BBAW: Forgotten Treasure

Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction.  This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!

Well I wrote a guest post for Aarti at BOOK LUST on the book that I would normally have touted here, but I suggest you go and read that post if you want to know about my normal, “everyone must read this book, why is no one reading this book?” book. But I thought it was time for another book now, one that was a best seller at the time but I think deserves another plug:

The Belgariad and The Mallorean

by David and Leigh Eddings

I’ve reviewed the first five books in the series here (follow the link above, please be kind those reviews are from when I was a very baby blogger, I cringe when I read them now) and I’m hoping to review the remaining seven books later this year (I have a couple of challenges left to finish before I do my re-read). The Belgariad has a very sentimental place in my heart because these were the last few books my mum read aloud to me. I was 10 or 11. She stopped reading them because I would get so engrossed in the story I would continue to read the next chapter and the next chapter long after she had kissed me good night :D

 

Two series?

Well, yes and no. The books are grouped into two series of five books each plus to Prologues except they are actually epilogues. (are you more confused now?) The first five books are collectively known as The Belgariad whereas the second set of five are called The Mallorean. The last two books tell of events leading up to the first book in The Belgariad but they are written to be read after you have read The Mallorean as they refer to events in The Belgariad and in The Mallorean.

What are the books about?

The first book of The Belgariad, Pawn of Prophecy, starts with the story of the young farm boy Garion. Garion think he is just an ordinary boy, however, he will soon come to realise that his aunt Pol and the mysterious Mister Wolf, the storyteller, are anything but ordinary. And thus the real adventure begins. 

What do I love about this series?

Well apart from the sentimental value this series is funny! Especially as you continue to read the series and the amount of in jokes increase. The in jokes that are easily understandable to the reader makes one feel part of the story, sort of like being an extra character in the story.

That feeling is increased by the fact that the main character, Garion, is supremely real. Maybe it helps that I myself was almost a teenager when I started reading the books. Garion’s feelings of never being told what is going on, the resentment at being sent away when exciting things are being discussed, they are all feelings teenagers can relate to. Although Garion is the main character, the books feature a whole host of other characters, and among them is one of my favourite female characters of all time, Garion’s aunt Pol. She is a strong, intelligent, no nonsense female. I adored her growing up. And she isn’t the only strong female character in the books. One can tell that, although only the last two books reflect it, Eddings had a strong female in his life.

Like many of the books in the fantasy genre the books in the Belgariad and the Mallorean deal with the fight between good and evil. There are mythical beasts and magic. There are different tribes of people, most of which can be connected to nations or cultures in our own world, but our world is never referred to. This is a world complete with its own mythology and history.

If you enjoy a good story, with a familiar* message that allows you to escape into a world of chivalry, but with very strong female characters, I highly recommend this series.

*familiar does not have to mean boring, just sayin’

Copyright ©2010 Zee from Notes from the North. This post was originally posted by Zee from Notes from the North. It should not be reproduced without express written permission.