A good beginning to the Second Half of the Story

Would you consider the audio edition of Guardians of the West to be better than the print version?

It's been a long time since I've read the Guardians of the West but I think I'd say yes to this. It's an easy read and it makes for an easy listen as well. Having the various characters' dialogue come alive is quite nice. The dialogue is probably the best part of Eddings' writing so it really works well as an audio experience.

What other book might you compare Guardians of the West to and why?

Well let's be honest - The thing about David Eddings is that one book is pretty much like another. If you've read or listened to the Belgariad well then, here's more of the same. If you've read or listened to his Sparhawk books then here's more of the same - only more young adult than adult (not that that's a bad thing) and more side stuff going on (because the series is 5 books instead of 3).

What about Cameron Beierle’s performance did you like?

There comes a point in a book like this where you realize - wow there are a huge number of characters in this book and the reader is doing all of them by himself. He also does a good job of defining accents for each of the various peoples of the world. It's not perfect - in particular the voices of Belgarion and Errand often sound the same to the point of confusion - but it's not a huge problem.

Any additional comments?

Eddings' fantasy series are, above all else, fun. This is his second seriers with these characters and could more rightly be considered book 6 of 10 instead of 1 of 5, though you could start here if you wanted to. On problem for some could be that at this point in the story some old characters you may love have to fade into the background and some new ones step forward to take their place. I personally miss some of the old characters who are relegated to bit parts, but the new characters Eddings gives us do tend to be far more interesting than what we had in the Belgariad and add a lot in diversity to the cast.

13 people found this helpful

Fantastic First Rate Fantasy

Any additional comments?

Picked this one up on sale - big fan of all things fantasy from Tolkien to Patrick Rothfuss and I'm not sure how David Eddings slipped under my radar for so long. Thoroughly enjoyed this novel beginning to end. Also the first Cameron Beierle narrated audiobook I've listened too - impressive narration.

7 people found this helpful

And the fun begings

What did you love best about Guardians of the West?

The story started slowly but I fell in love with all of the people who inhabit the pages. With each new book you learn more about everyone. By the end of the series you know everyone and they are like old friends. The print version lives happily on my bookshelf.

2 people found this helpful

Good but starts slow

Good book. I felt the narration was good. The first half of the book was a bit slow but got pretty good as it ended. I understand this was the setup book. If you can make it past the first half you will enjoy the rest of this book and most certainly the series. I like how he puts accents on the different characters depending what country they were from. I would recommend this but give it a chance.

2 people found this helpful

Equalize Please

The story and the reading were both excellent. My only complaint is that the recording seemed to put a lot of emphasis on the higher pitched sounds (particularly when the reader read the letter 's'). The contrast was so great that I had to turn the volume up and the treble all the way down in my car not to have my ears hurt a bit by the end of my commute.

4 people found this helpful

Great story, narration is odd.

I love this series, as well as the one before it. The only issue that I have with the audio book is that the narrator gives all the characters accents, and in many cases the accent doesn't match the character.

1 person found this helpful

slow start but worth it

This was a slow starter, but the rest of the series makes it worth it, even though it is a long series, and probably could have been shortened by a book, it is a great series. The reader is a good story teller and brings the characters to life. In short, even though some sections get a bit tiresome, the whole is worth it.

2 people found this helpful

Good story, not so good narration

I've loved these books since I was young, and was really excited to listen to them! However, I came to realize that while the story is very good, it seems to be aimed at a more YA audience.

My biggest issue, however, are the errors in narration. Many of them are unnoticeable if you haven't read the print version, but there are quite a few that are enough to take you out of the story. For example, "a pale sliver of moonlight" becomes "a pail of silver moonlight." There is some confusion about who is saying what (accents and tones get switched, etc) and names might change in their pronunciation from the beginning of the book to the end.

Overall, a good series for the older YA crowd, but I'd recommend the print copies to avoid confusion.

Couldn't get through the narration...

Couldn't get through the narration. I was lost by the characters names. Couldn't get through hour 1.

Did not like the narrator.

The story goes on

Torak is dead but the dark prophesy still lives on. Everyone loves on with their lives, or so it seems until it can't.

Someone wants Belgarion and Ce'nedra to never have children. Someone else has kidnapped Garon and is using him for something evil. maybe even to turn the child against Belgarion. This book was so intense. Much more intense and painful and longer than the Belgariad. And now we know that someone won't survive.