Pawn of Prophecy

A rather typical quest fantasy kind of book. It has its typical young boy with mysterious past and hidden ability who was born to save the world, a sassy sorceress and a wiseman looking after him, a burly warrior and a weasel-like lovable rogue - in other words the whole set. The story was definitely written to be a series, as not much is resolved by the end, but the whole band is set out on another journey to catch up with the bad guy. Maybe that was the problem that made my reading experience not as enjoyable. I mean the brave companions go on a pursuit of this bad guy, then they are diverted by other good guys that feel like they want to be part of the fun, and it is almost like the need to go on the pursuit was for nothing - another ploy to take up pages. I don't like that kind of broken continuity. Also, the boy has a convenient tendency to be at the right place, at the right time all by himself to witness bad guys going on with their shady dealings. Those are some sloppy bad guys, considering they are supposed to be like the ultimate spy race, that cannot notice they are being followed by a fourteen-year-old. I understand that happening once or twice, but Garion walks in on these things practically in every chapter. Is that part of his hidden ability? I wouldn't know, because this book does not reveal any juicy details about him. Aunt Pol, the sassy sorceress whose origins are obvious since the first chapter is meant to be this strong leading female. Yet to me she ends up nothing more than a bitchy, overprotective sidekick. Most male characters comment on her temper as if she was a child in tantrum - fussy but cute, and be given what she wants just to please her. How is that a strong character? She needs to drop her attitude as if she's got to run the whole world, and just chill. Overall, this is a rather entertaining book to spend an evening with, but the lack of any resolution or significant action makes its purpose rather questionable.

A classic coming of age fantasy tale. Loved it as a kid for the things it introduced to me in terms of the fantasy world and coming back to it as an adult I love it for the simplicity its story has, just a general feel good story that I will always get something out of.

Rereading this series. Love it to death.

I decided to revisit this beloved series from my childhood, partially because I was considering buying it for my little brothers, and partially because I have been wanting to reread it for as while. It is pretty much as good as I remember, the only difference being I am aware of how bad the prose is. But its YA fiction, so that's forgivable, at least by today's standards. But the prose isn't painful (looking at you, Stephanie Myers) and the plot and characters are riveting and mysterious. It's no accident that this series is so beloved of so many from their teen years. The Belgariad is said to have inspired George Martin to create A Song of Ice and Fire (aka Game of Thrones). I don't know if that's true, but its kind of cool. The book follows the adventures of a young boy, Garion, and his motley crew (consisting of a giant, an acrobat, a wizard, and others) as they chase across entire kingdoms someone who stole something that could destroy the whole world. If that ain't a good story what is? I highly recommend this series to anyone around 14 years old. It'll be way better and more transporting and healthy than most of the YA literature out there.