David Eddings was a recognized American writer, best known for writing fantasy novels. He authored numerous epic fantasy sagas with his wife, including The Malloreon, The Dreamers and The Belgariad, who remained un-credited for her earlier collaborations.
Born on July 7, 1931, in Spokane, Washington, David Eddings was raised in the City of Snohomish. In 1949, he graduated from Snohomish high school and then worked for a living before earning a degree in Speech, Drama and English from a junior college. He displayed innate talent for drama and literature, as he presented a magnificent performance in several dramas and also won a national oratorical contest. He attended the Reed College and obtained a Bachelors of Arts degree in 1954. Subsequently, he earned a Masters degree from the University of Washington. Before his conscription into U.S Army, he began writing a novel that was initially meant as his BA thesis.
After serving in the army, Eddings became a college lecturer. However, the teaching job did not promise a fair income, thus he left the job and moved to Denver. Here he worked in a grocery store and started the writing his first published novel. The novel, titled High Hunt, focuses on four young men hunting deer and explores the subject matter of coming-of-age and manhood like his other works. With its publication, Eddings realized that he could build a career out of writing and moved to Spokane. Although he had to work again at a grocery store in order to support himself, he continued to write several unpublished manuscripts. Most of these manuscripts follow the same thematic and structural pattern as of High Hunt, involving adventures and tragedies.
It was not until that he had a chance to see a copy of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings in its seventy-eight print that he realized that he could try his luck in fantasy writing. In fact, he had once inadvertently doodled a map that later served as the model of the world of Aloria, where he set his fantasy novels. The Tolkien’s fantasy fiction encouraged him to pursue the idea of fantasy writing.
The Belgariad series is marked as his first epic fantasy series. It contains five volumes, titles including Pawn of Prophecy (1982), Queen of Sorcery (1982), Magician’s Gambit (1983), Castle of Wizardry (1984) and Enchanters’ End Game (1984). Each one of the title is composed of a fantasy term combined with a chess term. The series charts the adventurous journey of Garion in quest to fulfill the prophecy to restore the balance of the world. It is observed that the story has a leitmotif called a Game of Destiny. Eddings continued the saga even after the publication of the last book by writing another five-volume sequel series, titled The Malloreon. The series follow the adventures of Polgara and Belgarath and other warriors. Moreover, he penned a set of follow-up books on these two epic fantasy series.
Eddings’s The Elenium and The Tamuli trilogy revolves around the the Pandion Knight Sparhawk’s and his companion’s adventures. His fifth and last fantasy series, entitled The Dreamers, centers on the epic war between Elder gods and another entity named Vlagh. In 2000, Eddings diverted his interest from fantasy saga writing, as he co-authored a stand-alone fantasy, The Redemption of Althalus, with his wife. The same year he again collaborated with Leigh Eddings and produced a contemporary thriller, titled Regina’s Song. In 2009, David Eddings died of natural causes.
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