The Losers

By David Eddings

Book Overview

Raphael Taylor was a golden boy--blond, handsome, charming, a gifted athlete and a serious student, an angel in every way. Damon Flood was a scoundrel--a smooth, smilling, cynical devil, as devious... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345385209
• ISBN13: 9780345385208
• Release Date: August 1993
• Publisher: Del Rey Books
• Length: 295 Pages
• Weight: 0.36 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 4.2" x 6.9"

Customer Reviews

A fascinating discourse on human society

This book is without a doubt something that will inspire you to think more about those people dependent on society to make themselves survive.David Eddings creates to great polar opposites in Raphael, a golden boy who tries to do well by others, and Damon, a man set on the destruction of him.Raphael is a strong character, whose desire to succeed on his own after a horrible, debilitating accident is wonderful. He simply refuses to become a statistic to the social workers that come to help him.Damon Flood is a very subtly twisted man. He reminds me of Steven King's Flagg persona...except he is even more subtle than Flagg ever was, and his reasons weren't for evil, but for personal reasons.This book, to me, is really David Eddings writing a very Steven King like novel. If you like Steven King, you should like this work. And if you like David Eddings, and don't have to have your reading be fantasy, this novel will be enjoyable. It made me think about human existance, and I liked that.It is out of print, it says. If you see it in a library, enjoy.

Deep

Sure- I bought this only because Eddings wrote it, I never expected it to be so good however. Not fantasy- I actually expected this book to be the start of a new path for the author. Eddings style leaves you feeling that you actually know the characters and I feel I could identify the building Raphe lived in if I ever was in Spokane. Little, unimportant details are left scattered about and really bring the story to life without slowing it down. I read this one in one setting!Occasionally depressing, but reality can be like that.

A Great Book...A Must Read

I had picked the book up thinking that it would be something along the lines of his other books...it wasn't. which disappointed me a bit, but that was greatly made up for by the fact that this is by far one of the greatest...if not the greatest...book i have ever read.

tragedy ( & triumph?) of one lost in the policy of modern US

Although I post a 9 out of 10 in quality it is only because my fervor for this title and its author may go unrealized to any given person. Edding's style is unique in that his character impetus is very subtle, usually occupying the place of undertone in complement with excellent dialogue and narrative. In "The Losers" he takes a modern setting and intertwines todays social dilemmas to craft an astounding and consuming thesis on the poor health of the American social services programs. Does Eddings proffer an answer? Simply, no. The text directly deals with the consequences of one found in an unalterable circumstance subject to an appalling degree of insincerity. So this mild jaunt into current American culture twists into the life of the protagonist and speeds his life downward in almost flawless Bergmanesque mode. My offering: read it. If nothing else it will leave you with a sense of personal opinion on the state of domestic practice and offer a tinge of insight into the challenges of a physically disadvataged individual in the constantly moving world which surrounds us.

A stunning indictment on the American welfare system.

I must admit I bought this book because it had the David Edding's name on it. A huge fan of his fantasy novels, I believed anything by Eddings had to be good. But, as I started the novel, I realized there was no Belgarath here! The first pass got me about a third of the way through and disappointed; I wanted another Belgariad. I put the book down with a sigh and went on with my life. About six months later I picked it up (because I had nothing else) and never put it down again. (I did the same thing with Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand twelve years ago, but that's another review). I realized this book was not a fantasy nor even a battle between good and evil - it was a view from the inside of todays welfare system! This engrossing story of a young man who looses his leg in an accident and his ensuing fight to not get sucked into the grips of social workers in Spokane, WA speaks volumes of what todays "caring" social programs and welfare does to people in need. The sub-story of good and evil - as portrayed by the main character Raphael and his best friend/destroyer Damon is interesting, but can lose the reader in the beginning. The reader can easily read too much between the lines and get frustrated by it never playing out (hence my first impression), but if you stick with it, you will stop trying to make too much out of that aspect and become swept up in the main plot. This book works on many levels and will not disappoint