Guardians of the West (The Malloreon, Book 1) (Mass Market Paperback)

by David Eddings (Author) "It was late spring..." (more)
Key Phrases: herd master, old sorcerer, chestnut stallion, Aunt Pol, Queen Porenn, Ran Borune (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A sequel to THE BELGARIAD, Garion has slain the evil God Torak, and fulfilled the prophecy. But suddenly another prophecy is foretold. Again a great evil is brewing in the East. And again Garion finds himself caught between two ancient Prophecies, with the fate of the world resting on him....


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A sequel to THE BELGARIAD, Garion has slain the evil God Torak, and fulfilled the prophecy. But suddenly another prophecy is foretold. Again a great evil is brewing in the East. And again Garion finds himself caught between two ancient Prophecies, with the fate of the world resting on him....

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey (February 12, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345352661
• ISBN-13: 978-0345352668
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (83 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #159,229 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 1 in The Mallorean Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Never Trust A Prophecy, July 1, 2005

By	Marc Ruby™ "The Noh Hare™" (Warren, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Guardians of the West (Hardcover)

Here begins the second of David Eddings fantasy series' - Guardians of the West. It is the follow up on his first series - The Belgariad - and uses the same characters in much the same settings (more of this series takes place in the Angarak kingdoms). Depending on your viewpoint you will find this series inventive or repetition, funny or silly, slow paced or marvelously detailed. I find it impossible to predict who will or will not like it. For the record, I feel that, while the writing has improved considerably from the first set, characterization is fairly static, and, of course, much of the plot is borrowed from the Belgariad.

It's about fourteen years after the fall of Torak, and Polgara, Durnik, Errand and the irascible Belgarath have set up housekeeping in the Vale of Aldur and are well on their way to becoming a typical family of sorcerers. All of this is interrupted when word comes that the relationship between Belgarion and C'Nedra is on the rocks AND there is no heir to the throne of Riva. Polgara comes to the rescue (or interferes mercilessly, depending on how you feel about 3000 year old aunts butting in). But repairing the damage and getting an heir on the way creates even more problems than it solves. Once again, conflicting prophecies awaken, this time with the birth of Geran, the heir to Riva, and the world teeters on the edge of disaster.

The Bear Cult goes into high gear, the Orb warns of coming evil, and Geran is kidnapped. Once again Belgarion and C'Nedra go on a quest, this time to save there child from being sacrificed to initiate the new reign of a Child of Darkness. A race is on between two opposing forces. Whoever fails to reach 'the place that is no more' on time will lose. The instructions are hidden in countless books of prophecy which Belgarath must interpret and the party is subject to manipulation from both the Seers of Kell, and Zandramas, Geran's kidnapper.

The writing is decidedly tighter in the Malloreon than it is in the Belgariad. The early tendency to intersperse little dabs of action with endless discussion and peripheral side stories is gone. However, so are some of the human touches. Guardians of the West marches forward, telling what is a very complex set of events, but for all the time that is spent on C'Nedra's pain at the theft of her child, she never gets the respectful treatment that you would thing she merits. And with so many characters crossing over to the new series, one would expect more development. Other than some growth for Belgarion and Errand and the insertion of some new characters, the personality side of these books is very static.

Even so, this series is still better than a great deal of the fantasy fiction that competes with it that it is easy to forgive it's faults. It remains a comfortable sort of good vs. evil tale, told with a great deal of gentle (and not so gentle) sarcasm. I would recommend it over many other efforts.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Even better than the Belgariad, January 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Guardians of the West (MM to TR Promotion) (Malloreon (Paperback Random House)) (Paperback)

The Guardians of the West was a much appreciated continuation of the Belgariad series. It brought back all my favorite characters, and is also the beginning of a much better series.

While this book (and series) will never be extremely high up on my all-time greatest books list, it is extremely high on my all-time most wildly entertaining books list. Don't read this to by emotionally moved or intellectually stimulated, but read it to have a wildly fun time. The characters are somewhat flat, but make up for it with many quirks and outragous personalities. I probably laughed more reading this series than any other book, with the exception of any written by Douglas Adams.

The plot was intelligently put together, and the books read very quickly. The characters are all fun, although Ce'Nedra irritated me. She was tough and funny in the Belgariad, but she comes across as mory of a whiny wimp in this series. But aside from that the Guardians of the West, and the entire Malloreon series is Eddings' best work to date, and better than most of the fantasy's out on the market right now.

Definitely recommended for any fantasy lover.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The further adventures of Belgarion., October 5, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Dix Hills, New York, USA) - See all my reviews

In the Belgariad we got to see Garion as a boy now we get to see him as a man. In this first book of the Mallorean he and Ce'Nedra have their first child. That interesting episode is just the start of a long and arduous quest that reunites some old friends and introduces some new. This book is a wonderful blend of fantasy and humor. Case in point, Garion's reactions when Ce'Nedra goes into labor. Just thinking about it makes me chuckle. It is a must read for Eddings fans and for new readers it is a great introduction to his work.