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BELGARATH THE SORCERER

By David Eddings

Synopsis:

The wait is over.

Herein lies the life story of Belgarath the Sorcerer, and his account of the great struggle that went on before The Belgariad and The Malloreon.

The age-old war was ended at last, and Destiny once again rolled on in its proper course.

Only a single person remained to tell of the near-forgotten times when Gods still walked the lands, giving comfort and counsel to their mortal children. Only one man alive could speak with certain knowledge of how the Dark God Torak stole the Orb of-Aldur and broke the very world apart, consigning the Gods themselves to the hell of war, along with hapless humanity. Only one individual was left who could relate the whole, fearsome story.

That lone witness to history was known to all the world. He was called the Ancient One, the Old Wolf--Belgarath the Sorcerer. And he had been a part of that history from the beginning.

He who would come to be called the Sorcerer was born in the tiny village of Gara, long before the epic struggle for the Orb ever began.

As a youth he left his home to wander the wide world--and found his way into the service of a God. Years of study and work would follow that choice, molding the boy into a man, and forging the man into an instrument of Prophecy.

Here, then, is his tale in full: the story of the strife that split the world asunder and of how the God Aldur and his chosen disciples would toil to set Destiny aright--a monumental undertaking fated to span the eons. Foremost in the chronicles of that labor would be Belgarath.

His ceaseless devotion was foredoomed to cost him the very thing he held most dear--and his loyal service would extend on, through the echoing centuries of loss, of struggle, and of ultimate triumph.

David Eddings joins forces with his wife and longtime collaborator, Leigh, on a journey to the awesome beginning of the centuries of conflict between two mortally opposed Destinies. Here is the saga of the seven thousand-year war of men and Kings and Gods, of a strange fate and a Prophecy that must be fulfilled.

Welcome back, back to the time before The Belgariad and The Malloreon... DAVID ED DINGS was born in Spokane, Washington, in 1931 and was raised in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, in 1954 and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Washington in 1961.

He has served in the United States Army, has worked as a buyer for the Boeing Company, has been a grocery clerk, and has taught college English. He has lived in many parts of the United States.

His first novel, High Hunt (published by Putnam in 1973), was a contemporary adventure story.

The field of fantasy has always been of interest to him, however, and he turned to The Belgariad in an effort to develop certain technical and philosophical ideas concerning the genre.

Eddings and his wife, Leigh, currently reside in the Southwest.

Jacket painting: Laurence Schwinger Jacket design: David Stevenson Printed in USA By David Eddings Published by Ballantine Books: