David Eddings (1931–2009)
Author of Pawn of Prophecy
About the Author
David Eddings was born on July 7, 1931 in Spokane, Washington. He received a B.A. in English from Reed College in Portland in 1954 and a M.A. in Middle English from the University of Washington in 1961. After serving in the U.S. Army for two years, he worked as a grocery clerk, as a sales clerk for show more the Boeing Company, and as an English teacher in a business college and a teachers' college. During his lifetime, he wrote more than 25 books, many of them with his wife Leigh Eddings. His first novel, High Hunt, was published in 1973. His other works include the Belgariad series, the Mallorean series, the Elenium series, and the Dreamers series. He died on June 2, 2009 at the age of 77. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:
Leigh Eddings is David's wife and not the same person. Please do not combine David with Leigh, or with the various combinations of their names.
(ger) Leigh Eddings ist Davids Ehefrau und nicht die selbe Person. David und Leigh bitte nicht miteinander oder den verschiedenen Verbindungen ihrer Namen kombinieren.
Series
Works by David Eddings
The Belgariad, Volume One: Pawn of Prophecy • Queen of Sorcery • Magician's Gambit: (1982) 2,639 copies, 24 reviews
La hechicera de darshiva II 2 copies
The Diamond Throne Volume 2 of 2 2 copies
Demon, władca Karandy 1 copy
La guerra dei gemelli 1 copy
Il destino dei gemelli 1 copy
Strażnicy zachodu 1 copy
Król Murgów 1 copy
Czarodziejka z Darshivy 1 copy
Prorokini z Kell 1 copy
Gambit magów 1 copy
Ostatnia walka czarodziejów 1 copy
Wieża czarów 1 copy
The Circle 1 copy
Pawn of Proxy 1 copy
De diamanten kroon 1 copy
The Ruby Knight (Book Two of the Elenium) by David Eddings(December 1, 1991) Mass Market Paperback 1 copy
Afgørelsens time 1 copy
Set of 3 David Eddings Books (The Sapphire Rose, The Redemption of Althalus, The Diamond Throne) (2000) 1 copy
River's End 1 copy
Magic's Price 1 copy
Magic's Pawn 1 copy
La hechicera de darshiva I 1 copy
The Shining Ones, Part 2 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Eddings, David Carroll
- Birthdate
- 1931-07-07
- Date of death
- 2009-06-02
- Gender
- male
- Education
- Reed College (BA)
University of Washington (MA)
Everett Junior College (majored in speech, drama and English) - Occupations
- grocery clerk
English teacher
buyer/sales clerk
fantasy writer - Organizations
- United States Army (1954-1956)
Boeing - Relationships
- Eddings, Leigh (wife)
- Short biography
- David Carroll Eddings (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009 was an American fantasy writer. With his wife Leigh, he authored several best-selling epic fantasy novel series, including The Belgariad (1982–84), The Malloreon (1987–91), The Elenium (1989–91), The Tamuli (1992–94), and The Dreamers (2003–06).
Part Cherokee and born in Spokane, Washington, to George Wayne Eddings and Theone (Berge) Eddings, in 1931, Eddings grew up near Puget Sound in the City of Snohomish. After graduating from Snohomish High School in 1949, he worked for a year before majoring in speech, drama and English at junior college. Eddings displayed an early talent for drama and literature, winning a national oratorical contest, and performing the male lead in most of his drama productions. He graduated with a BA from Reed College in 1954. He wrote a novel for a thesis at Reed College before being drafted into the U.S. Army. (He had also previously served in the National Guard.) After being discharged in 1956, Eddings attended the graduate school of the University of Washington in Seattle for four years, graduating with an MA in 1961. Eddings then worked as a purchaser for Boeing, where he met his future wife. Through most of the 1960s, Eddings worked as a lecturer at Black Hills State College in South Dakota. In 1970, Eddings and his wife, Leigh, were jailed for one year for child abuse of their adopted son. - Cause of death
- dementia
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Spokane, Washington, USA
- Places of residence
- Spokane, Washington, USA
Carson City, Nevada, USA
Denver, Colorado, USA
Seattle, Washington, USA (Puget Sound area)
South Dakota Prison Service - Place of death
- Carson City, Nevada, USA
- Map Location
- Washington, USA
- Disambiguation notice
- Leigh Eddings is David's wife and not the same person. Please do not combine David with Leigh, or with the various combinations of their names.
Members
Discussions
Found: Fantasy Book from the 70's or 80's in Name that Book (February 24)
The Belgariad Group Read for 2022 in 75 Books Challenge for 2022 (March 2023)
Reviews
This review is for the entire series, because all four books suffer from the same flaws.
Ye gods, this was a pile of rubbish. The Eddingses must have been writing on autopilot, because all the elements from previous series were here, but none of the enjoyment. The one-trick "races", the "precocious" child-goddess, the "warfare" between the "races" whose individual representatives all get along famously, the "clever" plans after a "setback" that always work, the "witty" sardonic sense of show more captain-obvious-humour that everyone defaults to, ... it goes on. The previous series by this duo had all of these -- but in moderation! They worked because there were different characters, plans and plot devices strewn in between the Eddingses' favourite tropes. Here, the clichés are all that's left, and the text is just filler, inserted to move the readers soullessly from one eddingsian trope to the next. It's as if no prior thought or planning went into this series, and these books are really a first draft with minimal editing.
The trick of following one (set of) character(s) for a couple of chapters before turning to another set is another reason why these books are so godawfully boring! It could have worked as a way of creating tension (it did for Robert Jordan), but the technique is not put to any use -- say, switching between fast-moving and slow-moving storylines, or heightening the tension by cutting between several climaxes. None of this works because the groups reunite every so often, and then the Eddingses treat us to painful sequences where the characters retell everything that happened to them to the others, and it goes on for a couple of pages. And what's worse, they do so in the most annoying way possible: faux-humble and pretend-cool, with only one sense of humour and one voice to go around a fairly large cast. Entire sequences of these books are dull repetition of events that happened two or three chapters ago, where characters stand around congratulating each other on how clever and brave and witty they are.
At this point most other reviewers here have warned you not to buy these books and to spend your time and money on something else. I can only agree with that sentiment, because I couldn't recommend this lazy excuse for a book to anyone. show less
Ye gods, this was a pile of rubbish. The Eddingses must have been writing on autopilot, because all the elements from previous series were here, but none of the enjoyment. The one-trick "races", the "precocious" child-goddess, the "warfare" between the "races" whose individual representatives all get along famously, the "clever" plans after a "setback" that always work, the "witty" sardonic sense of show more captain-obvious-humour that everyone defaults to, ... it goes on. The previous series by this duo had all of these -- but in moderation! They worked because there were different characters, plans and plot devices strewn in between the Eddingses' favourite tropes. Here, the clichés are all that's left, and the text is just filler, inserted to move the readers soullessly from one eddingsian trope to the next. It's as if no prior thought or planning went into this series, and these books are really a first draft with minimal editing.
The trick of following one (set of) character(s) for a couple of chapters before turning to another set is another reason why these books are so godawfully boring! It could have worked as a way of creating tension (it did for Robert Jordan), but the technique is not put to any use -- say, switching between fast-moving and slow-moving storylines, or heightening the tension by cutting between several climaxes. None of this works because the groups reunite every so often, and then the Eddingses treat us to painful sequences where the characters retell everything that happened to them to the others, and it goes on for a couple of pages. And what's worse, they do so in the most annoying way possible: faux-humble and pretend-cool, with only one sense of humour and one voice to go around a fairly large cast. Entire sequences of these books are dull repetition of events that happened two or three chapters ago, where characters stand around congratulating each other on how clever and brave and witty they are.
At this point most other reviewers here have warned you not to buy these books and to spend your time and money on something else. I can only agree with that sentiment, because I couldn't recommend this lazy excuse for a book to anyone. show less
This review is for the entire series, because all four books suffer from the same flaws.
Ye gods, this was a pile of rubbish. The Eddingses must have been writing on autopilot, because all the elements from previous series were here, but none of the enjoyment. The one-trick "races", the "precocious" child-goddess, the "warfare" between the "races" whose individual representatives all get along famously, the "clever" plans after a "setback" that always work, the "witty" sardonic sense of show more captain-obvious-humour that everyone defaults to, ... it goes on. The previous series by this duo had all of these -- but in moderation! They worked because there were different characters, plans and plot devices strewn in between the Eddingses' favourite tropes. Here, the clichés are all that's left, and the text is just filler, inserted to move the readers soullessly from one eddingsian trope to the next. It's as if no prior thought or planning went into this series, and these books are really a first draft with minimal editing.
The trick of following one (set of) character(s) for a couple of chapters before turning to another set is another reason why these books are so godawfully boring! It could have worked as a way of creating tension (it did for Robert Jordan), but the technique is not put to any use -- say, switching between fast-moving and slow-moving storylines, or heightening the tension by cutting between several climaxes. None of this works because the groups reunite every so often, and then the Eddingses treat us to painful sequences where the characters retell everything that happened to them to the others, and it goes on for a couple of pages. And what's worse, they do so in the most annoying way possible: faux-humble and pretend-cool, with only one sense of humour and one voice to go around a fairly large cast. Entire sequences of these books are dull repetition of events that happened two or three chapters ago, where characters stand around congratulating each other on how clever and brave and witty they are.
At this point most other reviewers here have warned you not to buy these books and to spend your time and money on something else. I can only agree with that sentiment, because I couldn't recommend this lazy excuse for a book to anyone. show less
Ye gods, this was a pile of rubbish. The Eddingses must have been writing on autopilot, because all the elements from previous series were here, but none of the enjoyment. The one-trick "races", the "precocious" child-goddess, the "warfare" between the "races" whose individual representatives all get along famously, the "clever" plans after a "setback" that always work, the "witty" sardonic sense of show more captain-obvious-humour that everyone defaults to, ... it goes on. The previous series by this duo had all of these -- but in moderation! They worked because there were different characters, plans and plot devices strewn in between the Eddingses' favourite tropes. Here, the clichés are all that's left, and the text is just filler, inserted to move the readers soullessly from one eddingsian trope to the next. It's as if no prior thought or planning went into this series, and these books are really a first draft with minimal editing.
The trick of following one (set of) character(s) for a couple of chapters before turning to another set is another reason why these books are so godawfully boring! It could have worked as a way of creating tension (it did for Robert Jordan), but the technique is not put to any use -- say, switching between fast-moving and slow-moving storylines, or heightening the tension by cutting between several climaxes. None of this works because the groups reunite every so often, and then the Eddingses treat us to painful sequences where the characters retell everything that happened to them to the others, and it goes on for a couple of pages. And what's worse, they do so in the most annoying way possible: faux-humble and pretend-cool, with only one sense of humour and one voice to go around a fairly large cast. Entire sequences of these books are dull repetition of events that happened two or three chapters ago, where characters stand around congratulating each other on how clever and brave and witty they are.
At this point most other reviewers here have warned you not to buy these books and to spend your time and money on something else. I can only agree with that sentiment, because I couldn't recommend this lazy excuse for a book to anyone. show less
Update: *sniffs* my son has now read the series and loved it. I have so many feelings.
_________
This will be the same review for all the books in ‘The Belgariad’ and ‘The Mallorean’.
These books changed me.
I started reading them as an 11 year old who was kind of floating around in this thing called life. I had friends at school, but no meaningful connections. This I didn’t understand until I was older. By reading these books I was drawn into an incredible world filled with characters show more that I knew and loved, and in some cases wanted to be (come on people, I can’t be the only kid that put a streak of white paint in their hair). The story is Garion’s ‘hero’s journey’ but I felt that the adventure belonged to me too. It was my ‘Neverending story’ if you will and it gave me the confidence to be more present in my own life. I own all the copies of both series set in this marvellous world and most of the extras too. They are a pretty tired looking collection of books because I bought them as a university student from second book shops all over Christchurch and Auckland. I love that they have been released again relatively recently with a fresh new look so that they can appeal to the younger generation. I thoroughly recommend these books for lovers of high fantasy, action, and relatable characters. It is the quintessential hero’s journey. show less
_________
This will be the same review for all the books in ‘The Belgariad’ and ‘The Mallorean’.
These books changed me.
I started reading them as an 11 year old who was kind of floating around in this thing called life. I had friends at school, but no meaningful connections. This I didn’t understand until I was older. By reading these books I was drawn into an incredible world filled with characters show more that I knew and loved, and in some cases wanted to be (come on people, I can’t be the only kid that put a streak of white paint in their hair). The story is Garion’s ‘hero’s journey’ but I felt that the adventure belonged to me too. It was my ‘Neverending story’ if you will and it gave me the confidence to be more present in my own life. I own all the copies of both series set in this marvellous world and most of the extras too. They are a pretty tired looking collection of books because I bought them as a university student from second book shops all over Christchurch and Auckland. I love that they have been released again relatively recently with a fresh new look so that they can appeal to the younger generation. I thoroughly recommend these books for lovers of high fantasy, action, and relatable characters. It is the quintessential hero’s journey. show less
The first 3/4 went quickly, with the usual bantering between the companions, but the adventure with the Nyissans was superfluous. What was that about? Showing the compulsion and degradation of drug addictions? Warning the younger boys in the audience that women were temptresses and they will lose their special abilities if they experience their sexuality too soon? And how biblical to have the snake be the instigator of temptation.
I'm glad I don't own the next book in the series. I'll move on show more to some of my other TBR pile. show less
I'm glad I don't own the next book in the series. I'll move on show more to some of my other TBR pile. show less
Lists
Books Read in 2022 (16)
Elevenses (1)
Carole's List (1)
Comfort Reads (1)
Favorite Series (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 117
- Members
- 123,497
- Popularity
- #60
- Rating
- 3.8
- Reviews
- 969
- ISBNs
- 1,063
- Languages
- 19
- Favorited
- 317