Belgariad (1) - Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
The next astonishing series of David Eddings, with another half-related five books and the prequels of two of the characters afterwards (makes, in the end 12 books, but you don't need all), Pawn of Prophecy (in German Kind der Prophezeiung, in French Le pion blanc des présages) contains 258 pages of a tense and funny tale with interesting characters! Age: 16 to Death (girls and boys). Originally published by 1982.
Garion spends all his life on a little farm in Sendaria, with his aunt Pol and various friends. The only interesting things happening are feasts, falling from trees, chasing Zubrette or listening to the old vagabond-story teller his aunt calls "old wolf". But one day, the old vagabond and aunt Pol take him away from his old, secure world. Followed by the smith, Durnik, and two mysterious strangers called Silk and Barak, they flee - but from what? And why is it so important, that Garion follows? Why doesn't he have the chance to meet girls like other boys? And since when can his aunt and the vagabond do magic?
Very good! I love Garions childhood stories – not to mention the events in this book themselves! First of all, you should know that the beginning is pretty slow, but I personally find it beautiful and funny – and you need it for the rest of the series, so... Don't abandon the series just after the prologue and the first hundred pages. It's really worth the while.
Now, to the characters: Garion himself is a nice boy, who has good instincts, humour, some talent for schemes and the heart at the right place. Additionally he's sometimes quite spontaneous, usually unafraid and he has some bad ideas – the joy of his Aunt.
Aunt Pol is the BEST woman Eddings has ever created on paper. Seriously, he has Ehlana, Sephrenia, Aphrael, Mirtai, but no one's as gorgeous as Aunt Pol. She's actually my mother's favourite heroine and therefore influenced her way of dealing with children – so, in an indirect manner she helped raising me. Okay, so far, so good: Pol is a determined, usually calm woman who knows what she wants and has no issues whatsoever to “bully” people into giving it. She's honest and has a character to be reckoned with. She has an unimaginable amount of strength, authority and competence in everything she does. But she never misuses her gifts, instead, she only uses them for what's right. Still, she makes an issue on keeping Garion close and out of trouble – a little too much for his taste. But otherwise she's a wonderful mother figure, especially due to her sarcastic sense of humour. You'll probably regard her as cruel on first glance, because she's so tough, but Pol always has a purpose. And actually, she is compassionate, loving and kind. She just has a hard shell around her – not very surprising, by the way.
But Pol's not only a mother figure. I LOVE the scene in which they get to court and everyone treats Pol like a queen! And how everyone – especially all the “real” queens listen to her every council. Garion's reaction to all of this! G.R.E.A.T!
As for Mr. Wolf: He's a very, very old child. The relationship he has to Pol is one of the funniest in the whole series, if you ask me. As Pol said herself at some point: All this bickering is simply their way to say “I love you”. They just had to realise it.
To the other characters: Silk is something as well. He likes to prove his talents in outwitting everyone around him, he's as sly as a fox – sometimes too sly for his own good. He's also very honest with himself, especially regarding his lacks. His view on women is pretty funny – as is his humour. I love how he tries to unnerve Old Wolf the whole time!
Barak is fairly nice, more down-to-earth and practical – even though he can not even attempt to be as good as Durnik. The shaggy man reminds me sometimes of a teddy bear. Okay, sometimes a very bloodthirsty teddy bear. And his relationship towards his wife? Poor (bloodthirsty) teddy.
To Durnik: He's Garion's father figure and one of my favourite characters because he's calm even in the most dire situations. He always makes sure that the high and mighty people don't forget the little things in life that make up the foundation they need for their big and world-changing plans. Additionally, he's always being useful – especially concerning Pol. He doesn't care that she doesn't need his protection – and he would never be so stupid as to force her into a cage or something like that. But he always makes sure that everyone behaves and she has everything she needs. It's so cute!
So far, so good. The story itself is very original and well written. I like especially all the little details, the countries, the societies, how they interact. There are many details which make the book realistic. I really do like it.
In brief:
I give it a star for style, content, ideas, characters and humour.
Prequel:
(after the series)
Belgarath the Sorcerer
Polgara the Sorceress
Sequel: