Note added in Sept 1997:
In retrospect, now that this page has been up for a while, I can look back on these two reviews that I wrote over three years ago, based upon memories more than five years old, and perhaps add a little more insight. For instance, you may wonder why, given the astonishing similarity between the two series, why I rate the first so high and the second so low. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that I read the Belgariad when I was about 14. I think for a young reader without too much experience in the genre, this is a fine series and will be fun.
I read the Malloreon when I was about 17. At that point, I was much wiser (read: more experienced, not necessarily smarter) in the ways of the world of fantasy, and so not only did the plot devices seem rather stale and unimaginative (compared to, say, Donaldson, Brust, Tolkien to name a few), but the whole series just seemed so damned *similar* to the Belgariad that I was basically offended that it was sold to me as something new. Still, it might be appropriate for someone younger or less widely read. Then again, even at 14, I probably would've noticed (and been annoyed by) all the parallels.
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