The Belgariad is another series I haven’t read for many years. The five-book series was written in the early eighties, and I probably read it not long after. There’s a second series called The Malloreon, published in the nineties, and I don’t remember if I ever read it. There’s also the Rivan Codex, essentially a book about how to write a fantasy series, and I remember devouring it over and over. I don’t know if any of its lessons have passed down into my own books, but surely they must have.
The flaw in The Belgariad is again that it is the story of a random farm boy who turns out to be one of the great heroes of the age. It does get a little old once you’ve read it a few dozen times. It is kind of the essence of the Hero’s Journey to go down that path, so having modern stories change the way it works is a breath of fresh air.
And now I’m wondering if any of my characters are that stereotypical. I don’t think so. There is a boy, but he’s the son of a king. There are a couple of heroes here and there, but they’ve worked their way into their positions of power, not just been handed them at birth. If I ever find myself writing a Garion I’d be tempted to scrap it and start over.
One thing I do want to mention about these books is the author. Initially listed as David Eddings, it later came out that his wife Leigh had been very involved in the development of the books. She is now considered a coauthor. This is something which wouldn’t be accepted these days, but happened far too often back then. It is good to see the change.
What are the books about?
Your typical fantasy series, you might say. Boy discovers his family is really the world’s most famous group of sorcerers, and they begin a quest to save the magical token from the evil god who wants to rule the earth. There’s more to it than that, of course, and it’s a well-imagined world, but that’s what it boils down to.
The Themes of The Belgariad
The Hero's Journey
I’m not sure if this counts as a theme, but it’s certainly the first thing I think of. This is the classic version of the journey, hitting every single note at exactly the right moment. Couldn’t do much better if you want an example (unless you watch Star Wars).
Power and Responsibility
Of course these are themes. You just found out how powerful you are, now here’s how to handle it and be responsible with it. We’ll throw in a few moral dilemmas to challenge you and see how much you learned (although not too many).
Destiny versus Free Will
Ooh, another kind of challenge to address. Since you’ve been born into this great family, are you able to just mind your own business (nope) or do you have to go save the world and stick your nose into everything (yep)?
A character of great interest
I remember loving the character of Polgara when I first read the series. She was powerful but nice, the opposite of a wicked witch. She would always ride to the rescue, no matter how much trouble Garion got into. She was very much a Mary Poppins, able to do anything and everything she wanted.
Polgara is wise, she knows everything, she has a strong will, she cares about everyone, and she acts as a protector and mentor to Garion. She is everything a fantasy heroine should be.
So why do I want to compare her to Cabac?
Cabac is just about the opposite of every one of those qualities. Doesn’t know much about what’s going on. She’s fairly weak as a person, afraid to do anything. She doesn’t care about anyone else except perhaps her girlfriend, but even then she’s afraid to express herself.
She is the anti-Polgara.
But isn’t Polgara also a little too good to be true? If you have someone who can rescue you from anything, why do you need anyone else? It’s the Superman dilemma. How do you make effective opponents for the most powerful person in the world? You give them some flaw, some kryptonite, but then you make sure the bad guy always messes up somehow.
That’s not Cabac. She can do her own messing up. The interesting part of her story is how she will manage to get along even when she has no idea about what’s happening around her. Perhaps someday she’ll get a clue, but until then she’s kind of like the rest of us. Except she’s a queen.
Other series to read
It’s hard to think of similar stories. I don’t want to just say hey, read some other books that were kind of okay from a similar time.
The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Written in a similar time about similar people. In the eighties and nineties there was a very specific style of story coming to the fore in fantasy, and these two series might be at the peak.
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson: The magic and intricate world-building are reminiscent of the Belgariad. Not sure why I thought of that, since they don’t have much else in common.
In Conclusion
Do I sound a little cynical as you read this? Perhaps I am. The world has moved on in a lot of ways since these books were published. I think they were fine for their time, some of the best fantasy writing from back then.
But there’s a reason diversity is taking hold. In today’s world there’s a whole lot of good works being discovered by people who wouldn’t have been published back then. It’s not a case of letting minorities catch up, or take over. It’s more like, what did we miss out on while these books were leading the genre? How much further would we be if everyone could contribute?