Demon Lord of Karanda (Malloreon Series #3) Book

Another Malloreon [re]read!

I've read this series so many times that writing reviews for it is beyond "difficult."

I've already mentioned that this series (and the Belgariad before it) has sexism issues.

Demon Lord of Karanda has those issues plus a very basic plot concern that flows through to the rest of the series (and some later books): The Belgarath/Rivan King lineage.

Polgara and Belgarion are descended from Belgarath and his wife, Poledra. When reading The Belgariad and The Malloreon the reader gets a pretty good idea of this all important lineage... Which then gets destroyed when reading Belgarath the Sorcerer .

I'm bothered that Eddings (and his wife) can't make up his mind as to Polgara's lineage/ethnic background. In all 12 of the books in this universe, Polgara is descended from Belgarath (father) and Poledra (mother). In Belgarath the Sorcerer Belgarath states that while he can't remember his original god he is sure he was not a follower of Belar - the god of the Alorns. Poledra is a wolf and she was born a wolf. Meaning neither character are Alorns.

IIRC one of the early books in The Belgariad states that Polgara wasn't an Alorn.

Now in The Malloreon it's mentioned several times that Polgara is an Alorn. But how?? Belgarath is not an Alorn. Poledra is not an Alorn. Polgara is the first born child and direct descendant of Belgarath and Poledra. How is Polgara an Alorn? If we want to go by the people she loved best/spent the most time around, Polgara would be a Wacite Arend, not an Alorn.

Belgarion IS an Alorn. Belgarion is of the line of Belgarath and Poledra but his line intermarried with the Alorns (founding the line of the Rivan King) after the recovery of the Orb of Aldur. So it makes sense for Belgarion to be Alorn but Polgara should be whatever Belgarath is.

"I thought that we'd more or less erased the Alorn side of your nature, Pol," [Belgarath] said to her.
Pg739 Omnibus Edition