Dit eerste deel van de Mallorea serie speelt zich een aantal jaren later af dan de gebeurtenissen in de Belgarion serie. De eerste 8 jaar van Belgarion's regering worden vlot vertelt, waarna het verhaal pas echt van start gaat als Brand wordt vermoord. Tijdens de wraakactie van Belgarion die daarop volgt, wordt zijn zoontje ontvoerd. Alles blijkt te horen bij de vervulling van een profetie over de laatste strijd tussen het kind van Licht en het kind van Duister. Belgarion gaat op pad, maar niet iedereen van de oude garde mag mee. Hoewel het heel veel overeenkomsten heeft met de Belgarion serie, is de Mallorea serie iets duisterder van toon. Het verdriet en de woede van Ce'nedra en Belgarion zorgen ervoor dat de zoektocht iets serieuzer overkomt dan tijdens de eerste serie. Is dat erg? Niet in mijn ogen. Er zit nog steeds speelsheid en humor in het verhaal en het past ook bij een volwassen Belgarion en Ce'nedra om wat serieuzer te zijn, zeker gezien het feit dat hun kindje ontvoerd is. De humor komt nu vooral van de overige personages. ( )

This will be the same review for all the books in ‘The Belgariad’ and ‘The Mallorean’.

These books changed me.
I started reading them as an 11 year old who was kind of floating around in this thing called life. I had friends at school, but no meaningful connections. This I didn’t understand until I was older. By reading these books I was drawn into an incredible world filled with characters that I knew and loved, and in some cases wanted to be (come on people, I can’t be the only kid that put a streak of white paint in their hair). The story is Garion’s ‘hero’s journey’ but I felt that the adventure belonged to me too. It was my ‘Neverending story’ if you will and it gave me the confidence to be more present in my own life. I own all the copies of both series set in this marvellous world and most of the extras too. They are a pretty tired looking collection of books because I bought them as a university student from second book shops all over Christchurch and Auckland. I love that they have been released again relatively recently with a fresh new look so that they can appeal to the younger generation. I thoroughly recommend these books for lovers of high fantasy, action, and relatable characters. It is the quintessential hero’s journey. ( )

Ni siquiera Belgarath sabía qué o quién era Zandramas. Pero Garion logró descifrar un párrafo del Códice Mrin y descubrió que la lucha entre la Luz y las Tinieblas aún seguía vigente.
Los Guardianes del Oeste, la esperada continuación de Crónicas de Belgarath, una nueva epopeya por tierras extrañas donde reyes, hechiceros y dioses participan en la culminación de una profecía que puede cambiar el destino del mundo.

{First of 5 in Mallorean or sixth of 10 in Belgariad series; fantasy, high fantasy, quest fantasy, young adult} (1987)

So what happens after 'happily ever after'?

At the end of the Belgariad, the prophecies were fulfilled, the bad guys were overcome, the good guys celebrated and Garion got married and settled down to his new role (which included some lessons in climate change and using sorcery wisely):

If you thought that was an emergency, you should have seen the blizzard you touched off in the Vale with your foolishness - and the hurricanes it spawned in the Sea of the East - not to mention the droughts and tornados you kicked up all over the world. Don't you have any sense of responsibility at all?'
'I didn't know it was going to do that.' Garion was aghast.
'Boy, it's your business to know!' Belgarath suddenly roared at him, his face mottled with rage. 'It's taken Beldin and me six months of constant travel and the Gods only know how much effort to quiet things down. Do you realize that with that one thoughtless storm of yours you came very close to changing the weather patterns of the entire globe? And that the change would have been a universal disaster?'
'One tiny little storm?'
'Yes, one tiny little storm,' Belgarath said scathingly. 'Your one tiny little storm in the right place at the right time came very close to altering the weather for the next several eons - all over the world - you blockhead!'
'Grandfather,' Garion protested.
'Do you know what the term ice age means?'

'Guardians' opens more or less straight after Enchanter's End Game, following Polgara and another little boy as they settle into domestic life after her long life dedicated to the fulfilling of the prophecy. I felt that his childhood wasn't quite as charming as Garion's had been in Pawn of Prophecy but it served to fill in the time line of several years. There are some events of note as time passes, with incidental details which give dimension to the characters and this world, until Belgarath, Garion and Polgara discover that the prophecies have not all been fulfilled and their task continues, with some of their old companions, and some new ones, to aid them.

Thou must have with thee as well the Guide and the Man with Two Lives - and one other whom I will reveal to thee. Thou wilt be joined at some later times by others - the Huntress, the Man Who Is No Man, the Empty One, and by the Woman Who Watches.'

This book serves mainly to show us how Garion, Polgara et al got on with living their lives since the end of Enchanter's End Game and sets the scene for the beginning of the new adventure. To be honest, I found the beginning a bit slow but there is plenty of action after that; essentially this book is the bridge between the two series and sets up the new quest. The book was true to the ambiance of the first series, which I enjoyed, though of course Garion has grown since then; by the end of Guardians of the West about four or five years have elapsed since the end of Enchanter's End Game so Garion must be around twenty one years old. Eddings's trademark humour from the Belgariad and the banter and affection between his characters are still very much in evidence.

I think there is enough introduction to the characters with the preamble chapters (and the prologue does a good job of summarising the events in the first series) so that you could read this book and the Mallorean series without having read the Belgariad first - though you do have to read the books within each series in order as they are about ongoing quests - but it is probably more enriching to return to the lives of well-loved characters

I like the way Eddings's ladies in these series are always 'lovely', 'flawless', 'exquisite' and so on, but at the same time he makes it clear that they are strong characters. Even maternal Queen Layla disguises her strength under her flutters. I remember thinking, the first time I read this in my teens, that Ce’Nedra gets a bit hysterical but, on mature reflection, I suspect I wouldn’t be too coherent under similar circumstances and her reaction is in line with her character.

I think, the first time I read it, I possibly felt that the Belgariad came to a good ending so I wondered how it would continue but I was happy to keep reading about the same characters that I had grown to love. This time reading it, it flowed more easily from one series to the other and I could see some information being fed to the reader about the 'unfinished business' as early as Enchanter's End Game. In fact, there was a detail (unless it was written into the new editions) that becomes relevant later in the Mallorean. I suspect, though, that the second series hadn't been planned when the very first books of the Belgariad were written.

I did enjoy being able to revisit this world and spend more time with Garion, Polgara, Belgarath and friends.

(August 2022)
4.5 stars ( )

Good start to a good series. This story clearly is a reprise of the first series but since I enjoyed it the first red I also enjoyed it when it was recycled around again. Even though the characters are older the story still rings true and is a fun read. ( )