
THE BELGARIAD by David Eddings
Back before David Eddings became a shampoo-rinse-repeat sort of author, churning out the same old storylines and character types, there was the original Belgariad series, which remains by far his best work.
The premise is an old stand-by — farmboy discovers he’s not who he thought he was and, along with a band of helpers, goes on a quest to stop the world’s destruction/domination by the evil one. But Eddings manages to breathe a lot of life into the archetypical plot. His characters are gradually revealed throughout the series to have hidden layers of complexity, his main character, Garion, grows throughout the series, the tone darkens and deepens as one goes on, the world tour is detailed and interesting, the plot quick moving, and there is a great deal of humor laced throughout, often in the form of great character ban... Read More