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astra_auroraOK. Before I start, I'd just like to say that if you liked Eddings and can't stand people attacking the characters, this will not be the post for you. You see, today I'm going to talk about all the ways Eddings failed at morality in his books- or rather, all the times something happened that was frankly horrifying, but that we were meant to support. I'll discuss instances in the Belgariad/Malloreon, the Elenium/Tamuli, and The Redemption of Althalus. I won't talk about The Dreamers because I haven't reread the series recently enough to remember any errors. Warning: spoilers abound, and this is going to be long.
I'll begin with the Belgariad/Malloreon.
1. Barak rapes his wife. We are supposed to forget this. After all, it turns out all right and they end up making up and having a really good marriage and she learns the error of her ways and- no. No, no, no. Rape is rape. I don't give a flying fuck if you're a protagonist. I expected better of Eddings than that.
2. Zedar is entombed in stone for killing Durnik. OK. But that was Zedar's purpose. The prophecy made him do it. Durnik couldn't have fulfilled his role if he hadn't been killed. If the prophecy hadn't existed, does anyone really think Zedar would have done all the shit he did?
3. Ce'Nedra, who is the epitome of spoiled brat and a completely unlikeable character. She bitches, she whinges, she whines, and I'm supposed to like her? For me, the worst part was in Queen of Sorcery, where she calls out Garion for calling out Polgara. It was a family matter she had no business interfering in, and what's more, that is the biggest display of hypocrisy I've ever seen. I wanted to strangle the little bitch. Not to mention, apart from bringing in the Western armies, she does nothing useful except give birth to Geran. Yes, Eddings and his wife really do make wonderful female characters.
4. Polgara. God Mode Sue, never wrong, can't be hindered, and is possibly the worst guardian on the planet. She shows hardly any affection to Garion, won't explain anything and acts as though he's supposed to get a magic personality upgrade that will correlate itself to what she wants. A-grade bitch, in essence.
5. Zakath. He starts off as a very scary emperor and ends up a main character, totally lovely and worthy of our support and like and yeah, the millions of Murgos he massacred for no other reason than that they were Murgos would totally see it that way. Excuse me, the guy was attempting GENOCIDE and we're supposed to like him? What the fuck is wrong with this series?
6. Sadi. The guy poisoned how many people and we're meant to like him?
7. Does anyone else think Garion and Ce'Nedra have nothing in common and should never have got married? Garion/Adara probably would have been a better couple, apart from the whole cousins thing.
Onto the Elenium/Tamuli.
1. Kring. The guy ransacks cities, kills and rapes innocents and we're supposed to like him?
2. Ehlana. Her rant near the middle of The Sapphire Rose to the tune of 'You are mine, Sparhawk! Mine! I forbid it! You will not throw your life away!' Hey, listen, bitch. You don't own other people, and you don't get to decide what he does with his life.
3. Sephrenia. Casual racism and that smug air of superiority she has makes me really dislike her. Xanetia was much more likeable, even though she was a Canon Sue.
4. APHRAEL. Manipulative, smug, racist, superior, manipulative little fucker. I have never hated a character so much as I did when it comes to Aphrael, excepting Ce'Nedra.
5. Stragen, Platime and Caalador. Yes, they're good guys, but they also run mini-kingdoms of thieves and murderers, and they've done a good number of murders themselves. Yes, they're real good guys.
And finally, The Redemption of Althalus.
1. Dweia. Apart from being a superior bitch, she was actually all right.
2. In an unseen part, Eliar leads some soldiers in an attack on the city of Osthos. He ends up killing the ruler, who happens to be fellow protagonist Andine's father. He gets taken prisoner and the other main characters end up having to get him out and kidnap Andine, because they need her too.
So, to recap:
They kidnap Andine, force her to co-operate with them, offer her no sympathy or condolences despite the fact that she's a young girl grieving for her only family and she's treated like the villain for wanting to get revenge on the man who killed her father? What the fuck is wrong with this story?
Yeah, I have more than a few problems with Eddings' stories. They're good, but the sheer amount of Protagonist Centered Morality makes them unreadable.
I'll begin with the Belgariad/Malloreon.
1. Barak rapes his wife. We are supposed to forget this. After all, it turns out all right and they end up making up and having a really good marriage and she learns the error of her ways and- no. No, no, no. Rape is rape. I don't give a flying fuck if you're a protagonist. I expected better of Eddings than that.
2. Zedar is entombed in stone for killing Durnik. OK. But that was Zedar's purpose. The prophecy made him do it. Durnik couldn't have fulfilled his role if he hadn't been killed. If the prophecy hadn't existed, does anyone really think Zedar would have done all the shit he did?
3. Ce'Nedra, who is the epitome of spoiled brat and a completely unlikeable character. She bitches, she whinges, she whines, and I'm supposed to like her? For me, the worst part was in Queen of Sorcery, where she calls out Garion for calling out Polgara. It was a family matter she had no business interfering in, and what's more, that is the biggest display of hypocrisy I've ever seen. I wanted to strangle the little bitch. Not to mention, apart from bringing in the Western armies, she does nothing useful except give birth to Geran. Yes, Eddings and his wife really do make wonderful female characters.
4. Polgara. God Mode Sue, never wrong, can't be hindered, and is possibly the worst guardian on the planet. She shows hardly any affection to Garion, won't explain anything and acts as though he's supposed to get a magic personality upgrade that will correlate itself to what she wants. A-grade bitch, in essence.
5. Zakath. He starts off as a very scary emperor and ends up a main character, totally lovely and worthy of our support and like and yeah, the millions of Murgos he massacred for no other reason than that they were Murgos would totally see it that way. Excuse me, the guy was attempting GENOCIDE and we're supposed to like him? What the fuck is wrong with this series?
6. Sadi. The guy poisoned how many people and we're meant to like him?
7. Does anyone else think Garion and Ce'Nedra have nothing in common and should never have got married? Garion/Adara probably would have been a better couple, apart from the whole cousins thing.
Onto the Elenium/Tamuli.
1. Kring. The guy ransacks cities, kills and rapes innocents and we're supposed to like him?
2. Ehlana. Her rant near the middle of The Sapphire Rose to the tune of 'You are mine, Sparhawk! Mine! I forbid it! You will not throw your life away!' Hey, listen, bitch. You don't own other people, and you don't get to decide what he does with his life.
3. Sephrenia. Casual racism and that smug air of superiority she has makes me really dislike her. Xanetia was much more likeable, even though she was a Canon Sue.
4. APHRAEL. Manipulative, smug, racist, superior, manipulative little fucker. I have never hated a character so much as I did when it comes to Aphrael, excepting Ce'Nedra.
5. Stragen, Platime and Caalador. Yes, they're good guys, but they also run mini-kingdoms of thieves and murderers, and they've done a good number of murders themselves. Yes, they're real good guys.
And finally, The Redemption of Althalus.
1. Dweia. Apart from being a superior bitch, she was actually all right.
2. In an unseen part, Eliar leads some soldiers in an attack on the city of Osthos. He ends up killing the ruler, who happens to be fellow protagonist Andine's father. He gets taken prisoner and the other main characters end up having to get him out and kidnap Andine, because they need her too.
So, to recap:
They kidnap Andine, force her to co-operate with them, offer her no sympathy or condolences despite the fact that she's a young girl grieving for her only family and she's treated like the villain for wanting to get revenge on the man who killed her father? What the fuck is wrong with this story?
Yeah, I have more than a few problems with Eddings' stories. They're good, but the sheer amount of Protagonist Centered Morality makes them unreadable.
