THE KING OF THE MURGOS

Of Eddings' projected five-book epic, The Malloreon, this is book—or, better, chunk—two. It is independently intelligible in that you can follow what's going on, but nothing of significance happens and there's not even a token resolution. After a pompous recap, in case you forgot all about Guardians of the West (1987), the story picks up again as our heroes—various immortals, sorcerers, kings, etc.—pursue the evil sorcerer Zandramas, who has abducted Garion's infant son for the usual dire and bloodcurdling reasons (it has to do with the final showdown between the powers of the Dark and the Light). The trail leads through the swampy land of Nyissa and to a confrontation with its snaky queen, where our heroes learn that Zandramas is a woman, and probably a dragon as well (!). King Murgos joins the party; he turns out to be a jolly fellow. In Rak Urga, the young, pure-hearted sorcerer Errand, now called Eriond, permanently puts out the human-sacrificial fires. Our heroes deal with a demon. On and on they go, with Sandramas always a step ahead. The recipe as before, in sum: thick padding, lots of darkly significant prophesies, an abundance of adolescent ho-ho-ho-ing, and of real thought or craft not a gleam. Baffling that anyone would choose to read such unmitigated drivel, but there it is: look for Eddings fans to show up in droves.