Eddings:
@DMcCunney: I think he was perfectly aware of these repetitions
in Belgariad and Malorea its even mentioned "Inplay" that things repeat somehow befause the 2 concurring universe possibilities prevent real development.
and as far as differences between the mentioned and elenium and tamuli go, I'd call it a different approach to the monomyth: while in belgariad/mallorea you have the classical "journey of the fool" (just lay out the major arcana of a good Tarot deck before you and watch it as a speechless comic strip) in elenium /tamuli you have an aged hero who seems to be past his "journey" but is not - being on his way from humanity to divinity which he rejects at the end - how many mythological bells ar you hearing in the background while I point this out?
And at the end you get a hint that things will repeat over an over again - a new pair is about to rise on the monomyths horizon: the knaves stealing son and the knights divine daughter. History is prepared to repeat and the great snake is prepared to bite its tail...
Apart from that his pantheons and magic systems in both worlds were completely different (and unified in "althalus") - an RPG player looks after such things.
Also simple to notice when you are a gamer: his compositions of protagonists - in terms of used archetypes are perfect: one of my 1st toughts when rereading his stuff is "this guy d have been a Gods gift of a Gamemaster."
As he hinted in some sidenotes about writing made in the "Rivan" he was perfectly aware of the fact that the lists of conflicts (i remember having read an exhaustiveenumeration of conflicts set up by an italian dramaturgist in AFAIR 15th cent. he came to an ammount of AFAIR 35) and plots are not endless, and played with that like sheet music
Staying with the music analogy - what doesn't seduce me to be read is eddings dreamers series - it apparently plays some octaves too high than I like it.
"Althalus" in contrary is kind of a proof "it can be done briefly too"
Kind of being the final couplet in an english sonnet.
The fact Eddings knew and every good writer should is:
Every story which can be told has already been (better or worse and a gazillion of times) it just hasn't been done already in every possible flavour
I'm not going to say a story is going to be lousy just because the author made a 2/3-1/3 Beowulf/Robin Hood in Space - mix Just that there is a fair chance for an epic fail if he wasn't even aware of that...
P.S.: should somebody in contrary deliver proof, that e.g. "Althalus" is a piece of intergalactically unbearable crap - well I'm excused by having a soft spot for copper crowned green/grey-eyed lasses - both human and godesses :P.
P.P.S. sorry for hijacking - back to topic: Tolkien made me learn to read and write futhark (runes).
Last edited by Freeshadow; 09-20-2010 at 10:38 PM.
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