Path: zrz.TU-Berlin.DE!zib-berlin.de!xlink.net!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!ihnp4.ucsd.edu!munnari.oz.au!newsroom.utas.edu.au!itsresource6h53.its.utas.edu.au!user From: af_chan@postoffice.utas.edu.au (Anthony Chan) Newsgroups: alt.fan.eddings Subject: Eddings FAQ Beta! Followup-To: alt.fan.eddings Date: 1 Jun 1994 08:02:50 GMT Organization: University of Tasmania, Australia. Lines: 554 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: itsresource6h53.its.utas.edu.au Welcome to the first Eddings FAQ! (beta version) You are lucky enough to have this FAQ which will soon be a collectors item. (as no doubt a revised version with fewer mistakes is probably in production and will be sent soon). On the topic of mistakes, please feel free to send me:- - corrections - opinions - suggestions - thank you mail - additional questions - answers to FAQ. Anthony Chan e-mail address: af_chan@postoffice.utas.edu.au ASCII heading wanted for Eddings FAQ ------------------------------------ Anyway being the first FAQ I havenŐt really had the time to make a nice ASCII heading for Eddings FAQ (if anyone wants to, feel free to do this and send it in). Its one way to have your work immortalised (well for the length of this FAQ anyway). This FAQ is, like most FAQs here to help cut down on questions that are asked all the time esp by the typical newbie. (I take it that there are some newbies out there right?) In fact I would almost consider myself a newbie. Comparing what some people are discussing in this group it would appear that some have read David EddingŐs books at least 5 time each. Personally I have only read each book 2 or 3 times. I donŐt expect this FAQ to change much after the first few versions (which is why I am voluanteering for such a job). But please feel free to send me any mail concerning corrections, new info, home address to send gifts and money. Typically I would hope this FAQ to be in the following format Q. A. S. I realise that much of this stuff at the moment is not really "Hard Facts" that can be proven beyound doubt but if many people aggree with the statements, I will consider putting them in this FAQ. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ MISC things and wants for this FAQ, including: Contact someone from the Elenium MUSH for a FAQ entry. "MUSH" and "MUD" are the two entries in my afe killfile, so I don't know who you should contact. I would like a full address to Eddings if possible. FTP site to keep this FAQ (in the process of being organised, people with spare room for this document please e-mail me with details) Site or list of places where Eddings related GIF/JPEGs can be found. (esp maps) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Common a.f.e Acronyms: {all the ones used in articles currently active on my system, in sure the other books won't be hard to fill in...}{spellings from memory} Bel/Belg The Belgariad Mal The Mallorean PoP Pawn of Prophecy QoS Queen of Sorcery EEG Enchanters End Game GoTW/GoW Guardians of the West KotM King of the Murgos SoD Sorceress of Darshiva DLoK Demon Lord of Karanda SoK Seeress of Kell CoL Child of Light PoL Prophocy of Light CoD Child of Dark PoD Prophocy of Dark/Dark Prophocy - Joe ============================================================================= The follow is information taken from DEL REY BOOK Internet Newsletter. [I believe Dey Rey happens to be David Edding's Publisher and so information about his comming books and _ANY_ other book from Del Rey is published in this newsletter. Information concerning how you can abtain the full version of the newsletter below ie at the VERY BOTTOM of this document] Once again I've been told to STRESS that this is a general Del Rey newsletter, not one devoted only to David Eddings. From Newsletter # 7 (August 1993) THE LOSERS by David Eddings. Paperback version. Contemporary novel about a gifted young man who loses his lower limbs. While recuperating in Spokane (Washington) he fends off the welfare system and a good friend gone bad as he falls in (of necessity chaste) love with a disadvantaged young woman. On another level, THE LOSERS is a reflection in the "real" world and the struggle between forces of good and evil, angle and devil. Not like any other novel written by Eddings. From Newsletter # 9 (October 1993) Q: What are these next two books David Eddings plans to write? A: BELGARATH and POLGARA Both are stand-alone stories of these two characters. It is set thousands of years before the Belgariad. In BELGARATH covered is the story of how the sorcerer Belgarath became a disciple of the God Aldur, his romance with Poledra, and the birth of his daughter Polgara-- a saga of seven thousand years in duration. POLGARA will tell the story of the sorceress Polgara, her lives, her loves, her adventures, and her crucial role in the epic war of men and Kings and Gods. From Newsletter # 15 (April 1994) August books: THE SHINING ONES by David Eddings (Paperback) Second book of _The Tamuli_; 345-38866-6 Paperback, 480 pp; cover art by Keith Parkinson =============================================================================== Q. WHEN IS THE NEXT EDDINGS BOOK DUE OUT? A. According to the "Locus" Forthcoming Books listing, "The Hidden City" is due out in hardcover from Ballantine/Del Rey in September, 1994. My experience has been that books normally start showing up in stores the month before the official release, so people in the U.S. should start looking for it in mid-August. I have NO idea when it will trickle out to the rest of the world. Q. WHAT BOOKS ARE IN THE WORKS? A. According to the Del Rey newsletter, Eddings is working on two prequels to Bel/Mal - "Belgarath" and "Polgara". The only release date information currently available is "sometime in 1995". OK, all of you who have the books at hand - the listing of available books should include publisher and ISBN. - A. Sheldon Q. WHAT NEW BOOKS DOES DAVID HAVE PLANNED? A. The Belgrath and the Polgera, two prequels to the 10 book series. Q. WILL THE FIRST SERIES EVER BE RELEASED IN HARDBACK? A. Del Ray will be issuing them right after The Belgrath and The Polgera are finished. [Info from David Eddings via a birthday letter to a fan] -Scrufcat Q. WHAT IS DAVID EDDINGS' ADDRESS? A. David Eddings c/o Del Rey Books [NYC address from books.][I can type it in when I get home.] Always contact authors through their publishers. - Joe (I would like a full address if possible) Q. HEY, WOULDN'T IT BE NEAT IF THEY MADE "BELGARIAD THE MOVIE"? WHO DO YOU THINK SHOULD PLAY WHOM? I CAN'T BELIEVE NO ONE HAS ASKED THIS BEFORE! A. It _has_ been asked before. So many times, in fact, that lots of a.f.e-ers are quite sick of the thread. You'll always find people who are willing to discuss it, of course, if you really want to talk about it. Just don't be surprised to see people scream "NO!!! Not this &%$# casting thread AGAIN!!!" Q. WHAT DO THE LATIN CHAPTER TITLES IN THE LOSERS MEAN? A. They just happen to be the titles of the sections of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. These are rough translations, but you should get the general idea... Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi Fortune, Empress of the World ("Fortuna" meaning luck as well as the goddess of luck or fate) Fortuna plango vulnera stillantibus ocellis I weep for the wounds of luck with brimming eyes. Fortune's blows cause lamentations, with wet eyes I view my fate. With wet eyes I lament the wounds Fortuna caused Omnia Sol temperat puris et subtilis Soothes all things the sun, pure and fine The sun tempers everything, its rays are tender, rare The pure and tender sun relieves everything In taberna quando sumus When we gather in the tavern Ave formosissima, gemma pretiosa, ave decus virginum, virgo gloriosa Hail, most beautiful, precious jewel; hail, glory of maidens, radiant maiden Hail, women most beautiful, precious most prized of gems; hail, virgins the most treasured, virgins of the glory Hail to thee most lovely, most precious jewel; hail pride of virgins! Most glorious virgin! Estuans interius ira vehementi in amaritudine loquor me menti Burning inwardly with mighty anger, in my bitterness I speak to my own mind Raging within, and angry, fired with vehemence, now my bitterness mounts high, I ask my mind for sense Ardent with anger I speak with bitterness to my heart O Furtuna, velut Luna statu variabilis O Fortune, like the moon, changeable in state O, thou Fortune, so like the moon, every changing, varying O Fortune, like the moon everchanging [Thanks to Tami Kimmel and Alexander Biller to the translations.] - Joe >From Mike Bahr (garion@indirect.com) My collection of text relating to David Eddings... Often in talking about the Belgariad or the Malloreon, or reading through them, one thinks "What do these regional names and words mean? What is there here to understand, and why is the in the book?" The obvious answer is that Eddings says so. Moreso than that, however, Eddings has left copious quantities of information on the subject. First of all, it's easy to tell that the various nations in Belgarearth (henceforth known as the world) go by one of two different city and regional naming customs, as follows: Predominantly named historically Named for houses/families of nation -------------------------------- ----------------------------------- Aloria Arendia Mallorea Antiqua Perivor Ulgoland Tolnedra Maragor Cthol Murgos Dalasia Nyissa Karanda Melcene Sendaria Gar Og Nadrak Mishrak Ac Thull This can easily be proven just by checking out the cities in the lands Eddings has created for us as such: Arendia: the houses of the Wacites, Asturians, and Mimbrates the cities of Vo Wacune, Vo Astur, Vo Mimbre the baronies Vo Mandor and Vo Ebor Perivor: the baronies of Dal Perivor and Vo Astellig Tolnedra: the houses of the Vordues, Ranites, Honeths, Horbites, and Borunes the cities Tol Vordue, Tol Rane, Tol Honeth, Tol Horb, and Tol Borune Cthol Murgos: the houses of Goska, Hagga, Gorut, Cthan, Cthaka, Morcth, Araga, Urga, and Verkat. the cities of Rak (as above). Whereas in the other lands: Aloria: Riva - named for Iron Grip Boktor, Kotu, Jarviksholm, Aldurford - named for historical beings Ulgoland: Prolgu, Ulgo for "Holy Place" Maragor: Mar Amon, Mar Terrin, who's to say what they mean. Sendaria: Camaar, Muros, Darine (the Codex?) - named historically Nyissa: Sthiss Tor - the major questionmark Mallorea: Kell, Melcena, Mal Zeth. Quite a variety. The problem here comes with the cities that have nothing whatsoever to do with the other cities in their regions. It's interesting to note that these cities are rather important in the books. When you take a look at their names and meanings, Eddings seems to have done a VERY good job on this... Rak Cthol, Cthol Mishrak, Mishrak Ac Thull, Val Alorn... Well, we see Rak in all the Murgo city names, and it can very likely translate to "City", making names like Cthan City and Araga City. This makes perfect sense. But what about Cthol? Well, it's used in "Cthol Murgos". It does NOT mean "country" because the idea of a city called "Country City" is preposterous. However, used with both Cthol Murgos and Cthol Mishrak, Cthol could mean Land in a broader sense than city or region. To call Rak Cthol "City of the Lands" not only makes sense, but the placing of the center of the Angarak religion there makes sense as well. And since Cthol Mishrak is called "City of Endless Night" by the Alorns, it's clear the true literal meaning is "Land of Endless Night". Now we have to figure out what the hell Endless Night is doing in the name of the country of the Thulls! "Mishrak" Ac Thull. Endless Night of the Thulls? Something's not quite right about this. Cthol Murgos = "Land of the Murgos". Rak Cthol = "City of the Lands". Cthol Mishrak = "Land of Endless Night". It's clear using Mishrak with Ac Thull must be a misnomer... As for Val Alorn, it's the only example of the Alorns naming a city the way the Tolnedrans and Arends do, thus, Val is "Old Alorn" for "City". Just my ramblings on the subject... -Thanks to Mike ================ What about sorcery? And why isn't there a Beldurnik? Well, besides having Beldurnik sound stupid, it's possible he just isn't ready for it. Sendars are notoriously stubborn. Why not shorten that and call him "Beldur" in both fealty to Aldur and the tradition of the irrepressible Beldin? It's a thought... but until Poldaran comes back to life, why worry. And the orb on the shield? Naturally, they put the shield on the orb. Of course, we'll know exactly what happened when The Polgara comes out after The Belgarath, sometime in mid-1995. Back to Beldaran just briefly... Bel means Beloved in Belgarath's original tongue... Belgarath says Pol is the female version of it... perhaps Belgarath didn't have very good eyesight when he made it back to the vale after stealing the Orb? The sensible explanation is that Polgara's white lock revealed her potential to Belgarath, and he gave her a prefix accordingly, while the Bel in Beldaran means 'beloved' and nothing more. ================= Questions to ponder... Is Hettar the heir to the "throne" of Algaria? Will Belgarion abdicate? Kith-Kanan did in the TSR Elven Nations trilogy... Who was that flute boy? I thought he was a cousin of Lelldorin but for the life of me I cannot remember where I read that. Who will rule Gar Og Nadrak when the childless Drosta dies? What about Cherek? What the hell happened to Ahneg's sons (if any)? Will Belgarath and Poledra pull a Belsambar/Belmakor on us? Will Beldin, Vella, Belgarath, or Poledra ever morph to humans again for good? What will the immortal Belgarion do when Ce'Nedra dies at ~1000? Remember, the dryad Xantha lived a millenia, then her tree began to die. Do the dryads have satyrs to mate with, as in typical lore? Am I the only one who thinks Tolnedra was rather overrated? With only one city, how does the Nyissan border stay sovereign, and for that matter, how does their economy stay afloat? The vast land of Aloria only has five major cities, while Cthol Murgos and Mallorea Antiqua have dozens. Why? And to complete the question: WHY THEN were they thought to be evenly matched adversaries? The "endless armies of Mallorea" could smash the Alorns in a fair fight. They proved it at Thull Mardu. What of Perivor? Will Arendia learn to build ships after all? Instead of messing around in the middle of the map we see in the books, couldn't Belgarion or Zakath visit each other via a relatively short hop from Melcena to Riva by boat? How big IS the world? Is there a North Pole and if so, is there ice there or sea? Is there anywhere the heroes (tm) failed to go in their journeys? :) Like Dal Finda or something? ================ Q. WOW! HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT THIS COUNTRY FROM THE BELGARIAD SEEMS TO BE JUST LIKE THIS OTHER COUNTRY FROM OUR WORLD?! A. Yes, we have. The following list of equivilencies was compiled by Donal Fellowes, with input from Jon Brater (among others) in February, 1994, and seems to be the general consensus of opinion among a.f.e. readers. CHEREK - Norway/Sweden DRASNIA - Hanseatic League/Dutch Netherlands RIVA - Iceland ALGARIA - American Indians / Mongols SENDARIA - England/Ireland/Canada/America/South Germany ASTURIANS - Robin Hood MIMBRATES - Feudal Knights TOLNEDRA - Roman and Byzantine Empires MARAGOR - Carthage (sacked by Tolnedran Rome) or Aztecs/Incas ULGO - Hebrews (Chosen People of the Almighty God) GAR OG NADRAK - Central and Northern Canada MORINDLAND - Klondike/Alaska/Western Canada/Gold Rush California MISHRAK AK THULL - Poland or Lebanon (Sovereignty Violated) CTHOL MURGOS - Arabia and Persia MALLOREA - Russia MELCENA - China DARSHIVA - Japan/Taiwan/Singapore DALS/KELL - Dalai Lama/Himalayas/Tibet/Mt. Everest GANDAHAR - India (Elephants) KARANDA - Siberia ============================================================================= The following from from: Number 15 (April 1994) l will tell you how you can obtain the full version on the DRIN (newsletter). I cannot print the full details (about 10-15 lines) of each book by Eddings because I have not been granted permission to reproduce portions of the newsletter. DRIN Availability (Lots of ways to get the DRIN online) 1. read it the first few days of the month on rec.arts.sf.written, GEnie's Del Rey topic on the SFRT, or CompuServe's SF Library 5*; 2. send your e-mail address to ekh@panix.com to be added to the subscriber list and have the DRIN delivered to your mailbox the first or second working day of the month; 3. get a copy from the Del Rey fileserver* (delrey@tachyon.com) by sending e-mail with "SENDME newsletter.current" as the body of the message (or send "HELP" for full instructions); 4. read it on the Panix gopher* (gopher.panix.com; choose the Del Rey Books directory); 5. read it at the Internet Book Information Center (WWW address: hhtp://sunsite.unc.edu/ibic/IBIC-homepage.html) *Back issues also available [The Del Rey Internet Newsletter is (c)1994 by Del Rey Books, except for the IN DEPTH section, which is (c) by the author. The DRIN may be reproduced only in its entirety, and not for profit.] ============================================================================ Received From Ellen Harris (editor of the Del Rey newsletter) I think that below is part of the HELP document that you would receive in step 3. of the above instructions. The Del Rey Internet Newsletter is a monthy electronic publication for science-fiction and fantasy readers. It includes publication data on Del Rey books, hype-less descriptions of books new in the stores, selected Del Rey bibliographies, special publishing announcements, a Q & A section, a behind-the-scenes editorial about some aspect of sf/f publishing, and an "In Depth" section written by authors, cover artists, designers, and other people in different parts of the publishing industry, who talk about their jobs in an entertaining, interesting, and/or witty way. The DRIN is _not_ a promotional tool devised by marketing and publicity departments, but an editorial project designed to make contact with readers, share information, and provide a forum for two-way dialogue. As such, it doesn't list prices, avoids hype and marketing language, and tells the truth. You may redistribute the DRIN in its entirety, and may wish to post it on the Eddings newsgroup in months when it covers Eddings books. However, please don't quote bits of the newsletter (though of course you can pass along the information those bits contain) as I'm trying to keep it an integral publication. Thanks.) Fileserver info: To get back issues of the Del Rey Internet Newsletter, send a request to the Del Rey file server: delrey@tachyon.com All you need is e-mail capability to use the file server. Commands are sent in the body of the message you send to the file server. Several commands may be sent at one time; just use one command per line. File server commands: SENDME newsletter.current sends current issue of the DRIN SENDME newsletter_yy sends all issues of the DRIN for the year 19yy SENDME newsletter_yy_zipped sends all issues of the Del Rey newsletter for year 19yy as a multipart uuencoded zip file. Requires unzip and uudecode. SENDME newsletter_yy.month sends a particular issue of the DRIn, where "month" is the month of the issue you want and "yy" is the year in two-digit format (93). Commands are not case-sensitive. LIST provides a listing of the issues available, with brief table of contents LIST newsletter_yy_zipped same as LIST newsletter_yy, but includes decoding instructions. ADDRESS specifies an address that is to be used instead of the "From:" address for any files requested below the ADDRESS command. Useful when addresses arrive in an invalid format. QUIT tells the server all valid commands have been processed and that it should stop scanning. This is useful for those who have automatically-generated "signatures" appended to all mail messages. Use of the QUIT command prevents the server from trying to process the signature lines as commands. HELP sends a help file similar to this one. A transaction log is sent to you for each request you make, indicating the status of the request. Large files are sent only during off-peak hours. Problems, questions, and comments about the file server service on this system should be directed to wayne@tachyon.com, with a copy to ekh@panix.com. File-server access to the DRIN is made possible by the kindness and know-how of Wayne Sewell of Tachyon Software Consulting, who hereby gets supplied with current Del Rey titles instead of having to buy them in a store. Thanks, Wayne! Back issues are also available on the Panix gopher (gopher.panix.com) along with other cool Del Rey stuff. Thanks for your interest! ============================================ For further information contact:- Ellen Key Harris Editor Del Rey Books ekh@panix.com/E.Harris on GEnie ============================================