Pawn of Prophecy

Pawn of Prophecy

1982 • 262 pages

Ratings164

Average rating3.9

15

A lot of people seem to regard this series as an old friend, but I come to it completely fresh, and after reading the first book I have mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand, it's a very standard fantasy that seems to have been created by reading Fantasy For Dummies and following the instructions. I don't specialize in fantasy and I've read only a limited amount of it; but, even so, nothing is very original or surprising about this one.

On the other hand, Eddings writes quite fluently and confidently, and the story makes pleasant light reading. If you want something to read on a journey, this would serve well.

I'd describe it as a book for adolescents that can also be read by adults. I don't think it's aimed directly at the adult reader. The central character is a boy of 14; the story hints that he has undiscovered powers. Well, if we find a 14-year-old boy as the central character of a fantasy series, and he turns out to have no special powers, that would be rather surprising, no?

Bear in mind that this book has a “to be continued” ending. If you want any real end of story, you have to buy more books.

June 16, 2014