Long ago, the Storyteller claimed, the evil god Torak drove men and Gods to war. But Belgarath the Sorcerer led men to reclaim the Orb that protected men of the West. So long as it lay at Riva, the prophecy went, men would be safe.
But Garion did not believe in such stories. Brought up on a quiet farm by his Aunt Pol, how could he know that the Apostate planned to wake dread Torak, or that he would be led on a quest of unparalleled magic and danger by those he loved–but did not know…?
Where can I start with this, well, firstly this isn’t one book. It’s five. I couldn’t really review one of them without reviewing them all so I decided to do the whole lot. Thus The Belgariad. If this is your first encounter with these and you wish to go read them, you need them in the following order.
1 – Pawn of Prophecy
2 – Queen of Sorcery
3 – Magicians Gambit
4 – Castle of Wizardry
5 – Enchanters End Game
The Belgariad is a ‘swords and sorcery’ work of Fantasy, the type many think of as traditional fantasy storytelling and this series certainly has a lot of the tropes that readers often now consider to be a little cliché in the genre.
However its important to remember that it is because of works like the Belgariad that these stereotypes exist in the first place. Pawn of Prophecy was originally published in 1982 and Eddings was one of many great fantasy writers in the 80’s who helped model the genre that we know and love.
Is the Belagriad the best work of Fantasy that you will ever read? No, probably not. But it is good, honest story telling and it holds a special place in my heart (and bookshelves) as the Fantasy series that I first fell in love with after I read my Dads copies twenty years or so ago.
So if you are looking for entry point Fantasy or just fancy a good traditional Fantasy tale, go and look these up, spend time with Garion, Belgareth, Polgara, Silk, Barak and the others and maybe they’ll win a place in your heart too.
Mug Full of Books 
I missed out on reading these when I was younger but I wouldn’t rule out reading the first for fun. As you say, fantasy has moved on thankfully!
They get off to a bit of a slow start but it’s worth persevering. The tropes used weren’t tropes in the same way when they were written (late 70’s/early 80’s) A bit like Princess Bride!
I’ve just finished these books myself! Utterly predictable in places, but there is no denying the utter charm of these books. I feel it comes across that this tropes weren’t overused when he wrote these. I loved them – and look forward to reading his other series!
Glad you enjoyed them! His Sparhawk series were good too and I really like The Redemption of Althalus which is a stand alone.
I read all of the Dreamers series as it was very much Eddings ‘voice’ and I enjoyed it for that but I don’t think that one was his best.