Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings

I read Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings years ago - I think that I was in fifth or sixth grade.  I had a hankering to read it again now because I'm sort of laid up with a broken ankle that's healing and the thought of re-reading past books that I had enjoyed was comforting to me.  So I picked up this. I actually got the editions that are shown below the top one, because I fully intend to just plow right through the Belgariad and the Mallorean. So far, I've only gotten through Pawn of Prophecy and but I'm nearly done with Queen of Sorcery too, so be prepared for a review coming of that one shortly.

The novel focuses on Garion, a young boy in a world that has been around for thousands of years. He's a simple, normal boy at first blush - he plays with his friends on the farm, hurts himself occasionally, begins to notice girls and gets himself into the trouble that most young boys often do. We are introduced to his earliest memories - his Aunt Pol and the kitchen at the farm (she was the cook), his friendship with the smithy, Durnik, Erastide holidays with Faldor (the owner of the farm) and visits from the storyteller, Old Wolf. One day, Old Wolf (also affectionately known as Mr. Wolf by Garion), arrives at the farm and informs Aunt Pol that a mysterious item has been stolen by an unnamed thief, Mr. Wolf and Pol leave to find that thief, reluctantly taking Durnik and Garion with them. The group is later joined by Silk, a spy from the country of Drasnia and Barak, a Cherek warrior. Garion is dragged along and kept in the dark as he visits lots of different cities, and multiple countries. As the party meets more and more royalty, Garion's confusion increases, especially because, as things begin to speed up, he is left more and more to his own devices. At their last destination in this book, Garion becomes the central player in assisting the leaders in defusing various plans that arise during the course of their meetings, even though he is barely 15.

The plot isn't, perhaps, the most original plot to ever be put onto paper by an author, but the characters are memorable and the dialogue makes it all worth it.  There isn't a lot of flowery prose, so the novels go by fairly quickly and the dialogue itself is especially witty at points. There are often periods of political discourse and history that fill people in on the background, without spending pages and pages of prose to it.  I loved how his characters were very realistic - they all have their good points and bad points. I found myself loving them all, regardless!

Love this book.