I keep thinking back to a discussion a few months on reddit about THE BELGARIAD. Several comments were made about it being cliche and pedestrian, and someone said, “Yeah, it’s a fine story, but it’s never going to be a classic.”

And all I could think to respond was, “It’s over thirty years later and we’re still talking about it. How is that NOT ‘a classic’?

But that got me thinking- I cite THE BELGARIAD (and THE MALLOREON, its sequel series) as one of my influential works. But what is that influence? I know I’ve read the whole series several times. My copies of the books are in terrible shape.