David Eddings
Guardians of the West (Volume 1 of The Malloreon)
Ballantine Books 1987

David Eddings
King of the Murgos (Volume 2 of The Malloreon)
Ballantine Books 1988

David Eddings
Demon Lord of Karanda (Volume 3 of The Malloreon)
Ballantine Books 1988

David Eddings
Sorceress of Darshiva (Volume 4 of The Malloreon)
Ballantine Books 1989

David Eddings
Seeress of Kell (Volume 5 of The Malloreon)
Ballantine Books 1991

"The Malloreon" is a follow-up series to "The Belgariad". If you haven't read that series, don't read any further.

And they lived happily everafter... not! Garion, king of Riva, and Ce'Nedra have a son, but this son is kidnapped by someone. "Beware of Zandramas" is a message they get. Together with their old friends they set out on a secret mission to find him - and defeat the Child of the Dark, whoever that is now when Torak, the evil god, is dead.

This time, the travels are mostly through Torak's old countries, Cthol Murgos, Mishrac ac Thull, Gar og Nadrak and the continent of Mallorea. The death of their god has shaken the societies, and there is much confusion and power struggle. Torak's priests, the grolim, are looking for new roles to play. The king of Gar og Nadrak tries to build good relations with the kingdoms of the west, while the emperor of Mallorea proclaims himself a god and tries to defeat the Murgos once and for all. The politics of this series is much more interesting than it was in "The Belgariad". if Kal'Torak's empire in the first series was an metaphore, conscious or unconscious, of the evil Soviet Empire of the East, this could be a metaphore for the post-communist confusion in Eastern Europe - but written a couple of years before the Wall fell.

In many ways, this series is better than "The Belgariad" - it is better written, the peoples and characters are less schematic and the scenario is more interesting. But in too many ways it is just a repetition of the first series. Even the characters themselves note and discuss this! It was probably a good idea to create a new world for his third series, because repeating the same story (with the same characters, at that) a third time would be at least one to many.

Karl Henriksson

---

Order your copy from Amazon.com now:

Guardians of the West	Trade Paperback
Guardians of the West	Paperback
King of the Murgos	Paperback
Demon Lord of Karanda	Paperback
Sorceress of Darshiva	Paperback
Seeress of Kell	Paperback

See also Fantasy Finder's guest book: 970312, 970317, 970330, 970428, 970529, 970729, 970801.

Books by the same author:
Pawn of Prophecy
Queen of Sorcery
Magician's Gambit
Castle of Wizardry
Enchanter's End Game

Eddings, David: The Eddings Page (fan page)