David & Leigh Eddings

The Belgariad — (1982-1998) Young adult. Publisher: It all begins with the theft of the Orb that for so long protected the West from an evil god. As long as the Orb was at Riva, the prophecy went, its people would be safe from this corrupting power. Garion, a simple farm boy, is familiar with the legend of the Orb, but skeptical in matters of magic. Until, through a twist of fate, he learns not only that the story of the Orb is true, but that he must set out on a quest of unparalleled magic and danger to help recover it. For Garion is a child of destiny, and fate itself is leading him far from his home, sweeping him irrevocably toward a distant tower—and a cataclysmic confrontation with a master of the darkest magic.

The Belgariad

Back before David Eddings became a shampoo-rinse-repeat sort of author, churning out the same old storylines and character types, there was the original Belgariad series, which remains by far his best work.

The premise is an old stand-by — farmboy discovers he’s not who he thought he was and, along with a band of helpers, goes on a quest to stop the world’s destruction/domination by the evil one. But Eddings manages to breathe a lot of life into the archetypical plot. His characters are gradually revealed throughout the series to have hidden layers of complexity, his main character, Garion, grows throughout the series, the tone darkens and deepens as one goes on, the world tour is detailed and interesting, the plot quick moving, and there is a great deal of humor laced throughout, often in the form of great character banter.

The Belgariad remains one of the better series to have come out, and in fact the formula worked so well that Eddings basically decided to use it again and again and again. Personally I found the repetition in later series grew too tiresome to tolerate, but none of that diluted the first joy that came with reading The Belgariad. It’s not as strong in its depth or literary creation as some others, but sometimes fun is enough.  —Bill   Comments

The Belgariad

There are those books that, when you read as a child, you adore, and on reaching adulthood find that they are still just as good. It was with great sadness that I recently realised The Belgariad is not one of them. It is still very good, but with my own maturation it has lost that certain something which, aged twelve, inspired sheer wonder.

The Belgariad starts with Pawn of Prophecy, and, after a prologue detailing a small but key passage from the history of that world, places us on an unimportant farm in an inconsequential corner of an insignificant kingdom. We are introduced to the young boy Garion, who is cared for by his Aunt Pol. He grows a little, a mysterious old man shows up (with a little bit of mischief and the extraordinary about him), he grows a little more and then they have to leave in circumstances our boy does not fully understand. They set out on an adventure clearly of much more significant importance than a cook, an old man, and a boy should have any part of. Sound familiar? That's because it is.

Even at eleven or twelve, when I first read David Eddings' maiden epic, I recognised elements of the plot right from its inception. On a reread, it feels tired and predictable — and in truth it is, to a certain extent. This is a fairly simple tale of a MacGuffin quest with the adolescent far more significant than he seems at first glance, and the spectre of an evil foe lurking in the background. The plot is simplistic to a certain extent, predictable in most extents (even as a child I spotted the twists coming several hundred pages in advance) and largely unoriginal almost in its entirety. But even with my most cynical hat on, The Belgariad still has considerable merit.

Simply put, Eddings' can turn a phrase and absorb his reader like few others. To use his own phrase, he has 'felicity of style' — that is, the words themselves are attractively and compellingly composed. And he is funny — few authors can make me smile the tenth time I read a joke of theirs, and Eddings can. His characters are funny as well — from the patronisingly sardonic Aunt Pol, to the cynical Silk and the mischievous Old Wolf, there are personalities that can keep one entertained at those points in the plot where one's attention may otherwise have begun to stray.

That is not to say that the characterisation here is exceptional, because it isn't. It is good, don't get me wrong — I feel I can picture many of these characters better than in a plethora of other titles, but they do lack a certain complexity and, in some cases, originality. The fantasy posse device is in force in this work, and its make-up is unlikely to stun or amaze any readers well-used to the fantasy genre.

While the overall plot itself is not particularly absorbing, some of the individual episodes the characters — particularly Garion himself — find themselves in are genuinely engaging, from the tense to the dramatic to the romantic. Eddings has a very human feel to his work, and where he does not quite set the world alight when dealing with the epic elements, even after many rereads I still feel excited, sympathetic and amused by the antics and adventures the characters go through. It is perhaps these elements, along with the humorous and enjoyable (if perhaps simplistic) characters that are the real strength of the work.

Eddings' world is highly detailed and one can genuinely understand it with alacrity, but it has some flaws. The first is that Eddings has clearly (and by his own admission) based some of the nations on real places from history — to a European (even a very young one), these are blindingly clear. The second, slightly more controversial flaw, is the stereotyping. Many nations in the world of The Belgariad have national characteristics, from the positive (hard work, bravery, and intelligence) to the negative (stupidity, greed, and duplicity). To some, this has been seen as distasteful, particularly when those nations have clearly been inspired by real countries. I would leave the truth of that viewpoint to the individual reader, but certainly I was disappointed somewhat by such a simplistic representation of a nationality, even one which has been completely fabricated from the author's imagination.

With the advantage of hindsight, this book is ideal for the adolescent just beginning to move between purely child-orientated fantasy and genuine adult books. Were I buying a fantasy book for a younger relative, there would be few titles I would pick above Pawn of Prophecy. The length of each book is undaunting and, while the series is five books long, it is not difficult to get through. The violent content is small and not particularly shocking, even when I first read it, and sex is something which is hinted at as happening but never detailed. For adults, I would still say that this is a series worth reading, but there are books and series I would endorse more strongly. If you are mainly concerned with substance (plot), this is perhaps not the series for you, but I would still suggest a venture; if you don't like it, you would have wasted little time. If you do, you have four more books to enjoy. If you are particularly fond of characters, humour, and entertaining episodes rather than a grand scheme, then this is to be strongly encouraged.

In summation, The Belgariad may no longer hold the high place in my pantheon of fantasy epics it once occupied, but it is still very good and worth a read — particularly by younger readers.  —T.D.   Comments

Pawn of Prophecy: Juvenile

I read Pawn of Prophecy as an adult, a few years ago. I had heard great things about it, so I was disappointed after reading it. The plot is typical "orphan boy saves the world" fantasy, the description is weak, the dialogue is often silly (humor is a focus, and much of the dialogue is funny — but it's not realistic). The pace is rapid, however, and I flew through the book in one day.

The Belgariad would be just right for a teenager (so I give it 3 stars), but not for an adult who's looking for something deeper to savor.  —Kat   Comments

The Dreamers — Publisher: While most continents float freely on the face of Mother Sea, the Land of Dhrall survives anchored by the will of the Gods. AllGods, Elder and Younger, share the people and the land of Dhrall equally. But the one place they never enter is The Wasteland: a barren and hideous wilderness ruled by the Vlagh-a god-like creature whose young are evil spawn. Now, as the Elder Gods are about to transfer their power to the Younger Gods, the Vlagh plans to take advantage of their weakened state and neutralize them, eventually conquering the world. To do so, it is breeding a terrible force borne of monsters and demons. But one ray of hope shines through the darkness: four children called the Dreamers. They alone hold the power to change the course of history....and stop the Vlagh in its quest for total world domination.