From: Amy Sheldon <ais3@po.cwru.edu>
Subject: alt.fan.eddings Frequently Asked Questions List
Date: 22 Feb 1997 00:00:00 GMT
Message-ID: <sf/david-eddings-faq_856600527@rtfm.mit.edu>
Expires: 23 Mar 1997 08:35:27 GMT
Supersedes: <sf/david-eddings-faq_855235732@rtfm.mit.edu>
Followup-To: poster
X-Last-Updated: 1997/02/12
Summary: Information on fantasy author David Eddings and
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Newsgroups: alt.fan.eddings,alt.answers,news.answers
Originator: faqserv@bloom-picayune.MIT.EDU


Archive-name: sf/david-eddings-faq
Posting-Frequency: bi-monthly
Last-modified: 1997/02/10
Version: 1.1

                The alt.fan.eddings David Eddings
                 Frequently Asked Questions List

CONTENTS
I. About David Eddings
    A.  Biographical Information
    B.  Bibliography
        1) Titles (includes U.S. and British ISBNs, and U.S.
            Publishers)
        2) German Titles
        3) Finnish Titles
        4) French Titles
        5) Swedish Titles
        6) Italian Titles
    C.  Miscellaneous Information
        1) Omnibus Editions
        2) _The Losers_: Copyright date vs. creation date
        3) Where to Write to David Eddings

II. Frequently Asked Questions
    GENERAL QUESTIONS
    A.  The systems of magic and worlds that David Eddings have
        created don't always seem very logical. Why? 
    B.  I've got this great idea about who should be in a movie...
    C.  Gee, has anyone noticed that the plots of Eddings'
        fantasies are all kind of similar?
    BELGARIAD/MALLOREON
    D.  Inconsistencies
        1)  Editing errors
               The infamous Chaldan/Chamdar misprint
               The wandering L's
        2)  Boneheaded errors
               The name of Brand's oldest son
               Gared/Geran
        3)  Illogical actions
               Durnik vs. Brill
    E.  Dryads (a.k.a. The Thread That Will Not Die)
    F.  So, what exactly *is* on Garion's amulet?
    G.  The meaning of 'Bel' and 'Pol'.
    H.  Why isn't 'Durnik' called 'Beldurnik'?
    I.  Why can't Zedar get out of that hole Belgarath put him in?
    J.  Speaking of Zedar, don't you think his punishment was a bit
        too harsh?
    ELENIUM/TAMULI

III.    Eddings Resources
    A.  alt.fan.eddings newsgroup
    B.  Web pages
    C.  The Recommended Fantasy Author List

IV. Credits and Thanks

------------------------------------

                       ABOUT DAVID EDDINGS

A. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

From _Contemporary Authors: New Revision Series_, Volume 35.

    PERSONAL: Born July 7, 1931, in Spokane, Washington; son of
    George Wayne and Theone (Berge) Eddings; married Judith Leigh
    Schall, October 27, 1962. Education: Attended Everett Junior
    College, 1950-52; Reed College, B.A., 1954; University of
    Washington, Seattle, M.A., 1961. Politics: "Unaffiliated."
    Religion: "Unaffiliated."

    CAREER: Writer. Has worked as a buyer for Boeing Co., as a 
    grocery clerk, and as a college English teacher. Military
    Service: U.S. Army, 1954-56.

From the back dust jacket flap of _Belgarath the Sorcerer_ 
(published 1995).

    David Eddings was born in Spokane, Washington in 1931 and was
    raised in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle. He received a
    Bachelor of Arts degree from Reed College in Portland, Oregon,
    in 1954 and a Master of Arts degree from the University of
    Washington in 1961. He has served in the United State Army, has
    worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company, has been a grocery
    clerk, and has taught college English. He has lived in many
    parts of the United States.

    His first novel, _High Hunt_ (published by Putnam in 1973), was
    a contemporary adventure story. The field of fantasy has always
    been of interest to him, however, and he turned to The
    Belgariad in an effort to develop certain technical and
    philosophical ideas concerning the genre.

    Eddings and his wife Leigh currently reside in the Southwest,
    where they work together on their bestselling fantasy epics.

B. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Note: Publisher listed is for U.S. editions. 
    "hc" = hardcover, "pb" = paperback.

"The Belgariad"
    Pawn of Prophecy (1982) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-30997-9 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-02616-0 (hc) 0-552-12284-X (pb)
    Queen of Sorcery (1982) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-30079-3 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-02629-2 (hc) 0-552-12348-X (pb)
    Magician's Gambit (1983) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-33545-7 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-552-12382-X (pb)
    Castle of Wizardry (1984) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-33570-8 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-02635-7 (hc) 0-552-12435-4 (pb)
    Enchanter's Endgame (1984) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-33871-5 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-02638-1 (hc) 0-552-12447-8 (pb)

    Eddings' first fantasy series. About the adventures of a young
    boy, Garion, as he grows to realize his amazing destiny. With
    his Aunt Pol and Grandfather, he must travel through the
    Kingdoms of the Alorns and Angaraks, making new friends and
    overcome deadly enemies.

    The Belgariad: Part 1 (c)1982,83 - published 1995, Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-40004-6 (hc)
    The Belgariad: Part 2 (c)1984 - may be forthcoming but no date
        yet, Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN ?

    Two-volume hardcover omnibus reprint of the five volumes of the
    Belgariad. Part One contains the first three books, Part Two
    will contain the final two.

"The Malloreon"
    Guardians of the West (1987) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-33000-5 (hc)    0-345-35266-1 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-01195-3 (hc) 0-593-01561-4 (pb)
    King of the Murgos (1988) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-33002-1 (hc)    0-345-35880-5 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-01562-2 (hc) 0-552-13018-4 (pb)
    Demon Lord of Karanda (1988) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-33004-8 (hc)    0-345-36331-0 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-01210-1 (hc) 0-593-01563-0 (pb)
    The Sorceress of Darshiva (1989) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-33005-6 (hc)    0-345-36935-1 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-01204-6 (hc) 0-552-13020-6 (pb)
    The Seeress of Kell (1991) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-33006-4 (hc)    0-345-37759-1 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-593-01207-0 (hc) 0-552-13021-4 (pb)

    Sequel to the Belgariad. Ten years after the events of the
    Belgariad, King Belgarion's son is abducted by dark forces.
    Belgarion and his companions must recover the child before
    disaster occurs.

Belgarath the Sorcerer (1995) Del Rey
    U.S. ISBN 0-345-37324-3 (hc)        0-345-40395-9 (pb)
    British ISBN 0-246-13845-9 (hc)
Polgara the Sorceress (forthcoming Fall '97) Del Rey

    A pair of prequels to the Belgariad and Malloreon series. The
    books are presented as narratives by the title characters.

"The Elenium"
    The Diamond Throne (1989) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-35691-8 (hc)    0-345-36769-3 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-246-13345-7 (hc) 0-586-203742-9 (pb)
    The Ruby Knight (1990) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-37043-0 (hc)    0-345-37352-9 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-246-13731-2 (hc) 0-586-20343-7 (pb)
    The Sapphire Rose (1991) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-37474-6 (hc)    0-345-37472-X (pb)
        British ISBN 0-246-13347-3 (hc) 0-586-20374-5 (pb)

    Fantasy series set in a new world. The church knight, Sparhawk,
    returns to his home to find his Queen dying, and sets out to
    save her life, and overcome the evil plots of a corrupt and
    powerful church Primate.

"The Tamuli"
    Domes of Fire (1992) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-38327-3 (hc)    0-345-37321-9 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-586-21313-9 (hc) 0-586-21858-0 (pb)
    The Shining Ones (1993) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-37322-7 (hc)    0-345-38866-6 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-246-13846-7(hc)  0-586-21316-3 (pb)
    The Hidden City (1994) Del Rey
        U.S. ISBN 0-345-37323-5 (hc)    0-345-39040-7 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-246-13847-5 (hc) 0-586-21317-1 (pb)
    Sequel series to the Elenium. Prince Sparhawk answers a plea
    from the Tamul Empire to help them oppose dark magic.

Novels (non-fantasy)
    High Hunt (1973) Putnam
        The original hardcover is long out of print. In 1992, Del
        Rey reprinted it in paperback - U.S. ISBN 0-345-32887-6

    A sort of middle-aged rite of passage novel. GI returns from
    Germany and goes on a mountain hunting trip with his older
    brother and a group of mismatched guys.  Tensions arise. 

    The Losers (1992) Fawcett Columbine (hc), Del Rey (pb)
        U.S. ISBN 0-449-90719-8 (hc)    0-345-38520-9 (pb)
        British ISBN 0-002-24138-2 (hc) 0-586-21759-2 (pb)

    Dark tale of Raphael, the college football star who, after a
    tragic accident takes up residence in 'Welfare City' in
    Spokane. He observes the activities of his 'loser' neighbors
    and fights off predatory social workers, until the arrival of
    his college roommate puts a match to the powder keg.

B.2.    German Titles

The following was posted by Daniel Peters, who then immediately
left Hamburg for several months in Florence. So he has no idea that
he is now part of a FAQ.

"I just happened to find this list of the German titles of the
Belgariad and Malloreon-Saga. As it is, I read them all in German
and in the "Bastei-Luebbe" version. The Knaur-Books are not
available for years. [Bastei-Luebbe and Knaur are German publishing
companies - ed.]"

       BELGARIAD
Die Prophezeiung des Bauern (Knaur)
Kind der Prophezeiung (Bastei)

Die Zaubermacht der Dame (Knaur)
Zauber der Schlange (Bastei)

Gambit der Magier (Knaur)
Spiel der Magier (Bastei)

Turm der Hexerei (Knaur)
Turm der Hexer (Bastei)

Verwunschenes Endspiel (Knaur)
Duell der Zauberer (Bastei)

"The titles of the Malloreon are the same for the old Knaur and new
Bastei versions."

    MALLOREON
Die Herren des Westens
Koenig der Murgos
Der Daemon von Karanda
Zauberin von Darshiva
Seherin von Kell

Denis Aumueller provided the following titles, all published by
Bastei-Luebbe.

    ELENIUM
Der Thron im Diamant
Der Ritter vom Rubin
Die Rose aus Saphir

    TAMULI
Die Schimmernde Stadt
Das leuchtende Volk
Das verborgene Land


B.3.    Finnish Titles

Eddings has also been translated into Finnish, and Arto Repola
provided the Finnish versions.

       BELGARIAD
Kiven vartija  (Pawn of Prophecy)
Ennustusten aika  (Queen of Sorcery)
Velhojen taistelu  (Magician's Gambit)
Rivan kuningatar  (Castle of Wizardry)
Kohtalon tayttymys  (Enchanter's Endgame)

        MALLOREON
Lannen vartijat  (Guardians of the West)
Murgojen kuningas  (King of the Murgos)
Karandan paholaisherra  (Demon Lord of Karanda)
Darshivan velhotar  (The Sorceress of Darshiva)
Kellin nakijatar  (The Seeress of Kell)

        ELENIUM
Timanttivaltaistuin  (The Diamond Throne)
Rubiiniritari  (The Ruby Knight)
Safiiriruusu  (The Sapphire Rose)_

        TAMULI
Tulikupolit  (Domes of Fire)

B.4.    French Titles

Francis Cornet provided the French titles for both the Belgariad
and Malloreon, as well as the Elenium and the Tamuli. He also
provided ISBNs and publishing information.

       BELGARIAD
Le Pion blanc des presages  (Pawn of Prophecy)
La Reine des sortileges  (Queen of Sorcery)
Le Gambit du magicien  (Magician's Gambit)
La Tour des malefices  (Castle of Wizardry)
La Fin de partie de l'enchanteur  (Enchanter's Endgame)

        MALLOREON
Les Gardiens du Ponant  (Guardians of the West)
Le Roi des Murgos  (King of the Murgos)
Le Demon majeur de Karanda  (Demon Lord of Karanda)
La Sorciere de Darshiva  (The Sorceress of Darshiva)
La Sybille de Kell  (The Seeress of Kell)

        ELENIUM
Le trone de diamanta  (The Diamond Throne)
Le chevalier de rubis  (The Ruby Knight)
La rose de saphir  (The Sapphire Rose)

        TAMULI (only the first book has been translated so far)
Les domes de feu  (Domes of Fire)

B.5.    Swedish Titles

Patrik Montgomery sent the Swedish titles. Unfortunately, Sweden
uses letters with funkly little accent marks above them that can't
be read by my cheap e-mail software. An "*" replaces those
characters that didn't appear properly on my screen. Hopefully,
those of you who read Swedish can figure out what they are supposed
to be.

       BELGARIAD
Stenens v*ktare  (Pawn of Prophecy)
Profetians tid  (Queen of Sorcery)
Besv*rjarnas kamp  (Magician's Gambit)
Rivas drottning  (Castle of Wizardry)
*dets Fullbordan  (Enchanter's Endgame)

        MALLOREON
Belgarions son  (Guardians of the West)
Murgoernas kung  (King of the Murgos)
Demonen i Karanda  (Demon Lord of Karanda)
I Zandramas sp*r  (The Sorceress of Darshiva)
Sierskan from Kell  (The Seeress of Kell)

B.6.    Italian Titles

And Eddings has been translated into Italian! Thanks to Marcello
Manicardi for the titles. He notes that "Malloreon" is written as
"Mallorean" in the Italian editions, and that "Elene" has an accent
mark over the second "e".

        LA SAGA DEL BELGARIAD (published by Editrice Nord)
Il Segno della Profezia
La Regina della Magia
La Valle di Aldur
Il Castello Incantato
La Fine del Gioco

        EPOPEA DEI MALLOREAN
I Guardiani della Luce
Il Re dei Murgos
Il Signore dei Demoni
La Maga di Darshiva
La Profetessa di Kell

        EPOPEA DEGLI ELENE
Il Trono di Diamante
Il Cavaliere del Rubino
La Rosa di Zaffiro

        EPOPEA DEI TAMULI
Le Volte di Fuoco
I Demoni della Luce
La Citto dell Nulla

C.  MISCELLANEOUS PUBLISHING INFORMATION

"The Belgariad" was published in the U.S. as a set of original
paperbacks - the only hardcover edition available prior to 1995 was
a two-volume omnibus from the Science Fiction Book Club. In 1995,
_The Belgariad Part One_, was published by Del Rey in hardcover.
_The Belgariad Part Two_ should have come out in late 1996, but the
publication has been delayed. All of the British editions of
Eddings' work have come out in both hardcover and paperback
versions.

Eddings' two non-fantasy novels, _High Hunt_ and _The Losers_, came
out in a hardcover omnibus edition titled _Two Complete Novels_
from Wings Publishing in 1993 (ISBN 0-517-11908-0).

Despite the 1992 copyright date, _The Losers_ is actually David
Eddings' second book; it was written right after _High Hunt_ in the
mid-1970's. He wasn't able to get it published until he became a
bestselling author of fantasies.

CONTACTING DAVID EDDINGS

David Eddings does not have an e-mail address and, according to
everyone who has asked, has no intentions of getting one. If you
want to contact him, you need to write a genuine, pen-and-paper
letter, and send it care of his publisher, Del Rey Books. Address
it as follows:
    David Eddings
    c/o Del Rey Books
    201 E. 50th St.
    New York, NY  10022
    U.S.A.
I recommend using the two-envelope method: Write your letter, seal
it into a stamped envelope with "David Eddings" written on the
front, BUT NO ADDRESS. Then insert that into another envelope and
mail it off to Del Rey Books. They'll forward it. If you want a
reply, you'll be a lot more likely to get one if you include a
self-addressed, stamped envelope.


                   FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 
                  (ask again at your own risk)

GENERAL QUESTIONS

A.  The systems of magic and the worlds that David Eddings created
    don't always seem very sensible. In fact, sometimes they're
    kind of silly, and it's hard to think up logical explanations
    for how they work. Why?

    Following is a quote from David Eddings, found in _Contemporary
    Authors: New Revision Series_, volume 35.

        "My current excursion into fantasy has given me an
        opportunity to test my technical theories [of writing]. I
        made a world that never was, with an unlikely theology
        splattered against an improbable geology. My magic is at
        best a kind of pragmatic cop-out. Many of my explanations
        of how magic is supposed to work are absurdities - _but_ my
        characters all accept these explanations as if there was no
        possibility of quibbling about them, and if the characters
        believe, then the readers seem also to believe."

    In other words, creating a logical, internally consistent
    fantasy world was not part of David Eddings' agenda.


B.  I've got this great idea about who should be in a movie...

    Every newsgroup that covers any literary character or
    characters inevitably gives birth to Casting threads, and
    alt.fan.eddings is no exception. 

    There are some things you should know before you suggest that
    Sean Connery should play Belgarath. First, there are no plans
    to film ANY of Eddings' works. Second, anyone that you can
    think of to cast in an imaginary film of Eddings' works has
    already been suggested by someone else. Third, that knowledge
    hasn't stopped anyone else from posting THEIR casting
    suggestions, so why should it stop you?

    Just don't be surprised at the moans of dismay from the old-
    timers.


C.  Gee, has anyone noticed that the plots of Eddings' fantasies
    are all kind of similar?

    [sarcasm alert] Gosh, you're kidding! Wow, what an insight!
    We'd have never noticed if you hadn't mentioned it!

    David Eddings has obviously developed what he considers to be
    a very serviceable plot, well suited to the type of fantasies
    that he writes. And since his many fans (i.e., us) continue to
    buy his books, he doesn't feel any pressing need to develop a
    new plot. That Eddings is capable of coming up with _different_
    plots is evident from his two non-fantasy novels, neither of
    which involves a quest for a blue stone. 


BELGARIAD/MALLOREON

D.  Inconsistencies

    Inconsistencies come in three flavors: 1) Editing mistakes, 2)
    Sheer boneheaded errors, and 3) Illogical actions.

    Editing mistakes are those errors that crept in during the
    printing process. These generally consist of misspellings or
    incorrect character identifications. Boneheaded errors are
    those where the writer simply forgot that he has already named
    (or described) something, and later gives it a completely
    different name (or description). Illogical actions are things
    that happen that, based on other information in the story, seem
    REALLY stupid. 

    1) Editing Mistakes
        Chaldan/Chamdar
            At one point in _The Seeress of Kell_, the "bull-god of
            the Arends" is identified as "Chamdar" rather than
            "Chaldan."

        The Wandering L's
            Gethell/Gethel (the King of the Thrulls) and Xbel/Xbell
            (a dryad) appear at various times with their names
            spelled either with one 'L' or two 'L's. In the case of
            Gethell, the two 'L' version is used most frequently,
            and appears to be the proper spelling. Xbel appears an
            equal number of times spelled both ways, but since no
            other dryads have double letters in their names, I'm
            willing to assume that Xbel is the correct spelling.

    2) Boneheaded Errors
        The name of Brand's oldest son
            Brand's oldest son is identified twice during the
            course of the Belgariad as "Bralon." He reappears in
            the Malloreon as "Verdan."

        The name of the young prince who survived the slaughter of
        the rest of the Rivan line by Salmissra
            In the Belgariad, when Polgara tells Garion the story
            of the young prince's escape, she gives his name as
            "Gared." When Belgarath tells an expanded version of
            the story in _Belgarath the Sorcerer_, the prince's
            name is "Geran."

    3) Illogical Actions
        In _Pawn of Prophecy_, Durnik easily dispatches Brill when
        he finds him spying on the others. Later, we find that
        Brill is actually an incredibly skilled fighter and
        assassin, and there really shouldn't have been any way that
        a simple blacksmith (even one with two lives) could have
        caught him off guard.
            Of course, the fun part about illogical action
            inconsistencies is that the TruFan can come up with
            explanations for them. Two possibilities that have been
            discussed in a.f.e. are: 1) Brill didn't want to blow
            his cover, so he allowed Durnik to catch him. 2) The
            Prophecy of Light interfered.

        In the Belgariad, it comes as a complete surprise to
        everyone that Asharak, the Murgo merchant, is actually
        Chamdar, the Grolim almost-disciple of Torak. In _Belgarath
        the Sorcerer_, both Silk and Belgarath are aware that
        Chamdar uses the name Asharak.
            No one has managed to come up a good explanation for
            this one yet. Personally, I'm hoping that it will be
            cleared up in _Polgara the Sorceress_.


E.  Dryads (a.k.a. The Thread That Will Not Die)

    Donal Fellows has a fairly comprehensive compilation of the
    endless Dryad threads, and I'll try and create a very
    compressed version to go here. If you don't want to wait, check
    out his home page (URL given at the end of this FAQ).


F.  So, what exactly is on Garion's amulet?
    (Thanks to Jonathan Yen for this answer)

    We have no clue.  Eddings only made one comment on what was on
    the amulet.  In _Queen of Sorcery_, Garion looks at his amulet
    and notices that it has a strange geometric design.  That's it.

    For some reason, Garion never bothers to look at his amulet
    ever again.  Why?  Don't ask me.

    So, of course, there has been speculation on what is on the
    amulet.  Various things have been said, like a wolf, the orb,
    the Rivan sword going through a crown, and a circle.  Because
    Garion ain't that dumb, I think he would have noticed that his
    amulet had a design of one of these rather than think of it as
    a strange geometric design.

    I myself posed the idea that the design on Garion's amulet was
    in fact a moebius strip.  Something about two things becoming
    one or maybe it was one thing becoming two.  I don't know...I
    was feeling weird that day.

    Amy Sheldon thought it might have been a rune.  You know, a
    weird character that stands for an entire word (like in the
    Chinese language).  Of course, this started up a whole lot of
    speculation of what the word was...


G.  What is this Bel/Pol prefix business?
    (Thanks to Donal Fellows for this answer, with parenthetical
    commentary by Amy Sheldon)

    `Bel' and `Pol' both mean beloved and nothing more. It's just
    that `Bel' is the male form and `Pol' is the female form.
    Beldaran is an anomaly, but languages (especially English) are
    full of them, so you'd better get used to it...

    (NOWHERE in either the Belgariad or Malloreon does it state
    that 'Bel' or 'Pol' means disciple. Aldur added it to his
    original disciples' names, presumably as a sign that they were
    his "beloved disciples", but simply adding 'Bel' to a name no
    more makes a character Aldur's disciple then adding 'Fido' to
    your name would make you into a dog.)

H.  Why isn't 'Durnik' called 'Beldurnik'?

    How do you know he isn't? Everyone is used to calling him
    'Durnik' (and he's used to be called Durnik), so just because
    he's a disciple now, and officially entitled to add 'Bel' to
    his name doesn't mean everyone is going to start calling him a
    totally different name. Hey, I've got an old friend whose first
    name is Ralph. When he was in college, he decided to be known
    by his middle name, Tony. But those of us who knew him in his
    youth still call him 'Ralph' (and boy, does it drive him
    crazy.)

I.  Why can't Zedar get out of that hole Belgarath put him in?
    (By Jonathan Yen, with parenthetical commentary by Amy Sheldon)

    Well, Belgarath mentions that sorcerers can't undo what another
    sorcerer does because everyone thinks differently.  But Zedar
    ain't stupid, and so, should be able to think of another way to
    get out, right?  So, Belgarath must have thought of a pretty
    elaborate way to keep Zedar down there.  However, one should
    remember that Zedar is stuck in rock for all eternity, which
    means that he has sufficient oxygen and food for all eternity
    also.  Or, it means that Belgarath made provisions for his
    well-being for throughout eternity.

    So, I propose two possible solutions: 
    a) Zedar is stuck in rock like how Relg goes through it.
        (My personal favorite, with the addendum that Belgarath has
        somehow blocked Zedar from being able to gather his will
        and use magic to escape). 
    b) Zedar is in suspended animation.
        (Not too likely, since if he's in suspended animation, he
        isn't aware of being trapped, and therefore it isn't much
        of a punishment....)


J.  Speaking of Zedar, don't you think his punishment was too
    harsh?

    No.


ELENIUM/TAMULI



                        EDDINGS RESOURCES

A.  alt.fan.eddings newsgroup
    Home of Eddings fanatics worldwide. First appeared in the early
    1990s, and if anyone knows the actual date it was created, let
    me know. (I know I started reading regularly in January, 1993,
    and it had already been around for a while then). A comfortable
    newsgroup with moderate traffic (10 to 20 messages a day,
    depending on the time of year, whether a new book has come out
    recently, and the level of spam on the Net) - feel free to drop
    in and join us.

B.  Web pages

EDDINGS HOME PAGES:

Donal Fellow's Eddings Page
    http://r8h.cs.man.ac.uk:8000/eddings/
        Eddings trivia, voting on items of interest to Eddings
        fans, and links to other sites. Donal is an a.f.e.
        stalwart, and has been around virtually since the group's
        creation. His site also contains a copy of the a.f.e.
        Recommended Fantasy Author List.

Paul Farris' Eddings Page - "The Vale"
    http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/thorn/eddings.htm
        Contains Paul Farris' original Eddings FAQ, and well as
        links to other sites and lots of other useful stuff. U.K.
        fans should note that Paul's FAQ has the ISBNs of the
        *British* editions of David Eddings' books.

Sparhawk's Eddings Web Site
    http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/1424

The Unofficial a.f.e. Home Page
    http://w3.one.net/~halldp/afe.htm
        Justin Hall's tribute to denizens of alt.fan.eddings. Along
        with the usual links to other Eddings sites, it includes a
        list of prominent a.f.e'rs and how they can be contacted.

The Belgariad Timeline
    http://www.cps.msu.edu/~korthmat/eddings/timeline.html
        Matthew Korth is in the process of putting together a
        timeline of the Five Ages of the world of the Belgariad.


OTHER SITES OF INTEREST:

The Recommended Fantasy Author List
    http://www.sff.net/people/Amy.Sheldon/listcont.htm
        Listing of fantasy authors recommended by readers of the
        alt.fan.eddings newsgroup. Contains descriptive listings on
        more than 150 authors, forthcoming titles, book news, and
        numbers of recommendations.

Del Rey homepage
    http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/
        Del Rey is Eddings' publisher in the U.S., and their site
        often has news about his upcoming work. They also publish
        quite a few other fantasy authors, and you can find sample
        chapters and all kinds of goodies there.

                       CREDITS AND THANKS

Special thanks and my eternal gratitude to Paul Farris, Donal
Fellows, and Jonathan Yen, who let me use information that they had
already gathered and pounded into useable form. I am grateful for
their hard work, and their graciousness in allowing me to
swipe^H^H^H^H^H utilize their efforts.

And, of course, I could never forgive myself if I forgot to thank
Anthony Chan, who 'waaaay back in 1994 began the grim task of
hacking together an Eddings FAQ (he eventually gave it up and
decided to do something a bit easier - complete his medical
degree.)

Thanks also to: 
    Daniel Peters, for the original list of German titles, and
    Denis Aumueller, who sent the titles of Eddings' other works
    and added ISBNs.

    Raul de Vincenzi, Geoff Hunter and Ginger941, who provided help
    with ISBNs, as well as a few encouraging words.

    Joy Green, who provided the descriptions for _High Hunt_ and
    _The Losers_

    Arto Repola, who provided the Finnish version of the titles.
    Francis Cornet, who provided the French titles and ISBNs.
    Patrik Montgomery, who provided the Swedish titles.
    Marcello Manicardi, who provided the Italian titles.

    And, of course, Kalten, who provided the best commentary I've
    received on this FAQ since it came out (unfortunately, much of
    it isn't suitable for a family publication...)

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Amy Sheldon                            ais3@po.cwru.edu
Benefits Specialist                  (216) 368-6693
Case Western Reserve University     

