Sad news :(
Sorry, I'm being a total comment whore today, but I just heard the sad news that David Eddings has passed away at the age of 77. (from Stephen Hunt's blog at www.sfcrowsnest.com).
I know in the last few years Mr and Mrs Eddings have come in for some criticism from both the writing and fannish community for, essentially, writing the same story over and over again. I've said it myself. But the fact is, if you're going to write one story over and over again, it might as well be a good one. And the Belgariad is, at the end of the day, a cracking story, a mighty fantasy epic that manages to be funny and touching and pull you right in with effortless ease (and it ticks all the Joseph Campbell boxes too ;) ) So why not write it more than once, if that's what people want to read?
The reason this has personally touched me is that it goes a little deeper than just "So and so died, how sad". When I was a wee thing of impressionable age (about ten, too old for the Hobbit and Narnia, too young for LOTR )and fishing about for something new to read, my most beloved and nerdy uncle lent me "Pawn of Prophecy". And my, what craziness was unleashed in my brain (and I'm not talking about my pre-teen crush on Garion, either). I can safely say that, without David Eddings, I seriously doubt I would be the writer I am today. He was my primary introduction to a genre I love, gently mock, grumble at, but always return to because that's where my writing heart lies.
I haven't read Eddings for a good few years, my personal taste has skewed towards the weirder side of fantasy and SF. But the Belgariad is still on my shelf, and it's something I will always go back to and happily lose myself in for a few months (yeah, it has to be months, it's a long series!) I've spend happy hours in David Eddings slightly repetitive world, reading stories about people taking Loooooong Walks to do Something Very Important. It's a big influence on me as a writer, and as a nerd.
Goodbye, Mr Eddings. You will be missed.
I know in the last few years Mr and Mrs Eddings have come in for some criticism from both the writing and fannish community for, essentially, writing the same story over and over again. I've said it myself. But the fact is, if you're going to write one story over and over again, it might as well be a good one. And the Belgariad is, at the end of the day, a cracking story, a mighty fantasy epic that manages to be funny and touching and pull you right in with effortless ease (and it ticks all the Joseph Campbell boxes too ;) ) So why not write it more than once, if that's what people want to read?
The reason this has personally touched me is that it goes a little deeper than just "So and so died, how sad". When I was a wee thing of impressionable age (about ten, too old for the Hobbit and Narnia, too young for LOTR )and fishing about for something new to read, my most beloved and nerdy uncle lent me "Pawn of Prophecy". And my, what craziness was unleashed in my brain (and I'm not talking about my pre-teen crush on Garion, either). I can safely say that, without David Eddings, I seriously doubt I would be the writer I am today. He was my primary introduction to a genre I love, gently mock, grumble at, but always return to because that's where my writing heart lies.
I haven't read Eddings for a good few years, my personal taste has skewed towards the weirder side of fantasy and SF. But the Belgariad is still on my shelf, and it's something I will always go back to and happily lose myself in for a few months (yeah, it has to be months, it's a long series!) I've spend happy hours in David Eddings slightly repetitive world, reading stories about people taking Loooooong Walks to do Something Very Important. It's a big influence on me as a writer, and as a nerd.
Goodbye, Mr Eddings. You will be missed.