The Redemption of Althalus

by David and Leigh Eddings

The book I am reviewing today is THE REDEMPTION OF ALTHALUS by David and Leigh Eddings. This book came out in 2000. It is similar to some of their other books so if you like this book I highly recommend THE BELGERAID/THE MALLOREAN and THE ELENIUM/THE TAMULI. All of the books are epic fantasy with heroic and humorous moments. They are kind of violent but otherwise rather clean. One of the first books I ever remember listening to my mother read is PAWN OF PROPHECY (The first book in THE BELGERAID. She was reading it to my older brother and I was in the room. (I actually wrote about it in my first journal. I didn’t spell it correctly at all.)

This is a standalone novel about a thief name Althalus. He has unnaturally good luck, most of the time. He ends up down on his luck and is given a job to steal a book from the house at the end of the world. Once he gets in the house, he can’t get out. A talking cat name Emerald holds him hostage. He learns to get along with Emmy and she teaches him how to read. She also tells him about the probable end of the world caused by Daeva who wants to rule everyone. When Althalus gets out of the house two and a half thousands years have passed and the world isn’t how he remembers it. But now he knows magic and he has some killer friends.

My older brother and I have always loved reading David Eddings and there are reoccurring character tropes, including a thief. We agreed that the thief characters were always the best characters in the series so when we read THE REDEMPTION OF ALTHALUS we were glad to see the thief was the main character. The book didn’t revolutionize fantasy writing, and as I mentioned earlier, it is similar to his other books. But the reason why I love this book is because it is a book that entertains me. The relationship between Althalus and Emmy the cat is fun and I just cheer for the good guys.