Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings

Synopsis From Back Cover:

Legends told of how the evil God Torak had coveted the power of the Orb of Aldur, until defeated in a final battle.  But prophecy spoke of a time when he would awake and again seek dominance over all the world.  Now the Orb has been stolen by a priest of Torak, and that time was at hand.

The master Sorcerer Belgareth and his daughter Polgara the arch-Sorceress were on the trail of the Orb, seeking to regain it before the final disaster.  And with them went Garion, a simple farm boy only months before, but now the focus of the struggle.  He had never believed in sorcery and wanted no part of it.  yet with every league they traveled, the power grew in him, forcing him to acts of wizardry he could not accept.

 With Queen of Sorcery, the second book in The Belgariad series, the action is starting to heat up and we are starting to meet some of the world's movers and shakers.  We meet Ran Borune XXIII, the Emperor of Tolnedra, and are joined on their quest by his daughter Ce'Nedra, who will play a huge part in Garion's life later on down the road.  We also are introduced to Salmissra, the Queen of Nyssia.  She decided to kidnap Garion in order to seduce him to her side, needless to say Polgara wasn't too happy about it and she changed Salmissra's life for forever after.  I wouldn't count either one of these rulers to be the good guys, but they are not on the side of Torak either.  They have their own agendas, most of which will not line up with our questers.

We also get to meet two new members of the quest, Mandorallen who is a Mimbrate knight running from a broken heart, and Lelldorin, a Asturian archer.  Needless to say Mimbrates and Asturians aren't the fastest of friends, so there is a lot of tension between the two of them.  Both of them are great characters, as are most of the questors.  My only complaint about the members of the quest is that other than Durnik, they are all nobility.  Every single one of them, including Garion (though he doesn't know it yet) have noble blood coursing through their veins.  I would have liked to have more of them be a little more common, but since that's not the case, I can deal with it.  I love them all, especially Silk and Hettar.

We do learn more about the individual members of the quest.  Silk is a master spy, Hettar can talk to horses, Barak is some sort of werebear, and Ce'Nedra is part Dryad.  Now I know some of you make be shaking your heads just about now, but this is fantasy.  Questers have to be more than they appear to be.  It's part of the rules.

Most importantly though, this is the book that Garion realizes that he is more than he ever though possible.  He is in fact one of those who are destined to become a sorcerer, whether he likes it or not.  And he really doesn't like it.  When he is forced, through magic, to kill Chamdar, a Grolim High Priest, Garion rebels at what he's done.  He feels betrayed and lied to his whole life, and doesn't want the power or the responsibility that comes with it.  He doesn't want to be know as Belgarion, he wants to be the simple Garion.  Little does he know he has more surprises in store for him.  Including one that will really change the way he sees himself.

Other Books In The Series:

Pawn of Prophecy