The Redemption of Althalus.
The Redemption of Althalus.
Althalus - Burglar, armed robber and occasional murderer - is commissioned to steas a book by a mysterious cloaked stranger named Ghend. Althalus sets off to the House at the End of the World where the book is kept - after stealing Ghend's cloak; after all, winter is coming on.
At the House at the End of the World, in the same room as the book Ghend described, he finds a talking cat. What he can't find once he's in the house is the door by which he entered.
By the time he manages to escape - with the cat, Emerald, in the hood of his cloak - Althalus can read. He's read the Book of Deiwos, and discovered a tool mightier than the blunt instrument he once used to disable his victums. But there is another Book, written by the god Daeva who is the evils brother of Deiwos, and who is trying to unmake the world.
Emerald is in fact the sister of the two conflicting gods, and her intention is to use Althalus to stop Daeve returning all of them to primordial chaos. Althalus will teach her what she needs to know, which is how to lie, cheat and steal - 'Whatever works,' Emerald reflects - and in return she, more amazingly, will teach Althalus truth, justice and morality.
The existence of the world hangs in the balance in this fabulous and extraordinary story of The Redemption of Althalus.... the rogue destined to steal the hearts and minds of readers.
Score:
4.364| Name | Location | Rating | Date |
| Renée | Ontario, Canada | 5.0 | 2004-02-14 11:51:49 |
| As an amateur athor, I read many books. I read so many in fact, that i buy none. David Eddings has changed that for me. I fully intend to own every book by both David and Leigh Eddings. Althalus was my first and always my favorite. | |||
| Matthew | Australia | 5.0 | 2004-03-12 07:54:24 |
| I read as many books as i possibly can but i onlu seam to like the fictional, magical ones. This is one of the three Eddings books i own but it is by far my favourite. | |||
| Tim | ireland | 5.0 | 2004-03-22 06:37:34 |
| This book was great.I would recomend to people to read more Eddings books there great | |||
| perri | Australia | 5.0 | 2004-03-23 17:10:44 |
| I own every book that david and leigh eddings have writen and i love all of them! | |||
| EvilArchitect | US | 0.5 | 2004-03-30 11:43:04 |
| Wow. The time I wasted reading the first 85% of this book was something I'd really like to get back. I will fully admit that I did not/will not finish it (deleted the ebook from my phone). Feel free to discount my opinion outright if the book ""redeems"" itself in the last few chapters.
The beginning was great; a protagonist with flaws; a story line. But then the aquisition of the other six samurai to defend the villa...No. Wait. That was another story. No. Wait again. It was the same story. Except without the flaws.
The 2-D bad guys are implausible and the heroes cannot seem to fail. Every setback is handled with consummate skill and ease.
The hero's dialogue is a continuous stream of smarmy quips and pointless gesturing. Everything seems to fall into one of two categories :
1. Sitcom-quality ""comedy"" (the good guys)
2. Berserker-rage growling (the bad guys)
OK. Sometimes the bad guys speak in actual words instead of howls of anguish and dispair as the heroes trounce them mightily.
To further descend into the depths of literary hell, the only character with the development to truly pull off the smart-ass-ishness (Althalus) is the one who progresses towards less comic cynicism.
If you're used to having you food predigested (ie. baby birds, eight year olds, consumers of nightime news and ""reality"" shows) this sort of pap is probably just grand. It strikes me as a ""first work"".
I hear some good things about their other work, but I'm a little reluctant to delve into it given the glowing reviews of this tripe in this space.
Once burned, twice shy. Don't touch it with someone else's ten foot pole. | |||
| The Mad Hatter | The dark side of Mars. | 4.0 | 2004-04-06 18:22:23 |
| I liked this book. I did think however it was kind of episodal. I thought Eliar would fight Khnom, but I just realized they wouldn't have door usage, so it wouldn't work. | |||
| Evil Divinity | 5.0 | 2004-04-18 05:20:43 | |
| sjeez, this book was great reading!
I've recommended it to every fantasy lover outthere! | |||
| Nicholas Jansen | New Zealand | 5.0 | 2004-05-27 10:07:59 |
| This book is one of the best books ive ever read but after reading Belgarath, I realise that this book is'nt at least half as cunning as the old fox is. | |||
| IceMan | U.K. | 2.0 | 2004-05-30 03:00:36 |
| Having just got into David Eddings , via the Elenium trilogy ( which I loved ) I found this book a disappointment.The plot is okay , but the two dimensional characters and the ' so cute it makes you puke' asides and lovey-doveyness of the thing totally wreck it for me! Why is EVERY character a smartass with witty one liners? Can't a normal person be written into the thing? On the strength of the Elenium , I will probably get the Tamuli at some stage to continue the adventures of Sparhawk , but bear in mind that both the Elenium and the Tamuli are written by David Eddings alone...not with his wife , like this one! | |||
| Zac Unger | PA | 4.5 | 2004-06-05 10:00:31 |
| Not the best, that's the Belgariad/Malloreans, but definitely worth reading! | |||
| Livid Hybrid | Australia | 5.0 | 2004-06-10 18:28:07 |
| One of the best book that I have ever read. With a large collection of books spanning several genre, this is saying a lot! | |||
| Anthony | Australia | 4.0 | 2004-08-06 17:36:48 |
| Enjoyed the book over all, made a change to read all of the yarn in one book with out waiting for the next in the set. | |||
| Thomas | Australia | 5.0 | 2004-08-31 05:49:03 |
| Im 15 and i have read all of David and Leighs Eddings. I read this one last and it was one of my favorites behing the Belgariad and the Tamuli. | |||
| Tom Edwards | Australia | 5.0 | 2004-08-31 05:52:06 |
| Im 15 and i have read all of David and Leighs Eddings. I read this one last and it was one of my favorites behing the Belgariad and the Tamuli.
| |||
| lynette | 5.0 | 2004-09-01 06:51:31 | |
| this is a pro book | |||
| William Stutheit | US | 5.0 | 2004-11-12 19:41:12 |
| Hello I'm 16 and the books are great...my dad got me started on them not to long ago and I already love them... | |||
| Maxwell weis | somewhere | 5.0 | 2004-11-12 23:16:52 |
| Worth a read..one of my favorite books and i dont give that title out lightly | |||
| Jeremy | Michigan, US | 5.0 | 2004-11-23 14:48:01 |
| i have read many books in my life, and so far, i seem to enjoy reading eddings' work the most. ""althalus"" is one of my favorite books, behind the belgariad and the mallorean sets. its much more than i expected (being a markdown on the barnes and knoble shelf) and it is a great read for anyone who enjoys a good vs. evil fantasy. | |||
| Kelleigh | 0.5 | 2004-11-25 21:33:35 | |
| read this book a few more times (and lord of the rings) and decided they're both shit. they both drag on, both get carried away with war and i have been led to belive that the bad guys are all retards poor things | |||
| Heather Chrisco | Omaha, ne | 4.0 | 2004-11-29 17:29:53 |
| I thought it was a good book and was kinda hoping for more along the same lines. | |||
| Gerri | Shannon. Ireland | 3.5 | 2004-11-30 09:06:03 |
| While I enjoyed this book..i did find it rather dragged out and a bit confusing. Having read all the other books I was delighted to see another one...but was a little dissappointed in it. | |||
| Ormuzd | Florida | 5.0 | 2004-12-10 02:58:05 |
| I have read some of David Eddings books and I have to sa they are the best I have ever read. | |||
| SUEBRU | London | 5.0 | 2004-12-19 12:32:09 |
| I took this book on a camping holiday and did notleave my tent for 2 days. I absolutely loved this book and the characters. | |||
| valerie | 5.0 | 2005-01-21 04:04:25 | |
| great book..looking forward to more books.. want to start on their trilogies n series books but they're hard to come by in libraries.. i spent abt 2 days reading it.. | |||
| Name | Place | 4.5 | 2005-02-13 09:51:46 |
| It was a good book, but not great. | |||
| Gandalf | 5.0 | 2005-02-22 02:30:26 | |
| Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow....
Great, wonderful, mastery, brilliance, perfection...wow | |||
| becky | menorca | 5.0 | 2005-03-20 05:19:46 |
| I have read althalas before i bought a first edition and I loved it you can not do anything wrong in my eyes you both rock | |||
| nicole | 3.5 | 2005-03-22 04:50:12 | |
| one of the first eddings books i read. but after reading others (including the new ones on the elder gods) all the characters and races from all of the books are all very similar, such as the alorns from the belgariad and the arums from redemtion, then following on into the trogites in te elder gods series. i still liked it though :) | |||
| Elana | Canada | 2.5 | 2005-03-30 14:01:36 |
| I love Eddings books. I was so excited to see this one. The only one I hadn't read yet. I enjoyed it at first but it started to drag. The characters got a little annoying as they became predictable and the constant snappy one liners every character came up with grew old fast too. I found it tiresome that we have to read the ""big plans"" two or three times over - first they plan it, then they do it and in the end they do it again (every when). The book could of been shorter and maybe more entertaining that way. | |||
| Eelco | Netherlands | 4.5 | 2005-05-20 06:47:14 |
| I started reading this book after finishing the Tamuli and I'm very impressed with it. The story constantly kept me wondering wich way it was going to turn next. Some of the reviews seem to find the so called ""2D"" characters annoying. Well, I guess it's a matter of taste, but I rather liked the fact that the characters are either completely ""good"" or completely ""evil"". Furthermore, I absolutely loved the symatry between both sides. This book has quikly worked it's way into my top 10 all time favourites. | |||
| Scott | 4.0 | 2005-05-22 16:16:18 | |
|
Eddings , I salute you ! This was wonderful - though I couldn't help but feel that the extended battle scenes in Part Four and Part Five were being prioritized over the development of the characters.And damned confusing at times too ! - but besides that I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking to start reading Eddings books. | |||
| lee | england carshalton | 4.5 | 2005-06-10 08:06:32 |
| most enjoyable read my social life went straight out the window couldnt put the bloody thing down well written mate. | |||
| Steve | Canada | 5.0 | 2005-06-15 10:12:58 |
| I loved the book but for anyone who is new to Eddings dont judge him just on this book read the Sparhawk adventures hell read them all I am 19 and I own and love them all =) | |||
| Captain T. | Australia | 5.0 | 2005-06-21 01:52:20 |
| Excellent. Worth a second (and tenth) reading. Althalus and the rest of the ""good guys"" had me entralled, and sometimes laughing my head off at their antics. | |||
| Coll | 5.0 | 2005-07-11 06:07:18 | |
| boss, first book i read, and still a brilliant book | |||
| Darkstar_Martin | 5.0 | 2005-08-15 05:40:37 | |
| There isn't enough words to describe how good the books written by the couple Eddings are!!! I don't understand why the Harry Pothead books are so famous, Eddings books are REAL DEAL!!!!! People who didn't give this book a 5.0 rating should just go hang themselves(or at least stop reading fantasy books).......P.s. My rating's ain't 5.0 its 5000.0!!! | |||
| Gemini | 4.0 | 2005-10-01 13:23:14 | |
| i've read the elenium and the tamuli, as well as the first of the elder gos series. i enjoyed it but it wasn't as good as i expected and i have to agree with EvilArchitect that the characters were a little flat. read the elenium and the tamuli instead. | |||
| The_conflicted_chaos | 4.5 | 2005-12-26 14:53:26 | |
| This was my first visit into the Edding's world so to speak. I first read this back when it first came out, and I still talk about it today! It also has motivated my stories in various ways. And no...my books are NOT for sale. They are for my own personal enjoyment. | |||
| davide | venice | 4.0 | 2006-01-10 05:34:40 |
| jenjen | england | 5.0 | 2006-02-13 17:07:30 |
| this was the first eddings i read it gave me a thirst for more, amazing imagination and story teling ab fab !!! | |||
| Admiral Thrawn | Toronto Ontario Canada | 2.5 | 2006-02-19 15:48:17 |
| This is the first Edding book i've read. i'll admit that the character of Althalus was very well developed, but the others really just takes up space and do nothing at all. The biggest problem i find with this book is that the story doesn't make sense logically. As a ST and SW fan (Star Trek and Star Wars) i'm a sticker for that kind of thing. In the story, Althalus hired an army of mercenery to fight the enemy. but does he really need an army when he can create earthquakes with a word? If you read this book with a logical mind, you will find many things that will not make sense. Like the thing with the doors to Everywhere and Everywhen. Since the bad guys can do that and they don't care about changing history. couldn't they just go murder every one on the side of Althalus before they even becomes a threat. Ghend can go back and don't hire Althalus to steal the book but kill him instead. Pekhel can go kill Eliar when he's a little kid and ect. My point is when you give the character in a story to change the story itself you have a problem.
PS what's with marrying everyone off? | |||
| Palpatine | canada | 4.0 | 2006-02-19 16:03:48 |
| I kinda agree with Admiral Thrawn about the Illogicality of the story, but if you go about it that way the story can't go on because of the godly power that would have given to both side. Look away from the logics and you will find that the story is really very good. I rather think that there's too much talking and not enough action, but that's not a huge problem.
And for the guy posting before me, it's Grand Admiral Thrawn. Dumbass | |||
| Donnie Aulick | 5.0 | 2006-03-22 10:42:04 | |
| The best book I have read, I personaly give a 10.0. The plot the storyline all of it magnificent. | |||
| Tom | Australia | 5.0 | 2006-03-28 17:29:24 |
| This is the first David (and Leigh) Eddings book I have read and it would now have to be my all time favourite book. | |||
| mike SMith | 5.0 | 2006-08-10 02:59:32 | |
| J T | Australia | 4.0 | 2006-12-30 23:47:01 |
| The story was great except Eddings seem to have glossed over the concepts of ever where and ever when. Some events just happen out of no where and the book moves on.
I didn't quite like the fact that the goodies won ever single battle except for one where Eliar got butched by Gelta. Ghend is smart and the book down plays that. Perhaps Eddings realised that making Ghend and co. win a bit more will expand the story to a two book series.
Why is it the Daeva entrusts the book to Ghend but never helps him out? Daeva's there as an icon of evil but he was useless. If he had put in effort to help, my this whole story would go up another level.
Nevertheless, this book was good to read but it lacked the depth of the Tamuli and Elenium. | |||
| Jim Dobson | Boston | 5.0 | 2007-01-24 05:43:29 |
| None | |||
| Me | 5.0 | 2007-02-13 18:22:42 | |
| KELLEIGH, you are a dumb bitch. Go jack-off to some Stephen King. | |||
| Me | 5.0 | 2007-02-13 18:22:44 | |
| KELLEIGH, you are a dumb bitch. Go jack-off to some Stephen King. | |||
| Sally Kraus | Boston, MA | 5.0 | 2007-07-23 03:35:44 |
| Sally Kraus | Bobton, MA | 5.0 | 2007-07-23 03:36:16 |
| Cool site. | |||
| allison | Nepal | 5.0 | 2008-06-30 08:38:54 |
| Nice Site!
| |||
| Kai | 0.5 | 2008-07-30 03:46:16 | |
| It is bad. I've read all Eddings except for the Dreamers (bad too). I've seem better characterization in a Geico commercial. | |||
| Roxi | 5.0 | 2008-10-10 12:51:38 | |
| The first of their Books and I abosulotly loved it more than the others.
(are there anymore) | |||
| Allie | 5.0 | 2008-10-10 12:54:40 | |
| Some of the comments on this page are horrific so stop putting them on and get msn or something if you wont to critise their work.
Eddings are great authors so rack off | |||
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