3.5
The Redemption of Althalus
ByPublisher Description
David and Leigh Eddings were mythmakers and world builders of the first order. With The Redemption of Althalus, the authors of the Belgariad and Malloreon sagas created a thrilling stand-alone epic—boldly written and brilliantly imagined.
It would be sheer folly to try to conceal the true nature of Althalus, for his flaws are the stuff of legend. He is, as all men know, a thief, a liar, an occasional murderer, an outrageous braggart, and a man devoid of even the slightest hint of honor.
Yet of all the men in the world, it is Althalus, unrepentant rogue and scoundrel, who will become the champion of humanity in its desperate struggle against the forces of an ancient god determined to return the universe to nothingness. On his way to steal The Book from the House at the End of the World, Althalus is confronted by a cat--a cat with eyes like emeralds, the voice of a woman, and the powers of a goddess.
She is Dweia, sister to The Gods and a greater thief even than Althalus. She must be: for in no time at all, she has stolen his heart. And more. She has stolen time itself. For when Althalus leaves the House at the End of the World, much wiser but not a day older than when he'd first entered it, thousands of years have gone by.
But Dweia is not the only one able to manipulate time. Her evil brother shares the power, and while Dweia has been teaching Althalus the secrets of The Book, the ancient God has been using the dark magic of his own Book to rewrite history. Yet all is not lost. But only if Althalus, still a thief at heart, can bring together a ragtag group of men, women, and children with no reason to trust him or each other.
Praise for The Redemption of Althalus
“Highly recommended . . . Featuring a cast of engaging characters, some fanciful plot twists, and a light-hearted atmosphere that should appeal strongly to fans and first-time readers alike.”—Library Journal
“The story takes off. The interactions between characters, straightforward plotting, and doses of wry humor keep the tale humming.”—Booklist
“An engaging young reprobate hero . . . [A] magical realm of good-natured fun.”—Publishers Weekly
“A compelling, involving story.”—Science Fiction Chronicle
It would be sheer folly to try to conceal the true nature of Althalus, for his flaws are the stuff of legend. He is, as all men know, a thief, a liar, an occasional murderer, an outrageous braggart, and a man devoid of even the slightest hint of honor.
Yet of all the men in the world, it is Althalus, unrepentant rogue and scoundrel, who will become the champion of humanity in its desperate struggle against the forces of an ancient god determined to return the universe to nothingness. On his way to steal The Book from the House at the End of the World, Althalus is confronted by a cat--a cat with eyes like emeralds, the voice of a woman, and the powers of a goddess.
She is Dweia, sister to The Gods and a greater thief even than Althalus. She must be: for in no time at all, she has stolen his heart. And more. She has stolen time itself. For when Althalus leaves the House at the End of the World, much wiser but not a day older than when he'd first entered it, thousands of years have gone by.
But Dweia is not the only one able to manipulate time. Her evil brother shares the power, and while Dweia has been teaching Althalus the secrets of The Book, the ancient God has been using the dark magic of his own Book to rewrite history. Yet all is not lost. But only if Althalus, still a thief at heart, can bring together a ragtag group of men, women, and children with no reason to trust him or each other.
Praise for The Redemption of Althalus
“Highly recommended . . . Featuring a cast of engaging characters, some fanciful plot twists, and a light-hearted atmosphere that should appeal strongly to fans and first-time readers alike.”—Library Journal
“The story takes off. The interactions between characters, straightforward plotting, and doses of wry humor keep the tale humming.”—Booklist
“An engaging young reprobate hero . . . [A] magical realm of good-natured fun.”—Publishers Weekly
“A compelling, involving story.”—Science Fiction Chronicle
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Redemption of Althalus Reviews
3.5
“This was soo close to getting the perfect 5 ⭐, but I can't in good conscience give it the full rating, for reasons I'll get into soon. To start, Althalus is now genuinely one of my favorite fictional characters of all time. He's hilarious, witty and sarcastic, a thieving murderous scoundrel. His redemption arc is no doubt one of the best I've ever had the pleasure of experiencing.
The initial description given for Althalus (literally on page 2) is too perfect to not include as a selling point, and it immediately sets the tone for what to expect out of the rest of the book:
"It would be sheer folly to try to conceal the true nature of Althalus, for his flaws are the stuff of legend. He is, as all men know, a thief, a liar, an occasional murderer, an outrageous braggart, and a man devoid of even the slightest hint of honor. ...He is an engaging sort of rogue, however, quick-witted and vastly amusing."
I was delighted and invested in an instant, because it's everything I love most wrapped up in one character. I knew from the get-go that I would LOVE this book, purely from the combination of the title and his description. I'm a huge sucker for redemption arcs.
The humor is spot-on, for my taste anyway. It's actually funny, rather than *trying* to be funny. The connection that develops between all the characters is heartwarming and genuine. They're a found family, through and through. Another huge plus for me. I would adopt Gher as my son in a heartbeat.
The issue arises with how David Eddings handles the women characters (excluding Dweia, she's wonderful). Initially, Andine and Leitha are introduced as strong, powerful leaders in their own right. They both had *incredible* potential in their characterization, Leitha being a "mind-leech" (mind reader), and Andine being the young ruler of a whole country. They're both immature at the start, of course, but the potential was *there*.
And then, once they join the group, they quickly get reduced to mothering the young men (Eliar, Bheid, and Gher) for a while. For no reason other than they're women. Like, for fuck's sake.
I was especially frustrated with how Eddings did Andine dirty. She was described as a bloodthirsty savage, a girl made of steel who had a voice one could hear from miles away (please fucking stop describing her voice as "throbbing" though, for my sanity). She could've been the next Arya Stark! Well, maybe not that far, but close.
At the very least, as the story progresses, every one of the young people in the group gets their own chance to shine and develop, and affect the plot. None of them gets glossed over, and overall, I'm satisfied with how their individual arcs went. Even minor characters make huge impacts.
By the end, the issue of the "mothering" gets fixed for the most part, but it still left a bitter taste in my mouth. Enough to lose that perfect rating. Maybe Leigh Eddings should have been *more* involved with writing the women in this one. Or maybe she was, and that was her internalized misogyny peeking through. I dunno, I don't know these people.
There's a lot of fascinating plot devices that get utilized quite cleverly throughout. Everything from time-space travel and butterfly effect paradoxes, time dilation, dimensional manipulation; to questioning religious authority and dogma (I love seeing greedy, egotistical priests get humbled), and solid war strategy that doesn't condone or romanticize war.
Overall, I loved this book exactly as I expected I would, but no book is perfect. Some adjectives and phrases are noticably overused ("sort of", "anything you say", etc.), and the characters repeat each other's names in dialogue far too often. I guess it's better to leave zero room for confusion as to whom is being referred/spoken to, rather than having some ambiguity and confusing the reader... But it could've been dialed back about 20%, and still would've been perfectly coherent.
One last thing to mention, and I'm going to try to leave it as spoiler-free as I can, but I was really impressed by the timeline of this book. Not just by the fact that it's a 800-page standalone. Most fantasy books are kept within the constraints of average human lifespan, but that was thrown clear out the window here (a little joke, for those who've also read this, you'll get it).
I loved the fact that this book spans through multiple millennia, in a way that doesn't seem too farfetched at all! The time travel and time dilation was a really nice touch, and I certainly wasn't expecting it. I'm definitely looking forward to starting The Belgariad series, since most reviews consider it the Eddingses best work!”
Change and growLikeableMemorableMinor characters stand outMorally ambiguousStrong relationshipsUnforgettable protagonistEpic scopeNonlinear narrativeSatisfying conclusionSlow-pacedAncientImmersive world-buildingMagicalEasy to readFunnyRepetitiveWittyDeathMurderReligious intoleranceViolenceWar violence
“Probably one of my favorite books of all time, I reread it once a year. It follows the typical Eddings formula and is fairly predictable, but I love the characters and how they interact with each other.”
About David Eddings
David Eddings published his first novel, High Hunt, in 1973, before turning to the field of fantasy and The Belgariad, soon followed by The Malloreon. Born in Spokane, Washington, in 1931, and raised in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle, he received his 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 States Army, has worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company, and has been a grocery clerk and a college English teacher.
Leigh Eddings has collaborated with her husband for more than a dozen years.
Leigh Eddings has collaborated with her husband for more than a dozen years.
Other books by David Eddings
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