There is a flaw in your argument: David Eddings did not write "very good stories." He just wrote stories that were so familiar they went down like fruity alcoholic drinks, the kind you can get utterly smashed on without realizing how bad they are for you.

And I say this as someone who read all ten of the Belgarion books plus all six Sparhawk books plus the first of whatever series he started after that. The thing with the rift or gods or... oh, I don't know.

(No. Wait. Twelve Belgarion books, counting the backstory about Belgarath and Polgara.)