Obviously if you are looking for deep and deeply moving literature, David Eddings is not the author you are looking for. However, if you crave straightforward storytelling in which setting, character and plot are unfolded at a steady, entertaining pace, this is the right book for you. Heck, this is the right series for you. I'll even go so far as to say this is the right author for you. Eddings doesn't let himself or his stories get bogged down in endless description of the nice little world he has created. Rather, he has a lot of story to tell and he tells it crisply and with steady determination. His characters reveal humanity at just the right intervals, drawing us readers into the story deftly. Eddings has returned to good versus evil, magic and destiny (like the old, delicious fantasy of our younger years).
As for this book specifically, it continues the Belgariad quite satisfyingly. Garion does seem a little bit slow at times, but really, is it easy for a young man to come to terms with being the King of the World? Polgara steps up in this addition also, adding to our knowledge of the way magic works in this universe. Honestly, the fringe characters are my favorite thing about this series. Destinies intertwine wonderfully as one man fights the beast within while another avoids his birthright at all costs.
All in all, thoroughly enjoyable reading.