Pawn of Prophecy (Belgariad)

Hoping to purchase the first book in the Belgariad series, I purchased this edition. When it arrived today I was first disappointed to find it had no dust jacket at all, not even a library edition jacket. The book appears to be sun-worn, but has a very tight binding. Surprisingly, the copy I was sent appears to have not just the first book, but is a compilation of the first three books. All In all, it did not meet my minimum requirements, but managed to exceed some other of my expectations.

Such a wonderful series with surprisingly little to put you off. As a young girl I read these and found powerful and flawed female characters, as well as lots of humanity. Good solid fantasy series with more then I expected, holds up to a re-read many years later, and then again, and again. If you like the humor in these, I recommend terry pratchett.

It's summer, I have a habit of keeping books forever, and thus it is time to take a retrospective ramble through some of my favorite books. Like many people, pawn of prophecy was my introduction to David Eddings and I became fascinated with what first appears to be a coming of age story of Garion, a young boy in an old world, who grows up on a farm only to discover that there was quite a bit more to him than he expected. This volume only drops vague hints about Garion's personal history, so I'm going to keep a bit mum about it. Suffice it to say that, if he is important enough to have the two oldest sorcerers in the world watching over him, then he is very important indeed. The sorcerers in question are Belgarath and his daughter Polgara. Both are fiercely determined and wield sarcasm even better than they do spells. Danger threatens and a priceless artifact is stolen. They take Garion on the road with them and the boy of 14 going on fifteen gets a whirlwind tour of his world as Belgarath and Polgara first chase the artifact and then confront the council of the Alorn kings. While this is hardly children's fiction it spends the time to visit Garion's all too human confusion and fears. His guardians are slow to explain things to him and like any adolescent of that age; Garion deeply resents being treated like a child and craves more attention than anyone has time to give him. But he copes, and we gradually will come to understand that he is more than just a frustrated whiner. Eddings' strength is his talent for character building and sharp dialog. The basic plot isn't all that original, but the characters make everything come to life. You won't find extended paroxysms of ornate prose here. Eddings' people are irascible with the whole slew of human foibles and good points. The writer dotes on them, and despite the complex plot. There are long periods of small gestures and political nuance. This particular series, the Belgariad, is probably the best of Eddings' work. As time goes on he does recycle bits and character types. But any writer who counts 20 large volumes as output will do this, and I've seen far worse work done with much more fanfare. If you like pointed dialog and narrative in a book that frequently forgets to take itself seriously you will find this series will quickly steal both your interest and your heart. David Eddings may not be the next Tolkien, but is the next David Eddings, and that's quite good enough.

By reading the other reviews you can find out what this and the subsequent books in the series are about. But I want to tell you what it felt like to read this book.I first read the series about eight years ago (I was 15) and I still remember the sheer joy in reading that I discovered with these books. I remember more than one night that I picked up one of these books and just couldn't put them down. Not just one either. Those nights I failed to notice the clock tick past midnight, one, and two. I couldn't help picking up the next book "just to read the first few pages." At the same time though, I desperately wanted to slow down, to drag out the feeling, but I couldn't help but read a little more. Reaching the end was a truly painful experience.Since then I've read the series several more times, and every time I rediscover that joy. I hope others are as gifted by these books as I have been.

This book is the beginning of a long line of books by Eddings, and as such will most definately draw you into it. In The Pawn of Prophecy, Garion is a simple boy on a farm until a vagabond storyteller comes alongs and spirits him out of there along with his Aunt Pol and a smith named Durnik. Soon Garion finds out that his friends are no longer what they appear to be and many more join into their strange little band as they go along.As a beginning novel, this book is excellent because it has to introduce all the charecters, places and history of this new world, so most beginners, unlike this one, are a little boring and hard to keep up with because you are in a giant game of memory, however, in this one it's easy to follow and like all the others causes palpable pain when you close its pages.If you have a lot of free time get this book because if you don't have it you will be MAKING free time just to read it and the ones that follow it.

This book is just that: a story but that doesn't mean that it isn't good. Eddings has likeable characters and this series is one of the classics of the genre. It has all the components of a workable fantasy and was written with humour and verve. If you are looking for a book which will challenge you then don't read this book unless you want to post a snotty review lamenting the decline of the genre. However if you want a bit of escapism then go ahead. Eddings is just as valid as Tolkien and much more readable.

This series of books are literally the best fantasy novels I have ever read. No kidding! The main characters are very well developed and it is so easy to follow along with them in the story, root for them, worry with them, laugh with them, love them. The use of magic and descriptions of the powers and limitations of magic make it seem all more plausible and real. You will want to read the rest of the books in the Belgariad series and then read the Mallorean, which is a sequel series to this series. My only criticism is that the overall plot of the Mallorean stems from the reoping of something that seemed to have been concluded in the first series, the Belgariad. However, this is a small flaw and can easily be forgiven after experiencing the true joy of spending time with these characters. Pay particular attention to the relationship between Aunt Pol, Garion and the story teller at the beginning of the series. Be sure to look at the maps included with the books. Be familiar with the layout of the countries and land masses. They all come into play as Garion travels around the world in the series. This is definitely a series to purchase. The characters make this series worth reading over and over. I've read both series twice, and plan to continue to read them every couple of years for a long time. Even if you are not that interested in fantasy you will be when you are finished with "The Pawn of Prophecy." A HIGHLY recommended series. Happy reading!