I’ve been re-reading my library of books since around the end of August. I’ve read The Belgariad, The Elenium, the Tamuli, The Elder Gods and The Treasured One by David and Leigh Eddings, along with The Magicians’ Guild by Trudi Canavan, Once Upon a Winter’s Night by Dennis McKiernan, and Her Majesty’s Wizard and The Oathbound Wizard by Christopher Stasheff.

I love the majority of David and Leigh Eddings work with the exception of Mr. Eddings’s first two novels, which I didn’t really get into. I have loved my copies to death and have reread them at least twice for the new ones and five times for the ones I’ve had for a while. If I need something to read, I’ll usually reach for Pawn of Prophecy or Diamond Throne or Redemption of Athalus as my backup book. I’ll even throw one of them in my bag if I’m going to be sitting somewhere for a while and I’m not sure of the reading material availability.

I did get annoyed by Khalad in the Tamuli. Khalad is Kurik's from The Elenium and serves as Sparhawk's squire. He had some firmly held class prejudices and expressed them quite often.

The Elder Gods and The Treasured One are books 1 and 2 respectively in the Dreamers series, a new quadrology from David and Leigh Eddings. They are pretty good and I enjoy them, but I haven't finished the series yet, so I'm waiting to see where they are going to take the story. The basic plot is that the world was created by 4 Elder Gods, and 4 Younger Gods, and they take turns sleeping or waking and watching the world. In the middle of the continent the Gods watch over, there is an insect like creature called the Vlagh which wants to take over the continent and eventually the world to feed its young. So Dahlaine, whose Domain is in the North, brings his brother and sisters a baby each to raise and who become the Dreamers, children who can make things happen by dreaming. But that isn't enough, as the people the Gods watch over aren't really equipped for war, so each Elder God gets gold from wherever Gods keep gold and went and recruited people from the outside world or outlanders. Zelana, of the West finds some Maags, ocean-going men who are very good at naval warfare. Her brother Veltane of the South goes the Trogite Empire and recruits several armies who are good at land warfare. Aracia of the East recruits some warrior-women from the Isle of Akalla and Dahlaine finds some horse-warriors from the Land of Malavi who will appear in more detail in book 3, The Crystal Gorge.

Once Upon a Winter's Night is a retelling of the fairytale "East of the Sun, West of the Moon". Camille is a beautiful 16 year old crofter's daughter living on the edge of the Land of Faery, who enchants Prince Alain of the Summerwood with her beautiful singing voice. A Bear comes and takes her to the Prince where she resides for awhile until a tragedy occurs and she must quest through Faery to find and rescue Prince Alain. She meets a Giant, a firedrake, Elves and the Fates who help her along her way.

The Magicians' Guild is the beginning volume in the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. Magicians are members of a Guild and serve the King of Kyralia in various functions-healing, etc. They are also known for the Purge, where ordered by the King, wizards go through the city and drive out all beggars, vagrants and criminals out of the city and into the slums. Sonea, a young girl being raised by her uncle and aunt visits some of her friends from when she lived the slums and is involved in the Purge. She shows natural magic powers and is in turn hunted by the Guild as she inadvertently injured a Guild member. She is eventually found as her magic powers are uncontrolled and could be dangerous to the city. A kindly magician helps her learn Control and along the way she learns several things about the Guild and its members. I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.

Her Majesty's Wizard and The Oathbound Wizard start the adventures of Matthew Mantrell, a graduate student who stumbles upon a piece of parchment with odd symbols written on it which whisks him to land where magic works but not science, and the magicians use poetry for their spells. Words are taken very seriously in this alternate earth and hold great power. I'm looking forward to finishing the series which should be fun to find.

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Tags: books Fantasy