The Belgariad Review
Prof. Cassandra S. Lobiesk
Few will realize that, as far as the fantasy girl in me goes, the notion of a high adventure fantasy genre doesn’t always strike my fancy (unless female heroines are involved). All that strategy, talk of war (and more war), and immense detail over worldbuilding get rather dull for me. The last such books I’ve read on the genre itself included works from fantasy father J.R.R. Tolkien and the noted self-made writer, Christopher Paolini. But I won’t insult either of their books; Tolkien himself spurred the high fantasy popularity known presently, and while I find Paolini’s work akin to watching an unplayable roleplaying game, it had its moments, however few.
On that note, with the rather forceful way two lovely HOLers recommended David Eddings to me (okay, they really didn’t do that much arm-twisting), and perhaps with a year of contemplation over what fantasy book to once again pick up in such a fantasy dry spell, I chose The Belgariad. I was not sorry for it at all!
The Belgariad is a series of five books (Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician’s Gambit, Castle of Wizardry, and Enchanter’s End Game), all revolving around a fantasy world largely made up of two hemispheres: the western lands of the Alorns and Algars, and the eastern land of boundless Mallorea. Like all high fantasies, it follows a formulaic structure: one hero finds himself amidst an incoming turmoil where he alone has the power to end things; to do so, the hero embarks on a treacherous journey where he might find his true self, love, and maybe more trouble anyone can get into without looking for it. This hero is undoubtedly accompanied by an entourage of helpers or friends.
The high fantasy story is not different with Garion, a seemingly innocent boy who finds himself wrenched from the rustic simplicity of Faldor’s Farm and thrown out into a world where old men aren’t what they appear to be and aunts are built to live forever. Let’s not forget the colorful band of characters that accompany Garion in his adventure; admit it, one person doing all that traveling can get boring—not even J.K. Rowling had Harry Potter trekking the forests in The Deathly Hallows alone the entire time! I’ve listed a few of my favorites below. (I did think about just mentioning them with the longest, most correctly formed run-on sentence ever for amusement purposes, but I digress).
It sounds like any other high fantasy work you can pick up in the book store. It definitely is at first glance. Getting past the introduction was the hardest part for me. After that I almost couldn’t stop. What sets it apart? It isn’t the plot, not by a long shot. The dialogue, however, won me over.
I must have chortled with laughter at almost every humorous exchange between the different characters. It’s very difficult to give so many varied personalities for people, to write about the defining qualities that readers will love or hate them for. After an attempt at NaNoWrimo, even I can attest to the difficulty in writing up a rounded set of characters. But Eddings succeeded in that department, and it was such a pleasure knowing these characters as the story progressed.
A few noted favorites (or important ones):
Garion: the boy who becomes a man, though he rather reluctantly travels from one place to the other with wondrous ignorance
Polgara: a most beautiful sorceress with a grand temper, and probably the fiercest character created in the books
Belgarath: a womanizing old storyteller, though most people seem to fear and respect him, as odd as that sounds
Silk: the silver-tongued intelligence officer who can slip through anything (except rock), by far a personal favorite for his rather entertaining wit and knack at irritating even his closest friends
Hettar: a rather gifted horseman, whose one-track vengeance seems somehow humorous, though I imagine him to be quite handsome, which might have helped in my partiality
Ce’Nedra: though I grudgingly add her to this list, there is no denying her importance and slight amazingness underneath that veneer of bratty, self-centered egotism
Unfortunately, those aren’t even half the characters, just a few to whet the appetite. Minor ones have played just as much of a role in shaping the story, and I found I loved most of them at one time or another. Maybe except the tasking speech with “thees” and “thous” uttered by silly Mimbrates…
Seriously, read the books. They’re fantastic. And if the characters I’ve listed don’t at all interest your palette, well, to each her own.
Dear Cassandra–I have also started to read this series–I finished all of The Belgariad, and am into The Mallorean books. I really debated about reading them because there’s a huge number of books in the series. Like you, however, I am really enjoying them and do recommend them. David and Leigh Eddings also have a few “singles” out on the shelves, equally sardonic and humorous. Prof. Opal
Yeah, I’m on my way to reading the Mallorean, but I took a fantasy break for the meantime to start reading Ender’s Game XD.
I vary my genres here and there *nods*
Dear Cassandra–I have also read most of the Ender’s Game series–I did find they got a bit strange in the end books, as well as more “preachy” but I still enjoyed them.
If you need another fine fantasy series, try The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind. However, read the short prequel, Debt of Bones, first because it will help set up the rest of the series for you. Prof. Opal
Opal — I’ve been meaning to try The Sword of Truth series! Mostly because I’ve recently started watching the televised version of “The Legend of the Seeker,” which, to my understanding, is based on Terry Goodkind’s novels. Thanks for the recommendations!