Genres
Description
Sparhawk, companion to the queen, comes home to find his queen stricken with a fatal disease and a corrupt Primate controlling the country.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1989-05
Publication
New York : Ballantine, 1990.
ISBN
0345367693 / 9780345367693
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User reviews
LibraryThing member reading_fox
Simple fun. Ideal classic fantasy for when you don't want to think too hard (or indeed at all). In his 80s debuet Begariad, Eddings defined formulaic fantasy a la, 70s B movies - romantacised Dark ages, swords, castles, serfs et al. In this is 'new' series once he'd finally stopped rehashing the
Instead of the pigboy we have a fully grown knight, Champion Sparhawk astride his ugly and ill-tempered horse Faran. It says much for the book that Faran has as much character as any of the humans - fully one dimensional. His return to his home city is one of the few descriptive and emotive passages in the book. We learn that his (beautiful, what else could she be) Queen has succombed to a strange illness and is being sustained by magic from his Order's mystics teacher. Church politics intervene in Sparhawk's quest to find the cause of the Queen's illness. And so Sparhawk gathers a few companions and journies around a few cities looking for answers and attempting to thwart Church ploys. (there's a map and stuff, but who cares? it's an excuse to exploit Faran's character some more)
At least it's obvious the book was planned as a trilogy because it ends with the obvious continuation. The whole thing is obvious, the characters unchangable: the gruff one, the devout one, the joker, the poor boy come good, etc etc. It really isn't anything close to high literature, but on the plus sides, it's well constructed, there are no really major plot holes, the prose is easy to read, the POV remains constant, there's humour and a few almost serious themes. It's a good benchmark for any other fantasy you read - if it's worse than this there is something really wrong with it!
And to be honest - I've re-read this several times since my childhood, simply because it is easy and enjoyable.
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Belgariad plot, he writes a another story in the same easy reading style.Instead of the pigboy we have a fully grown knight, Champion Sparhawk astride his ugly and ill-tempered horse Faran. It says much for the book that Faran has as much character as any of the humans - fully one dimensional. His return to his home city is one of the few descriptive and emotive passages in the book. We learn that his (beautiful, what else could she be) Queen has succombed to a strange illness and is being sustained by magic from his Order's mystics teacher. Church politics intervene in Sparhawk's quest to find the cause of the Queen's illness. And so Sparhawk gathers a few companions and journies around a few cities looking for answers and attempting to thwart Church ploys. (there's a map and stuff, but who cares? it's an excuse to exploit Faran's character some more)
At least it's obvious the book was planned as a trilogy because it ends with the obvious continuation. The whole thing is obvious, the characters unchangable: the gruff one, the devout one, the joker, the poor boy come good, etc etc. It really isn't anything close to high literature, but on the plus sides, it's well constructed, there are no really major plot holes, the prose is easy to read, the POV remains constant, there's humour and a few almost serious themes. It's a good benchmark for any other fantasy you read - if it's worse than this there is something really wrong with it!
And to be honest - I've re-read this several times since my childhood, simply because it is easy and enjoyable.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nurfherder
After completing the Malloreon, David Eddings decided to create a new fantasy setting, with a new cast of characters, and write a new fantasy series with the exact same plot we've already seen twice before.
The writing is still bland, the plot is still hackneyed, and now, the characters are no
The writing is still bland, the plot is still hackneyed, and now, the characters are no
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longer particularly charming, although they all neatly correspond to characters from the Belgariad and Malloreon. Avoid. Show Less
LibraryThing member luvwords
I enjoy the Elenium series because of the comraderie between Sparhawk and his fellow knights. It's a fun fantasy with a lot of humor.
LibraryThing member www.snigel.nu
A somewhat rougher version of the Belgariad and the Mallorean, but much worse. I enjoyed them for a short while, but I would never ever recommend them to anyone.
LibraryThing member TadAD
I thought I'd try one more series after The Mallorean, hoping that, by starting over in a new world, the story might feel a bit more like The Belgariad and less like a rehash of the same plot.
Unfortunately, it still feels like the same story. I guess Eddings is just a one-trick pony. I won't bother
Unfortunately, it still feels like the same story. I guess Eddings is just a one-trick pony. I won't bother
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to go on with his stories. Show Less
LibraryThing member Karlstar
For Eddings fans, this was the start of a great new series. A new cast of characters and a new world! Instead of wizards, the focus is on a society of paladins, and one paladin in particular, Sparhawk. For anyone interested in a good portrayal of a paladin and all that means, this is an excellent
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example. If you just like Edding's books or other modern fantasy, this is also a good, interesting read. Show Less
LibraryThing member TheBooknerd
The Story: Book One of The Elenium -- Sparhawk, renowned knight and Queen's Champion, has returned from a ten-year exile to find his queen seriously ill and the kingdom in political turmoil. He and his brotherhood, with the aid of a legendary sorceress, must find a cure for the queen while keeping
My Thoughts: Starts off slow, but improves once the action gets underfoot. Sections of back story drags at the momentum, as does excessive descriptive language. I once had a writing instructor who insisted on removing all adverbs from one's work. I always thought her little crusade was a tad excessive until I read the opening chapters of this book. Eddings has a habit of describing rather than presenting and it gets cloying at times.
On the other hand, his dialogue is witty and entertaining. And the characters are, for me, are the high point of the book. Eddings has a Dickensian skill for making individual characters memorable, usually in a humorous way. He also writes the tough guy well--formidable and confident without coming across like an ass. Fans of Raymond E. Feist will appreciate Talen, a precocious street thief who reminds me of an all-time favorite character, Jimmy the Hand.
Recommendation: Give this one a try if you like Raymond Feist or L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
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her throne secure. As the plot unfolds, however, they discover a larger evil is threatening their world.My Thoughts: Starts off slow, but improves once the action gets underfoot. Sections of back story drags at the momentum, as does excessive descriptive language. I once had a writing instructor who insisted on removing all adverbs from one's work. I always thought her little crusade was a tad excessive until I read the opening chapters of this book. Eddings has a habit of describing rather than presenting and it gets cloying at times.
On the other hand, his dialogue is witty and entertaining. And the characters are, for me, are the high point of the book. Eddings has a Dickensian skill for making individual characters memorable, usually in a humorous way. He also writes the tough guy well--formidable and confident without coming across like an ass. Fans of Raymond E. Feist will appreciate Talen, a precocious street thief who reminds me of an all-time favorite character, Jimmy the Hand.
Recommendation: Give this one a try if you like Raymond Feist or L.E. Modesitt, Jr.
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LibraryThing member Aldrea_Alien
Sparhawk is one of Eddings best characters. A hero that isn't all glitter and talk, he has enough roughness about him to make him believeable as well as likeable.
LibraryThing member wagner.sarah35
A great beginning to a fantasy trilogy. Sparhawk, an Pandion knight, returns to Elenia for the first time since his exile to find that his queen, Ehlana, has fallen under a mysterious illness and her body has been encased in crystal to preserve her life. Joining with friends and allies and
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outwitting not a few enemies, Sparhawk begins a hunt for the cure to her illness before time runs out. David Eddings is definitely a great author of fantasy, writing an enjoyable novel with humor and solid characters on a traditional quest. I will certainly be continuing this series. Show Less
LibraryThing member mossjon
Besides [author: Terry Brooks], [author: David Eddings] is the only fantasy genre author I can get my husband to read. Who could resist dialogue dripping with sarcasm and wit and satisfying action adventures? I read Eddings when I want a respite from deep-thinking convoluted epic fantasy. Eddings
The Diamond Throne has one of my all-time favorite characters - Sparhawk. He's a curmudgeon of a knight who should have retired years ago but is too stubborn to stop. And no one else has the heart or gumption to tell him otherwise.
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makes me laugh and always provides a rollicking romp through strange lands on a heroic quest to save the world. All very predictable but also very enjoyable. The Diamond Throne has one of my all-time favorite characters - Sparhawk. He's a curmudgeon of a knight who should have retired years ago but is too stubborn to stop. And no one else has the heart or gumption to tell him otherwise.
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LibraryThing member Snukes
An okay start to an okay series. I didn't like it as much as the Belgariad.
LibraryThing member irrhapsodi
Fun and immersive. Had to skip over paragraphs and pages of kind of overblown description sometimes.
LibraryThing member gac53
Excellent. I wished I had discovered this author before now. Storytelling that is the best I've read in a while. My regret is I wish I had bought the second book at the same time as I got the first and third.
Strange how it is unavailable in the US.
Strange how it is unavailable in the US.
LibraryThing member Count_Zero
A fun fantasy novel that does a good job of bridging the gap between high fantasy and heroic fantasy. I particularly liked the little nods to Wagner's Ring cycle with the series gemstone. My main complaint is that the gemstone doesn't come up soon enough in the book's plot.
LibraryThing member majackson
Standard quest: princess is poisoned and evil church leader is fomenting turmoil to enhance his power; the princess's champion is rough-and-tumble trying to find a cure; evil gods are trying to stop the champion. This story doesn't have the scope of Tolkien, but the "world" is quite a bit smaller
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in scope. Eddings writes a good story, for all the obvious tropes, and I find it a better read than Terry Brooks. Show Less
LibraryThing member Narilka
Reread March 2022: The last time I read this series was back in 2011. Eddings tends to be a comfort read for me though normally I turn to the Belgariad instead of the Sparhawk books. And now I remember why. The story is an old school quest/hero journey to save Queen and country from evil by finding
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a magical maguffin and one I enjoy even if it is considered tropey 30+ years later. Where this differs from Eddings' other series are the characters. It took me a long time to warm up to the characters. I finally got into the groove in the last quarter of the book and started to enjoy the story. We will see if the remainder of the trilogy changes my mind but this may be my last time reading The Elenium. Show Less