Quote:
Originally posted by Timber Loftis:
Sorry, guys, but as I've said before, David Eddings is/was good at one thing only: character development. In Pawn of Prophecy, he's great. With Sparhawk, he's great. But, by the time he gets to book no. 2 of his various series, it's pretty much a rehash of what's come before with little suspense, too much predictability, and lots of reruns of the same jokes. C'mon, how many times can one ask whose turn it is to make breakfast - and then fall for the same line, "Yours" ? And don't get me started on the fact fact that the Mallorean is the Belgariad redux, and the same with the Elenium / Tamuli.
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Arrgh!
Jeeves! Fetch my dueling pistols!
Haha. No, I agree with your points. Eddings seems to be one of those people who enjoys revisiting a familiar blend of humor.
As far as suspense goes, I guess he could disturb his readers' comfort zones by actually offing one of his main characters like authors Hickman and Weis do with "Flint" in "Chronicles."
However, I think there are plenty of writers who rely on memorable characters, rather than plot lines, to sell books. It's the characters that readers become attached to and then daydream about.
[ 11-26-2002, 05:58 PM: Message edited by: Heartless Butterscotch ]