What do you think?
Rate this book
The Dreamers #3
Crystal Gorge
A tale of a world where gods and mortals join forces to battle the darkest evil…
Despite two devastating defeats, the Vlagh prepares to invade again. Dhrall’s mortal defenders are certain they will prevail—until they learn the Vlagh has created an army of perfect spies, intelligent minions that can blend in with humans. Far worse: They have no idea where the Vlagh will attack. Will she charge to the north, where the natives are bison and bear hunters? Or will she assault the eastern regions, where peaceful townsfolk worship their goddess in temples? The battle-hardened veterans of the country’s previous wars don’t have the manpower to fight on two fronts. Will the Vlagh’s minions finally overrun the land of Dhrall?
The third of four books in the saga of The Dreamers.
Despite two devastating defeats, the Vlagh prepares to invade again. Dhrall’s mortal defenders are certain they will prevail—until they learn the Vlagh has created an army of perfect spies, intelligent minions that can blend in with humans. Far worse: They have no idea where the Vlagh will attack. Will she charge to the north, where the natives are bison and bear hunters? Or will she assault the eastern regions, where peaceful townsfolk worship their goddess in temples? The battle-hardened veterans of the country’s previous wars don’t have the manpower to fight on two fronts. Will the Vlagh’s minions finally overrun the land of Dhrall?
The third of four books in the saga of The Dreamers.
560 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 6, 2005
83 people are currently reading
2839 people want to read
About the author
David Eddings
220 books5,559 followersDavid Eddings was an American author who wrote several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels. David Eddings' wife,
Leigh Eddings
, was an uncredited co-author on many of his early books, but he had later acknowledged that she contributed to them all.
They adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David, then two months old. They adopted a younger girl between 1966 and 1969. In 1970 the couple lost custody of both children and were each sentenced to a year in jail in separate trials after pleading guilty to 11 counts of physical child abuse. Though the nature of the abuse, the trial, and the sentencing were all extensively reported in South Dakota newspapers at the time, these details did not resurface in media coverage of the couple during their successful joint career as authors, only returning to public attention several years after both had died.
After both served their sentences, David and Leigh Eddings moved to Denver in 1971, where David found work in a grocery store.
David Eddings' first books (which were general fiction) sold moderately well. He later switched to writing epic fantasy, a field in which he achieved great success. In a recent interview with sffworld.com, he said: "I don't take orders from readers."
On January 26, 2007 it was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of his novels. He was flushing the fuel tank of the car with water when he lit a piece of paper and threw into the puddle to test if it was still flammable.
On February 28, 2007, David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings (born Judith Leigh Schall), died following a series of strokes. She was 69.
David Eddings died on June 2, 2009 at the age of 77.
They adopted one boy in 1966, Scott David, then two months old. They adopted a younger girl between 1966 and 1969. In 1970 the couple lost custody of both children and were each sentenced to a year in jail in separate trials after pleading guilty to 11 counts of physical child abuse. Though the nature of the abuse, the trial, and the sentencing were all extensively reported in South Dakota newspapers at the time, these details did not resurface in media coverage of the couple during their successful joint career as authors, only returning to public attention several years after both had died.
After both served their sentences, David and Leigh Eddings moved to Denver in 1971, where David found work in a grocery store.
David Eddings' first books (which were general fiction) sold moderately well. He later switched to writing epic fantasy, a field in which he achieved great success. In a recent interview with sffworld.com, he said: "I don't take orders from readers."
On January 26, 2007 it was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of his novels. He was flushing the fuel tank of the car with water when he lit a piece of paper and threw into the puddle to test if it was still flammable.
On February 28, 2007, David Eddings' wife, Leigh Eddings (born Judith Leigh Schall), died following a series of strokes. She was 69.
David Eddings died on June 2, 2009 at the age of 77.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews
October 22, 2007
So, I used to love David Eddings. I thought his Belgariad series and Mallorean series were pretty awesome. Granted I was in high school at the time and not the discerning reader I am today. But I've reread them frequently since and they are still pretty fresh and intriguing--funny, and wry and interesting. HOWEVER--since then he's been doing nothing but recycling. This book is third in what is likely a series of 4. It's awful. It's the exact same lines and the exact same characters and the exact same jokes he's always used. And by now the plot is thin and transparant and the characters are tired and cliche. It's almost like there's no freshness at all--the "snappy" retorts the characters have for each other just seemed pulled from his toolchest of snappy retorts and actually don't fit the situation at all. There's too much set up and constant re-explaining: first the discussion of the battle plans in detail, then the battle, then the characters have to recount the battle to every other character they meet in detail. There's so much repetition of information. This plot could have been a few chapters of a still not very good book--instead it's stretched so thin there almost isn't any plot at all. I only read it because I have the first two and I like to have my sets complete--and I got it for 5$ on the bargain table. But seriously, don't read it. I'm sad to see an author I liked has fallen so far.
April 26, 2011
Well, honestly I haven't read the Malloreon and the Belgariad series,
yet somebody strongly recommended David & Leigh Eddings' books for me to study, as I am a fantasy author myself.
From the Dreamers series, I learned how to "control" so many characters as per their role in the story.
Yet, in Crystal Gorge, as well as other series, "gods" and "dreams" are involved, things are quite revealed and foretold. The most exciting part is, of course the details and backgrounds of the characters that made them likable and the "tactics" the armies used, using the resources of the land so brilliantly so they can win battles with minimal casualties.
And well, as spoiler goes, none of the key characters has been "killed" yet this time, and how the final victory factor was discovered and available - though still, brilliantly executed, using the elemental pattern of: 1. Earth (+Fire), 2. Water, 3. Fire (+Wind), and later, 4. Wind (+Ice). The pattern, as well as the targets of attack, though predictable are simply brilliant.
One thing, though, for me, it's always so sickening when "gods" are involved - although it's all logical and necessary as a decisive factor. I mean, as the characters said, "What use are the outlanders if a single person (through the dreamers) can win this war?" - and the reasons are (yet again) brilliantly explained in the story.
Overall, it's really fascinating, and maybe I'll read more of David Edding's works next time.
Favourite characters:
1. Keselo - for his brilliance and use of his knowledge
2. Rabbit - his expertise is more of the technical side, yet he's a funny bunny
3. Ekial - New favourite, especially for his prowess and speed as a cavalry commander
4. Longbow - Grim determination and a brilliant tactician. He's actually the "leading role", right?
5. Eleria - Kiss kiss, hug, hug!
6. Veltan - He tends to do his job well, but on occasions tends to avoid responsibilities
7. Dahlaine - A bit of absent-minded, probably because of ooooolld age. Sleepyhead, in exact
8. Zelana - beautiful, gorgeous, loving, absolutely stunning
Characters I'd like to punch in the face:
1. Ara - a mysterious, "treasured one". She seems to control everything from the background.
2. Omago - what a lucky chap, right, "Father"?
3. Trenicia - a bit of a blockhead, maybe but it's probably because of lack of technology.
4. Sorgan - a sarcastic, yet cooperative chap
5. Ox - the most powerful human of the lot
6. Aracia - I can't help but feel sorry for her
7. Lillabeth, Ashad, Yaltar - all they have to do, is dream... dream, dream, dream...
8. Balacenia, Enalla, Vash & Dakas - the "Big Me"s really added up to the mountainous pile of names...
yet somebody strongly recommended David & Leigh Eddings' books for me to study, as I am a fantasy author myself.
From the Dreamers series, I learned how to "control" so many characters as per their role in the story.
Yet, in Crystal Gorge, as well as other series, "gods" and "dreams" are involved, things are quite revealed and foretold. The most exciting part is, of course the details and backgrounds of the characters that made them likable and the "tactics" the armies used, using the resources of the land so brilliantly so they can win battles with minimal casualties.
And well, as spoiler goes, none of the key characters has been "killed" yet this time, and how the final victory factor was discovered and available - though still, brilliantly executed, using the elemental pattern of: 1. Earth (+Fire), 2. Water, 3. Fire (+Wind), and later, 4. Wind (+Ice). The pattern, as well as the targets of attack, though predictable are simply brilliant.
One thing, though, for me, it's always so sickening when "gods" are involved - although it's all logical and necessary as a decisive factor. I mean, as the characters said, "What use are the outlanders if a single person (through the dreamers) can win this war?" - and the reasons are (yet again) brilliantly explained in the story.
Overall, it's really fascinating, and maybe I'll read more of David Edding's works next time.
Favourite characters:
1. Keselo - for his brilliance and use of his knowledge
2. Rabbit - his expertise is more of the technical side, yet he's a funny bunny
3. Ekial - New favourite, especially for his prowess and speed as a cavalry commander
4. Longbow - Grim determination and a brilliant tactician. He's actually the "leading role", right?
5. Eleria - Kiss kiss, hug, hug!
6. Veltan - He tends to do his job well, but on occasions tends to avoid responsibilities
7. Dahlaine - A bit of absent-minded, probably because of ooooolld age. Sleepyhead, in exact
8. Zelana - beautiful, gorgeous, loving, absolutely stunning
Characters I'd like to punch in the face:
1. Ara - a mysterious, "treasured one". She seems to control everything from the background.
2. Omago - what a lucky chap, right, "Father"?
3. Trenicia - a bit of a blockhead, maybe but it's probably because of lack of technology.
4. Sorgan - a sarcastic, yet cooperative chap
5. Ox - the most powerful human of the lot
6. Aracia - I can't help but feel sorry for her
7. Lillabeth, Ashad, Yaltar - all they have to do, is dream... dream, dream, dream...
8. Balacenia, Enalla, Vash & Dakas - the "Big Me"s really added up to the mountainous pile of names...
December 17, 2023
Another of Eddings 'long walk in the woods' and yet good enough I keep reading.
July 17, 2025
3.25/5
This book suffers from middle book syndrome. The book gets bogged down in the middle while also seeming to skim over the stakes of this book to start setting up the fourth and final volume.
This book suffers from middle book syndrome. The book gets bogged down in the middle while also seeming to skim over the stakes of this book to start setting up the fourth and final volume.
June 10, 2010
Out of all the David Eddings I've read, this has been one of my least favorite. I found that there was a lot of needless repetition. Also, for a war, there hasn't been any danger to the main cast of characters.
July 6, 2019
3 ½ Stars
Crystal Gorge is the third book in The Dreamers Series by David Eddings. This series takes place in a new ‘universe’, but the stories feel a lot like Mr. Eddings other books but are my least favourite of his stories.
I did enjoy the books, but for me they don’t feel quite as epic as his other reads. These books were a little slow in places, and I found it hard to ‘get into’ the stories- in comparison to his other works. Some of the books, especially the first book, feel way too long- and would have worked just as well, if not better, if they had been shortened. There was a lot of dialogue, and a lot of repeated information, which was frustrating and slowed down the flow of the story/stories.
The world building though, was really well done, as expected from Mr. Eddings. The fantasy and adventure was fun- if not a little corny and cheesy in parts.
This is a story of Gods, Monsters, and humans- and even though I have rated it lower than his other work, it is still worth the read for a true fantasy lover.
The Dreamers Series Books are:
-The Elder Gods (Book #1)
-The Treasured One (Book #2)
-Crystal Gorge (Book #3)
-The Younger Gods (Book #4)
Happy Reading!
Crystal Gorge is the third book in The Dreamers Series by David Eddings. This series takes place in a new ‘universe’, but the stories feel a lot like Mr. Eddings other books but are my least favourite of his stories.
I did enjoy the books, but for me they don’t feel quite as epic as his other reads. These books were a little slow in places, and I found it hard to ‘get into’ the stories- in comparison to his other works. Some of the books, especially the first book, feel way too long- and would have worked just as well, if not better, if they had been shortened. There was a lot of dialogue, and a lot of repeated information, which was frustrating and slowed down the flow of the story/stories.
The world building though, was really well done, as expected from Mr. Eddings. The fantasy and adventure was fun- if not a little corny and cheesy in parts.
This is a story of Gods, Monsters, and humans- and even though I have rated it lower than his other work, it is still worth the read for a true fantasy lover.
The Dreamers Series Books are:
-The Elder Gods (Book #1)
-The Treasured One (Book #2)
-Crystal Gorge (Book #3)
-The Younger Gods (Book #4)
Happy Reading!
May 26, 2021
titular sentence:
p165: "I went down and had a look at the canyon called 'Crystal Gorge,' and we'll need a good strong fort to hold back the bug-man when they begin their attack, and Narasan's men make better forts than my men can."
This addresses several current social issues, like social distancing, surprisingly. Still felt repetitive, like its predecessors, unfortunately.
p165: "I went down and had a look at the canyon called 'Crystal Gorge,' and we'll need a good strong fort to hold back the bug-man when they begin their attack, and Narasan's men make better forts than my men can."
This addresses several current social issues, like social distancing, surprisingly. Still felt repetitive, like its predecessors, unfortunately.
December 30, 2018
The Belgariad was the series that really got me engrossed in the fantasy genre and ignited my passion for reading. As such I regard the works of David and Leigh Eddings highly and eagerly await all their work.
In saying that The Crystal Gorge is the first Eddings novel that has left me feeling empty as I turned the last page. And to be honest it took me a good 2 months to complete it, whereas most Eddings works are "devoured" in 2 days.
As has been mentioned in other reviews I find the trend of repeating the same events over and over from alternate characters Point of View gets tiresome very quickly. However, I believe I could live with that if the Eddings "voice" hadn't become so stale.
The most frustrating thing for me about the Crystal Gorge is that all the characters "sound" the same. Yes, the differing races have slight variations in their dialect and word choices. However, when they speak if it didn't have their name beside it I would be totally lost as to who made that comment, as anywhere up to a dozen characters could have made that statement.
I apologise to again refer to The Belagariad. Yet in that series I knew each character intimately. I could close my eyes and have someone read me a line and I would know straight away that was something Silk would say or do. The same went for Barak, Pol, Garion, Belgarath etc. However, in the Crystal Gorge, if I tried that it would be a complete guess as to whether it was Longbow, Narasan, Sorgan, Padan, Rabbit etc. They all tell the same jokes, have the same sense of humour. In fact you have never meant so many people from such varying races and cultures so in tune with each other.
In saying that The Crystal Gorge is the first Eddings novel that has left me feeling empty as I turned the last page. And to be honest it took me a good 2 months to complete it, whereas most Eddings works are "devoured" in 2 days.
As has been mentioned in other reviews I find the trend of repeating the same events over and over from alternate characters Point of View gets tiresome very quickly. However, I believe I could live with that if the Eddings "voice" hadn't become so stale.
The most frustrating thing for me about the Crystal Gorge is that all the characters "sound" the same. Yes, the differing races have slight variations in their dialect and word choices. However, when they speak if it didn't have their name beside it I would be totally lost as to who made that comment, as anywhere up to a dozen characters could have made that statement.
I apologise to again refer to The Belagariad. Yet in that series I knew each character intimately. I could close my eyes and have someone read me a line and I would know straight away that was something Silk would say or do. The same went for Barak, Pol, Garion, Belgarath etc. However, in the Crystal Gorge, if I tried that it would be a complete guess as to whether it was Longbow, Narasan, Sorgan, Padan, Rabbit etc. They all tell the same jokes, have the same sense of humour. In fact you have never meant so many people from such varying races and cultures so in tune with each other.
March 1, 2013
This review is for whole "The Dreamers" series
In sort: all four books are terrible. The characters are plain and easily forgotten (one which I can remember is a guy who was good at shooting a bow, his name was Longbow or probably something along the lines), there is cheating around every corner (Eddings was cheating a little bit more and more with every book, but in this one it's just too much), the writing style is terrible and feels like listening to two idiots talking between themselves. The book just doesn't provide any suspension to keep you interested in it. "We need a lot of gold to hire these soldiers, sure, I'm a god, I can make it with a blink of my eyes", "We need to get to the other part of the world or we lost, no problem, I'm a god and we are already here" and so on. And then eventually it gets a little bit interesting the book just takes it away "we are surrounded, the world is lost. Oh look the volcano erupted and killed all the baddies, we won.". And in the end you find out that all the story could have been written in few pages or sentences "The evil is upon the world, I'm the god I'm gonna go to the lair of evil, will the evil to stop, everyone is saved, the end".
I don't accept that these books were written by David Eddings, I just tell to myself he had a contract for four books from a long time ago but at the moment all he wanted was to die.
In sort: all four books are terrible. The characters are plain and easily forgotten (one which I can remember is a guy who was good at shooting a bow, his name was Longbow or probably something along the lines), there is cheating around every corner (Eddings was cheating a little bit more and more with every book, but in this one it's just too much), the writing style is terrible and feels like listening to two idiots talking between themselves. The book just doesn't provide any suspension to keep you interested in it. "We need a lot of gold to hire these soldiers, sure, I'm a god, I can make it with a blink of my eyes", "We need to get to the other part of the world or we lost, no problem, I'm a god and we are already here" and so on. And then eventually it gets a little bit interesting the book just takes it away "we are surrounded, the world is lost. Oh look the volcano erupted and killed all the baddies, we won.". And in the end you find out that all the story could have been written in few pages or sentences "The evil is upon the world, I'm the god I'm gonna go to the lair of evil, will the evil to stop, everyone is saved, the end".
I don't accept that these books were written by David Eddings, I just tell to myself he had a contract for four books from a long time ago but at the moment all he wanted was to die.
September 23, 2016
3.5 stars.
This books isn't bad, it's just not as good as the previous books. It focused a lot on set up and the 'wars' fought weren't actually 'fought' so per say.
So called Mother (a characters whose existence is suddenly well known without having been mentioned before in the first two books) provides just a bit too much of a safety net for our soldiers and warriors.
I enjoyed the expansion of knowledge of the land of the Malavi and The Northland of Dahlaine's part of the Land of Drahll. But at the end of the book I don't see the relevance those narratives had other than filling pages. It was also nice seeing more of the younger gods at the very end but I really wish they'd been brought in more often and were more prominent figures in this narrative. Seeing as the next book is title The Younger Gods I'm almost certain I'll finally get my wish.
The repetitive nuances in the previous books weren't as present here but the cast seemed to more or less be tossing around the /exact/ same jokes, which got just a little annoying.
Also, still not a lot of women, and the few that are in the book are simpled down to stereotypes despite how badass and powerful they have proved themselves to be - which sucks.
I hope the next books better, not to say this series is getting catatonically worse but it has yet to better itself. Still enjoying the read, just wanting more y'know?
This books isn't bad, it's just not as good as the previous books. It focused a lot on set up and the 'wars' fought weren't actually 'fought' so per say.
So called Mother (a characters whose existence is suddenly well known without having been mentioned before in the first two books) provides just a bit too much of a safety net for our soldiers and warriors.
I enjoyed the expansion of knowledge of the land of the Malavi and The Northland of Dahlaine's part of the Land of Drahll. But at the end of the book I don't see the relevance those narratives had other than filling pages. It was also nice seeing more of the younger gods at the very end but I really wish they'd been brought in more often and were more prominent figures in this narrative. Seeing as the next book is title The Younger Gods I'm almost certain I'll finally get my wish.
The repetitive nuances in the previous books weren't as present here but the cast seemed to more or less be tossing around the /exact/ same jokes, which got just a little annoying.
Also, still not a lot of women, and the few that are in the book are simpled down to stereotypes despite how badass and powerful they have proved themselves to be - which sucks.
I hope the next books better, not to say this series is getting catatonically worse but it has yet to better itself. Still enjoying the read, just wanting more y'know?
June 6, 2008
Okay, what happened? There was a time (Belgariad, the Elenium) when the Eddings plots were fresh and new, when we loved their witty characters and felt included in their inside jokes and smug confidence; when we read them because they gave you that adventure movie feel like Indiana Jones. It's been a while since I read the first two, and they weren't really that great, but this one has begun the trend of extreme yuck. Not only are we down to recycled characters and lines from our better days, the writing doesn't even flow in any sort of enjoyable way; we keep jumping backwards and reading the same scenes from the perspective of another character. There doesn't seem to be a purpose to re-reading the scene as there generally wasn't any particularly new insight from the new perspective, and instead it starts to get confusing because even though the general conversation remains the same, the specific change. In fact, I'm not entirely sure about some of those conversations still; maybe they just have the same conversation over and over again and come to the same conclusion. Disappointing overall.
November 4, 2013
It was hard to accept, seeing as how I love the Belgariad and Mallorean so much, how much I hated this book and the entire series.
All he does is recycle the same story lines and characters with different names. In this book, he couldn't even come up with a full plot, and just recycled one little part among several different character's PoV.
The writing that was so fresh and witty in his first works has been reduced to a dry and boring formula. Mr. Eddings said a long time ago that people shouldn't write in the genres they love. Perhaps if had not formed that opinion, and loved his genre, he would have been able to see how this story and writing is simply unacceptable and a betrayal to all the fans that have stuck with him for so long.
All he does is recycle the same story lines and characters with different names. In this book, he couldn't even come up with a full plot, and just recycled one little part among several different character's PoV.
The writing that was so fresh and witty in his first works has been reduced to a dry and boring formula. Mr. Eddings said a long time ago that people shouldn't write in the genres they love. Perhaps if had not formed that opinion, and loved his genre, he would have been able to see how this story and writing is simply unacceptable and a betrayal to all the fans that have stuck with him for so long.
August 14, 2012
Harvoin tulee luettua vapaaehtoisesti niin huonoa kirjaa, ettei siitä ole juuri mitään hyvää sanottavaa. Juoni on kökkö ja ennalta-arvattava, henkilöt suoria kopioita aiemmista kirjoista, maailma on täynnä aukkoja ja kieli on tönkköä ja täynnä toistoa. Samoja asioita toistetaan moneen kertaan, eri henkilöiden näkökulmasta. Suomentaja on myös mokannut pahemman kerran käyttämällä sellaisia fantasiakiejaam sopimattomia sanoja kuin tavis ja öttäri... Taitto on myös epäonnistunut, sivuilla on todella vähän tekstiä ja marginaalit monta senttiä. Tyhjiä, uuden osan välisiä sivuja on myös liikaa. En tiedä miten edes jaksoin lukea loppuun koko kirjan, saa nähdä, jääkö sarjan viimeinen osa kirjaston hyllyyn odottamaan muita lukijoita.
October 24, 2012
The first half suffers from this series tendency to repeat the same stuff over (and over,)again, but at least it didn't fully recap the events of the second book. The second half is straight through story.
But still, almost every character, new and old alike, has the same damn personality. The gentlemen from the horse culture and the Amazon queen do act confused occasionally, but they then turn around with the same-style sarcastic quip sense of humor that everyone else has.
Much as the most interesting PoV's in the last book were the Vlagh in the introduction and the chapters based on the avarice ridden ex-priest turned military officer, the only unique voices in this book belonged to the Vlagh-spawn in the introduction and one short chapter featuring a insanely delusional king.
But still, almost every character, new and old alike, has the same damn personality. The gentlemen from the horse culture and the Amazon queen do act confused occasionally, but they then turn around with the same-style sarcastic quip sense of humor that everyone else has.
Much as the most interesting PoV's in the last book were the Vlagh in the introduction and the chapters based on the avarice ridden ex-priest turned military officer, the only unique voices in this book belonged to the Vlagh-spawn in the introduction and one short chapter featuring a insanely delusional king.
December 30, 2011
*warm fuzzies* A total feel-good comfort read for me. I very much love the unexpected twists and unhappy surprises that take the characters off guard after all those preparations… And another character I love to hate! *happy sigh*
November 16, 2016
Not bad if you read it in translation. The Italian edition has been shortened noticeably.
With 20 pages remaining, I gave this book 5 stars, but then I was reminded on Aracia's storyline and just ughhhh. For me that's the main downside of the book.
The ableism continues, but their enemy is smarter than they think. Mwahaha.
With 20 pages remaining, I gave this book 5 stars, but then I was reminded on Aracia's storyline and just ughhhh. For me that's the main downside of the book.
The ableism continues, but their enemy is smarter than they think. Mwahaha.
June 26, 2020
Uhg ... rehashing the same story through two or more different characters ... and not a word different. This series is truly a labour to read and a massive let down from a couple of people who wrote such a riveting and fun set of books before this.
Will take a break before moving on to the next one. Yes I will endeavour to finish it.
Will take a break before moving on to the next one. Yes I will endeavour to finish it.
July 30, 2021
2021 Reading Challenge: fantasy
May 9, 2011
Under other circumstances, this could have been a three (or even four) star read. I would like to point out a few things that may influence your decision. You might like this book a lot more than me if:
1) You are reading this in its intended place as the third book in this series
2) You have not read any of David Eddings' other stories before
3) You aren't constantly being kicked out of the story by the overt similarities between this series and his past works.
A bit of Background
I first came across and loved Eddings when my sister purchased the Belgariad ( The Belgariad Boxed Set. I found the writing fresh, the characters well defined, and the plot was told in an engaging way. Then I read The Mallorean, where the characters were still mostly well defined, the plot was an *explained* repetition of the Belgariad. The only thing I noticed was a marked increase in the use of the words 'totally' and 'completely' and catchphrases jumping from one character to another. This trend continued through the Elenium and Tamuli, as well as Eddings' propensity for marrying off all of his characters--except for the celibate and eunuchs. Then came the Belgariad Prequels, where textual inconsistencies and an overuse of 'totally' and 'completely' or 'absolutely' could be explained away by first person stream of consciousness and unedited speaking and memory. And the characters were still fun and the story was still good. Then there was the Redemption of Althalus, which I sort of felt was [Belgariad+Mallorean+Elenium+Tamuli]/One book.
This brings us to The Dreamers.
When I read the Mallorean, I didn't have a copy of King of the Murgos, so I jumped from Guardians of the West to Demon Lord of Karanda, and found I could keep up just fine. So with that in mind, when I saw this book sitting in the bargain bin, I picked it up on the premise that it might stand alone, and if it didn't I should be able to pick up the story easily and it ought to make me want to read the rest of the series.
The problem of name repetition
I can understand a few names being similar to those used in the past, but the world of the Dreamers had so many name similarities to his last works that I wondered which character was being referred to.
There was Narasan, who was a good guy, and a general, but for ages, I saw his name, switched two letters out and thought of Naradas, the white eyed henchman of Zandramas from the Mallorean. Then there was the ship, Seagull, which made me think of Barak's Seabird. There was a Captain Sorgun, who made me think of Captain Sorgi, who Sparhawk keeps running into in the Tamuli. Then there were the Maags, who just needed an 'r' to become the matriarchal, free loving, cannibalistic and exterminated Marags, and Trog needed it's 'g' switched for a 'b' to become that place where Sparhawk pretended to go to hunt down a fictional mermaid. Take an 'm' off the Matans and they became the warrior Atans of the Tamuli, and the bug people used the phrase 'man-things' to describe humans. Just like Eddings' wolves. There were red church soldiers, just like in the Elenium (and if you really want to stretch it, like the red garbed Mallorean army in The Belgariad).
Thematically there were other repetitions
The constant 'ship/boat' joke first observed between Barak and Silk (and later Garion and everyone) showed up, the Maags seemed to be Chereks in disguise, just as the Malavi appeared to be a cross between the Algars and the Peloi, down to the herding of cattle, and the collection of ears and trophies. Eleria seemed to have echoes of Aphrael (and just a little of Emmy). The phrases 'cheating' and 'tampering' were sprinkled liberally throughout the text, just like all the others, and the book contained the now familiar sniping between Belgarath and Polgara--sorry, that was meant to be Dahlaine and Zelana. He also re-used the floating log pier idea first seen in the Tamuli (this time trolls didn't have anything to do with it though), and the 'Lumpy Map' was remarkably similar to the Troll God map from the Tamuli--I think it was Gnomb, the God of Eat that made it? There was also an 'unknown friend' that at first had overtones of 'Garion's friend'.
But that's when things got boring
To be fair, Eddings has always used gods in his fantasy stories. In the Belgarian/Mallorean they were there as creators of the world and focuses of religion, but they were removed and secondary to the combating Purposes of the Universe: the prophecies. In The Redemption of Althalus, there the three Gods, two of which were duking it out. The point was, both sides had a God and equal raw firepower. The Elenium and Tamuli were the first time we saw an Elder/Younger God split pantheon. Gods in that world weren't all powerful, and again, there were active gods on both sides. First it was Aphrael/Azash and then it was Aphrael+Troll Gods/Cyrgai, but really the second series was about powers bigger than the gods: Bhelliom and Klael. The point was, the powers were balanced. The heroes had help, certainly, but the other side had just as much support, at least in theory. This meant the heroes had no guarantee (other than the standard fantasy quest narrative) of success. There was something big at stake, typically a love, or a world or the universe, and the *characters* had no guarantee of success.
Not so in The Dreamers. From what I understood, they had a big buggy hive mind, called the Vlagh, and her fast evolving servants invading the lands of men. Each time they invade, they get stymied by an amazing display of power greater than that of the Gods from an 'unknown friend'. In this book, it gets to the point where the characters bank on that happening again. Once it's revealed the all powerful mother Goddess figure is already in the middle of the protagonist camp (incidentally reeking of Poledra, although every time she got near a stove I wanted to add a 'Polg' in front of her name for consistency), the stakes the gone. We know she's going to intervene and save the day and all the heroic posturing and tactical strategising doesn't mean anything because we already know she's going to do something awesome (using marsh gas/firedamp as Aphrael and Setras did against the soldiers of Klael incidentally). Essentially, the book lost its dramatic tension.
I had a few other gripes, most notably the retelling of events from different viewpoints in different chapters, which often got me confused as to where in the timestream I was actually reading. However, I'm certain that with the best writing and narrative, I'd have adapted. As it stood I didn't want to.
Look the point is, for me there was far too much baggage stopping me from engaging with the work properly. This might not be the same for you. However, if you were going to read Eddings for the first time, I don't see why you wouldn't start with The Belgariad. I still consider it his best work. And it is outstanding. I gave it all five stars for very good reason.
1) You are reading this in its intended place as the third book in this series
2) You have not read any of David Eddings' other stories before
3) You aren't constantly being kicked out of the story by the overt similarities between this series and his past works.
A bit of Background
I first came across and loved Eddings when my sister purchased the Belgariad ( The Belgariad Boxed Set. I found the writing fresh, the characters well defined, and the plot was told in an engaging way. Then I read The Mallorean, where the characters were still mostly well defined, the plot was an *explained* repetition of the Belgariad. The only thing I noticed was a marked increase in the use of the words 'totally' and 'completely' and catchphrases jumping from one character to another. This trend continued through the Elenium and Tamuli, as well as Eddings' propensity for marrying off all of his characters--except for the celibate and eunuchs. Then came the Belgariad Prequels, where textual inconsistencies and an overuse of 'totally' and 'completely' or 'absolutely' could be explained away by first person stream of consciousness and unedited speaking and memory. And the characters were still fun and the story was still good. Then there was the Redemption of Althalus, which I sort of felt was [Belgariad+Mallorean+Elenium+Tamuli]/One book.
This brings us to The Dreamers.
When I read the Mallorean, I didn't have a copy of King of the Murgos, so I jumped from Guardians of the West to Demon Lord of Karanda, and found I could keep up just fine. So with that in mind, when I saw this book sitting in the bargain bin, I picked it up on the premise that it might stand alone, and if it didn't I should be able to pick up the story easily and it ought to make me want to read the rest of the series.
The problem of name repetition
I can understand a few names being similar to those used in the past, but the world of the Dreamers had so many name similarities to his last works that I wondered which character was being referred to.
There was Narasan, who was a good guy, and a general, but for ages, I saw his name, switched two letters out and thought of Naradas, the white eyed henchman of Zandramas from the Mallorean. Then there was the ship, Seagull, which made me think of Barak's Seabird. There was a Captain Sorgun, who made me think of Captain Sorgi, who Sparhawk keeps running into in the Tamuli. Then there were the Maags, who just needed an 'r' to become the matriarchal, free loving, cannibalistic and exterminated Marags, and Trog needed it's 'g' switched for a 'b' to become that place where Sparhawk pretended to go to hunt down a fictional mermaid. Take an 'm' off the Matans and they became the warrior Atans of the Tamuli, and the bug people used the phrase 'man-things' to describe humans. Just like Eddings' wolves. There were red church soldiers, just like in the Elenium (and if you really want to stretch it, like the red garbed Mallorean army in The Belgariad).
Thematically there were other repetitions
The constant 'ship/boat' joke first observed between Barak and Silk (and later Garion and everyone) showed up, the Maags seemed to be Chereks in disguise, just as the Malavi appeared to be a cross between the Algars and the Peloi, down to the herding of cattle, and the collection of ears and trophies. Eleria seemed to have echoes of Aphrael (and just a little of Emmy). The phrases 'cheating' and 'tampering' were sprinkled liberally throughout the text, just like all the others, and the book contained the now familiar sniping between Belgarath and Polgara--sorry, that was meant to be Dahlaine and Zelana. He also re-used the floating log pier idea first seen in the Tamuli (this time trolls didn't have anything to do with it though), and the 'Lumpy Map' was remarkably similar to the Troll God map from the Tamuli--I think it was Gnomb, the God of Eat that made it? There was also an 'unknown friend' that at first had overtones of 'Garion's friend'.
But that's when things got boring
To be fair, Eddings has always used gods in his fantasy stories. In the Belgarian/Mallorean they were there as creators of the world and focuses of religion, but they were removed and secondary to the combating Purposes of the Universe: the prophecies. In The Redemption of Althalus, there the three Gods, two of which were duking it out. The point was, both sides had a God and equal raw firepower. The Elenium and Tamuli were the first time we saw an Elder/Younger God split pantheon. Gods in that world weren't all powerful, and again, there were active gods on both sides. First it was Aphrael/Azash and then it was Aphrael+Troll Gods/Cyrgai, but really the second series was about powers bigger than the gods: Bhelliom and Klael. The point was, the powers were balanced. The heroes had help, certainly, but the other side had just as much support, at least in theory. This meant the heroes had no guarantee (other than the standard fantasy quest narrative) of success. There was something big at stake, typically a love, or a world or the universe, and the *characters* had no guarantee of success.
Not so in The Dreamers. From what I understood, they had a big buggy hive mind, called the Vlagh, and her fast evolving servants invading the lands of men. Each time they invade, they get stymied by an amazing display of power greater than that of the Gods from an 'unknown friend'. In this book, it gets to the point where the characters bank on that happening again. Once it's revealed the all powerful mother Goddess figure is already in the middle of the protagonist camp (incidentally reeking of Poledra, although every time she got near a stove I wanted to add a 'Polg' in front of her name for consistency), the stakes the gone. We know she's going to intervene and save the day and all the heroic posturing and tactical strategising doesn't mean anything because we already know she's going to do something awesome (using marsh gas/firedamp as Aphrael and Setras did against the soldiers of Klael incidentally). Essentially, the book lost its dramatic tension.
I had a few other gripes, most notably the retelling of events from different viewpoints in different chapters, which often got me confused as to where in the timestream I was actually reading. However, I'm certain that with the best writing and narrative, I'd have adapted. As it stood I didn't want to.
Look the point is, for me there was far too much baggage stopping me from engaging with the work properly. This might not be the same for you. However, if you were going to read Eddings for the first time, I don't see why you wouldn't start with The Belgariad. I still consider it his best work. And it is outstanding. I gave it all five stars for very good reason.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 4, 2022
I never thought I'd say this about a David Eddings series, but this is just not worth the frustration anymore. I've doggedly pushed through two mediocre books and had high hopes that book 3 would finally start to bring some of the Eddings magic that made the Belgariad and The Mallorean so enjoyable. Never happens, and I'm bailing on it now.
Just like the previous books, Crystal Gorge is a bloated mess filled with repetition, stale jokes, and characters that I can't tell apart. Once again I have to suffer through a rehash of the previous book through the eyes of a different character. POV from a new character covering old events can work if it brings some new revelations of meanings to said events, but that's not the case here. It's almost like a copy/paste job and is painful to read, especially when like me, you start Book 3 immediately upon finishing Book 2.
In the end, all three books so far have read identically: the good guys spend the entire book building forts and exchanging sarcastic jokes, the evil wasteland creatures make a few half hearted attacks, then some divine power just wipes out all the enemies with a natural disaster, which makes me wonder why they wouldn't just do that to begin with and save everyone the trouble, Of course that would make hiring all these people to "fight" (and I use that term loosely since there are no action scenes here) the wars redundant, but I guess if they led off with that there wouldn't be a series.
This has been one of the most frustrating and difficult series to read I've ever encountered, and I've had enough. I honestly don't care how it ends and I have far too many other books to choose from to waste anymore time on this. The constant repetition of events, the fact that all the characters have the exact same sense of humor and make the same tired old jokes again and again, and the lack of any kind of battle scenes are some of the many reasons why this series has failed on every level. It makes me incredibly sad that an extremely talented author like David Eddings left this as his last book series before he passed away. I'm going to go reread the Belgariad now and try and forget the fact that the Dreamers even exists.
Just like the previous books, Crystal Gorge is a bloated mess filled with repetition, stale jokes, and characters that I can't tell apart. Once again I have to suffer through a rehash of the previous book through the eyes of a different character. POV from a new character covering old events can work if it brings some new revelations of meanings to said events, but that's not the case here. It's almost like a copy/paste job and is painful to read, especially when like me, you start Book 3 immediately upon finishing Book 2.
In the end, all three books so far have read identically: the good guys spend the entire book building forts and exchanging sarcastic jokes, the evil wasteland creatures make a few half hearted attacks, then some divine power just wipes out all the enemies with a natural disaster, which makes me wonder why they wouldn't just do that to begin with and save everyone the trouble, Of course that would make hiring all these people to "fight" (and I use that term loosely since there are no action scenes here) the wars redundant, but I guess if they led off with that there wouldn't be a series.
This has been one of the most frustrating and difficult series to read I've ever encountered, and I've had enough. I honestly don't care how it ends and I have far too many other books to choose from to waste anymore time on this. The constant repetition of events, the fact that all the characters have the exact same sense of humor and make the same tired old jokes again and again, and the lack of any kind of battle scenes are some of the many reasons why this series has failed on every level. It makes me incredibly sad that an extremely talented author like David Eddings left this as his last book series before he passed away. I'm going to go reread the Belgariad now and try and forget the fact that the Dreamers even exists.
December 23, 2018
I'm starting to loathe rating these books at 3 stars. Objectively, I did enjoy the book, so the rating is fair. But particularly with this book, the shifting POV is really starting to irk me. With the first couple of books, it can be accepted as a stylistic choice. But having crossed the halfway mark, the cracks are starting to show.
Yes, there's bound to be some redundancy when they shift back in time to tell the viewpoint of a new character. But with this book there were specific instances where I honestly believe that they got their timelines crossed. So, instead of hearing the same conversation from a different angle, we got the same discussion occurring at two distinct times.
I started to think there was a method to this madness, perhaps the intent is to draw the comparison between the overmind of the Wasteland and the actions of mankind in this tale. But this unravels when you start to consider that the characters seem to randomly be aware of other revelations made by characters elsewhere or have forgotten some previous "genius" idea.
Here's hoping that the final volume will resolve some of the issues with this series, or at least, provide some reasoning behind the events that transpired.
Yes, there's bound to be some redundancy when they shift back in time to tell the viewpoint of a new character. But with this book there were specific instances where I honestly believe that they got their timelines crossed. So, instead of hearing the same conversation from a different angle, we got the same discussion occurring at two distinct times.
I started to think there was a method to this madness, perhaps the intent is to draw the comparison between the overmind of the Wasteland and the actions of mankind in this tale. But this unravels when you start to consider that the characters seem to randomly be aware of other revelations made by characters elsewhere or have forgotten some previous "genius" idea.
Here's hoping that the final volume will resolve some of the issues with this series, or at least, provide some reasoning behind the events that transpired.
May 11, 2025
I've always considered David Eddings one of my favorite authors having loved The Belgariad and The Mallorean since childhood, so this year I thought I'd dedicate myself to reading The Dreamers. I have to say, I wish I hadn't. What a disappointment! Many of the characters seem to have been lifted from other series by the Eddings duo and the repetition between and within each book... to be put it quite bluntly, it was awful. In some cases the same thing was explained three times over on the same page! And each time a new character was introduced the whole story was told again. I swear, the whole of the story could have been cut down to one or two books. I am still giving each book 3 stars because I did at least get through them all - it wasn't a DNF - I liked the concept, I liked the storyline, and I was amused by some of gags. It was an easy read, it just could have done with a blooming good edit.
NB having read the books as a series, I am posting the same review against all four books.
NB having read the books as a series, I am posting the same review against all four books.
July 16, 2025
More deus ex machina, and more repetition
This third novel in the series isn’t as bad as the second, but we still get some amount of the same story being told multiple times from different points of view. And once again, the main part of the victory comes from the miraculous actions of a (literal) god. The human armies do some amount of preparation and some small amount of fighting, then the god wipes out the entire enemy army in one fell swoop. It seems sort of pointless, to be honest.
Additionally, there are now so many significant characters that it’s getting hard to keep track of them all. Especially when new characters come with dozens of pages of backstory, and aren’t minor enough that you can just put them out of your mind.
Despite all this, the overall story arc is fun and interesting. I just don’t like the writing style.
Not recommended. I give it 3/5 stars.
This third novel in the series isn’t as bad as the second, but we still get some amount of the same story being told multiple times from different points of view. And once again, the main part of the victory comes from the miraculous actions of a (literal) god. The human armies do some amount of preparation and some small amount of fighting, then the god wipes out the entire enemy army in one fell swoop. It seems sort of pointless, to be honest.
Additionally, there are now so many significant characters that it’s getting hard to keep track of them all. Especially when new characters come with dozens of pages of backstory, and aren’t minor enough that you can just put them out of your mind.
Despite all this, the overall story arc is fun and interesting. I just don’t like the writing style.
Not recommended. I give it 3/5 stars.
July 19, 2017
This book is truly awful. The worst book in an already bad series. Repetition is sometimes unavoidable, but there was a scene in the book that happened no less than 4 times through the eyes of different characters. That would be okay if they were all adding something new to the scene, but that doesn't happen. It's literally the same scene. Other parts of the book, like clever lines the characters say, are sometimes repeated upwards of a dozen times. The plot of this book also does not add anything to the series as a whole.
November 4, 2017
Maybe because I started by tomo 3 I didn't get half of what was happening...Maybe I should invest in the previous volumes to get it right.
But this is like LotR. Same kind of dynamic and detailed description of everything. And of course, those space-time-charater jumps that may be a bit difficult to let you track and know all the characters and places which have action going on at the same time.
But this is like LotR. Same kind of dynamic and detailed description of everything. And of course, those space-time-charater jumps that may be a bit difficult to let you track and know all the characters and places which have action going on at the same time.
November 9, 2024
Always a good read
I'm revising this series after I read them when they first came out. Eddings is one of my favorite authors, and this set of books does not disappoint. Wedgie at times the story can become somewhat predictable, the wordplay between the characters is quite engaging and entertaining.
I'm revising this series after I read them when they first came out. Eddings is one of my favorite authors, and this set of books does not disappoint. Wedgie at times the story can become somewhat predictable, the wordplay between the characters is quite engaging and entertaining.
Read
April 29, 2025I thought this was the final part of a trilogy, for some reason I hadn’t realised it was the third of four books. I’ve enjoyed some of the character interactions but huge chunks of this and the second book are just characters recapping previous chapters to other characters and sadly I don’t think I have the energy or inclination to seek out the fourth book.
June 20, 2018
The Dreamers
This is for all four books in the 'Dreamers' series. The Elder Gods, The Treasured One, The Crystal Gorge & The Younger Gods.
3.5 stars. I enjoyed it!
This was a different prospect from the usual fantasy tales as the enemy wasn't your dragon or orc or sorcerer. But she was no less hell bent on taking over the world.
A lot of reviews for this book are negative, mostly because they are complaining that the book repeats itself. Thats actually kind of the point. The repeats are from totally different perspectives. The story from a god, the story from a soldier, the story from a corrupt clergyman. The story from the Treasured One.
I've always loved David Eddings for his likeable and believable characters. Although this is no Belgariad, This is 'Eddings Lite'. Not particularly a deep work, but I feel the characters are well defined to thier purpose and you learn more about them with each telling of the story.
I noticed that what was for all the talk of 'war' there really never was one, there was a lot of strategy, but when it all boiled down to it not a whole lot of fighting.
The thing that disappointed me was the ending, the last few pages. I personally think that the author could have tied the ends together to a far more satisfying conclusion.
Its not great writing but..
"Fun though!"
This is for all four books in the 'Dreamers' series. The Elder Gods, The Treasured One, The Crystal Gorge & The Younger Gods.
3.5 stars. I enjoyed it!
This was a different prospect from the usual fantasy tales as the enemy wasn't your dragon or orc or sorcerer. But she was no less hell bent on taking over the world.
A lot of reviews for this book are negative, mostly because they are complaining that the book repeats itself. Thats actually kind of the point. The repeats are from totally different perspectives. The story from a god, the story from a soldier, the story from a corrupt clergyman. The story from the Treasured One.
I've always loved David Eddings for his likeable and believable characters. Although this is no Belgariad, This is 'Eddings Lite'. Not particularly a deep work, but I feel the characters are well defined to thier purpose and you learn more about them with each telling of the story.
I noticed that what was for all the talk of 'war' there really never was one, there was a lot of strategy, but when it all boiled down to it not a whole lot of fighting.
The thing that disappointed me was the ending, the last few pages. I personally think that the author could have tied the ends together to a far more satisfying conclusion.
Its not great writing but..
"Fun though!"
August 4, 2022
To be honest, I find that all this series isn´t up to Eddings usual quality. The story is original and has possibilities, yet it is repetitive in itd narration and dialoges and makes for slow reading.
February 25, 2023
Hi I've just finished reading David Eddings Crystal Gorge ( The Dreamers ) along with many more of David Eddings books, they are never boring. I now have a problem I've read all of Davids Books now I have to find another really good Author. I would highly recommend everybody to read his Books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 84 reviews