I loved this book when I first read it, probably around 2001 or 2002. Didn't love it as much this time; I guess I've changed in the last decade.

Fun interaction between characters and scenarios but slightly spoiled by the main characters basically having too much power. Hard to explain without giving away plot points.

Althalus is a thief, and a very good one. So good he is hired to steal a book from a god. But the job doesn't go as planned. Instead, he ends up working for the goddess Dweia, aka Emmy the cat, in an extreme case of sibling rivalry. They gather their force to counter that of the evil god Daeva in an attempt to keep harmony and balance in the world. The battle is centuries in the making, but good, of course, prevails in the end. And Althalus and Dweia live happily ever after--forever.

I enjoyed this fantasy adventure very much. I liked how Althalus and his friends learn to work together as they battle Daeva and the forces of darkness. I also like the use of "doors" to get from place to place (and from time to time).

I first read this book back in 2001, and have had my copy since then.
This book has been a beloved favourite of mine for so long, i deeply enjoy the bond between Emmy (Dweia) and Althalus, and loved the concept of the doors leading to anywhere.
Unfortunately my love of this book has been tainted by finding out that the authors are literal monsters who adopted children and kept them in cages.
So while i am giving this book 5 stars, due to it being a cherished memory of mine, i can no longer read it, or support the authors!

Having read some (alright one) of the Belgariad series I had high hopes for this book and I was not disappointed. All the characters are witty and loveable and you even find yourself enjoying the 'evil' characters as they have their own quirks and idiosyncrasies that allows you to warm to them slightly (while still wishing for their demise...strange mindset that I admit). The story is epic in every way and my only complaint is that it did get a little to long, primarily through the sheer level of detail that the Eddings' added to the story, which on one hand is fine (Tolkien pulled it off in all his works) but it did slow the story in a few places which was a shame. Otherwise the story flows well, is engaging and will keep the reader enthralled for hours, particularly as it approaches the finale.

The Redeption of Althalus is the first book I read by the Eddingses. Supposedly their books are good, but I found this one to be boring.This is over a 700 page book, and by page 520 I decided I just couldn’t read it anymore.

I found that the story was predictable and formulaic, which usually doesn’t bother me, but in this case it became really boring with the addition of long, drawn out, detailed explanations of battle tactics. I like reading about battles and such, but I don’t need this much detail behind it. The battles were also uninteresting and you have a pretty good idea who is going to win within a page or two. Additionally, throughout the novel there weren’t any surprises or twists in the story, so there was nothing to keep me intrigued. I don’t know why I even read as much as I did. I guess I figured it would get better.

The plot really did have potential and their were some interesting aspects to the book, but it was just poorly executed.

The characters were also one-dimensional and uninteresting. What I didn’t like were the descriptions of the characters. All the women on the good side were beautiful, the one woman on the bad side was ugly, and this seemed to be the same for the men. The fat characters were slow and lazy and the skinny characters were athletic. There wasn’t any variation. I didn’t really come to like any of them or think of them people. None of the characters had any difficulty completing their tasks or coming up with and executing ideas. They just weren’t real. I also did not particularly like some of the dialog between the characters. Calling someone “pet” is just a little strange. There was also a bit of repetition with the dialog and storytelling.

What I did like about the book was the lack of detailed violence. I would recommend this book for young adults because its not as graphic as many other adult fantasy novels. The writing was also good with few to no errors. As previously mentioned, the plot did have some interesting aspects and their was definitely potential for a better story.

I would recommend the book to young adults who haven’t read much fantasy or to people who really like reading about battles. Otherwise, I wouldn’t waste any time reading this book.

Not bad. not the best.

This was very readable, as Eddings books are. But it suffers, ironically, from being a bit TOO “Eddings”. The characters are echoes of earlier characters, and the plot - despite involving some timey-wimey shenanigans- is surprisingly linear. I don’t regret reading it; I’m unlikely to ever revisit it.