The Pawn of Prophecy is the entry to a fantastic world full of amazing characters with depth and personality that will make you love or loathe them. The story begins with this: The Pawn of Prophecy and at the time, and throughout the entire book, you dont really know a lot of what anything has to do with Garion. If you only read this book you will not be able to wholly understand or appreciate the story as a whole. Pawn of Prophecy has a nice flowing beginning, nothing pops up that has not been carefully constructed and well thought out, a lot of what is hinted at will seem meaningless, but in the end will mean a lot more. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but as I said, you will appreciate it more as you read through the series.

Alright, I admit, this book was at first a little tough to get into. The warmth and character development so beautifully woven into the text drew me in, however, and despite a slightly lukewarm storyline so far, I chugged through it under the recommendation of a cousin - the first book is slow, but teh rest are worth it, and they were right. However, this review is about Pawn of Prophecy, not the rest, and so, once I had read all twelve books under the Belgariad/Malloreon umbrella and gave myself enough time to savour the wonder and intimacy of the characters I had grown to know and love/hate, I decided it might be wise to go back and read the Pawn of Prophecy, and only then was its true glory revealed. While I understand some readers' pain at its seeming sluggishness, when I reread the book, it was as if a door had been opened to me. Every little line, which I had previously assumed to be just that - little lines - were sneaky references to what would be so significant in the future. The original warmth grew so much when I knew about the character's past and future, and about how much pain a simple act might have caused. I strongly suggest that anyone interested in fantasy pick up the Pawn of Prophecy, and plow through it, because it is a necessary and, on second view, touching introduction to a truly unforgettable story.

Firstly i have to say this is the best books i have ever read. The way which Eddings writes is fantastic. you just get carted away to the places Eddings is writing about, and you feel as though you are witnessing these events. The first book of the series has made me want to buy the other books in the series and read on. I like the fact that in this book Eddings is introducing us to the key characters in the series, therefore leaving the other books open to tell us the story in full. You feel for Garion and the doubts he has of his own identity Eddings just makes you feel you are there. Without a shadow of a doubt the best book, showing you Garion progress from a young boy to a man (in a figure of speaking). Eddings is amongst the greast fantasy writers.