David Eddings Pawn Of Prophecy Essays - The Belgariad, Belgarion

David Edding's Pawn of Prophecy The book I chose to review was Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings. The world in which the story takes place is ruled by seven gods. At the beginning of time the people of the world live in harmony under the seven gods. Most of the gods choose groups of peoples to worship them, all but Aldur have followers. A lone boy named Belgarath seeks out Aldur and is taken in by him, Aldur then teaches him to be a sorcerer. After taking in the boy, Aldur creates what was to be known as the Orb of Aldur. The orb is so powerful that Aldur's brother Torak smites Aldur and steels the orb from him. When Torak will not return the orb, the peoples of the world attack him and his people, the Angaraks. Torak tries to use the orb to kill his attackers but the orb will not let him use it for evil and it burns off half his face. From then on Torak is known as Torak One-Eye. Eventually Belgarath and the peoples known as Chereks steal the orb back from Torak while he is sleeping. From that point one Cherek child per generation is born with a special mark on his hand. Those with the mark prove to be gifted in the use of the orb. For thousands of years Torak is kept at bay because the orb is protected by the Chereks, but somehow, a man known as the Apostate takes the orb hoping to deliver it to Torak. Belgarath, his daughter Polgara, a Cherek named Barak, a Drasnian named Silk, a Sendar named Durnik and a young boy named Garion venture out into the world to try and recover the orb. Garion is of the Cherek line and has the mark of the orb. The book is only one of a series of ten books and the plot ends abruptly with Belgarath and his band of wanderers setting sail for Camaar to continue the search for the Apostate and the orb. The Pawn of Prophecy is a book that deals a battle between good and evil forces. Both forces have objectives that can only be achieved at the expense of the other side's goals. This means that only one side may win - there will be no compromise. Because both sides are approximately equal to each other in power, the victor of this war will not be the most physically powerful side will be the side that has the stronger will power - the side that will persevere and push itself through difficult times and situations. This sentiment is echoed throughout the book. The theme of the book is that if you focus all your energy into something and try your hardest, you can do anything. The notion that a person can do anything if they really try is demonstrated frequently. For example, Belgarath is given the task of finding the Apostate who stole the Orb of Aldur. This is not an easy undertaking, even for a powerful sorcerer like Belgarath. It takes him many months of tracking from Sendar to Darine to Muros to Cherek and finally to Camaar before he even finds the scent of the man he is pursuing. Difficult as the task is, Belgarath does not rest until his job is done and as a result of his efforts he acquires his goal. The author, however, does not limit the theme only to the good characters of the book. Even the villains may benefit from perseverance and will power. For example, the spy named Brill is considered to be of slow mind and body and not a serious adversary. He is discovered by the Belagarath at Faldor's farm before the journey to find the orb even begins. Although he is tied up by Belagarath, letting Belgarath and his group get almost two days travelling ahead of him, Brill pushes himself and eventually catches up to them again, ambushing them and injuring the boy Garion. The most apparent example of the theme is the way in which sorcerers perform their magic. Unlike many other stories in which a sorcerer or wizard must perform strange rituals and recite incantations to create magic, in this book, all that is required is will power and a single word. The author calls this phenomenon "the will and the word". There is no such thing as magic. If you want, for example, to move a rock, you merely will it to happen and channel your