Review by raistlan316 (2005-09-07)
From what I've noticed about Edding's stories are that they are masterfully thought with an entricate plot that is imaginative and interesting, but he is relatively weak in character developement and character dialogue.

This story is no different. It is an entertaining tale that I would recommend, but expect the characters to be one dimensional with the diaglogue one would expect in a mediocre small town play. The story itself is strong enough to carry the book and make it interesting, without having to rely too much on a character driven plot.

Review by coranon (2003-03-09)
Even though the main criticism of the Eddings series is it's straightforwardness and typicality, it is a very nice change of pace. I heartily enjoyed the Belgariad. Even though some series give me the ability to comment on each book separately, this book cannot, therefore, each book of the Belgariad will garner this same review. I say give it a chance, sit back, enjoy!

Review by dougthonus (2003-03-08)
The Bellgariad isn't a bad series, but it's pretty straight cookie cutter fantasy as almost everything I've read by Eddings is. He falls into many of the trappings that I dislike about most fantasy books: sterotypical plot, stereotypical characters, stereotypical ending.. However, he does it better then most cookie cutter writers, and you can read these books pretty quickly (I read all 5 in about two weeks). They're good enough to keep you interested, but there's much better stuff you could be reading, and if you've read all the better stuff you'll probably be pretty bored with this.