Which is all well and good. But which property truly deserves to be the next Game Of Thrones? It has to be The Belgariad. The books have been wildly popular for thirty years, they feature accessible and familiar characters, an easy to follow plot and loads of action and adventure. And best of all they are completed works – no risk of catching up to the source material before the end (Godspeed your typing fingers, George R.R. Martin!)

First published in 1982, The Belgariad is a five-book fantasy adventure series by David Eddings in collaboration with his wife Leigh. Beginning with Pawn Of Prophecy, the story follows the journey of a naive farm boy and his magical and resourceful entourage, as they set about fulfilling an ancient prophecy. The Belgariad was so successful it was soon followed by another five-book arc, The Mallorean. In other words, there’s plenty of source material to create season after season of fantasy awesomeness. Plus the two prequels. Twelve books equals plenty of seasons.

The Belgariad is accessible fantasy on a large scale, a gateway into the fantasy genre if you will. It features well-loved tropes, such as a ‘chosen one’ who is also an orphan, guided by mentors as he takes on a mystical quest. There’s a Big-Bad who can’t be mentioned (I’ll whisper it, Kal Torak) and many journeys through multiple lands meeting strange, wonderful people.

Like many time-honoured tropes, the ending of The Belgariad is never really in doubt. In a whodunnit, they find out who did it. In a Bond film, the villain’s lair blows up. In a romance, we get a happily ever after. With fantasy, the prophecy is fulfilled. The joy of the story is not in whether the good guys will win, but in finding out how they got there.

One of the easiest reasons The Belgariad should be the next Game Of Thrones is purely to do with its popularity and ready-made audience. Millions of readers have already enjoyed the books. Those who read the books in their teens *cough* now have avidly reading younglings of their own. Those who haven’t read the books will ‘get it’ because the tropes and structure are so familiar. If you’ve ever visited tvtropes.org you’ll see just how many common plot and character devices the story uses.