The Seeress of Kell (The Malloreon, Book 5)

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 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 show more 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

"It has come at last," Garion's inner companion said unemotionally through the Child of Light's* lips. "It is the instant of the Choice. Choose, Cyradis, lest all be destroyed."

"It has come," another equally unemotional voice spoke through the lips of the Child of Dark*. "It is the instant of the Choice. Choose, Cyradis, lest all be destroyed."

The Seeress of Kell is the fifth and final book in The Malloreon by David Eddings. And quite an end it is! The quest draws to a close as the final riddles are solved so the meeting of Light and Dark can happen to decide the fate of the world. Zandramas strives until the bitter end to thwart her opponent. Garion must stay resolute to prevent the world from sliding into darkness even if it means he show more must kill his own son.

It is a great ending to the series. All story threads are wrapped up, including a couple items from book one that had been left dangling. I've been with these characters for so long now that they feel like old friends and it is the character dynamics that has been the most enjoyable part of my reread. Sometimes it's hard for an author to keep track of all the characters when a series focuses on a fairly large group and I'd say Eddings is successful at giving everyone their own voice. The ending does have its bittersweet moment though. I'm quite glad to have made the journey again and am a little sad for it to be over.

*Quote changed slightly to prevent spoilers. show less

This felt like kind of a drag to be honest. But some good actiony bits, some mild peril, happy ending. Shame everyone has the same voice.

I delayed reading this for a couple of months, since the earlier volumes in this series were getting a little dull and repetitive. While it will take more than such petty mind tricks to make this final volume in the Mallorean cycle an exciting read, I did find it to be a notch above the previous two books. This was not because of the climactic fulfilment of the great universe-saving quest the heores were embarked upon - in fact that was very dull and predictable. But the longish denouement where all the major characters we have come to know over the previous ten books return to their own homes and settle in domestic bliss was kind of heart-warming, even for a hardened cynic like me. Still, overall I would have to say that one can easy show more skip reading the Mallorean and feel confident that they will not suffer from any great gap in their acquaintance with the genre. show less

The final book in the Mallorean series where the prophecy reaches it's ultimate conclusion. I found the ending to be a bit disappointing and formulaic. It was almost as if Eddings had nowhere to go with the ending. Still, it was a captivating read because by this point all the characters in the entire two series have become sort of like family and you just can't help reading about them. Eddings Character development is superb.

The Seeress of Kell concludes Eddings' epic fantasy, The Malloreon. In the fifth book, the heroes are drawn to 'The Place that is no More' and Cyradis finally makes her choice that will determine the fate of the world.

The events that take place in the fifth book are quite predictable, but there was a sense of satisfaction in knowing that everything is as it should be. In this readers opinion, the Malloreon was probably about two books two long. The story wandered, there was a whole lot of walking and eventually I found myself screaming "Jesus Eddings will you let them get there already, haven't they suffered enough!!!"

I think this series would have been far more enjoyable had I taken a break after reading the Belgariad. The first show more series was too fresh in my mind and that only served to highlight the plot similarities between the two stories. My recommendation is to read this series, but take your time and let the story stray from your mind a bit before jumping directly to the next. show less

Great finally to the Mallorean series. I really enjoyed this book and the series in total. The characters were wonderfully written and the story rarely dragged. Action, adventure and a lot of laughs along the way. I really think that characters like Silk and Beldin really created a lot fun during the adventure.
Look forward to reading more of David Eddings.