The Belgariad is a five book fantasy epic written by David Eddings.

Volumes include:

Pawn of Prophecy (1982)
Queen of Sorcery (1982)
Magician's Gambit (1983)
Castle of Wizardry (1984)
Enchanters' End Game (1984)

Another five book series, The Malloreon is the 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.

The books tell of the journey and coming-of-age of Garion, an orphaned farmboy (later known as Belgarion). Garion is accompanied by his guardian Polgara the Sorceress, and the ancient sorcerer Belgarath and a number of other important characters.

Each book's title combines a chess term with fantasy term. The concept of a Game of Destiny is a significant motif in the story.

Works in the Series

Pawn of Prophecy

The farmboy Garion, his guardian Polgara (known to Garion as Aunt Pol), the sorcerer Belgarath disguised as an old storyteller (called Mister Wolf by Garion and Old Wolf by Polgara) and the blacksmith Durnik set out from Faldor's farm to pursue a mysterious stolen object. On the journey they are joined by Silk (Otherwise known as Prince Kheldar, and is a Drasnian thief) and Barak (a Cherek Warrior and Earl of Trellheim).

The story begins with a brief prologue concerning all that had transpired from the creation of the world by the seven gods through the recovery of the Orb of Aldur by Belgarath the Sorcerer and the careful watching of the family by Polgara and Belgarath.

The story then tells of "the boy Garion's" earliest experiences of the kitchen and the smells and "Aunt Pol," how he met Durnik the blacksmith, his early games and friends. It tells something of the romance between himself and a "little minx maturing much too rapidly for my comfort," (-Pol) named Zubrette. It introduces his contact with "The Storyteller" who, of course, is Belgarath himself, his vision of a man robed in black who cast no shadow, and a "dry voice" which would circumstantially talk to him and advise him.

Called out of Faldor's Farm by an emergency, a "thief" who had stolen something of great value and whom "Mr Wolf" and "Aunt Pol" had to chase down, Garion finds himself in diverse and mysterious companionship. He visits several cities as "Mr Wolf" follows this invisible trail. Eventually he and his companions are arrested and taken to a meeting of monarchs. Garion proves himself uniquely useful through all of this and shows the great potential which the following books, and, indeed series follows through.

Garion also begins to have doubts about his relation to "Aunt Pol," especially when he discovers that "Aunt Pol" is known alternatively as Polgara the Sorceress and calls "Mr Wolf," who is known likewise as Belgarath the Sorcerer.

Queen of Sorcery

Garion and friends chase after the stolen Orb of Aldur, meeting the Imperial Princess Ce'Nedra of Tolnedra along the way. In an encounter in the Wood of the Dryads, it is revealed that Garion also has the power of the Will and the Word. He is later kidnapped by Queen Salmissra of Nyssia, and the Barak's "Doom" is revealed.

Magician's Gambit

Garion and friends go after Ctuchik, the evil Angarak sorcerer who has the Orb. After a battle between Belgarath and Ctuchik that destroys the city Rak Cthol, Garion is instructed by Polgara to rescue the small boy that has acted as bearer of the Orb. They later name the boy "Errand" after the only word he seems to know to speak.

Leadership is thrust upon Garion for the first time when Belgarath and Polgara are incapacitated, the former by his battle with Ctuchik and the latter by maintaining a shield to protect the party as they escape. Garion destroys the focal point of the power of the Heirarchs of Rak Cthol in retaliation of an attack upon Durnik.

During all of this, the Princess Ce'Nedra is isolated in the City of UL as a guest of the Gorim, because according to the Codexes she will die if she enters the city of the Murgos.

Castle of Wizardry

Garion is revealed as the heir to the line of Riva Irongrip and king of the Isle of Winds on Erastide--Winter Solstice Festival--and also his sixteenth birthday, infuriating Ce'Nedra. As a Princess of Imperial Tolnedra, she explains to him later, they are to be betrothed at her sixteenth birthday (incidentally, the first day of Spring).

Shortly after the betrothal, Garion learns of what the Mrin and Darine Codexes really say about him, namely that he must slay the God Torak or be slain. Garion, Belgarath and Silk set out to fight Torak, leaving only a small note to Polgara and Ce'Nedra with instructions not to pursue them, and sneak off in the night with the Sword of the Rivan King, Orb of Aldur included. Ce'Nedra immediately assumes she has been jilted by Garion and destroys her apartments within the Citadel, while Polgara knows the truth and proceeds to destroy anything she can get her hands on (and is significantly more effective at doing so).

After much sulking and finally learning the truth, Ce'Nedra overhears a confrence of the Alorn kings and devises a plan to raise an army to distract the Angaraks from Garion's quest so that he may reach Cthol Mishrak safely and destroy Torak.

Enchanters' End Game

Garion finally faces the evil god Torak, Durnik is revealed as the Man Who Lives Twice (in which Polgara admits her love for him and accepts the loss of her powers so that they may be equals in marriage), and the child Errand bewilders the god UL with his use of the word "father."

Upon the company's return to Riva, Garion and Ce'Nedra plan (and survive) their wedding and reception, but not before Polgara and Durnik marry in a private chapel on the same morning. Durnik reveals that he was gifted with the Will and the Word when he was brought back to life, and Polgara is at a loss for words when she realizes that her powers were not gone after all (she was quite unsure whether to hate or love her father for the surprise).

Series criticisms

While undoubtedly a hugely popular series, the Belgariad has often invoked criticism for what some feel is David Eddings use of ethnic and racial stereotyping in the characteristics of some groups in the novels. Chief among these concerns is the depiction of the Angaraks an "almond-eyed, untrustworthy, and strange people" who are the main antagonists of the series and embody many of the stereotypes that were used for people of Asian descent. It should be noted, however, that when it came to actually depicting the Angaraks (as opposed to the descriptions of them by other, admittedly biased, members of the cast) they showed a greater diversity and certainly didn't fulfill the promises of their being untrustworthy. It is certainly true that many of the races seem to have an underlying theme to them, but as in the real world, it is hardly their only defining characteristic. More accurate criticism would be in the repetitiveness of Eddings' plots. While the Belgariad was fresh and entertaining, he repeated the plot almost exactly in the second half of the series, the Mallorean, and did so again in Sparhawk's two series, the standalone Redemption of Althalus, and the newest Elder Gods series.