Pawn of Prophecy (1982) Queen of Sorcery (1982) Magician’s Gambit (1983) Castle of Wizardry (1983) Enchanters’ End Game (1984)
Before prophecy becomes a map, it begins as a pulse in the ordinary. A farm boy named Garion grows up among turnips and half-told stories, unaware that a stolen artifact and an ancient foretelling have already woven his name into the fabric of empires. The world around him stirs – merchants who speak in riddles, travelers who watch the stars too closely, whispers of a god long thought silent. What looks like chance is already a summons, and childhood ends the moment he realises the adults have been preparing him for a road he never chose.
The Belgariad is a journey of slow awakening – from kitchen hearth to spell-scorched battlegrounds, from “why me?” to the quieter burden of “if not me, then who?”. Magic here is less fireworks, more responsibility; every spell costs clarity, every victory reveals a larger board. The fellowship around Garion is not a band of flawless heroes, but a tapestry of tempers, scars and loyalties: a willful princess learning power without cruelty, a dry-witted sorcerer hiding centuries of grief, a thief who trusts only in exits.
Yet beneath the prophecies and swordplay lies something gentler: the idea that destiny is not a cage, but a dialogue. Garion learns that being chosen is only the start – the harder part is choosing back, accepting that growth demands both courage and the risk of loving a world that might break. And when the final confrontation comes, it is not thunder that defines him, but the quiet knowledge of who he has become on the way there.
📚 Did you know 📖
Published in 1982, the novel marked the beginning of the cult fantasy saga The Belgariad.
Eddings admitted he started writing it after spotting a fantasy map in a bookstore and thinking: “I can do better.”
The books quickly became classics of “traditional quest fantasy” in the spirit of Tolkien, but with a lighter touch of humour.
The series influenced an entire generation of writers and entered the “golden treasury” of the genre.
After completing The Belgariad, the author wrote a direct sequel – The Malloreon cycle (5 novels).
Legend has it: Eddings claimed he wrote “by formula,” even creating a chart of essential elements (orphaned hero, wise mentor, ancient evil, etc.).