With a book that's 400+ pages, you would think that there would be some depth to the plot of 'Diamond Throne'. But no - it's just 'go out and find this thing'. The villains in the book are too simple. They hatch the simplest plots, which are always intercepted or reasoned out within a matter of pages. And the reader sees the villains' schemes a mile away, though it usually takes a room full of characters to reason them out in the book. And those plots usually get thwarted in a page or so. All ambushes are easily seen or defeated. I expected some grand fight, a large battle, or a complex task that had the hero doing different tasks that led to a cure in the end. However, in this book, all he does is go from one place to another asking the same question - 'do you have the cure?' Also, every good guy in this book wants to kill Annais, and they have proof that he gave the poison to Ehlana, but nobody actually kills him or brings him to trial. If Eddings wanted to keep Annias around for the next book, he should have come up with a good, reasonable way for Annias to escape justice. Instead we get a token excuse for not killing him, which seems like it was almost put in there as an afterthought. By comparison, the part in the end with the meeting of Sparhawk and Martel is much better, as the reason for not fighting is a good one.
The reason I gave it even 2 stars is that Eddings does do a good job in describing the scene. There is adaquate detail in his book to make the reader feel he/she is there.

This was the first fantasy book I read as a child. I remember sitting at my mother's bright red kitchen table and reading this for the first time. The very first page grabbed me. It was the description of the rain and the smoke; the beauty of the writing entranced me. I went on to read all about Sparhawk, Flute, Sephrenia and Kurik, and they became as close to me as any family. I still carry them fondly around in my head. The Elenium is David Eddings' finest work-and I'm glad I read it first. It's here that his stock characters come to life as vivid, breathing people-it's here where the setting is real and the danger is omnipresent.

As I read his other books, it was difficult not to draw parallels between corresponding characters-Sephrenia and Polgara, anyone? But in The Elenium, David Eddings did it right. It's not high literature, but it's a fun story, and it's compelling. If you haven't read it yet, you should take with you to the beach or on your next road trip. Have it keep you company at the airport. You'll have a blast-I know I did, and I still read the occasional fantasy because of this book.

This was the first David Eddings book I have read so I am probably going to be a little biased. I loved it! This book seemlessly blends action, romance, drama and comedy. I was left in stiches by the things that were written and caught up in a world filled with intrigue. I won't be able to capture with words what this book is about, so I won't even try. Aside from the fact that this is obviously a fantasy novel, I really connected with the characters and felt like I really understood them. By the time I had finished reading this book, I was left hanging, wanting, waiting for more. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would REALLY recommend this to ANYONE who was thinking about reading this book.

Okay, it drives me crazy that people read Fantasy stories--which BY DEFINITION include magic and strange lands and sorcerers and special swords and the whole nine yards--and then they complain that a FANTASY story has magic and strange lands and sorcerers and the like. Do we complain that MYSTERY stories have *gasp* MYSTERIES to solve? No! We choose the genre we like and we read it.

David Eddings created a fascinating series here. Both the Elenium and the Tamuli are extremely well-written. Sparhawk is a well-defined character, and has a great supporting cast (especially Talen). The plots he created with the Gods as characters are both creative and intriguing. Ehlana and Aphrael and Sephrenia are excellent characters.

It irritates me that people compare this series to the Belgariad. I liked the Belgariad; I thought it was a little rough, but well-written. People compare the 'similarities' that this series has to that one, and all of them are superficial. First, they say that Sparhawk = Garion, which is a far cry from the truth. Garion is extremely powerful, and a KID, and very hesitant to do much of anything. Sparhawk is a seasoned veteran who relies on his combat abilities and not on his magic, because until the end of the Tamuli, he really wasn't that powerful. Sephrenia is not nearly as powerful as Pol, or even close to the same personality. The Orb is just a magic stone whereas the Bhelliom actually has a personality. Someone was actually complaining that they're the same COLOR. Yeah, that makes the two series COMPLETELY the same.

This book follows the path of the Belgariad in that each book in the trilogy, although having their own distinct beginning and ending point, is only a section of the main plot. Nothing is really resolved until the end of the final book in the trilogy, and so although the book is rather short, it's only a third of what you would need to read to appreciate the story. There's magic (although not nearly as much as many fantasy books contain) and sorceresses and Gods (as characters) and strange lands and everything that goes into making up a fantasy story. If you don't like those elements, read something else. If you do, however, like the story of the one guy who can save the world and his troupe of friends and followers who love him and will follow him to death, this story is for you.