The Belgariad is a five-book fantasy epic written by David Eddings, following the journey of protagonist Garion and his companions, first to recover a sacred stone, and later to use it against antagonist Torak. It was a bestseller from the first book in the series. It has been called both the "last gasp" of traditional fantasy and "one of the founding mega sagas" of modern fantasy.
Contents
Background
David Eddings, who had been writing in the adventure and thriller genres, has said he developed the idea for a fantasy series somewhat "cynically" after noticing how many times J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series had been reprinted. He had an epiphany, realizing the fantasy genre might be very lucrative and was currently "underserved". He mapped out an imaginary world to use in developing the story for the Belgariad.
He has also said he was influenced by reading medieval epics and by Lester del Rey's editorial input. In later works he acknowledged his wife, Leigh Eddings, as an "unindicted collaborator"; eventually later books credited her as co-author. She is generally acknowledged as a co-author of the earlier books as well.
Works in the series
The Belgariad is composed of five books, namely Pawn of Prophecy (1982), Queen of Sorcery (1982), Magician's Gambit (1983), Castle of Wizardry (1984), and Enchanters' End Game (1984).
The title of each book combines a chess term with a fantasy term; whereas the concept of a 'Game of Destiny' is a significant motif in the story. The series has been reprinted as a two-volume set, titled The Belgariad Volume One, containing the first three books of the series, and The Belgariad Volume Two, which contains the last two books. This does not include the original map by Chris Barbieri, but only Shelly Shapiro's map.
The Malloreon is a five-book sequel to The Belgariad. Belgarath the Sorcerer (1995) and Polgara the Sorceress (1997) are prequels that share the setting and most characters. The Rivan Codex (1998) features annotated background material.
Pawn of Prophecy
The book opens with a prologue, beginning with the creation of the world by seven gods. Aldur, oldest of the seven, fashions a stone orb and creates within it a "living soul". Torak, the most beautiful of the seven, attempts to seize the Orb from Aldur and subdue the Orb's intelligence; the Orb mutilates the left side of Torak's body. The Orb of Aldur is later recovered by Belgarath the Sorcerer, King Cherek, and Cherek's sons. Riva, Cherek's youngest son, is found to be able to hold the Orb unharmed; he and his descendants protect the Orb from Torak.
The story then begins in earnest with the experiences of protagonist Garion. His childhood on a large, prosperous farm: his earliest memories in the kitchen of his Aunt Pol; his friend Durnik the blacksmith; early games and friends; and the romance between Garion and local girl Zubrette. It also introduces Belgarath, as a wandering storyteller nicknamed 'Mister Wolf'; Garion's telepathic vision of the antagonist Asharak/Chamdar; and a "dry voice" in his mind, distinct from his own consciousness. The reader later discovers that this is the Voice of Prophecy, or "Necessity", which takes action through him.
When Belgarath, alias "Wolf", announces the theft of a mysterious object (actually the Orb), he, Garion, and Aunt Pol leave Faldor's farm to pursue the thief, reluctantly allowing Durnik to accompany them. They are joined later by Silk/Kheldar, a Drasnian prince, spy, and thief; and by Barak, a Cherek earl. Thereafter Mister Wolf follows an invisible trail through several regions until they are arrested.
They are taken to a meeting of monarchs where Garion suspects a green-cloaked individual of treason. A few days later, Barak and Garion are hunting wild boar when Garion notices the green-cloaked spy discussing further espionage; but before Garion can tell anyone of this, he is attacked by a wild boar, which is then slain by Barak in the form of a bear. Garion later exposes the green-cloaked spy, and the latter's patrons are defeated in a fight. Garion himself is almost captured, but escapes.
Garion learns that Polgara is Belgarath's daughter and the sister of Garion's second-most-distant female ancestor (identified in the prologue as Queen Beldaran, wife of Riva), and for that reason called his aunt. Having learned this, Garion identifies Belgarath as his grandfather. The group, with the addition of an Algarian prince named Hettar, then leave in search of the Orb.
Queen of Sorcery
The story opens in the Kingdom of Arendia, where Garion duels and then befriends a master archer named Lelldorin. The party travel to Lelldorin's uncle's manor, where Garion hears about a plot to kill the Mimbrate king Korodullin and to start a civil war between the two grand duchies. The plot is masterminded by a spy from Cthol Murgos named Nachak.
After leaving Lelldorin's uncle's manor the party journey south towards the great plains where they are ambushed by a group of Algroths; a fictional "monster" devised by Eddings that are something between a goat facially and a gorilla bodily, while being somewhat akin to, even if a bit smaller than a troll (QoS Chapter 6). Lelldorin is gravely injured during the encounter which only ends with the arrival of Mandorallen, the supreme Mimbrate knight of the realm who chases them off. Just as he does so Chamdar's shade appears before them to mock them. Belgarath asks whether it was he who drove the Algroths out of the mountains of Ulgoland. Chamdar denies doing so but is less than convincing.
As they continue south, Mandorallen, upon Polgara's advice (but unknown to Garion who later judges Mandorallen's motives), forces Lelldorin on his honour to stay behind so he can heal from the wounds inflicted by the Algroth who had mauled him.
The party continue without Lelldorin to Vo Mimbre, the Arendish capital, where Garion reveals the plot to kill Korodullin, without naming its local conspirators, and Mandorallen challenges Nachak to a duel, which Hettar terminates by killing Nachak. Soon afterwards the party bid farewell to Vo Mimbre, with King Korodullin vowing to stamp out any untoward activity of the Angaraks (and particularly the Murgos) in his kingdom. He also pledged to ready his kingdom for the anticipated war against Torak's forces.
The party next travels to Tolnedra, and soon after crossing the border they come across a group of Monks from Mar Terrin. One of them, driven insane by the continual presence of the spirits of Maragor launches himself at Garion who naturally reaches out a hand. The man falls to the ground with an ugly welt on his head. Polgara instructs Garion to get off his horse and apologise to the man who comes to with his sanity restored. The monks proclaim a miracle, but Garion knows otherwise as do Belgarath and Polgara.
Magician's Gambit
After learning at the end of the Queen of Sorcery that the Angarak sorcerer Ctuchik had stolen the Orb from its erstwhile thief Zedar, Belgarion and friends set off for the Vale of Aldur after Belgarath had received instruction to do so from Aldur Himself.
Although they preferred to avoid it, the party were eventually left with no other choice than to pass through Maragor, which was haunted by the spirit of Mara himself, who manifests his grief (for the Marags were slain by the Tolnedrans many centuries earlier) through countless ghostly apparitions that drive anybody who dares to enter Maragor (usually for the rich gold deposits) mad. On the whole only the monks—"Tolnedra's conscience"—are tolerated.
In order to pass through Maragor mentally unscathed, Belgarath and Polgara put everybody into a trance and somehow, while the others go under, Garion slipped into a semi-wakeful consciousness that has to all intents and purposes turned off his emotions. The "voice" (of the prophecy) had been waiting for this opportunity to talk to him rationally about what he is destined to do and it is here that an analogy comes up.
In the analogy the voice describes how something went wrong in the universe and it created two divergent destinies one of which is the original and the other an alternative. Garion equates this to when Doroon broke a window at Faldor's Farm and the voice goes along with this and suggests that if another stone was to be thrown quickly enough then it could deflect the first stone and Faldor's window would be saved. The implication being that the voice is the stone-thrower and Garion is the stone.
Soon after the conversation finishes, the party come before Mara and Belgarath and Polgara appeal to him to set aside his grief as the time of prophecy is at hand. Still inconsolable, Mara refuses and his grief turns to anger when he sets his eyes on Ce-Nedra, a child of Nedra. In his anger he threatens her with all kind of unpleasantness and suffering but when he goes to strike against her the voice intervenes through Garion. Too powerful to strike Mara, for fear of destroying the world, the voice stands unmoved and resolute until Mara yields and the voice urges everybody to leave Mara to his grief, as Ce-Nedra's presence pains him terribly.
Castle of Wizardry
On their way out of the caves under Rak Cthol they pause briefly to pick up Taiba who Relg pulls through the collapsed rocks, just as he has done Silk after he had been captured by Brill. Now out in the open the role of leader is thrust upon Garion with Belgarath incapacitated after his fight with Ctuchik and Polgara focusing on protecting Errand. Unable to attack Errand directly the Hierarchs of Rak Cthol go for Durnik instead. With the guidance of The Prophecy Garion climbs into his shadow and goes after them. He soon finds them in the broken remains of Rak Cthol and shatters the jewel which they are using to concentrate their will before rather melodramatically threatening one of the Hierarchs by clutching his shadow hand around his heart. When Garion's shadow returns Belgarath stirs briefly and now the threat has been neutralised they are able to continue unshielded, but with the knowledge that Taur Urgas is pursuing them.
As they race across Cthol Murgos in the direction of Algaria things gets very tight and they are not helped by their horses cramping up. In the end, just when they thought they were about to be intercepted countless Algarian horsemen swept down and slaughtered a great many of the Murgos. For just a brief moment Taur Urgas and King Cho-Hag of Algaria came within range of each other before once more being swept apart by the ensuing battle.
That very evening Belgarath collapses and is carried to The Stronghold with the utmost urgency for his very life was in danger. Cajoled, tormented and molly-coddled, Polgara nurses him back to health. In doing so she abandons her usual remedies as she knows her father well enough to realise that he will just lay back and indulge in being taken care of. What he needed most was mental stimulation and what she feared most was that he might have lost his ability to use the Will and the Word the very thing that had kept Angarak in check since The Battle of Vo Mimbre some 500 years earlier.
Once recovered and in time for Erastide they travelled to Riva, but not before picking up Ce'Nedra from Ulgo. Then as they head west, Garion, Polgara, Ce'Nedra and Durnik visit Faldor's Farm for one last time. For Polgara it was so she could pick up some favourite pots she'd been left behind, but most importantly it was for Garion to find closure on that chapter of his life which is best represented by how coldly he showed affection, but no love, for Zubrette, his childhood sweetheart.
Enchanters' End Game
The final book of the series starts with Belgarion, Silk, and Belgarath sneaking through Gar og Nadrak on their way to Mallorea. In the opening chapters they are accompanied first by a Drasnian trader and then later by an old man who lives a hermit like existence in the forests. He warns them that Mallorean recruiters are forcibly enlisting people into the army for the forthcoming war. Soon they come across a mining town and have a conversation with a local Nadrak who tells of a Queen raising an army in the west. Garion is incredulous and even wonders if it was Polgara. Soon afterwards Mallorean recruiters arrive and the three of them manage to get out just in time—unlike their new Nadrak friend.
As they continue on their quest the three of them enter the Nadrak forest and Garion comes to see that he understands the language of wolves even in his human form. Soon they stop off in a small town. It is only worthy of a mention because it is here that they come across Vella for the first time, a Nadrak woman, who later becomes an important secondary character as she gets to know Yarblek and then later on, in the Mallorean, Beldin. Due to Silk being recognised as a wanted man they soon have to flee with a pack of wolves, one of which Garion had not long met and conversed with, putting the trackers off.
As they carry on eastwards they are ambushed in a tavern and Garion and Silk are forcibly enlisted into the Mallorean army. Belgarath somehow manages to escape. En route to Thull Zelik, the Mallorean army's staging post, the recruiters and their hapless prisoners are met my Yarblek the Nadrak who quickly disposes of the Malloreans before telling Garion and Silk that he is under orders from Drosta lek Thun, the King of the Nadraks to deliver Silk to him.
With Belgarath still nowhere in sight, Garion and Silk travel with Yarblek to Yar Nadrak, the capital, where they meet Drosta in some run down squalid inn. Just before they meet Drosta they see Belgarath apparently drunk in a corner of the inn with his head down.
Drosta is looking for a way out of the war and freedom from Mallorean domination and he asks for help, or to at least get a message to Rhodar before Belgarath bursts in and rapidly moves things along. Then, realising who Garion is, Drosta lets them continue on their journey.
Reception and impact
The series was a bestseller and an instant sensation. Publishers Weekly in their review of The Rivan Codex (1998) called The Belgariad "one of the founding mega sagas in modern English-language fantasy." The Guardian credited Eddings with creating "the craze for doorstopper-sized fantasy series". The series was published in a transitional period for fantasy literature, when the genre was becoming more "complex and nuanced," and the Eddings books were a sort of "last gasp" of popularity for traditional fantasy. Stephen Hunt said the books "were fantasy, but they carried a modern feel to the dialogue and characterisation, while still being firmly placed in a deeply believable fantasy world."
Jason Heller wrote a retrospective on the series for NPR in 2017 after re-reading the books as an adult ~30 years after reading them originally. He found the archetypical fantasy aspects had aged reasonably well despite his expectations that the tropes might feel worn out, and noted the story's very direct use of the hero's journey from Joseph Campbell. Heller did find that the gender roles had aged poorly, though:
Aunt Pol—who also happens to be Polgara the Sorceress, the most feared and powerful woman in the world—spends an inordinate amount of page-time happily doing domestic chores. Princess Ce'Nedra, Garion's love interest, intrepidly raises an entire army only to leave it in the hands of the men. Certain characters break stereotype, such as Queen Porenn, who has an excellent grasp of policy and tactics—but it's always made wincingly clear in the text that she's a glaring exception who only knows about military and political matters because she's married to a king who's taught her such things.
Heller also felt that the series uncritically mirrored the real-life East–West dichotomy, and that this aspect also bothered him as an adult. The protagonists are largely fair-skinned good guys in the West, while the antagonists of the series are from the kingdoms of the East and "systematically sinister or congenitally stupid."