Book Series Review: The Belgariad and The Malloreon

I started reading the series in the late eighties, right in the midst of that pre-pubescent sweet spot where one instantly relates to fictional character one’s own age. Garion, the main protagonist of both of Eddings’ series, was about my age around when I was reading the first few books, so my identification with his rite of passage from scullery boy to adolescent had all the gravitational pull of an imploding star.

So, naturally, when I read through the series the second time around, it didn’t have quite the same impact, but it did trigger some memory of sentiment.

Besides that, there’s not much I want to go into too deeply here; there’s too much I could write about in one of the longest and best-selling fantasy series. The negative: Eddings tended to repeat himself, especially with individual dialogue. After a few books, when characters launch into dialogue you can easily predict where things are going. Not a fatal flaw by any means but it gets tiresome.

The positive: Eddings created one of the most realistic human-based world in existence. There are no elves, dwarves, or other variations of humanoid beings. There’s just humans of different races, each with their racial and cultural traits. Sure, there are monsters and there’s the fairy-like Dryads, but their presence is not central. Human societies, with all their quirks, cultural movements and interactions, and socio-political interplay, are explored in depth.

Interesting note: Eddings reportedly wrote all of his books by longhand. No typewriter or computer. It hurts my hand just to think about it.

The Belgariad, Vol. 1 – Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician’s Gambit
The Belgariad, Vol. 2 – Castle of Wizardry, Enchanters’ End Game
The Malloreon, Vol. 1 – Guardians of the West, King of the Murgos, Demon Lord of Karanda
The Malloreon, Vol. 2 – The Sorceress of Darshiva, The Seeress of Kell
Belgarath the Sorcerer
Polgara the Sorceress
The Rivan Codex

Art by frozenneko.