High Fantasy is what first captured my love of reading. Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings is a classic story that perfectly edifies one of my favorite genres. My book club is currently reading books that were published before 1990. I initially chose this tome because it tells the story of a young man coming of age. It also had three other things that make for intriguing reading: magic, gods and espionage.
World building is one of the reasons I love High Fantasy and Pawn of Prophecy (PoP) does this very well. The story starts by explaining the ancient legend and how it colors cultures of the land. This story has all the mixing to make an epic story. Future kings who are unaware of their destiny, sorcerers, angry gods, and a quest for a lost relic that needs to be found before the bad guys get it.
The characters are mostly well rounded, with a strong female character Aunt Pol who stole the show. While this book is a set up for the rest of the Belgariad Series, in this first book we get enough background of the characters to connect. Think Harry Potter year 1-5, as our young man Garion learns the truth about his background and slowly (painfully slowly in some sections) comes to grips with destiny.
Overall I give this book a 4/5. It hits all the fine points of the genre, however it has the often found problem of a rushed ending. As I stated this is a setup for the rest of the series and it has that first book syndrome: a light resolution but a cliffhanger for the major open questions. Still the characters, world and quest are interesting enough that you are compelled to go on the next book. Have you read this series? What did you think?
Chimera Readers 