{"id":5063,"date":"2015-01-22T11:27:46","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T16:27:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=5063"},"modified":"2018-04-09T20:48:23","modified_gmt":"2018-04-10T00:48:23","slug":"guardians-of-the-west-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5063","title":{"rendered":"Guardians of the West"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guardians of the West<\/a><\/em> (1987) David Eddings<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I’ve been sick, so I’ve been craving comfort reading, hence my re-reading of the Mallorean.<\/p>\n

This book starts with Errand, who is living in the Vale with Polgara and Durnik. Errand is a strange child, which is unsurprising giving his early upbringing.<\/p>\n

Like the previous series, there is a lot of background. Not necessarily world building, but rather lovely little vignettes of the lives of the various characters. This book has one of my favorite passages in it.<\/p>\n

Somehow it always happened that way. The moment anything was broken, spilled, or tipped over , someone in authority would appear. There was never an opportunity to tidy up, and so such situations always presented themselves in the worst possible light.
\nThe double doors at the far end of the ballroom opened, and Polgara, regally beautiful in blue velvet, stepped inside. Her face was grave as she regarded the guilty-looking pair lying at the foot of the stairs in their piles of cushions, with a positive blizzard of goose down swirling around them.
\nErrand winced and held his breath.
\nVery softly, she closed the doors behind her and walked slowly toward them, her heels sounding ominously loud on the marble floor. She looked at the denuded chairs lining each side of the ballroom. She looked at the marble balustrades. She looked at the two boys with feathers settling on them. And then, without any warning whatsoever, she began to laugh, a rich, warm, vibrant laugh that absolutely filled the empty hall.
\nErrand felt somehow betrayed by her reaction. He and Kheva had gone out of their way to get themselves into trouble, and all she did was laugh about it. There was no scolding, no acid commentary, nothing but laughter. He definitely felt that this levity was out of place, an indication that she was not taking this thing as seriously as she ought . He felt a trifle bitter about the whole thing. He had earned the scolding she was denying him.
\n\u2018You boys will clean it up, won\u2019t you?\u2019 she asked them.
\n\u2018Of course, Lady Polgara ,\u2019 Kheva assured her quickly. \u2018We were just about to do that.\u2019
\n\u2018Splendid, your Highness,\u2019 she said, the corners of her mouth still twitching. \u2018Do try to gather up all of the feathers.\u2019 And she turned and walked out of the ballroom, leaving the faint echo of her laughter hovering in the air behind her.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is not a book where things move at a fast pace with adventure on every page. <\/p>\n

But it is an absolute delight, coming across passages like that. And it is also, I think, we were see the hand of Leigh Eddings (who was listed as co-author in later books).<\/p>\n

I think also, we see her in the return of Vella, my second favorite character after Silk.<\/p>\n

Vella looked curiously at Ce\u2019Nedra. \u2018My, you\u2019re a tiny one, aren\u2019t you?\u2019 she asked. \u2018Are you really full-grown?\u2019
\n\u2018I am the Queen of Riva,\u2019 Ce\u2019Nedra replied, drawing herself up to her full height.
\n\u2018Good for you, girl,\u2019 Vella said warmly, clapping her on the shoulder. \u2018I always enjoy seeing a woman get ahead.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As I said, it’s comfort reading, that makes me happy.
\nRating: 8\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n

Published by Harper Voyager<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guardians of the West (1987) David Eddings I’ve been sick, so I’ve been craving comfort reading, hence my re-reading of the Mallorean. This book starts with Errand, who is living in the Vale with Polgara and Durnik. Errand is a strange child, which is unsurprising giving his early upbringing. Like the previous series, there is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2,39,20],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-5063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fantasy","category-sword-sorcery","category-young-adult","tag-david-eddings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-1jF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1227,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1227","url_meta":{"origin":5063,"position":0},"title":"Guardians of the West","author":"Michelle","date":"July 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Guardians of the West (1987) David Eddings The first book of the Mallorean coversthe years following the events of the final book of the Belgariad. Errand, Polgara and Durnik move into Poledra's cottage--after Belgarath helps them repair it--and we get to see some of Errand's youth. Ce'Nedra and Garion have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Guardians-of-the-West.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1239,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1239","url_meta":{"origin":5063,"position":1},"title":"The Seeress of Kell","author":"Michelle","date":"July 10, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Seeress of Kell (1991) David Eddings The fifth book of the Mallorean and the tenth book about Belgarion finishes his story. Although David Eddings wrote three more books set in this world, they were books about the past--telling the stories of how Belgarath and Polgara became who they were.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Seeress-of-Kell.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5069,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5069","url_meta":{"origin":5063,"position":2},"title":"Demon Lord of Karanda","author":"Michelle","date":"January 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Demon Lord of Karanda (1988) David Eddings The third book of the Mallorean finds our heroes meeting Zakath, the emperor of all Mallorea. As with Urgit, the meeting has unexpected results, and again, Garion discovers that the Anagraks are not all he was expecting. Brador cleared his throat, fought for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Demon-Lord-of-Karanda-e1510877573642.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5072,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/5072","url_meta":{"origin":5063,"position":3},"title":"Sorceress of Darshiva","author":"Michelle","date":"January 24, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Sorceress of Darshiva (1989) David Eddings This isn't particularly one of my favorite of his book, but there are still fun parts, such as their meeting with Senji. After about three hundred years of argumentation, it suddenly occurred to the disputants that Senji was not merely talented, but also appeared\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Sorveress-of-Darshiva-e1511014064642.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1233,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1233","url_meta":{"origin":5063,"position":4},"title":"Demon Lord of Karanda","author":"Michelle","date":"July 7, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Demon Lord of Karanda (1988) David Eddings The third book of the Mallorean sees Garion and his company traveling through Mallorea. They meet 'Zakath but even better, they also run into Yarblek and Vella. That's the funny thing about this series. As a whole, I don't like the story nearly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/Demon-Lord-of-Karanda.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1200,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/1200","url_meta":{"origin":5063,"position":5},"title":"Pawn of Prophecy","author":"Michelle","date":"June 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Pawn of Prophecy (1982) David Eddings I was given a used copy of The Belgariad series in college as part of a gift exchange where I worked. This was the series that returned me to being a reader and got me back into reading fantasy, which I hadn't done since\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/06\/Pawn-of-Prophecy.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5063\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}