Pawn of Prophecy
Ratings135
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings135
Average rating3.8
A magnificent epic set against a history of seven thousand years of the struggles of Gods and Kings and men - of strange lands and events - of fate and a prophecy that must be fulfilled! THE BELGARIAD
Long ago, so the Storyteller claimed, the evil God Torak sought dominion and drove men and Gods to war. But Belgarath the Sorcerer led men to reclaim the Orb that protected men of the West. So long as it lay at Riva, the prophecy went, men would be safe.
But that was only a story, and Garion did not believe in magic dooms, even though the dark man without a shadow had haunted him for years. Brought up on a quiet farm by his Aunt Pol, how could he know that the Apostate planned to wake dread Torak, or that he would be led on a quest of unparalleled magic and danger by those he loved - but did not know? For a while his dreams of innocence were safe, untroubled by knowledge of his strange heritage. For a little while... THUS BEGINS BOOK ONE OF THE BELGARIAD
Reviews with the most likes.
I was in the mood for classic high fantasy, and this book certainly captured that. It's a pretty straightforward quest story about a boy discovering his mysterious past and how the fate of the world hangs in the balance. It is very obviously the first of a trilogy, and as such primarily feels like exposition, but I think it will probably feel better as part of a whole rather than a stand alone. This book was written before 900 page fantasy novels were a norm, so I'll cut it some slack there. The series has been sitting on my shelf for a while in the “classics what I should have already read” section, so I'll likely finish it out.
It's been decades since I read this series. And I've been introduced to many, more recent, fantasy books. I have to say, this book stands up well today, not outdated or uninteresting to my tastes today. Good characters, the author doesn't veer off the storyline, and the pace keeps moving.
It's going back into my collection and not the repurpose box.
Old school epic fantasy with the boy from the farm who is the only one who doesn't know that he is to save the world.
Really good writing, but too slow for my taste. This book is as slow as The Wheel of Time, but the plot seems to be weaker.
About half way into the book and here the following is all that happens:
A young boy goes out into a journey with his aunt and some old storyteller/vagrant guy, both of which may be more then what they appear to be. They are both fleeing from some people and looking for something as well. They are also keeping some secret about the boy's true identity.
It is implied that the people that are looking for the boy, which is a whole race of them (race as in Men of the West from LotR) are known to serve this dark lord of evil, but they live among everyone else as if that is not a problem.
Series
5 primary booksThe Belgariad is a 5-book series with 5 primary works first released in 1982 with contributions by David Eddings and Ilaria M. Orsini.
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