I found this more entertaining than the first one, though I'm not entirely sure why. Perhaps it's the lack of godly backstory cluttering things up, or perhaps it's that it feels like there's a bit less focus on Garion here (he is, sad to say, the least interesting of the characters). I'd like to say it's because there's more women in it, but Ce'Nedra and Salmissra strike me as walking stereotypes - though to be fair, it's really only Polgara who doesn't fit the stereotype mould for me, regarding the characters of this series, and I continue to enjoy her.

Overall, the book rollicked along well, the pace (as with Pawn) being one of the book's most attractive qualities. The other is the humour. I wouldn't describe any of the Belgariad books as funny books in the way that I'd describe, for instance, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, but it's clear that both Eddings and his characters possess a sense of humour. That appeals to me. I recently forced my way through the first two books of another famous speculative epic (Gene Wolfe's The Book of the New Sun) and I just could not get on with it due I think (in retrospect) to the fact that both the series and the protagonist were so deeply and crushingly humourless. I far prefer Eddings' approach.