Customer Reviews
Predictably Annoying - By: helloworld, 07 Aug 2007 
There is no subtletyin Eddings' works. Emotions are always hammered across - you never have to guess or imagine what a character is thinking or feeling. Add to that a dull storyline & you get one boring, tedious book. I expect a lot of people were hoping for a character with a bit more complexity with Polgara. It just doesn't happen unfortunately.
Nothing less than a direct consequence of Belgarath´s story - By: Belén, 14 Nov 2005 
"Polgara the sorceress" is a book that can be liked by everybody that enjoys reading an engaging fantasy book, but will only be fully appreciated by those who have already read "The Belgariad", "The Malloreon" & "Belgarath the sorcerer" (yes,in that order).
The reason for that emphatic statement is simple: this book is the autobiography of Polgara, one of the main charactersin those books. As such, "Polgara the sorceress" contains spoilers that could dim your enjoyment of the previously mentioned books. And believe me, "The Belgariad", "The Malloreon" & "Belgarath the sorcerer" are so wonderful that they fully deserve all the time that you need to read them first :)
"The Belgariad" & "The Malloreon" tell the story of a group of friendsin a dangerous & magical quest, while "Belgarath the sorcerer" recounts the same story from the point of view of one of the main characters, who has the benefit of being almost immortal, thus having a thoroughly different perspective regarding the events that preceded that quest & everybody involvedin it.
"Polgara the sorceress" is nothing less than a direct consequence of "Belgarath the sorcerer". Polgara is Belgarath's daughter, a sorceress & the guardian of the Rivan line. She didn't exactly agree with her father's version of what happened, & told her friends so. Despite that, Polgara wouldn't have gone so far as to write her own autobiography is Ce'Nedra (spurred by curiosity) hadn't plotted for her to do so.
Truth to be told, I specially enjoyed Polgara's take on what happened, & how she explained many things that Belgarath hadn't considered important. Also, I think that this book allows the readers to understand better Polgara's rolein the preparation of the "Events", & how she became "Lady Polgara" & "Duchess of Erat".
In my opinion, this is a book that the fans of "The Belgariad" & "The Malloreon" will thoroughly enjoy. I always liked Polgara, & considered her to be a very likeable albeit perhaps overly mysterious character. I really enjoyed reading about her life, & I bet you will too. Recommended!
Belen Alcat
refreshing - By: , 23 Jan 2005 I loved reading the Belgariad & Mallorean books, as before them I had not not even looked at reading what is termed science fiction.
I was delighted when I saw that, unlike many authors David & Leigh Eddings had decided to present the story from the perspective of the two main characters, to me it provides a refreshing & useful insight into the complex relationship between Polgara & Belgarath.
Having read Belgarath's "account" of what happend, it was interesting & enjoyable to get the account from Polgara's perspective. While Belagarth appears to be a forceful & complex charcterin the series, Polgara, particularlyin the Belgaried, takes more of a backgrouhnd role to the Garion story. Nethertheless, the books always hinted at the importance & complexity of her character, behaviour & relationships, particularly the relationship between father & daughter.
Unlike some reviews I have seen, I did not think Polgara came accross as particularly vain or petty, but as a complex & dynamic woman, very similar to her father, whichin part, explains their complex relationship. For me, the charcter of Polgara became much more real & lifelike, & explained many of her feelings & actionsin the Belgariad & Mallorean series.
I enjoyed the fact that unlikein many stories the relationship between Belgarath & Polgara was not one of husband & wife, but of father & daughter. I found it very amusing to read about the elaborate & imaginative ways the characters mask their real feelings for each other, through bickering & sniping.
The Polgara book similarly to the Belgarath story, enabled a more detailed & complete picture of the ongoing storyin general as well as providing a great tie-up to the series.
The Book also allowed, when re-reading the Belgariad & Mallorean, a deeper & more interesting understanding of not only Polgara & Belagarath, but also the development & progression of other charcters such as, Garion, Ce'Nedra, & Silk.
absolutely brilliant - By: , 26 Jul 2004 A must read book Polgara's story on events that involved her relationship with her sister,the other wizards & with her father Belgareth A lady with a hard exterior & soft interior it explains other parts of the story that others couldnt from her prospective.It tells you what she was doing when she was'nt with Belgareth Its brilliantly written I was amazed I thought it would be a book full of excerts from the series I was wrong I bought this book twice thats how high I rate it.If youve read the other books once you start reading this you wont want to put it down David & Leigh Eddings are one of the best fantasy writers around
Polgara the Sorceress - By: , 03 Aug 2003 I read the Belgariad & the Mallorean a long time ago & found them to be fantastic, I couldn't put them down. In fact I nearly got fired through reading one of them when I was supposed to be working!
But at the time this book didn't interest me enough to buy it, but I recently have & have found it to be just as good as the series, I sometimes find that companion novels are just a rehash of the original story but this insight into Polgaras upbringing was I thought, far from boring. This book helps you to understand her character & the occasional digs & comments to her father & the other characters that featurein the series made me chuckle.
I suppose I'm biased as Polgara is one of my all time favourite characters but I think anyone who likes the fantasy genre would find this book as fascinating as I did,in fact it's made me pick up the Belgariad & start all over again.
