Pawn of Prophecy

Pawn of Prophecy (1982) David Eddings

I was given a used copy of The Belgariad series in college as part of a gift exchange where I worked. This was the series that returned me to being a reader and got me back into reading fantasy, which I hadn’t done since I was much younger.

My copy of Pawn of Prophecy is worn and a little ragged–despite the fact I purchased the entire series new again after loaning my books to someone who never returned them. The corners of the pages are somewhat rounded, from the book being carried around and shoved into various bags and pockets from many readings.

For a long time this series was my primary escape when life got ugly and things got tough. Then I started branching out and reading more, and returning less and less frequently to this series, until I realized the other day I hadn’t read The Belgariad since before we bought our house, which was eight years ago.

So to mourn the recent death of David Eddings, I decided to pick up one of my all time favorite series, and try and read it slowly, to savor the story.

Yes, sometimes David Eddings writing was over the top. But first and foremost it’s fun. I love these books: I love the story, I love the characters, and I love how–no matter how many times I read them–I frequently laugh out loud while reading.

Garion lives with his Aunt Pol on Falror’s farm where Aunt Pol is Faldor’s cook, and a storyteller called Old Wolf occasionally passes through. Much to Garion’s surprise, however, he eventually finds himself caught up in events far beyond Falror’s farm–in throne rooms and palaces and in the company of princes and wizards and warriors.

I think what I love best about Pawn of Prophecy is that Garion is young, and the mistakes he make are those someone his age inevitably makes–you may realize before he does that he is doing something stupid, but you’re your caught up in the story and how Garion feels so what he does makes perfect sense to him, and to you.

But of course it’s the secondary characters that truly make this series. As much as I love seeing Garion grow up, I love reading about Silk’s exploits even more. I love to read about thieves and scoundrels, because they’re so much fun, and Silk is probably my all time favorite scoundrel.

Of course the down side is this is a five book series, followed by a second five book series. But of course I’ve read these books so many times I can stop reading them at any point in time–I just don’t want to because I’m having to much fun.

If you want an epic fantasy with snappy dialog and a good story, this old favorite is one I can recommend again and again.
Rating: 9/10

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