Cover of Pawn of Prophecy

Pawn of Prophecy

core novel 1982 Belgariad Universe

Record

First published1982
Original language EN
Work typenovel
Canon statuscore
Reader rating4.16 (113,201 ratings, collected 2026-09-12)
Page count304
First-edition ISBN0-345-29637-0
First-edition date1982-04
Internal chronology3

Synopsis

Pawn of Prophecy opens with a prologue recounting an ancient theft: the sacred, soul-bearing Orb of Aldur stolen from the god Torak in a mythic past. The main story then follows Garion, a boy raised on a quiet farm in Sendaria by his Aunt Pol, who knows nothing of his true heritage. His unremarkable life is disrupted when a mysterious old storyteller called Mister Wolf arrives, and Garion, Pol, and Wolf set out on a journey that grows to include a widening band of companions from different kingdoms. Their travels are driven by the pursuit of a powerful stolen object whose theft threatens the balance of power between rival lands and gods. Along the way, Garion begins to sense that Wolf and Aunt Pol are far more than they appear, and that his own unremarkable beginnings may hide a significance he cannot yet imagine.

Where it sits

Awards (verified)

  • Locus Award (Best Fantasy Novel), 1983: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 11.

Notes

  • From the series record (The Belgariad): Original first editions credited to David Eddings alone; some later reprints/omnibus editions add Leigh Eddings retroactively (recorded per the original-credit rule).

Neighbouring works

Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.

Sources

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Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.