with trilogies such as ‘the elenium’ and ‘the Tamuli’ this novel was one that I was really looking forward to reading, as it is the prequel to the Belgariad. This is the story of the Queen of truth, love, rage and destiny and which within the first few pages will take you on the most astonishing fantastical journey into the vale of Aldur. Polgara is not only a Sorceress but who chose a very different life for herself than the expected one, as she chose love for Durnik over money and material luxury. A busy mother and wife who lives on a farm Polgara’s life is simple until during the dead of winter her Nephew, the Rivan King Garion and his wife Ce’Nedra visit. Ce’Nadra’s son Geran will one day be king and so she sets her mind to it that the Sorcerer must reveal all to them, for instance her years at Vo Wacune or what happened to her at Gar or Nadrack. Evil is rising once more from the city of endless night and as the truth is disclosed the story of Wizardry and politics, doom and evil, love and magic are brought into the light. But as darkness falls so will too the luck and love that Polgara possess which have up until now saved the world…This has to be the crowning achievement of the greatest fantasy epic ever, where once again David and Leigh display the scope of imagination, humor and sheer depth of storytelling power which has made this series so popular for fantasy lovers in modern times. I still have the 1997 edition of this book which although considered ‘old’ now stands quite comfortably beside current authors such as Gail Z Martin and Patrick Rothfuss. This is a fantastic read and so I have to give it…4 ½ stars – not quite 5 as I do have a favorite amongst his books and this one is not it.
What do You think about Polgara The Sorceress (1998)?
This story has 768 pages and i read it from August 21 to October 25. I read it before going to sleep maybe 1 chapter or less every night.For some reason i didn't want this book to end. It is well written. The pace and timing are superb.Polgara's point of view in telling the story have more revelations that interest me compare to Belgarath The Sorcerer. This is where learned about how she really felt growing up in the Vale surrounded by sorcerers and her mother literally lives in her thought.More revelations i could remember, Poledra actually lives in Ulgoland. Her first love was Ontrose, second probably was Killane and then Durnik. She grieved resonantly to Asrana, Ontrose and Alana (Geran's mother). She comforted Vordai and befriended Salmissra. In Belgariad, she was able to utilize her title as Duchess of Erat but in Polgara The Sorceress it was put into details that it created a great impact. She basically mothered the Arendish culture.Basta i love this book.She got the swag. :)
—Mae-Mai Chiyuto
I have to admit; I'm a sucker for nice endings. I considered giving this book a four star rating even as I was halfway through it. But the final chapters completely changed my opinion of things.The reason for my initial opinion was that I've never been too fond of Polgara. Her attitude in general has always bothered me. And I especially disproved of her communication with her father. Except for when Asrana passed away, I only got teary-eyed at the end when Polgara finally realizes that in "actuality" she loves her father. I don't agree with Ce'Nedra and Polgara when they criticize Belgarath's story. I truly enjoyed that book, and from his perspective he's got it all covered. It's true that Polgara too though, has been through a lot... she has lived a completely different life from her father, and my opinion of her started changing when I realized what she "actually" went through. Her responsibility, stretching out over thousands of years, consuming her life... her losses, her own needs... things most of us take for granted but were unachievable for a very long time in her life... We all deal with our past in our own ways, whatever keeps us going. And for her, I guess, her personality was of great help. So I can understand now why she is the way she is.All in all, whoever enjoyed The Belgariad and The Malloreon would be a fool not to read this book and its precedent.
—Norah
This one as well as Belgarath-book are written wonderfully by the Eddings-pair. You get to peek at the time before Garion and friends and even if the two books (Belgarath and Polgara) have some of the same "scenes" it only made me feel exited: "I remember this from the other book!" You can basically live some of the same events twise, by reading the two wonderful novels, but from a whole different perspective, making it still feel a totally different stories, which they are.David and Leight Eddings have an amazing talent of telling a deep story with lovable characters even with a timeline of thousands of years. The plot is clear and you can live through all the centuries without feeling things going too fast, slow or complicated. This is fantasy on it´s best!I know, that I gave the exact same review to Belgarath, but I feel that if books were familymembers, Polgara and Belgarath would be twins: living the same life, but from totally different angles.
—Mirta Martin
