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A review by liisode
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
3.0
I feel like most people, who have loved fantasy books for a long time, have those old favourites that are just simple Sword and Sorcery. We know they don't really hold up that well, the simple black-and-white idea of Good versus Evil isn't that interesting anymore, the characters aren't that complex, the plot includes a prophecy and a chosen one... The Belgariad is one of that for me (another series that goes in the category of "teenage-favourites-of-classical-fantasy-that-aren't-actually-that-good" is the Inheritance Cycle aka the Eragon series, even though it isn't all of the things I just listed)
I was around 14 when I read Pawn and Prophecy. My dad described the series along the lines of "These are good! Or at least they were when I was your age. They walk a lot". It took me a while to get into it but, especially once I got to the following books, I really loved the world-building. And the characters. I probably wouldn't find them that great if I tried to read it now, but I was 14.
I loved the gods, the wizards, and the different nations. I thought the female characters were strong and complex, although I have no idea if that's how it would seem now. I loved the found family dynamics, the backstories, the side characters and the relationships. I preferred the world to those of most contemporary fantasy books I'd read. (Although, this was at a point in my life where absolutely nothing could have beat Harry Potter. I once had a fight with a friend over the mere concept of anything in any medium ever being better than HP. Oh well... I was young.)
My dad was right about the walking though. While I loved the Belgariad, there is a lot of walking. And horse-riding. And other boring stuff. I cannot remember what the other boring stuff was, but at times I was bored to death with these books. On the other hand there were numerous extremely memorable moments. There are scenes in the Belgariad that I still think of regularly. Impractical armour and the concept of bringing people back from dead, to this day, make me think of these books!
I was around 14 when I read Pawn and Prophecy. My dad described the series along the lines of "These are good! Or at least they were when I was your age. They walk a lot". It took me a while to get into it but, especially once I got to the following books, I really loved the world-building. And the characters. I probably wouldn't find them that great if I tried to read it now, but I was 14.
I loved the gods, the wizards, and the different nations. I thought the female characters were strong and complex, although I have no idea if that's how it would seem now. I loved the found family dynamics, the backstories, the side characters and the relationships. I preferred the world to those of most contemporary fantasy books I'd read. (Although, this was at a point in my life where absolutely nothing could have beat Harry Potter. I once had a fight with a friend over the mere concept of anything in any medium ever being better than HP. Oh well... I was young.)
My dad was right about the walking though. While I loved the Belgariad, there is a lot of walking. And horse-riding. And other boring stuff. I cannot remember what the other boring stuff was, but at times I was bored to death with these books. On the other hand there were numerous extremely memorable moments. There are scenes in the Belgariad that I still think of regularly. Impractical armour and the concept of bringing people back from dead, to this day, make me think of these books!