David and Leigh Eddings introduce readers to their newly minted Land of Dhrall with The Elder Gods, the first book in the four-book Dreamers Saga. Dhrall is under the gentle rule of four gods representing the four compass points. These gods are reaching the end of their terms of power when the god of the North brings four children who are destined to take over for them into his siblings' lairs. The children are dreamers and able to see the possible outcome of battles in a coming war with the evil creature that controls the wasteland at the center of Drahll's map. Thus, the gods and their young charges undertake quests to hire mercenary armies and thwart the initial invasion into their lands.

The book unfolds like a children's primer. This pedantic style proves to be heavy-handed for adult readers and will quickly try their patience. If the Eddings were trying to concoct a book that would be suitable for reading aloud to fifth graders they've succeeded, but even the most die-hard fantasy fan will tire quickly of the sing-song approach and plot twists that can be sniffed out from miles away. --Jeremy Pugh


From Publishers Weekly
Only die-hard fans of the bestselling Eddings duo (The Belgariad series) will enjoy this slow-moving, low-tension epic fantasy, the first in a projected four-book series. The Land of Dhrall dwells under the stewardship of four gods, each oriented with one of the four compass directions. Dahlaine and his brother, Veltan, rule the North and South, while their sisters, Zelana and Aracia, rule the West and the East, respectively. Dhrall's center is a wasteland under the control of That-Called-the-Vlagh, a dark, inhuman thing of vast patience, power and ambition. Prophesy speaks of the Dreamers, children whose dreams will defeat the Vlagh by controlling the natural forces of Mother Sea and Father Earth. Dahlaine and his siblings each raise a baby Dreamer; only after the precocious children start to dream does he reveal that they are actually fellow gods in the world's life cycle, reborn with no memory of their previous lives. Dahlaine and his siblings hire human mercenaries, who eventually meet the Vlagh's forces in battle, but the dark armies prove unexpectedly resourceful. Despite a variety of characters (pirates, gods, aboriginals, soldiers, etc.), all speak in the same unlikely, bland manner, and dialogue generally replaces action. The authors will have to pick up the pace in the next volume to keep readers interested.Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
The land of Dhrall faces menace in the figure of a dreadful hive-queen creature, the Vlagh, poised in the Wasteland in the middle of Dhrall's four domains with her armies of reptilian and insectoid creatures. The Elder Gods cannot kill to defend the domains, so they strive to enlist human allies among the seafaring, even piratical Maags and their longstanding enemies in the Trogite empire. That effort means work for the Elders most on view: Narasan, who talks to dolphins, and Veltan, who rides a pet thunderbolt. Each god has a dreamer, who, though apparently a child, is an incarnation of one of the next generation of gods and has no scruples about killing with floods or volcanoes. The tale's merely human cast is full of interesting members, such as Rabbit, the undersized Maag blacksmith, and Narasan, the Trogite general brought back from beggary to a command in the war against the Vlagh. Rather a departure for Team Eddings, this light but not lightweight, understated and ardonic series-opener bodes well for its successors. Roland Green
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FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
The Elder Gods is the first novel in The Dreamers, a projected four-book fantasy saga that also happens to be David and Leigh Eddings's first new series in a decade.

Four sibling gods -- Dahlaine, Zelana, Aracia, and Veltan -- rule over the realm known as Dhrall, and every 25,000 years the exhausted elders pass their duties on to four younger gods. As time approaches for another "changing of the gods," Dahlaine glimpses the future and sees That-Called-the-Vlagh -- the ruler of the Wasteland in the center of Dhrall's four domains -- conquering the realm with its armies of insect-snake-human hybrids. Dahlaine decides to reawaken the younger gods early in the form of the Dreamers -- four children with the power to change reality through their dreams but who are unaware of their true identity. But even with the Dreamers' help, the elder gods will have to somehow find an army of warriors strong enough to defeat the evil hordes.

Although the legions of longtime fans of the Eddingses' previous bestselling series (The Belgariad, The Malloreon, etc.) will surely put The Elder Gods on the charts as well, fans may be somewhat disappointed with the ending, which is really just a respite between battles. The Eddingses do, however, set the table for some potentially fantastic storytelling in the volumes to come. And because their writing style is so clean, this novel -- and, by extension, the series -- may find a broader audience with much younger readers, as well as hard-core fans. Paul Goat Allen

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Somewhere beyond the farthest pole of the world, the Land of Dhrall lies anchored by the will of four powerful yet eccentric Gods. From controlling the weather to influencing the course of mortal men, these deities can bend reality to their whims. But bound by the laws of nature, they cannot take lives.

Yet the Gods are not the only power. For in the center of Dhrall is the Wasteland, the domain of a mysterious, voracious horror known as That-Called-the-Vlagh. A nightmare made flesh, the Vlagh has created a massive army of hideous monsters in a plan to conquer Dhrall and overrun the world. And now, at the end of a cycle of Time, That-Called-the-Vlagh may succeed.

In the coming battles the people of Dhrall will be aided by a ragtag force of pirates and mercenary soldiers. But the true warriors against the Vlagh will turn out to be four enigmatic children known as the Dreamers. Raised by the Gods themselves, these children have the ability to summon dreams that can alter the fabric of reality. And unlike the Elder gods, the Dreamers do not hesitate to use their powers to kill.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Only die-hard fans of the bestselling Eddings duo (The Belgariad series) will enjoy this slow-moving, low-tension epic fantasy, the first in a projected four-book series. The Land of Dhrall dwells under the stewardship of four gods, each oriented with one of the four compass directions. Dahlaine and his brother, Veltan, rule the North and South, while their sisters, Zelana and Aracia, rule the West and the East, respectively. Dhrall's center is a wasteland under the control of That-Called-the-Vlagh, a dark, inhuman thing of vast patience, power and ambition. Prophesy speaks of the Dreamers, children whose dreams will defeat the Vlagh by controlling the natural forces of Mother Sea and Father Earth. Dahlaine and his siblings each raise a baby Dreamer; only after the precocious children start to dream does he reveal that they are actually fellow gods in the world's life cycle, reborn with no memory of their previous lives. Dahlaine and his siblings hire human mercenaries, who eventually meet the Vlagh's forces in battle, but the dark armies prove unexpectedly resourceful. Despite a variety of characters (pirates, gods, aboriginals, soldiers, etc.), all speak in the same unlikely, bland manner, and dialogue generally replaces action. The authors will have to pick up the pace in the next volume to keep readers interested. (One-day laydown Oct. 14) Forecast: The inaugural volume of the authors' first new series in a decade, the book will hit bestseller lists initially but may have little staying power. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

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