I like the way these guys write. I like the style and level of detail, I like the way the plot unfolds and the constructs they use.
I like Belgarath. Although he and the rest of the disciples seem pretty dumb given that they live for tens of thousands of years, he has spunk, and I like spunk. The authors make their characters rather consistent, which lends life and believability to their personas. I also like the use of the occasionally parenthical thoughts; they are often used for foreshadowing, but also to develop other characters.
I like the magic system that the Eddings employ, the Will and the Word. Although Polgara seems to use hand motions a little more, the idea is still essentially the same. There is an intersting hierarchy within the gods, all of whom seemed compelled to follow the rules of the Necessity. "Compelled" being a keyword, as it seems it is occasionally allowed to disobey from time to time. It is interesting how we start to see the classic "evil vs. good" near the end of the book. More specifically, how the "evil" is a mistake, and a "good" is coming to correct that mistake. It strikes a very similar, although misguided, parallel to Christian theistic beliefs.
There are not many points of which I regret in this book. The landscape is a little small; folks travel all four corners on a consistent basis. Probably part of what skews the scope is that time is also a little distorted; if you blink, you might skip 3,000 years.
I see that the Eddings have written other things, and I plan to check them out.
