Polgara the Sorceress by David and Leigh Eddings Review
Del Rey Books., Nov., 1997.Hardcover, 643 pages.
ISBN: 0345416627.
Ordering information:
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In a world inhabited by warring Gods, proud countries ruled by kings, priests and warriors a select few Sorcerers walk the invisible world between humankind and the Gods. The most powerful Sorceress of them all is Polgara - a raven haired beauty whose tresses shine with the streak of white from her father's first touch. The daughter of the brilliant and powerful Sorcerer Belgarath and the shape-shifter Poledra, Polgara is marked at an early age for her destiny as the adversary of Torak the One-Eyed Dragon God and the guardian of the hope of the world: the heir to the Rivan throne. Polgara's life is told as an autobiography beginning with her days as a child playing with her twin sister Beldaran in their protected Vale where she begins to learn the extent of her powers from the magical, incomparably old Tree that stands at the heart of the Vale. With a distinctly feminist slant, Polgara tells the story of her life as a politician, a warrior, a Duchess, an Aunt and a powerful sorceress.
Over the course of three thousand years, her life was filled with love, triumph, intrigue, magic, adventure, pain and sorrow, told with a sly humor that will delight Eddings' fans. Polgara reveals one of the great sadnesses of her life; blessed with eternal youth and beauty, she is forced to watch those she loves grow old and die - over and over again throughout her life.
With full characterizations, vivid descriptions and a sometimes ironic point of view, Polgara the Sorceress is a fascinating tale of the events of this world retold from the unique and mesmerizing point of view of one of the most fascinating female characters in the fantasy genre. A fitting grand finale to a brilliant fantasy series.
Return to the January 1998 issue of The IWJ.