From: Dave Holman Subject: alt.fan.eddings _New_ Frequently Asked Questions Date: 18 Nov 1998 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <36526396.644DE29A@drake.edu> Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Organization: Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Mime-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: alt.fan.eddings Here, as promised, is the new updated Frequently Asked Questions list. There have been a number of changes, as one might guess, which I'll attempt to list below. 1) integration of the two core FAQ's (as well as the elimination of parts of the FAQ supplemant, namely the elimination of the Legends Anthology section). 2) Integration of information sent to me by Sarabian which he never had time to include in the FAQ supplement. 3) The answer for the section "Will Eddings write more on Sparhawk and gang?" has been changed from a lengthy discussion of ACETS to a simple "no". The reason for this being that we've already had a response regarding ACETS, hence the answer. 4) The section entitled "Who the heck is Celine Dion and what does she have to do with Eddings?" has been eliminated. This is no longer really applicable to the group with Aphrael's departure. 5) The section "Any special features I should watch for?" has been eliminated and it's contents split up among other sections of the FAQ. 6) Old web pages that are no longer operative have been removed from the Eddings' resources/web pages section. (However, Aphrael's page is still there. It seems MicroServe never got around to closing it down, and I certainly didn't inform them during any of my conversations with them a few weeks back.) At the same time, web pages whose address has changed have been updated. 7) Various grammatical changes as well as eliminating Aphrael's personal comments. (i.e., changing it to "Aphrael said"). It wouldn't do to be quoting myself on things I never said. 8) Elimination of PtS spoiler space 9) The section "Dryads (a.k.a. The Thread That Will Not Die)" has been fairly completely replaced by Rumor's explanation contained with the old FAQ supplemant. 9) Inclusion of new foreign titles provided by Itagne and Kamion. Also the inclusion of the ISBN number for the second of the two part hard cover installment of the Belgariad. Thanks to Izzy. 10) The section "IRC #eddings" has been changed from the old one paragraph explantation to a lengthy and thorough explanation of how to get IRC and sign up provided by Kamion. 11) The condensing of various parts of the entire document 12) Various sections updated, "THE ALT.FAN.EDDINGS NEWSGROUP" area having the greatest number of new material as well as the alteration (read: updating) of various older sections. 13) A great deal more small details that I've forgotten, and most probably a few larger ones as well. 14. Yes, I'm perfectly aware that the spacing is off. If you see a glaring error (or even a minor one) feel free to E-mail me and I'll fix it before the posting in two weeks. I have a feeling that the document's going to be wrapping around to the next line before it should. Once I see what it looks like posted, I'll start correcting it. Right now I just want to post the FAQ and go study for a Macroeconomics test. (Well, I don't really _want_ to study for the damn thing, but it'd probably be a good idea.) I'd like to thank both Itagne and Kamion right now for helping so much with the process of updating the document, and for patiently reading through it not once but twice, and pointing out errors that are bound to pop up when you start writing new sections to an existing document, not to mention cutting and pasting things together (you wouldn't believe some of the mistakes that I let slip by, not to mention the one's that Itagne found in his _second_ read that we'd all missed.) I'd also like to thank Sarabian for giving me such a repository of information (not to mention the main FAQ addendum itself) and for helping in the editing process of the document. Please feel free to E-mail me any problems you find in the document as well as any additions you think would be worthwhile. Archive-name: sf/david-eddings-faq Posting-Frequency: bi-monthly Last modified: 1998/11/17 Version: 3.0 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 Publishing Information 1) Omnibus Editions 2) _The Losers_: Copyright date vs. creation date D. What are D&LE working on currently? E. Are there any interviews with David Eddings on the Internet? F. 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. Wouldn't it be great if there was a new book in the world of the Belgariad/Elenium? D. Will there be a movie/CD-ROM game based on the Belgariad/Elenium? E. Gee, has anyone noticed that the plots of Eddings' fantasies are all kind of similar? BELGARIAD/MALLOREON F. Inconsistencies 1) Editing errors a.) The infamous Chaldan/Chamdar misprint b.) The wandering L's 2) Boneheaded errors a.) The name of Brand's oldest son b.) Gared/Geran 3) Illogical/inconsistent actions a.) Durnik vs. Brill b.) Asharak/Chamdar G. Dryads (a.k.a. The Thread That Will Not Die) H. Immortality (a.k.a. The Other Thread That Will Not Die) I. What, precisely, does the mark on Garion’s hand signify? J. So, what exactly *is* on Garion’s amulet? K. The meaning of 'Bel' and 'Pol'. L. Why isn't 'Durnik' called 'Beldurnik'? M. Has anyone noticed the chess analogy in the titles of the Belgariad? N. What was Beldin's first act of sorcery? O. Why can't Zedar get out of that hole Belgarath put him in? P. Speaking of Zedar, don't you think his punishment was a bit too harsh? Q. What is the sex of Polgara's twins? R. Who is the Wolf? S. How did Polgara and Poledra merging help them remain unseen by Torak? T. Why are there so many differences between BtS and PtS? ELENIUM/TAMULI U. Inconsistencies 1.) Terms that can be confused a.) Elene/Elenian b.) Patriarch/primate 2.) Illogical gaps in the story a.) Who exactly has touched the Bhelliom? b.) Sephrenia and Aphrael's flying V. Do the Elenium or Tamuli titles have any connections to the stories? W. What God is supporting Zalasta's spells when he crashes Sephrenia and Vanion's wedding? X. Where do the renegade Styrics get their power? Y. Why couldn't Sparhawk let King Wargun know that he was looking for Bhelliom? Z. Immortality (The Elenium Derivative) AA. Will Eddings write more on Sparhawk and the gang? THE ALT.FAN.EDDINGS NEWSGROUP AB. alt.fan.eddings newsgroup; what is it, who created it, and when? AC. Why does everyone have an Eddings alias, and how can I get one? AD. What are the Silver Suggestions? AE. Who runs the Trivia quiz, and when is it posted to the newsgroup? AF. What exactly is Klæl's Army? AG. Where can a new user find information about this newsgroup? AH. Are there any rules on this newsgroup? III. Eddings Resources B. IRC #eddings C. Web pages D. Other sites of interest IV. Credits and Thanks ------------------------------------ I. 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 best-selling 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) Enchanters’ End Game (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. Chronicles 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 - published by Nelson Doubleday Inc., by an arrangement with Del Rey U.S. ISBN 1-56865-038-8 (hc) 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 Takes place 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 (1997) Del Rey U.S. ISBN 0-345-41662-7 (hc) _-___-_____-_ (pb) British ISBN 0-246-13844-0 (hc) 0-586-21314-7 (pb) 0-002-24321-0 (trade pb) A pair of prequels to the Belgariad and Malloreon series. The books are presented as narratives by the title characters. As a side note of interest, the trade paperback version of PtS was given a new illustration, probably in response to the dislike expressed by so many fans when the book was first released. The Rivan Codex (1998) Del Rey U.S. ISBN 0-345-42402-6 (hc) British ISBN 0-002-24677-5 (hc) A compilation of the notes written by David and Leigh Eddings before they began work on “The Belgariad”. "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) 0-586-20372-9 (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) 0-586-20373-7 (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 and learns more about his unique connection to the Bhelliom. 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 -cont. by Daniel Peters "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 were 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 -cont. by Arto Repola BELGARIAD Kiven vartija Ennustusten aika Velhojen taistelu Rivan kuningatar Kohtalon tayttymys MALLOREON Lannen vartijat Murgojen kuningas Karandan paholaisherra Darshivan velhotar Kellin nakijatar ELENIUM Timanttivaltaistuin Rubiiniritari Safiiriruusu TAMULI Tulikupolit B.4. French Titles -cont. by Francis Cornet, with additions from Nick Boalch all novels are published by Éditions Pocket in the Rendez-Vous Ailleurs collection. LA BELGARIADE Le Pion blanc des présages La Reine des sortilèges Le Gambit du magicien La Tour des maléfices La Fin de partie de l'enchanteur LA MALLORÉE Les Gardiens du Ponant Le Roi des Murgos Le Démon majeur de Karanda La Sorcière de Darshiva La Sybille de Kell LA TRILOGIE DES JOYAUX (lit. Trilogy of the Jewels) Le trône de diamant Le chevalier de rubis La rose de saphir LA TRILOGIE DU PÉRIL (lit. Trilogy of the Peril) Les dômes de feu Ceux-qui-brillent (lit. Those who shine) La cité occulte B.5. Swedish Titles -cont. by Patrik Montgomery BELGARIAD Stenens väktare Profetians tid Besvärjarnas kamp Rivas drottning Ödets fullbordan MALLOREON Belgarions son Murgoernas konung Demonen i Karanda I Zandramas fotspår Sierskan från Kell BEL/MAL PREQUELS Belgarath besvärjaren Polgara besvärjerskan ELENIUM Diamanttronen Rubinriddaren Safirrosen TAMULI Kupoler av eld De skinande http://www.users.wineasy.se/oz/english/html/the_citadel_of_riva_-_books.htm has Swedish ISBNs (though be warned, at least two of them look invalid). B.6. Italian Titles -cont. by Marcello Manicardi 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 B.7. Polish Titles -cont. by Luna Poland is still waiting on both The Hidden City and Polgara the Sorceress. BELGARIAD Pionek Proroctwa Krolowa magii Gambit magow Wieza czarow Ostatnia walka czarodziejow MALLOREON Straznicy zachodu Krol Murgow Demon wladca Karandy Czarodziejka z Darshivy Prorokini z Kell BELGARATH THE SORCERER Belgarath czarodziej ELENIUM Diamentowy tron Rubinowy rycerz Szafirowa roza TAMULI Kopuly ognia Blyszczacy 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 best-selling author of fantasies. D. What are D&LE working on currently? David and Leigh are working on an entirely new world (Creating worlds is a real fun hobby according to David). There will be new characters, a new quest and a new "innovative magic system". A quote from the Del Rey's Polgara scrapbook page (http://www.randomhouse.com/polgara) indicates that it will be set at the end of the Ice-Age, or possibly during it. In a letter replying to Castellan, Eddings verified that he is indeed working on a novel set in this time period. It appears that he wants to work with a world less technologically advanced. In June 97, DE was quoted in the Polgara Scrapbook saying "Right now, I'm working on a darkly comic political novel about the President's mistress, who goes missing one day in possession of quite a few state secrets. Though I may wait to publish it posthumously, because if offends everyone - which was of course my intention." Whether this work is complete or not is unknown as we have heard nothing more about it since. E. Are there any interviews with David Eddings on the Internet? Del Rey's Polgara Scrapbook is an excellent source of information about David Eddings, and each month leading up to the US publication of Polgara the Sorceress, David sent a "letter" to the web page. It is well worth a read. Also, the main Del Rey page at http://www.randomhouse.com/delrey/ may contain future information about his new series. On Wednesday 29th October 1997, David conducted an online interview on AOL. It can be found on the Del Rey site, and can also be found on Kamion's web page. David also did an interview with Stan Nicholls for Interzone and Starlog magazines, which can be found in various places on the Internet. It is from some time ago, but contains lots of useful information. A copy can be found at http://gotw.home.ml.org/eddings/interview.html A more recent interview, where Eddings discusses his new work can be found at http://web.reed.edu/community/newsandpub/reedmag/eddings/index.html. F. 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. II. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 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. It's also been suggested by one or two old-timers that it's a good idea if you do want to restart the casting thread to give it a subject header that is easily identified, such as "The Belgariad… the movie!" That way those who have seen it 957 times before can spot it quickly and avoid it. C. Wouldn't it be great if there was a new book in the world of the Belgariad/Elenium? It would probably be a good story if David Eddings wrote it, however it is not going to happen. He has stated quite firmly that there will be no further books in either of the worlds he has created so far. So, there will be no "Sephrenia the Styric", "Poledra the Wolf" or "The Story of Talen and Aphrael". D. Will there be a movie/CD-ROM game based on the Belgariad/Elenium? I have been asked to pass on the following reply to this question: - NO! On the Polgara Scrapbook, David quite clearly states his position. There will be no spin-offs of any sort, as he will not allow anyone to touch something he spent twenty years writing. E. 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. In addition, while the plots of Eddings' two fantasy series are similar on the surface, there are many differences to be found in terms of themes, character development, etc. There has been much discussion of this on the newsgroup, and most people seem to agree that the Elenium is much darker than the Bel/Mal, in terms of theme, issues dealt with and the general mood of the story. And as Rumor has often pointed out there is more adventure in the Bel/Mal and more political intrigue in the Elen/Tam. The difference is, in fact, radical enough that a number of people have admitted to being initially put off by the Elenium because it was different from the Bel/Mal. For this reason, I usually advise a 1-2 month waiting period after finishing one series before starting the other. BELGARIAD/MALLOREON F. 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 Thulls) 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 True Fan 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_. G. Dryads (a.k.a. The Thread That Will Not Die) Donal Fellows has a fairly comprehensive compilation of the endless Dryad threads. To take a look, check out his hompage. (URL given at the end of this FAQ). Although to date I have heard of three possible explanations for this, below is Rumor's explanation, the most comprehensive explanation I've yet seen. Keep in mind that PtS was discarded when considering this question. The general consensus is that Eddings wasn't thinking clearly when he wrote the section where Polgara briefly writes about this subject. It's really very simple (long, but simple): The dryad invariably has one "human" X chromosome and one "dryad" X chromosome. When a dryad (female, of course) and a human male produce a female child, the male has donated an X chromosome, which still pairs with during mitosis and meoisis so that the child can grow and produce eggs (not so strange - the Y and X chromosomes of humans are extremely different and still pair in cell division, and in this case, it's the dryad X that varies slightly from the human X). Now, in human females, one X chromosome in _every_ cell of the body becomes inactivated after a few weeks of life. (It becomes super-condensed because a double-dose of genes would be too much - it is then called a Barr body). In dryad female offspring, the human X serves to determine sex of the child, and then is the one condensed in every cell of the dryad's body (in humans, it is a random choice in the cells, but it could _easily_ be forced in dryad cells, because the two X chromosomes are slightly different, so one can be recognized as the human one and then condensed). The simplest mechanism for this would be a protein or series of protein reactions derived from the dryad X to inactivate the human X. Thus, a female child develops via the dryad X. Because half of her genome is human, dryads appear very much like humans. (The dryad half couldn't be much different anyway, because all chromosomes have to pair in cell division). Males: Child receives human male Y and a dryad female X. The male Y chromosome codes for a gene product (TDF maybe - the testis (male) determining factor) that inactivates portions of the dryad X chromosome that deal with dryad physiology. This is entirely possible - on all chromosomes, areas of the chromosome are regulated separately and turned 'on' or 'off' at the genetic level by protein and DNA packing regulation. Thus, a protein from the Y, normally meant only for some human purpose (such as TDF, which develops a male into a male) could also bind to the dryad X or cause some sort of signal cascade that deactivates the specific dryad genes - remember that the dryad X is quite similar to the human X which can clearly be indicated by their stark similarity to humans, so all the normal physiological genes needed from the X chromosome remain active. So, there you go. Gene regulation and inactivation. Simple, real, human genetics that can be applied to the dryad system, which must be amazingly similar to ours if human males can actually manage to reproduce with them. Re: "Half-dryad" and "full-dryad" nomenclature Or, why there are no full dryads _All_ dryads are half-dryad because half their genome is from a human, in which case, the definition for "dryad" becomes "half-dryad," and the word "dryad" still is correct: Dryads are all half-dryads, but are still called dryads, because there are no full-dryads. An analogy: the word hypercholesterolemia. This is a disease in which a person has one of _two_ genes defective for a certain receptor that allows cholesterol to be taken out of the blood. That is to say, the person has one mutant copy of the gene and one wildtype (normal) copy. Hypercholesterolemia breeds true (it is genetic, so obviously...), but the definition refers to a half-hypercholesterolemic, technically... However, people with two copies are _not_ called hypercholesterolemic (ack, bad example! Typing that is annoying! ^_^), because there aren't any. Two copies of the mutant are lethal, so all "full-hyper'emics" are dead. Hence the word, like dryad, technically means a half-breed, but that's _all_ it means, so it is still the correct connotation. "Dryad" _means_ half-breed, and there are _no_ "full-dryads." So, essentially, when Polgara refers to Ce'Nedra is a half-dryad, it's still what we're all used to. My explanation way above also explains how a female with only one dryad X can have the same phenotype of a theoretical full dryad. Re: Children of dryads, especially males. Without a deletion, half the male children of a dryad would have all their daughters (grand-daughters of the dryad) be dryads again; the gene causing dryad-ness in females would resurface after a generation. So, deletion of this gene by male children of dryads is likely possible, probably through an induced inversion mechanism, although it deoesn't really matter. Actually, if a dryad X underwent auto-inversion in males across the centromere of the X chromosome... the dryad X chromosomes would break up. Thus, sons of dryads could only have male kids, and the dryad chromosome would be _lost_ in that first generation. Would anybody ever notice that particular orphans found near the Wood of the Dryads only have male children. Probably not, actually. Medical records in Tolnedra were probably sketchy. The necessity for such a mechanism depends on whether a dryad is in any way recognizable from a normal human. Suppose the gene is not normally deleted, and a dryad-borne male is dumped into Tolnedra as an orphan (as per Aphrael's theory). He has three children in his lifetime, two of which are female, and thus both are dryad. _However,_ he doesn't know he's carrying the dryad genes on his X chromosome (which is given to all female children), and so nobody ever realizes they're dryad. _And_ if they're never bonded to a tree... then they don't have an extended lifetime (we _know_, despite the dryad/tree argument going on currently, that tree age is the reason the dryads live so long. Xantha states it). So, nobody ever realizes she's dryad, and nothing ever comes of it... If this is the case, there's probably a lot of unclaimed dryads running around clueless in Tolnedra. Personally, I prefer the deletion/inversion theory, because it's simpler, neater, and wraps everything up just fine. Occam's Razor, n' such. (The next two are both Aph's additions) H. Immortality (a.k.a. The Other Thread That Will Not Die) We've already witnessed that Belgarath, Polgara, Beldin and the other sorcerers have lived for centuries. So doesn't this mean that Garion will have the same life span? What will happen to the Rivan line? Will Garion abdicate when Geran is old enough to take over? And what about Ce'Nedra, won't she live a long time, too, at least until her tree dies? Everybody seems to have an opinion on this one. First of all, we never learn if the sorcerers are, in fact, immortal or if they just have a very long life span. And secondly, we never know if long life is part of the natural order of sorcerers or if Belgarath was allowed to live for 7000 years because the Prophecy needed him. There are two major schools of thought on this one. The first is that the sorcerers are, in fact, immortal and will live forever. The second is that the Prophecy's work is done and things will resume their natural order, and the sorcerers will die in the normal course of time now. Take your pick, because there doesn't seem to be enough evidence to prove either theory. As for the Rivan line, most people seem to agree that if Garion is, in fact, going to live for a long, long time, he will hand over the crown to Geran when Geran reaches a suitable age. Garion was never that thrilled to be a king in the first place, and there doesn't seem to be any reason why he would want to extend that role for several centuries. And with regard to Ce'Nedra, there are two major schools of thought on that. Some people believe that she will live as long as her tree (how long her tree will live is a whole other tangent thread), while others believe that the Prophecy tweaked things a bit so that Ce'Nedra will live as long as Garion does. I. The mark on Garion's hand -- is it symbolic of the Rivan line or the mark of his being a sorcerer? As with most of these questions, there are two schools of thought on this one. Some people believe that the mark signifies Garion's place in the Rivan line, and point to the fact that all the Rivan kings had the mark, even after they went into hiding and never touched the Orb. Others believe it is the mark of Garion's sorcery, and point to the facts that 1) we are told that all the sorcerers had some sort of mark signifying their talent -- Polgara has her white lock, Belgarath has a mark over his heart, etc. and 2) the mark on Garion's hand throbs, itches or burns when he uses sorcery, and also has some sort of connection with Polgara's white lock. It's also been suggested that the mark simply served both purposes. J. 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. Aphrael 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... K. What is this Bel/Pol prefix business? -cont. by Donal Fellows 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.) L. 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.) M. Has anyone noticed the chess analogy in the titles of the Belgariad? The titles of the Belgariad all have two parts to them. One part refers to a chess piece or move (e.g. Pawn, Gambit) and the other part is a reference to some form of magic, or magical person. There is quite a strong connection with chess throughout the Belgariad. The game between the LP and the DP can be seen as a complicated game of chess involving the characters (some people have gone as far as associating each character with a type of chess piece). It has also been speculated that the strange geometric design on Garion's amulet is in fact a chessboard. The Mallorean titles are slightly more obscure. They use the title of an individual and the place where they are located. (e.g. Seeress of Kell) N. What was Beldin's first act of sorcery? There is an inconsistency between accounts in Belgarath the Sorcerer and Sorceress of Darshiva. In SoD Beldin says he was angry with Belgarath but turned his will onto a tree instead. In BtS Belgarath asks Beldin to move a rock to his tower and Beldin translocates it instead. A possible explanation for this is that Beldin didn't want everyone to think his first act of sorcery was to do something as simple as moving a rock. O. 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. Two possible solutions have been proposed. 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....) P. Speaking of Zedar, don't you think his punishment was too harsh? No. Q. What is the sex of Polgara's twins? It is never said. In the prologue and epilogue of PtS, the twins are mentioned many times, and are quite clearly not referred to by name or sex. This is quite deliberate. The reason given is that no one can now come up with any suggestion for stories about the twins, because absolutely nothing is known about them. R. Who is the Wolf? This is thought to be, as with the twins, an attempt to keep a few loose ends lying around in the world of the Belgariad. The wolf we are referring to is the one found by Poledra in the Mallorean. He is now Geran's pet/friend, and in the epilogue of PtS he is described as having rather more intelligence than your average wolf. Some of the various explanations are: he is just an ordinary wolf, it's just that wolves are very intelligent creatures, he is an embodiment of the Light Prophecy, enjoying his retirement, or finally, he is David Eddings himself. S. How did Polgara and Poledra merging help them remain unseen by Torak? The first time Polgara and Poledra merge form into the SuperOwl(tm), Polgara remarks that it was the inward turning of themselves that made them invisible. But that cannot be the whole reason, for it should be possible to someone to turn their thoughts inward without merging with someone else. The turning of thought can be seen as creating a shield against searching thoughts. The merging process in combination with turning inward enables them to remain unseen from Torak. It is possible that the merging means they can create the shield and be aware of events happening outside of their merged form. Whereas the shield Garion and Polgara made was imperfect at the join, a combined form could create a perfect shield. T. Why are there so many differences between BtS and PtS? It seems to be on purpose. In one of the letters to the Polgara scrapbook, David speaks about this, and says not to bother pointing them out. In the book, Polgara says that she has a different viewpoint and remembers things differently to Belgarath. Now, given the fact David has put this in, it means he knows there are differences and doesn't want to change them. It is more realistic to think that Polgara and Belgarath cannot remember something exactly when it's something that occurred 3000 years ago. ELENIUM/TAMULI U. Inconsistencies 1.)Some terms that may be confused and are occasionally mixed up by the editors. a.) Elene/Elenian The difference is pretty simple. "Elene" refers to an ethnic/racial group, that group which dominates all of western Eosia, in the nations of Elenia, Arcium, Deira, Thalesia, Pelosia, Lamorkand, Cammoria and Rendor, as opposed to the Styric or Tamul races. "Elenian" refers to the citizens of a particular Elene nation, Elenia. Not all Elenes are Elenian, nor are all Elenians necessarily Elene, since a rural Styric living in Elenia could also be classified as "Elenian." b.) Patriarch/primate A patriarch is one of the 168 members of the upper level of the Hierocracy of the Elene Church. A primate, from all indications, is one rank below a patriarch. If the patriarch of a particular city or district is incapacitated, the primate acts in his stead. I compare them to the Roman Catholic ranks of cardinal vs. Bishop. The major difference is that patriarchs can vote with the Hierocracy and primates can't. This is why it was so important for Annias to buy support among the patriarchs. 2.) Illogical gaps in the story a.) When Ehlana coaxes the Bhelliom to let her touch it, Bhelliom flatly refuses and states that it has _only once_ allowed a non-divine, non-Anakha creature to touch it, and that was when Ghwerig first lifted it from the earth. Yet we know that Adian must have touched the stone when he stole it from Ghwerig's cave, and it's likely that the Thalesian kings who followed him touched it as well. Aside from concluding that the ancient stone of power was developing Alzheimer's, the only explanation seemed to be that Bhelliom deliberately lied. There has been much debate about why. We know, of course, that the story about instant death if one touched Bhelliom was false and that Bhelliom itself could decide who got to touch it. Rumor believes that Bhelliom was very proud and egotistical, and didn't want to admit that so many people had been allowed to touch it. I tend to agree with him, with the addition that Bhelliom was afraid that this would be seen as a sign of weakness and as its alliance with Anakha was still relatively new, it still didn't trust even its own creature. b.) In Domes of Fire, Sparhawk mentions to Sephrenia that Aphrael can fly, and Sephrenia replies that she never actually saw Aphrael do it, but she assumed that her sister could fly. But later, we learn that not only has Sephrenia seen Aphrael fly, but she's even been brought along on about four or five flights in the last three centuries. Someone jokingly suggested that Sephrenia had never "seen" Aphrael fly because she always had her eyes closed in terror. But otherwise, I have yet to see a logical explanation for this one. V. The Elenium titles are all related to types of precious stones. The Tamuli is the hardest. The closest anyone has come up with is that they refer to cities. The only problem is "The Shining Ones" but that could refer to the city of Delphaeus, as Delphaeus means both the city and The Shining Ones. W. At the end of the Tamuli, Cyrgon is dead and Klæl is banished. If Styric spells are nothing more than requests to a God, how do Zalasta's spells work at Sephrenia and Vanion's wedding when he has no God left to appeal to? This one was argued back and forth a bit. This is the one solution that seems that Edæmus gave the Delphae the power to act on their own when he departed to prepare the way for their eventual journey. It seems logical to conclude, then, that a God or other source of power could just as easily have given Zalasta the power to act on his own. Where he got that power from is another matter entirely. Rumor and Aphrael concluded that it was Klæl. As Rumor pointed out, a God is of this (i.e., Sparhawk's) world and has reason to feel threatened by a human with the power to act on his own. But for Klæl, Zalasta was little more than a tiny speck who meant nothing. He would never be able to destroy or contend with Klæl. The only two entities from whom Klæl had anything to fear were Bhelliom and Anakha. So it would be no loss for Klæl to grant Zalasta the power to act on his own. X. If the Elder Gods were all confined and the Younger Gods were all good guys, where did the renegade Styrics get their power? This is one of those cases of not enough information. There are two possibilities here. Either the renegades somehow found another Elder God besides Azash who still had power despite his confinement, or else not all of the Younger Gods were as lily-white as we're led to believe. In the first scenario, it could be that the Elder Gods could still grant spells to individuals in their confined state, but because of their lack of worshippers they were somehow cut off from being powerful enough to command Bhelliom. On the other hand, it's been proposed that it's entirely possible that there was resentment among the Younger Gods, and that there were one or two who would actually grant spells to renegades. It's doubtful, however that the resentment extended so far as to go along with Zalasta's plot to destroy Aphrael, therefore necessitating Zalasta's alliances with Azash and Cyrgon. Y. Why was Sparhawk so afraid to let Wargun know that they were looking for Bhelliom when they ran into Wargun in Pelosia? Wouldn't Wargun have agreed to at least let Sparhawk borrow the stone if he knew it was their only hope? And even if not, wouldn't it be easier to steal the stone from Wargun after he and his army captured it from Ghwerig than to fight the Troll himself? It seems that we have to go on the assumption that Wargun was an erratic drunk who was not thinking rationally. Add to that the fact that he probably wouldn't have believed that the Bhelliom had magical powers and could cure Ehlana, and chances are, he wouldn't believe that Sparhawk had a valid reason for wanting the stone. As for the question of letting Wargun help capture the stone and then stealing it from him, it's important to note that time was of the essence. Half the knights whose lives were supporting Ehlana's had already died. And, as Rumor pointed out, it would take a while just to move an army from Pelosia to Thalesia. Besides, chances are that Wargun would have taken his own soldiers with him and sent Sparhawk to Arcium. Considering that the most important thing in Sparhawk's mind was restoring Ehlana, he couldn't afford to gamble on the whims of an erratic, drunken king. Z. Immortality (The Elenium Derivative) If Danae is going to be Queen of Elenia and she is immortal, will she have to grow old and die like a normal person? Aphrael makes it clear at the end of the Elenium that she knows she will have to play by the normal rules in her incarnation as Danae. As much as she may be tempted, she isn't about to upset the Elene population of Eosia by remaining a child for several centuries. So it's likely that at the appropriate time, Danae will fake a nice, peaceful, painless death and move on to her next incarnation. It could be interesting when her body disappears before burial, though.... AA. Will Eddings write any more on Sparhawk and the gang when he is finished with _Polgara the Sorceress_? No THE ALT.FAN.EDDINGS NEWSGROUP AB. alt.fan.eddings newsgroup; what is it, who created it, and when? -Cont. by Aquarius a.f.e. is the home of Eddings fanatics worldwide. The newsgroup has a high level of traffic, several hundred posts a day, up from only a couple dozen only a few years ago. The control message sent to alt.config came from Bob Snyder, on behalf of Lydia Leong. The date was 17 May 1992. The reasons given for the creation of the new group was that the existing place for discussion about Eddings,rec.arts.sf.written, had a lot of flame wars about whether Eddings was a good writer or not. It was felt that fans' questions were being lost as a result of these flame wars. Interestingly, alt.fan.eddings was created with the idea that it should also be a home for discussion about the Belgariad MUSH as well. A fuller history of the newsgroup, and a full copy of the control message can be seen at http://members.xoom.com/afecodex. AC. Why does everyone have an Eddings alias, and how can I get one? This popular habit was started around the summer of 97. There had always been a few people using aliases, but more and more people started using them until it was decided that some sort of system was needed to ensure that no two people took the same alias. Teut monitors who has what alias and any questions regarding aliases should be directed to teut@thebusstop.demon.co.uk. Teut maintains a site listing all aliases currently in use. It can be found at http://www.thebusstop.demon.co.uk/alias.htm AD. What are the Silver Suggestions? The "Silver Suggestions" are alt.fan.eddings' guide to good netiquette and is posted, twice a month, by Itagne (or rather, his daemon Mordja). They are a collection of statements which people should aim to follow when posting to alt.fan.eddings. Newcomers are encouraged to read them, as well as the FAQ, before posting for the first time. They include Aphrael's Three Commandments, as mentioned in the main FAQ. To see the on-line copy of the Silver Suggestions, visit http://www.greenbeak.demon.co.uk/afe/silver-suggestions/ AE. Who runs the Trivia quiz, and when is it posted to the newsgroup? Simon Nickerson runs the AFE Trivia Quiz. A new quiz is posted once every two weeks and everyone is encouraged to enter. Looking in the books for answers is positively encouraged. Please don't post the answers to the newsgroup, instead mail them to triviaquiz@iname.com. For further information, refer to the guidelines set out in the Trivia Quiz posts, or the web page at http://www.sigma.demon.co.uk/quiz. AF. What exactly is Klæl's Army? Klæl's Army was a rather innocuous looking thread about how the Arcerans (aliens that Klæl brought over to fight in the Tamuli) could forge weapons in the highly explosive atmosphere they lived in. It developed into a highly complex and incomprehensible discussion about biology. Very quickly, it became an in-joke to refer to it when any complicated thread was started, no matter the subject. It has returned this year and if anything, is even more complicated. Klæl's Army has now joined the Dryad and Immortality threads into the history of alt.fan.eddings. AG. Where can a new user find information about this newsgroup? Itagne (itagne@greenbeak.demon.co.uk) runs the AFE Daemon Catalogue which can automatically send you various information packs about this newsgroup. To get the Newbie pack send a blank email to afe-daemon@greenbeak.demon.co.uk with a subject of "get -newbie". For a catalogue of all the documents send an e-mail to the same address as above with a subject of "get -cat". Please ensure that your return email address is *NOT* disguised as you will not get a reply. The catalogue can be found at one of Itagne's afe related sites http://www.greenbeak.demon.co.uk/afe/dispatch-daemon/ along with a variety of other files that the new user (or a returning old user who never read the documents in the first place) might find of interest. AH. Are there any rules for this newsgroup? There are no formal rules here. Most people seem to agree that this is a pretty pleasant newsgroup with friendly people and low spam and troll ratios. But there are three things we can all do to make sure things stay friendly and relaxed. I call them the Three Commandments. 1.) Thou shalt not flame without malicious provocation. Pretty self-explanatory. If someone says something that upsets you or that you disagree with, tell them calmly, in polite language, and without resorting to name-calling or personal attacks. 2.) Thou shalt not profane the works of thy authors David and Leigh Eddings. So maybe you didn't like _all_ of Eddings' books. Not everybody does. But don't come out with belligerent statements like "This book sucks!" Instead, state in intelligent, mature language that you had problems with this particular book or series and explain why. Maybe there is even someone else here who can offer you a new perspective on it that will make you appreciate it more. 3.) Thou shalt not utilize foul or offensive language. This one follows pretty logically from the other two. What do I mean by "foul or offensive language?" Basically, if you wouldn't say it in front of your parents or other respected adults, or in the presence of particular racial, ethnic or gender groups, don't say it here. III. EDDINGS RESOURCES A. IRC #eddings Thanks in large part to the efforts of Ian Hutcherson and Rumor, we now have our own channel on IRC. #Eddings channels are certainly welcome to be formed on any net, but the one that seems to be the unofficial one is on Espernet. The following information describing how to connect was contributed by Kamion and describes how to connect to #eddings on Espernet. First, you need an IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client. This enables you to access IRC servers, which operate like your news server in distributing messages among all the people using it, but in a matter of seconds rather than minutes or hours so that it's possible to chat more or less at random without the bandwidth restrictions on the newsgroup. The most popular IRC clients by computer seem to be: PC: mIRC - can be downloaded from the following sites: UK: http://www.mirc.co.uk/ USA: http://www.geocities.com/~mirc/ South Africa: http://www.mirc.co.za/ Australia: http://mirc.eon.net.au/ among others. Macintosh: IRCle - can be downloaded from the following sites: USA (CA): http://www.ircle.com/ Australia: http://www.ozmac.com/ among others. X Windows: Zircon - can be downloaded from: UK: http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Programs/Zircon/ Acorn's RISC OS: LIRC - http://isa.dknet.dk/~tolsson/files/lirc.zip IRClient - http://willothewisp.demon.co.uk/software.html iXRC = http://www.quadworks.co.uk/sub/products/ixrc/ There are lots of others. http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/Chat/IRC/Software/ has a fairly good selection if none of the above suit you. Once you've downloaded and installed your client, you need to configure it to connect to Espernet, which is a group of IRC servers that all co-operate to allow anyone using one of them to talk to anyone using any of the others. The way you add a server depends on your client. In mIRC, for example, you click on File / Setup / Add. You will then be prompted for some information. The only important and/or obscure bits of this will be the server and port number. You should ideally choose the server that's geographically closest to you; you may pick a port number at random from those that are available (or your client may allow you to enter several ports between which it will choose each time you connect - check your help files for more details). The official list of Espernet servers, geographical locations, and ports can be found at http://www.esper.net/, and at the time of writing runs as follows: chocobo.esper.net Sacramento, California, USA 5555, 6666 - 6669, 7000 dragonfire.esper.net McLean, Virginia, USA 5555, 6666 - 6669, 7000 dream.esper.net San Diego, California, USA 5555 dwango.esper.net Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada 5555, 6660 - 6670, 7000 excalibur.esper.net Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK 5555, 6666 - 6669, 7000, 8000 weyr.esper.net Salt Lake City, Utah 5555 If you want, you can also connect to irc.esper.net, port 5555 (and possibly others); this will connect you to a random server. However, I recommend choosing one manually because, while you presumably know your geographical location, irc.esper.net does not. You will not necessarily be connected to the most appropriate server this way. After you've filled in the nickname you want (and, if you want, an alternative should your first choice be taken) press "Connect", or the equivalent on your client, and you will (I hope) be connected to your chosen server. You'll see a welcome message of some description, and then either you will be presented with a list of channels (the IRC jargon for a chat forum) or you will see a vaguely unfriendly-looking command prompt. In the first case, look for #eddings in the list with which you are presented. Click on it, and press "Join" (or similar). In the second case, or if you can't find #eddings in the channel list (in which case you can probably press something like "Cancel" to get you to a command prompt), you will need to issue an IRC command. These can be recognized by the fact that they start with a slash (/). The particular command you need in this case is "/join #eddings" (without the quotes). There may not necessarily be anybody on the channel when you arrive. This is quite normal. Just wait a while, or try a different time of day. In my experience, late evening and the early hours of the morning UK time are quite popular, though, given the fact that AFE posters and lurkers are distributed all over the globe, other times may well be popular too. If you need any further help, you should be able to get it from #eddings itself. 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://valhalla.vossnet.co.uk/p/paulf/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 Guardians of The West http://gotw.home.ml.org/eddings/ Maintained by Kamion, this contains many excellent features, including Eddings in the Real World. It also has some good links to other Eddings web sites. Be warned this contains many advanced HTML features and may only be used with some of the later browsers. Aphrael's Isle http://www.microserve.net/~aphrael/eddings.html This site concentrates on the Elenium and Tamuli series, which makes it unique in itself. It has a very good character list. The AFE Codex http://members.xoom.com/afecodex More about alt.fan.eddings rather than Eddings' himself. It has descriptions of many of the regulars on AFE and also contains a history of the newsgroup. The Happy Bunny Sanctuary http://www.sigma.demon.co.uk/ Contains the Trivia Quiz and also a graphical display of the Rivan line family tree. The Eddings Web Ring http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/6498/Eddings_Ring.html This collection of web sites is a link to 18 different sites. Aquarius' Site http://www.kryogenix.albatross.co.uk/afe/ This is still under construction, but contains good information about alt.fan.eddings C. 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 (Amy Sheldon) 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...) Aph's thanks: Amy Sheldon, for entrusting me to take over the maintenance of the FAQ and for having it so well written to begin with so that all I had to do was add a few things. Rumor and Peta Young, for their parts in hammering out some of the theories I've added to the FAQ. Ian Hutcherson, for all his work organizing the #eddings channel. Sarabian's thanks: Aphrael and Amy Sheldon, the previous two FAQ maintainers, for making the job of doing an update so easy. Having such an excellent base to work with made the job so much easier. Vanan, for getting the whole update moving and also for setting up the IRC channel for discussion about the FAQ. Kamion, for provided some excellent information especially regarding the foreign titles. Both Vanan and Kamion had HTML versions of the FAQ, but special thanks must also go to Ian Hutcherson for creating the original version and setting up the Geocities site. Aquarius, Rumor, Charles Meigh, Simon Nickerson, Itagne, Daniel Peters, Dominic Wynn, Aslade, Ce'Nedra, Bernadette Crumb(aka Taiba), Anna Davies and Kalten, all for providing valuable information, being excellent reviewers and finding all my mistakes. And many, many more people on alt.fan.eddings for thinking of the questions and making my job simple by providing the answers. Dave's thanks Amy Sheldon, for putting in all the work towards creating the document in the first place and for maintaining it for so many years. Aphrael, for writing the majority of the Elenium/Tamuli section herself and for begininng the update of the rest. Sarabian, for creating the FAQ addendum and thus making this a great deal easier as well as for helping review and edit the final document. Kamion, for contributing the IRC helper section, among many others, for going a long way towards recovering the FAQ from its MIT autoposting status, and for reviewing and editing the final document. Itagne, for contributing various additions and corrections to the FAQ, especially additions to the foreign titles section, and for continuing to find the most blatant mistakes that the rest of us missed.