The Diamond Throne by David Eddings (1989, Hardcover)

I bought "The Diamond Throne" to replace the copy I loaned to one of the students in the elementary school where I work. Apparently this book is so good, they decided to keep it! (As long as they read it, I'm not that upset about the loss of a great book!) This is the first of a trilogy called "The Elenium", by David Eddings. There are not many series that I read again and again, but this is definitely one of those. The author takes you into a world of magic, intrigue, mystery, and treachery surrounding the exiled Pandion Knight, Sparhawk, who is the Queen's Champion. He returns from exile to find his queen seated on the throne, encased in a diamond box-like structure. She has been magically preserved by a witch and some of the Pandion knights, after someone in the castle poisoned her. The spell will only last as long as the people who participated remain alive. When the last one dies, the Queen will die. The quest to find a cure and her poisoner lead the reader through many adventures with Sparhawk and his companions. As with many books, I dislike when a main character is killed off, though I do understand why it is done. Overall, this book makes an outstanding read!

This is the first in a new series for the time it came out. This book is the opening of another epic story by David Eddings that is continued in the Ruby Knight and Sapphire Rose. Having set the basis for the main character Eddings continues on from there in another 5 book series featuring all the characters he brought for in the Elenium Series. (That would be these first 3 books I mentioned)
True to classic form for David and Leigh they have a strong protagonist in the character of Sparhawk. In the Elenium the concepts of multiple gods and their earth bound followers, shades of ancient Rome set to a fantasy setting. Sparhawk is the Queens Champion of his kingdom and a member of a militant order of Knights that are the enforcement arm of the church. Something like the knights Templar during the crusades. The story has as many twists and turns as one could possibly expect in a truly epic story and the correlations to modern history and Christianity cannot be missed. Every book in the two series is a complete work in and of itself and the aggregate of the totality is overwhelming in size and scope. A definite must for the fan.