I just found out today that David Eddings died on Tuesday.
Given that I never met the man, I'm surprised at how upset I am about it. The Belgariad and the Mallorean were the first fantasy novels I read, thanks to my aunt loaning them to me. Since then I've bought them twice to replace lost or damaged copies due to reading them so much.
On Monday and Tuesday, ironically, I was reading a that had a timeline of the books and thinking it was about time I read them again.
It was the Belgariad that started my passion for fantasy stories way back then. Since then I've fallen in love with Tolkien, Gemmell, Goodkind, Pratchett and their contemporaries. Somehow, though, Belgarath, Polgara and Belgarion always dragged me back to follow them again and again.
David (and Leigh) Eddings proved that fantasy can be accessible and doesn't have to be written in a flowery language. The characters were accessible and human with all the attendant flaws that go with it. Other fantasy fiction always seems to redeem characters' flaws and make them more perfect as the tales go on, but Eddings characters were proud of their flaws and wily ways. Polgara's temper, Silk's penchant for petty crime, Sadi's drug addictions and Belgarath's slobbiness were all facts of their existence and part of what made them THEM. In fact, Belgarath's attitude towards tidyness is probably where my own lack of interest in housework comes from. Hey, if a WIZARD can be messy, then so can I!
I always had that tiny spark of hope in me that David Eddings would take the Belgariad boat out for another sail, even if it was a small one. I know they said they had finished their tales, but still... hope never really died, even when Leigh Eddings herself died in 2007...
Did anyone ever answer the question of whether Belgarath, Polgara and the others would ever die? Was Belgarion destined to be the Rivan King forever?
Oddly, I haven't yet got round to reading the other Eddings works - Tamuli, Elenium, Althalus etc. I never really wanted to. I have always felt that The name Eddings was linked forever to the stories of Belgarion and didn't want to sully their existence with other tales.
Daft, huh?
Lots of people have died this year, and lots of renowned people have been among them. Until now they have all been faces in a crowd. David Eddings was someone who meant a lot to me through his writings and his characters, all of whom were unique and more real (as in three-dimensional) to me than a lot of people I actually know in the real world.
Rest easy, Mr. Eddings, and thank you for everything.