Polgara the Sorceress – David and Leigh Eddings

     I have discovered that this is a complicated book to review, not because it’s a bad book but because it is the twelfth and final book of a series. It is also a prequel to the series so it’s a little hard to review and not give spoilers. I re-read it recently because I haven’t got the others in the series (not that I need them since I've got them practically memorized) but wanted a Eddings fix.

     Polgara the Sorceress is about a several millennia old woman who happens to be able to do magic. She, her father, and her honorary uncles are all disciples of one of the seven gods. A few of the other gods have their own disciples, some don’t but this book is primarily about Polgara’s role in the war between the gods of their particular world and the fate of the universe in general. Both sides of this war have access to prophecies that outline important events and both sides try to influence events to make their side come out ahead before the final battle of Good versus Evil. All of the disciples of Polgara’s god, Aldur, get certain types of the populace to watch over and take care of up to and throughout events. At first, much of Polgara’s time is spent with the most formal (and sometimes silliest) of nobles and knights. Once the family line that will eventually produce their side’s version of the “chosen one” is almost wiped out, she goes into hiding with the one survivor. She then proceeds to raise a seemingly endless series of young boys until the right one is born. Once the right kid is born, the story ends because the characters have reached the beginning of the previous series.

     I really enjoyed this book as a teenager/young adult. After going back and thinking about some of the things that happen or what happens next, I become a little disturbed. If you are a disciple, you get magic and the ability to live for no one knows how long. To become a disciple, you have to use your magic and pretty much find another disciple to teach you. Now, Polgara has a sister who is normal, she dies (pretty much the first chapter so not much of a spoiler). At the end of the book, Polgara and another disciple both have kids. The kids don’t have magic. What would posses someone who might live forever to have kids that getting attached to would mean heartbreak? They would have to watch themselves grow old and creaky and eventually die, while their mother stays young and pretty forever. Wouldn't that tempt them to go over to the dark side as it were? Or to distance themselves from their parents at an early age? It’s like the beginning of the Highlander movie all over. I may be over thinking things again but too many questions go unanswered about other things in the book that are starting to bug me too. But! It is a decent book and a good wrap up to the series.