The Redemption of Althalus

In search of some lighter fiction, I came upon a fantasy book by David and Leigh Eddings called The Redemption of Althalus. Deep in the fantasy genre, this book is about a thief named Althalus. As we are told in the very beginning,

It would be sheer folly to try to conceal the true nature of Althalus, for his flaws are the stuff of legend. He is, as all men know, a thief, a liar, an occasional murderer, an outrageous braggart, and a man devoid of even the slightest hint of honor. He is, moreover, a frequent drunkard, a glutton, and a patron of ladies who are no better than they should be.

After a terrible summer in "civilization," Althalus is asked to steal a Book from the House at the End of the World. Taking the job, he ends up getting stuck at the House with a talking cat who seems to have plans for him. Before long, she will send him to gather a group of men and women to fight evil, led by the man who employed him to steal the Book in the first place.

I did enjoy this book for the story and for some of the characters in the story. The plot has everything from a few love stories to a war, from corrupted religious officials to a bit of magic, and everything else one can think of. Dweia and Althalus are fun characters, along with several of the more minor characters but some of the characters were very flat. The bad guys are only bad guys and have no redeeming qualities to recommend them. Some of the story is a bit patchy in places as well. Althalus is on one track and then all the sudden, he and his group must do something completely different with little to no warning in the story line. While some of it is quite brilliant, or at least fun, some of it falls a bit.

I will probably read this book again but it won't be any time I am looking for something deep or terribly well written. For those lovers of fantasy books, this will probably be something up your alley, as long as you can look past the flaws. As long as you allow yourself to get into the adventure, you probably won't have too much trouble but I have read better fantasy novels before now.

Rating: 4.0