David Eddings
David Eddings was an American author born on July 7, 1931, in Spokane, Washington. He grew up near Seattle and pursued higher education, earning a B.A. from Reed College in 1954 followed by an M.A. from the University of Washington in 1961. Eddings had a diverse career prior to becoming a full-time writer, including roles as a buyer for Boeing, a grocery store manager, and a college instructor. His literary breakthrough came in 1973 with the publication of his first novel, "High Hunt," but he truly found success in the fantasy genre starting in 1982 with "Pawn of Prophecy," the first book in the Belgariad series.
The Belgariad and its sequel series, the Mallorean, follow the journey of Garion, an orphaned farm boy who learns of his royal heritage and faces various adversities. Eddings' work is characterized by its epic storytelling and engaging characters, appealing to a broad audience despite some criticisms of narrative repetitiveness. He often collaborated with his wife, Leigh Eddings, who contributed significantly to many of his works. In 1998, he published "The Rivan Codex," providing insights into the inspirations behind his novels and acknowledging his wife's influence as a co-writer. Eddings' contributions to fantasy literature have garnered him a lasting legacy among readers.
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David Eddings
- Born: July 7, 1931
- Birthplace: Spokane, Washington
- Died: June 2, 2009
- Place of death: Carson City, Nevada
Biography
David Eddings, the son of George Wayne Eddings and Tehone Berge Eddings, was born in Spokane, Washington, on July 7, 1931. His formative years were spent in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle. He attended Everett Junior College from 1950 to 1952 and earned a B.A. from Reed College in 1954. After graduation, Eddings spent two years in the army. In 1961, he received an M.A. from the University of Washington. He married Judith Leigh Schall in 1962 and the couple settled in Carson City, Nevada.
Eddings explored a number of career choices before becoming a full-time writer; he was a buyer for the Boeing Company, a grocery store manager, and a college teacher. Finally, in 1973, Eddings published his first novel, a contemporary adventure narrative entitled High Hunt. It was not, however, until he settled on the fantasy genre after nine years of experimentation with various subgenres of fiction that he hit his stride as a best-selling author.
Starting in 1982, with the publication of Pawn of Prophecy, the first book in the Belgariad series, Eddings mastered the formula that was to make his name and enable him to earn a living as a full-time writer. The Belgariad series and the subsequent six-part Mallorean series chronicle the career of an orphaned hero, a farm lad first named Garion but later called Belgarion, who discovers over time that he is the heir to the king of the Isle of the Winds. Through a series of adventures pitting him against a host of villains, Garion gets many opportunities to exercise his latent intrinsic powers, both human and superhuman.
In response to the success of these series and two others, the Elenium and Tamuli series, Eddings published The Rivan Codex (1998), which contains a great deal of information about the medieval epics that inspired his novels. The book also gives credit to his wife Leigh Eddings, who was the unacknowledged coauthor of some of his early books and the acknowledged cowriter of most of his later books. Although he is sometimes charged with falling too easily into a repetitive narrative formula, Eddings has created epic fantasies that appeal to a wide readership.