Customer Reviews
A pleasant conclusion to the series. - By: Stephanie Noverraz, 24 Nov 2008 
This is the fifth & final bookin the Belgariad (after Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, Magician's Gambit & Castle of Wizardry).
In this volume, Garion, accompanied by Silk & Belgarath, makes his way through Drasnia & Gar Og Nadrak, & finally crosses the Sea of the East to Mallorea. Therein Cthol Mishrak, the evil god Torak is stirring from his endless sleep & waiting for their prophesied battle, the outcome of which will decide the fate of the world.
Meanwhile, Ce'Nedra, self-proclaimed Queen of Rivain Garion's absence, is travelling across Arendia & Tolnedra, raising an army with her speeches. Although it breaks her heart to know that it will be badly outnumbered & that it won't stand a chance against the hordes of Thulls, Murgos & Malloreans, she knows this is a necessary sacrifice to create the diversion Garion needs to reach Mallorea.
The part I preferredin this final volume is when Ce'Nedra's army is encampedin Algaria. There Durnik & the Alorn Kings engineer clever contraptions to carry King Anheg's fleet up the mile-high Eastern Escarpment. I also enjoyed reading about the battle of Thull Mardu, where all plans start to go awry, not to mention the final encounter between Garion & Torak, where all the pieces of the Prophecy click into place. Allin all, a pleasant, if not tremendously mind-boggling, conclusion to the series. On to the Malloreon now!
Eat your heart out Tolkein - By: Eclectic Reader, 22 Apr 2008 
This book forms part of a terrific series beginning with `Belgareth the Sorcerer' which for some reason is not available through Amazon UK. I don't read much of this genre (fantasy) but like The Hobbit/ Lord of the Rings this will appeal to a large audience.
Following Belgareth the Sorcerer there are two series of 5 books, `The Belgariad' & `The Mallorean' & it is advisable to read themin order, & if you can read `Belgareth' first (although you could save it & read it afterwards like a prequel).
I raced through the series. The Eddings' (the books were written by a couple) create a Tolkein-esque world with our hero Belgareth learning powers known as `the will & the word' through centuries of study under a benevolent God (the gods that created this world still live on itin physical form). This study elevates him to the status of a sorcerer & elongates his life span - he becomes a legend & a force for goodin the world. However, another disciple of his benevolent master rebels & steals the holy `Orb' stone, following a more sinister God. In the later series the Gods have left the planetin fear that their battle will destroy the world but their peoples continue to war - following the Prophecies left to them by the Gods. The two series follow the course of events as Belgareth leads the hunt for the traitor & the stone. It's very cleverly written & characters & events reappear as we become familiar with the history of this fictional world through the course of the books.
Really good fun & a definite recommendation if you want a light hearted escape that will keep you reading late into the night.
This is the order of the books:
The Belgariad
1. Pawn of Prophecy
2. Queen of Sorcery
3. Magician's Gambit
4. Castle of Wizardry
5. Enchanters' End Game
The Malloreon
1. Guardians of the West
2. King of the Murgos
3. Demon Lord of Karanda
4. Sorceress of Darshiva
5. The Seeress of Kell
The FSFH Book Review says: - By: Ian Tapley, 08 Jan 2006 The fifth & final book of the Belgariad series.
The story begins with Garion, Belgarath & Silk attempting to reach Mallorea. I enjoyed this element of the story because, whilst not terribly different from the rest of the series' travel scenes, it deals only with the three characters. Garion & Belgarath are, of course, central to the story & I felt that, of all their previous companions, that Silk was definitely the best choice to accompany them. The three-way banter shows the bond between these three men as they draw nearer to what they know will be the event that decides their fate.
The story then picks up with the vast army assembled by Ce'Nedra, en route to their invasion of Mishrak ac Thull. Although it's told from Ce'Nedra's point of view, I was disappointed that her personal development wasn't nearly as profound as it had beenin the previous book. However, the actual events, & the delightful scheming of the Kings of the West makes excellent reading.
I particularly enjoyed the great battle at Thull Mardu, with the well-written integration of the various armies & as each of the characters we've come to know has their own part to play. I have to say that, whilst not the best written or the most detailed, it is definitely one of my favourite battle scenesin any fantasy.
The final confrontation on Mallorea was great, as the full import of the event becomes clear to the reader, even if it is marred by a bit where Torak & Garion expand to the size of giants (a la Power Rangers).
The epilogue is slightly tedious, but is essential to resolving the fates of the various characters we've come to know & (with the exception of Polgara) love. In that way it's a bit like the end of the movie of 'The Return of the King'; you want it to hurry up & end, but you need that complete feeling of closure too (sorry, I just watched 'RotK' on DVD today, so the reference is freshin my mind).
An excellent end to a generally very good series. Here's hoping the Mallorean will live up to it.
good at times but too predictable - By: alex perry, 20 Jan 2004 
I have given this two stars because I got a lot of enjoyment from these as a teenager (about 13 years ago) but i have since re-read them & found them unfortunately very unsatisfactory.
This is due to the fact that id imagine my tastes have changed since then although I still read fantasy novels on occasion but also at times predictable you get such a sense of invincability from ALL the charaters that you cant imagine anybody dying . whereas some authors will never kill any of theyre main characters the bit parts orin these cases the "questors" are never safe (brooks , feist etc) you dont even get tat with Mr eddings maiinly because everything is controlled by a phrophecy who will not lose any of his "pawns" & will inevitably reward them with a wife , home or sense of peace. he uses a similar themein his other series the elenium etc as well thoughin this case its a child goddess who will not "allow " any one to die.
Earlier reviewers have made referance to the "sad moment " at end of book which is very well written but once again there is that sense of predictability (the fact that someones phrophetic name is "the man with two lives " tends to give it away!!) so of course its not so sad after all!!
Some characters are wonderful & michevious (silk & Belgareth) others are very cliched (Polgara , Torak & of course the "boy who would be king" Belgarion) & some of the dialogue although Lord of the rings it aint is still quite witty & amusing .
Yet this is such an obvious rip off from Lotr its funny the only one worse although still enjoyable is Terry Brooks sword of shannhara .
I do recomend this if your 13-17 (not being patronising but i loved them at this age) but i wouldent to any one older
Becoming skeptical. - By: , 16 Dec 2002 At the beginning of time, something went wrong. It caused a splittingin fate-everybody & everything had two completely opposite destinies which could be fulfilled. Over millions of years, two opposite prophecies were formed, each predicting a certain fate for the world. Through the years they moved closer & closer together. Finally, the Child of Light & the Child of Dark, the instruments of the prophecies, were almost ready to face each otherin a battle to the death. The winner would determine the fate of the world.
Castle of Wizardry follows the story of a boy called Garion, the Child of Light. It starts as he runs from the city of Rak Cthol where he & his companions reclaimed the Orb of Aldur, an ancient magical stone. The Orb had been stolen by a thief so that he could use it to awaken his evil god Torak from his sleep. After recovering the Orb, Garion & his companions traveled to Riva where shocking events occurred. Nothing could have possibly prepared him for the revelations which explain his past & reveal his future.
This wasn't really a bad book. I've written reviews for the first three, & I said pretty much the same thingsin each of them: the plot's amazing, as are the characters, but the quality of writing isn't anything special. I really won't change any of what I said for this one.
Really, the quality of the writing is the only problem. I think that there are a few parts which could have been worked on & would have made the book a whole lot better. It's sort of like a first draft. You get the idea put down, have some detail, all of that, but you still have to go over it, make it sound better, make more sense, add some detail, add some parts, take some out. I think that Eddings really didn't put as much effort into the final copy as he really could. As a result, you end up reading something which has some really good ideas, a really good plot, but you're occasionally skeptical of the writing quality. That's the only problem I can seein the book. Other than that, I would say that this is very exciting, & very good.
Even though the writing isn't all that great, I'd still recommend it. The plot & characters just about make up for the writing, so overall this is a pretty good book.
