Guardians of the West

Guardians of the West (1987) David Eddings

The first book of the Mallorean coversthe years following the events of the final book of the Belgariad. Errand, Polgara and Durnik move into Poledra’s cottage–after Belgarath helps them repair it–and we get to see some of Errand’s youth. Ce’Nedra and Garion have problems (not that this should come as a surprise) and eventually Ce’Nedra has their long awaited first child.

And of course things get difficult. Garion tries to figure out what a passage i the Mrin Codex means, and other more momentous events happen as well.

This is not one of my favorite books in the series. It’s slow moving. Events that take place in Riva are not extraordinary exciting, and there is a lot of Ce’Nedra being both cute and annoying at the same time. However, we are building up to the events that shape the rest of the series, so it’s necessary.

The book does close with a rather memorable siege, something that has always stuck with me.

Mostly though, the book is getting new readers reacquainted with the characters from the first series, and laying down the plot of this series.

Not bad, but as I said, not one of my favorites.

One other thing: who on earth are the people on the cover? Because they don’t resemble any characters from the book as far as I can tell.
Rating: 7/10

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