#Mallorean

[ajaneofmanytalents]

Characters I wish I could introduce to each other:

Pheris Erondites and Eugenides, from Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series

Mags, from Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series

Diana Hyde, from Theodora Goss' Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club series

Silk and Velvet, from David and Leigh Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean pentologies

the goddess Aphrael, from David and Leigh Eddings' Elenium and Tamuli trilogies

Call it the Convention of the Sneaky Bastards (affectionate) :)

[deadchovsky]

not nearly enough discussion online about how homoerotic zakath and garion were in demon lord of karanda, and that's a shame honestly.

[givemethesleep]

So so sorry guys going into a minor obsession with a mediocre 80s fantasy series that I hold dearly because it was one of the series my dad raised me on. But also seriously I should not be allowed to consume media because there is ZERO reason to make ocs for an old book series no one knows.

[avemakuta]

Kal is such a silly title for Torak to use. "I'm not only a God, I'm also a king!" It's like saying "don't call me President Smith anymore, call me President Smith, 2001 Jonestown High Pie-Eating Champion!"

[yarns-and-d20s]

Just finished watching a YouTube video about JKR and her whole "I'm never going to forgive those young people who disagree with me!" nonsense. The YouTuber made a bit of a throwaway comment about the adults who can't let go of HP because of what it meant to them in their youth, and I had too many thoughts for a YouTube comment, so, here I am.

My HP credentials: the first book came out when I was 15. I borrowed it from a younger person in my life, and ended up DNF'ing at the time because those opening chapters were so brutally mean-spirited and bleak I couldn't handle it. What can I say, I was a pretty fragile little thing. I ended up going back to the franchise in 2001 when my best friend wanted me to see the first movie with her. She'd already seen it, and just desperately wanted to share it with me, but would say no more. She bought my ticket and my popcorn, and, well, I ended up spending several years in the HP fandom, and was with it all through the release of the final film, and then slowly, it just sort of dwindled in my interest, though I did re-listen to the Fry-narrated audiobooks or watch the movies again from time to time, and had my various bits of merch hanging around my room.

But I gotta admit, I feel the same way that YouTuber does about the HP adults. The ones who won't let it go despite JKR, rather than, y'know, holding on because of her. The ones who wail, "But you don't understand what Harry Potter meant to me!"

Because the thing of it is: I do. My Harry Potter was David & Leigh Eddings' Belgariad and Mallorean, which was 10 entire books, that grew up alongside its main character, a very special orphan chosen one boy with magic powers and even a special mark on his body (Garion's was on his hand). Hell, he was also raised by his aunt, though I think Aunt Pol would kick Aunt Petunia's ass, and ends up marrying a redhead.

I started reading Pawn of Prophecy when I was 10 (I was a very precocious reader!). I re-read both series a lot up until 2010; I re-read them so much that all 10 books needed to be replaced because they were falling apart. Yeah, they got bought twice in my house. My best friend--the same one who took me to see Philosopher's Stone--also loved the Belgariad & Mallorean and we bonded over those books, talked about them constantly, the whole nine yards. Not only that, but my only other friend in the entire world as a teen also loved those books. They meant the world to me.

But as I progressed through my 20s, I started noticing the bioessentialism and the thing where people from the north and west were good but the people from the south and east were scary and evil or just plain old strange. The fact that very nearly all the female characters could be described as "beautiful and sassy" and were rewarded with marriage and babies if they were good women but if they were bad women who were too masculine in their appetites or behaviours, they got punished for it. On top of all that, news resurfaced several years ago about how the Eddings had been tried and found guilty of abusing their adopted children. They never adopted again after they served out their punishments, and the Belgariad was envisioned by the couple as, like, a love letter/apology letter to children or something like that.

So, yeah, I actually get it. A lot. And the Eddings are dead now, and can't hurt anybody, but I haven't touched those books in 14 years. They were so important to me, and I can still "hear" the influence of the Eddings' style in my own fiction writing. They'll always be special to me, but, you know, there's... there's other books.

I spent years rolling my eyes at people who would pull the "read other books" line. It was kind of ridiculous; I never knew anybody who was into HP and never read anything else. It was just that HP always inspired a particular fandom and devotion because so many people had it in common. I understand how important the community itself was; remember, I was in it.

But by the same token, because nuance is a thing, I don't fully understand not being able to let it go. Yes, I'm sure it was easier for me to let go of because I was an adult (19, closer to 20 than to 18) when I actually got into the franchise. And there was never really a huge, thriving Belgariad/Mallorean fandom. But if your HP fandom friends are only your friends because of HP, then... they're not really your friends, are they?

The Eddings are dead. They can't use their money to hurt anybody. There are living authors right now who are not raging sacks of shit who are struggling to put food on their plates. There are also lots of shows and games that you can love, and maybe there's a movie occasionally, sometimes (note to self: edit and post mini-essay about how the advent of the DVD was a huge stepping stone that led us to the current state of cinema).

I both do and don't know how hard it is to let go of something that meant so much to you as a kid. I know in so much as I've done it; but my autistic brain is struggling to not understand why if I can do it, other people can't. If it's about friends--guys, gals, non-binary pals, they ain't your friends if they don't want anything to do with you if you can't talk about Harry goddamn Potter. If they will talk to you without it, find that thing to talk about.

I know it'll hurt. I still ache sometimes to go back to [insert setting of Belgariad/Mallorean here], and see all my book friends, but, hey, I've sure read a lot of books since I stopped re-reading the same 10 books every 12-18 months for 13 years.

Sometimes, we outgrow things. That's okay. It's allowed. I gave myself permission to make 2010 the last time I read those 10 books. I give myself permission to miss them. I give myself permission to think fondly of what they meant to me. But it became time to move on, because my soul is bigger than racism, sexism, and two people who beat their children, and needed to be fed with new things.

[blackrigante]

This season I have a cold and got some cough medicine. I remember the slogan of Buckley's is 'It taste awful. And it works.'

It really is gross and it does work. But now all I can do is call this stuff is the Polgara treatment. After all if she saw this product she would approve of the message.

[princessmyriad]

Fuck it on the odd occasion someone votes ima start using polls for personal decision making reasons

The first three i have not read (i attempted to read one of the Lovecrafts and it was. So hard to get through.)

The Goosebumps i have read but found my collection when unpacking in my new house and have not read for since i was like 11, (books #8-#61 with a couple odd missing and a few newer series ones and choose your owns)

Unfortunate Events i have also read but my partner has never so I plan to watch the show with them soon

[utilitycaster]

thanks for the book answer! would you share your fiction favorites in general?

Hi anon,

I'll post a few but I think to clarify - this is also kind of just going to be a list. I meant more like...are you looking for book recs? If so are you looking for specific things (eg: queer characters, fantasy and if so which subtype, sci fi and ditto, literary fiction, etc.) Or do you just like, want a list of books I have liked.

Anyway this is a list of a handful of books/series/authors that I'd count as favorites, loosely grouped, but I didn't go into any details about anything.

Fantasy I read a teen and has permanently shaped how I interact with fantasy fiction; some of this is YA

a large swathe of what Diana Wynne Jones has written

The Belgariad and Mallorean by David Eddings

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix

Sorcery and Cecelia by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede (this came up on the comfort reads panel I watched yesterday and it is indeed a comfort read for me) and Mairelon the Magician by Patricia Wrede (set in the same sort of world)

Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read some of the Patternist series by Octavia Butler as a teen but then didn't revisit it until adulthood

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Piranesi is very different and also excellent but that came out when I was an adult, but it's still a favorite)

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (I also read a bunch of her fairy tale-based books which I don't know if I'd call them favorites still but I do think they're an influence)

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Middlegrade/YA fiction I read as a kid that also permanently shaped something

Several Ellen Raskin books but especially The Westing Game

Elizabeth Enright's books but especially the ones about the Melendy family and Gone-Away Lake

Fantasy and SF I read as an adult and would consider exceptional/a favorite

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisen

The City and the City by China Mievelle

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

Phedre's trilogy of the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey (have not read the others in the series so this isn't saying they're bad, I just can't speak to them)

The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin

Arcadia by Iain Pears

The Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Night Watch books from Discworld by Terry Pratchett; I have read like, one other Discworld book and it didn't have Sam Vimes in it so I didn't really care

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delaney

Literary fiction/not sf I read as a teen or adult

(there's notably a lot less of this because I do lean heavily towards fantasy but)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

[themarydragon]

I was tagged by @queenofperv to

I am tagging @lesquatrechevrons and @kipaia and @kathsilver and @fierycavalier and literally anybody who can see this and wants to do it. Consider yourself tagged!

....and I couldn't choose just five so this one is PRINT CHARACTERS ONLY. Details on who they are and why they're included are under the cut. I hope there's characters you don't know here, and you can go find the books they come from! I promise they're all old AF

Aravan was never the protagonist. Aravan was ALWAYS the protagonist. Aravan's recurring role in the Mithgar series is probably the #1 influence on the way I look at characters. The series's earliest book (in-world timeline) is about When It All Went Wrong For Aravan, and the last book (in-world timeline) is How Aravan's Monumental Fuckups Saved The World. Aravan's story is How One Elf Spent Seven Thousand Years Heartbroken And Murdered His Way Across The World In Mourning and its the actual best.

I cut out the last 2 Sunday editions of Calvin & Hobbes and have them secreted away in my Memories box. Calvin is more and more of a shithead as I get older and Hobbes matches my vibes. And no it's not just because I have a tendency to bite. I quote Hobbes constantly and without thinking about it.

Artagel is the protagonists' love interests' brother and is perhaps the most perfect character every written. He's the Realm's Finest Swordsman and so of course he'll happily protect this weird stranger on his clumsy brother's behalf. And the man who comes to kill her beats Artagel, nearly kills him, and his entire life has to change. The Mirror of her Dreams is book 1, A Man Rides Through is book 2, and I re-read them annually because they're a tragedy of errors - from everyone, literally everyone makes massive fatal mistakes - that ultimately has a happy ending and I am ALWAYS here for that.

Belgarath. The Eternal Man. He's a drunk, a liar, a terrible father, a slouch, a thief, and unspeakably lazy. He's also the most powerful wizard in the world and a dude made his daughter cry. once. and what happened to that dude gave me literal nightmares for years. He's also World's Best Rascal Grampa and would be The Character Of All Time except for:

Silk. Prince Kheldar. Spy. Thief. Notorious weasel-faced man. In a situationship with what amounts to a viking warrior. Accidental half-brother to a king. Accidentally in love with his uncle's wife (and everyone should be, Porenn is a bad bitch). Quintessential rogue. The fact that he & Belgarath are from the same book series never ceases to amaze me. The first book, Pawn of Prophesy, was my introduction to fantasy when I was 8 or 9 and it set the stage for my literary preferences. Also shoutout to Leah Eddings, who in later years was given a byline although I don't know how involved she was in the first novels.

[grimdarkfandango]

Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

got tagged in an ask meme by @saltedpin thank you!!! I love oversharing on the internet!!!

3 Ships you like: god. okay. be cruel then.

Winter/Kitten - yes we're leading with OCs deal with it SOMETIMES you take a beloved archetype pairing, reshape them like silly putty, put them in separate dnd games, and spend four years running continuous RP with a partner in multiple different au variations because they are perfect actually (shout out to @andromeda-reinvented for literally keeping me sane and fed :prayer emoji:)

Kitten is my husband and also my phone lockscreen and has never done anything wrong in his life (the murders are fine)

Songxue - this is the wizard behind the curtain of winter/kitten, but they are different for all that they're the same. otherwise, uh. see above for all other applicable details lmao

Endhawks - the DRAMA the DILFYNESS the LEGEND look all of my pairings need a certain level of unhealthy devotion and self-sacrifice and not to spoil the current manga chapters for anyone but [blood seeps from my mouth as I start screeching incoherently] anyway yeah big man hot little guy feral

Ganlink - hey riley why are you putting an unnecessary fourth pairing, did you think we weren't already very clearly aware of your type here. no. okay. sure. big man hot little guy feral!!!!!

First Ship Ever: oh god bro I don't know if I have the memory details for that. the first ships I remember going and reading fic for were bandom (*nsync, JC/Lance, yes you heard me) or probably good old gundam wing 1x2, despite having seen approximately none of the show lmao

Last song you heard: Nightmares by the sea - jeff buckley when I started / The life I was missing - flannel graph when I finished (all off my Winter playlist. it's 12hrs long)

Favourite childhood book: I was one of those advanced reader kids who turned up my nose at kids books and for many years almost exclusively read sf/f off dad's bookshelf, which is a long way of saying it was the full ten book run of the belgariad and the mallorean, which I would reread twice a year between the ages of 9-16

is it my favourite now? god no. but I cannot deny what shaped me

Currently Reading: I just started the first Dragonlance book so, I guess, some things don't change

Currently Watching: everything currently airing on Dropout, also The Expanse (finally)(slowly)(I like it too much to binge I think)

Currently Craving: D I N N E R

Tagging: HMMMM ok @andromeda-reinvented, @bigneonglitter, @oldcoyote, @prairie-grass, and anyone else who wants to just say I tagged u!!!

[book--brackets]

For the fantasy books: The Graceling series by Kristin Cashore, The Belgariad/Mallorean series by David Eddings, The Keys to the Kingdom series by Garth Nix, The Iron Butterfly Series by Chanda Hahn, The Goose Girl series by Shannon Cole, Joust series by Mercedes Lackey, Rangers Apprentice series by John Flanagan, Eragon series by Christopher Paolini, Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones, Thirteenth Child series by Patricia C Wrede, Uglies series by Scott Westerfield, The Traveller's Gate series by Will Wight

I have a lot haha!

I added what wasn't already there except for Uglies. Uglies is technically a sci-fi, dystopian series, not fantasy, so it's ineligible for this competition. However, if we ever end up expanding into new genres again, hold onto it for that!

[shodaw]

What’s your favorite book rn?

I’m not sure what my favorite book would be so I’ll tell you what I’m reading right now: the series The Mallorean by David Eddings

[xerohourcheese]

favourite and least favourite books?

Favourite? The Belgariad, and Mallorean books by David and Leigh Eddings.

Least? Any sort of mass produced slushy romance books, like anything written by Barbara Cartland, or published by Mills & Boon.

[pennywaltzy]

The Favourites -- 21, 22, 24, 28, 29, 30

The Dark -- 32, 33

21. Who is/are your favourite character(s) to write? Molly Hooper from my more recent writings, hands down. She's so complex and we fic writers can expand on that and make her a character deserving of ACD canon lore. I also have a soft spot for Don Flack from CSI: NY. He's a blast.

22. Who is/are your favourite pairing(s) to write? I love writing any and all pairings with my Little Black Dress characters throughout various fandoms (Buffy Summers, Spike, Greg Sanders, Calleigh Duquesne, Don Flack, Ichigo Kurosaki, Molly Hooper, Mycroft Holmes, Sherlock Holmes, Jim Kirk, Dean Winchester, Joan Watson). I also REALLY REALLY miss my two main Bleach pairings, Toshiro/Karin and Grimmjow/Neliel.

24. Favourite genre to write and read: Romance in any subgenre you can think of. I tend to, non-fanfic wise, read a lot of supernatural romance, romantasy, chick lit and historical romance with murder mystery plots. I just am a sucker for a good love story, I guess.

28. Favourite side character: Aside from Molly Hooper, who I will love to the end of the earth and back, probably Faith Lehane from the Buffyverse. She's absolutely fucking fascinating as a character to study and write. I also really love Kevin Ryan & Javier Esposito from Castle, though I'm not sure they're really side characters and are more main-adjacent? Whatever. I adore the two of them so fucking much.

29. Favourite villain: Oooooh. Um...Well, I do love both Sherlock's Jim Moriarty and Elementary's Jamie Moriarty a ton. They are both excellent villains, though Jamie is sorely underutilized. In books, Zakath from the Belgariad/Mallorean series is such a fascinating case, because he's a villain in the first series and an (unwilling at first) acquired hero in the second. But I love love love him.

30. Favourite idea you haven’t started on yet: Can I use one I started and have since abandoned until I can rewatch the source material? TMI, I was a victim of sexual assault when I was younger, and stuff with rape/sexual assault is a weird thing for me as a viewer. Sometimes it sets off flashbacks and crap, and other times I can view it in a critical manner and deal with it that way. S1 of Bridgerton rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't like that Daphne resorted to what she did. So I had the idea if, waaaaaaay back during the duel, Simon had been honest about not wanting to have children of his own with Daphne, therefore letting his bloodline die out, how could that have changed everything (but most of all prevented That Scene). I got one chapter done but lost Netflix access for a while so I have left it to rot, but I do eventually want to get back to that and rewrite S1 with a happier ending and less angst for Daphne and Simon.

[drunkfightingllamas]

Another Musings On The Monkey Nut!

@clockworkalpaca, Monkey Nut, and Hexadecimal Offspring Extraordinaire, has recently 'Done A Tonka' after finishing the 'Dracula Daily' online experience, and was describing how in the 'seven(?) years later' epilogue, it says how Lord Godalming and Doctor Seward were still happily married, making them think they meant to each other.

Except they pronounced Godalming as 'Gold-Damming'. Just like when they read the 'Belgariad' and 'Mallorean' books, they pronounced Mandorallen, as Mandalorian, and Lelldorin, as Lendorolin.

Bless!

[drasnianfrank]

Twenty Books Challenge

Hypothetically, you are only able to keep 20 of your books. Only one book per author/series. So what books are you keeping? Credit due to @the-forest-library (I have been thinking about this list for like a week straight)

Guardians of the West by David and Leigh Eddings - any of the Belgariad/Mallorean series frankly. I read these series I don't know how many times as teen. Yes, they are a problematic. Yes they are trope-y as hell but I love them.

Memory by Lois McMaster Bujold - inching just barely above Miles in Love or Mountains of Mourning.

Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison - This is a book that always makes me cry.

Whale Talk by Chris Cutcher - A swim team comprised of various kids with disabilities and are deeply flawed but are also attempting to do good things? I wish this was on every book list for teens.

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells - I mean all murderbot series is great. Funny story, I told my mom to read this book eons ago and she only read it after a librarian recommended it.

Return of the King by JRR Tolkien - though technically LotR is one book and I don't have single copies of this anymore. But the scouring of the shire just hits me in different places when I read it.

A Child's Anthology of Poetry edited by Elizabeth Hauge Sword and Victoria Flournoy McCarthy - My textbook of poetry when I was young.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr - Another a book that makes me absolutely sob.

The Realms of the Gods by Tamora Pierce - I love the Wild Magic Series the most of all Pierce's series. And yes, I recognize the problematic relationship. But also, talking badger.

Sabriel by Garth Nix - I'm sorry the far superior goth necromancer with bells.

First Truth by Dawn Cook - If had I pick one of the truth series. I have an unnatural fondness of a book series that combines magic with Punnett Squares.

Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Narrowly above Midsummer Night's Dream. But the tomorrow speech is an absolute banger.

All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot - Any of the Herriot books. I read these almost to pieces.

Double Whammy by Carl Hiassen - It was this or Squeeze Me. But Skink really deserves to saved.

House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski - Post Modern Horror.

Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein - More Poetry of my childhood.

Dark Tales by Shirley Jackson - specifically The Possibility of Evil.

Daredevil vol 6 by Mark Waid, Chris Samnee - Graphic Novels count and I will fight you. This has one of the first individual issues I picked up.

Sandman vol. 8: World's End by Neil Gaiman, Micha Allred - Sandman holds a near and dear place in my heart. It was a close call between this and American Gods or Preludes and Nocturnes. But I will have echoes of Crements in my head.

Hawkeye vol. 4: Rio Bravo by Matt Fraction, David Aja - Pizza Dog! Also any of the volumes are fantastic and visually gorgeous.

I did take the prompt literally, but here are five more books I either always buy on kindle/can only get as an ebook. I would pay an extraordinary amount of money for these in print.

Toad Words and other stories by T Kingfisher - I was following her when she was still writing fantasy!

I Reap You Not by Catelyn Winona - Second Person done right.

True Porn Clerk Stories by Ali Davis - This causes me to giggle, rage, and cry.

The Heiress Effect by Courtney Milan - Brothers Sinister series is the standard I compare all Regency Novels to.

Night Shift by Stephen King - Specifically Quitter's Inc. But frankly any collection of Stephen King is gold.

Tagging @thatoldstandby, @msfehrwight, @raventycho, @timemachineyeah, @theneptuneviolin and anyone else. And of course you can include pictures too.