Yes, in one of my greatest acts of geekiness, I will now review a boook series for my adoring public. Hi fans! (Waves). Anyway, I'm going to review something so amazing, so suprising, so shocking, that certain readers (you know who you are) may need to turn around and vomit on the person sitting next to you right after jumping through the ceiling (Note: I am NOT legally responsible for any suits brought to these readers over property damage). And now, without further ado, I give you, my first book series review.
The Belgariad
Wait, you mean to tell me that no one is suprised by this? No shock? No property damage suits? Fine, have it your way. For you layman who've never heard of The Belgariad or David Eddings, (how one can't is beyond me. You'd have to be from a different planet. Then again, it may be the other way around.) it's a story about a boy named Garrion who joins a quest to recover a mysterious mystical object, defeat monsters, and fufill prophecies. Yes, it is very generic, but, I prefer to let the book do the spoiling rather than me. Seriously, if you can't figure out what direction the books take after the first one, Pawn of Prophecy, than you have the IQ of a peice of gum. Before I jump into the review itself, I need to establish one thing: I will not be reviewing the books individually. My reasons for this will be explained later, but for now, you've been warned.
The plot is fairly good, if predictable, but that's part of the charm of the story. It makes no attempts to sway from its path, and is able to have fun with itself. That's one of the series main strengths: it doesn't take itself too seriously. Sure, it does have serious moments, but it does try to be fun. And it succeeds almost effortlessly. Silk in paticular is a ridiculously funny charecter. Its magic/sorcery/witchcraft/wizardry/aaugh! system is also unique, and one of the few series I've read where people bother to differentiate between sorcerers (the main people with "powers"), magicians, wizards, and witches. It's very refreshing, even though continuity's toes are frequently stepped on. However, this is only a minor complaint, as the books easily distract you from all of that. My biggest complaint is that the books stop at places that don't neccesarily feel like they fit. I attribute that to two factors. 1: The books really are just one continous story, and not episodic in the slightest. 2: The series was originally to be a trilogy, but Del Rey split them into five books. This didn't affect my reading too much, as my family owns all of the books, but I did notice it regardless. In conclusion, The Belgariad is one of the best fantasy series ever written, and I would highly reccomend it to anyone brave enough to call themself a geek, anyone who acts like a geek but doesn't call themself that, and to all the expresso machines at Starbucks (Seriously, they need something to do. Do you know how boring it is being a cofee maker?).
