Castle of Wizardry

This is the 4th book in one of my all time favorite series. I first read it 30 years ago and have re-read it at least once a year since then. I see I have that in common with a lot of the other reviewers. To me, that is the hallmark of a great vs a good book…that you can read it again and again with the same pleasure you experienced the first time. This series is one of the great ones. If you haven’t had the delight of reading it I highly recommend you do so. I envy you being able to experience it for the first time. Warning though..it is addictive. But, with these books, then the second series the Mallorean, Belgarath the Sorceror and Polgara the Sorceress there is plenty of material to indulge in.

This was more Cenedra’s book than Garion’s. Garion is still learning about being a king to his people, but finally finds out what prophecy plans for him. As he leaves with a couple of companions it leaves Cenedra in charge. You see her going from a spoiled brat to a slightly less spoiled brat. She learns to care about someone besides herself and all of her arguing and tantrums mature into more of a leadership role. She uses her ability to argue and wheedle, as well as her insight from growing up in the imperial palace to start forming an army to help Garion and Co. to succeed.

Again, I keep getting surprised by the depth of his characters. When they could easily be surface deep and just be a side character, the author takes the time to give them a sense of history, like you’ll see with Silk and his mother. Those are details that could have been left out and the story would still have happened, but it makes me care about the “side” characters even more. Even Belgarath was somewhat humanized in this book, with a softer side showing through and an explanation about why he does some of the things he does.

The Belgariad, the Malorean, Belgerath and Polgara are a sequence of 12 books that I read once a year (because I love revisiting old friends) before a series of moves lost my collection of books to “in a box somewhere”. I have been asking for years to get the series on kindle and, major squee, Here they are. I have only one critique. Someone needs to proofread the final type before publishing please. I know for a fact that nowhere in any of Mr. Eddings books has Barak sworn by Belay (Belar, Belar, Belar for heavens sake) Each of the books has at least one such typo that breaks the flow of these books and it just jars my back teeth badly. Please fix. I am so thrilled to have ALL (as they come out) these books with me everywhere I go. Just please proofread again.

The Belgariad series is very entertaining. The plot has some interesting twists and challenges. The best part is the character development. These heroes have well developed personalities and aren’t “saintly” heroes. The women are strong and contribute to the overall plot and are entertaining. And the magic is restrained but timely. There’s a strong reliance on wit and cleverness and a generally egalitarian camaraderie.

In every series there is one book where you need to take a deep breath and look around, and prepare for the last push to the finish. Ive read some reviews that this is the least favorite book in the series, but its very necessary. Our characters grow more here than at almost any other single book, and the authors set the stage for the final installment perfectly. It may not move as briskly or be as thrilling, but it more than makes up for it with how well it allows us to get to know our main characters.

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