I really struggled with what rating I should give this book.

It definitely has some pluses - Once you actually get into the story, it moves along at a pretty good clip and is an enjoyable read. The protagonist's & his companions' humorous, dry wit is sprinkled throughout the book; e.g.: "'Watch your mouth, Talen,' Kurik snapped. 'I can't, Kurik. My nose gets in the way."

But then there are the minuses - 1. It seems like it takes forever to really get into the actual story. This isn't surprising given that the author has created a whole new fantasy world. You can't really enjoy the story until you have the places, the relationships, the ethnic groups and their proclivities clear in your mind. The book has maps scattered throughout. I'm a map person so I really enjoyed those, but, especially at beginning, I found myself flipping back and forth to get the locations in the books set in my mind. 2. Too many times, I thought I was reading something straight out of the Harry Potter or Star Wars universe. Oh, and there's the parts of the story taken from Tolkein or the Ring Cycle thrown in for good measure. Those ideas just didn't seem original. E.G.: Two of the characters spent some time discussing trolls, how one was taken down, and its very large club. The entire time I was reading that part I thought about the bathroom scene with the troll in Harry Potter. Towards the end of the book, there are a couple of scenes where a young sorceress allows the heroes to move about freely among the villains knights by what amounts to a Jedi mind trick,this time accomplished with a flute. There's even a statement made that sounds exactly like Yoda's "move along, these aren't the droids you're looking for." As I got into the book, every time I saw "Pandion knight" written, I couldn't help but think of the term "padawan." I don't mind the ideas being reused, but they should be masked much better. 3. The book is not complete. By that, I mean not one thread of the story is completed by the end of the book. Everything is left hanging and there could just as easily be another chapter continuing the story thread immediately after the last one. Think of the Harry Potter universe. You definitely wanted to know more after each book; yet each book was a complete story in & of itself. There's nothing complete about this one. 4. I have absolutely no idea why the book is called "The Diamond Throne." If anything, it should be called The Ruby Throne.

Bottom line, I'll eventually finish reading the trilogy, but certainyl won't jump into the next volume. ( )

So, I've read the Belgariad and Mallorean a long time ago and found them enjoyable.
I also remember starting the Sparrowhawk saga back then but don't think I finished it. Definitely remember very little of it.

Easy reading. I enjoy the light witty banter between the main characters, although like in the Belgariad it starts to feel a bit repetitive and overdone.

However, probably only deserves one star if compared to any of the David Gemmel novels. Felt similar but inferior.

Eddings also gets lumped in the same sentence as Feist and I think I prefer Feist.

Been too long since I read any Shannarra books - wonder how this compares to Brooks?
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Hij is uit (en ik ben alweer halverwege het tweede deel) en ik geef hem drie sterren. Beetje weinig, maar vier sterren is het echt niet, vanwege een totaal gebrek aan originaliteit. Maar het leest heerlijk vlot (heb ik jullie al gezegd dat ik halverwege het tweede deel ben?) en het is een lekker onderhoudend verhaal. Wat wil een mens nog meer? (behalve dan een beetje originaliteit..) ( )

Reread March 2022: The last time I read this series was back in 2011. Eddings tends to be a comfort read for me though normally I turn to the Belgariad instead of the Sparhawk books. And now I remember why. The story is an old school quest/hero journey to save Queen and country from evil by finding a magical maguffin and one I enjoy even if it is considered tropey 30+ years later. Where this differs from Eddings' other series are the characters. It took me a long time to warm up to the characters. I finally got into the groove in the last quarter of the book and started to enjoy the story. We will see if the remainder of the trilogy changes my mind but this may be my last time reading The Elenium. ( )

Not as good as his previous series, also loses its shine when you are 30 ( )