Pawn of Prophecy

The Belgariad, Book 1

By: David Eddings

Narrated by: Brian Wiggins

A magnificent epic set against a history of seven thousand years of the struggles of Gods and Kings and men—of strange lands and events—of fate and a prophecy that must be fulfilled!

THE BELGARIAD

Long ago, so the Storyteller claimed, the evil God Torak sought dominion and drove men and Gods to war. But Belgarath the Sorcerer led men to reclaim the Orb that protected men of the West. So long as it lay at Riva, the prophecy went, men would be safe.

But that was only a story, and Garion did not believe in magic dooms, even though the dark man without a shadow had haunted him for years.

Brought up on a quiet farm by his Aunt Pol, how could he know that the Apostate planned to wake dread Torak, or that he would be led on a quest of unparalleled magic and danger by those he loved—but did not know?

For a while his dreams of innocence were safe, untroubled by knowledge of his strange heritage. For a little while . . .

©1982 David Eddings (P)2024 Tantor

good memories

a lovely rendition of a book series my grandfather introduced me to when I was young

Good book

Story is good. Narration is sub par at best. The narrator makes the characters unrealistic and childish. Might be best to read the book rather than audio.

Better off reading than listening, unfortunately.

I read this as a kid, but it's been 30 years or more. I remember it being a deceptively charming but world spanning epic coming-of-age fantasy novel. I would still call it a wholesome tale but the narrator just ruined it for me. My initial reaction was that it felt like I'd stumbled into a classroom of first graders and caught their reading hour. But I never got over it, and the narrator continued to disappoint. Terrible accents that slipped in and out of character. Mumbling some of them, to the point that I thought he might be imitating Billy Crystal's character Miracle Max from The Princess Bride for one of them. Maybe it was a joke, and I just didn't get it? In any case, I won't be buying the rest of them, and I'm sad about that.

Incredibly Well Done

Amazing! Been needing The Belgariad and Mallorean updated audiobooks, and as a long time fan this was incredibly well done… will get them all, can’t wait to continue listening to the entire series.

So happy to listen

I'm super happy to get to listen to this story during work after so many year of not being able to reread due to wear and tear on some of the original publications

Inconsistent audio level

I’ve loved this series of books since I first read them when they came out in paperback. The narrator does not have a consistent audio level. He varies from a whisper to a strong level within the same sentence, for dramatic effect I assume. This has me constantly adjusting my volume control.

I don’t recommend this performer, but if you can find this title performed by someone else, get it.

Great Story and Series

The story is great, and for first-time listeners, you will love it. However, if you have listened to the Cameron Beierle narrations, the mispronounced names and locations will drive you crazy. It's very distracting.

Great characters great story

I loved everything about this book including the voices. The narrator did an amazing job matching voices with all the characters. The story was great to mysteries suspense. There was just one thing that made listening to this book a real pain sometimes. If I turned the volume high enough to hear the softer regular talking, the louder parts rattled the windows. Audible seriously needs to make volume leveling an easy on off option. Because have to turn the volume up or down 40 or 50 times in one chapter is a serious pain. As much as I loved the book I may have to try to return it. I don’t think I can ever go through this bs with the volume again:(

Good narration with a few quirks

I like this version more than the previous narration. Garion is well done, no characters are terrible and Silk is very , very good.

But Durnik and the Sendars have a Boston accent, which is just odd… and amusing. The entire nation of Cherek sound like they’re pleasant brooklyn jews. Just some odd choices.

But again - it is very well done in general.

Good story, not my favorite, but memorable. I started these in high school and have reread/listened a few times since then. Recommended for anyone who likes fantasy. They’re on the simplistic side - but fun with a scattering of great content.

Very nostalgic

One little tiny thing that annoyed me at first was a few of the pronunciations, but the general tone of the story was never lost. The more I listened, the more I was captivated with which the story was told because of the narration