Enchanters' End Game (Belgariad) (Paperback)

The story begins with Garion, Belgarath and 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 and Belgarath are, of course, central to the story and 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 been in the previous book. However, the actual events, and 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 and 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 scenes in 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 and 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 and (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 and end, but you need that complete feeling of closure too (sorry, I just watched 'RotK' on DVD today, so the reference is fresh in my mind).

An excellent end to a generally very good series. Here's hoping the Mallorean will live up to it.

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 and 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 and his companions traveled to Riva where shocking events occurred. Nothing could have possibly prepared him for the revelations which explain his past and reveal his future.

This wasn't really a bad book. I've written reviews for the first three, and I said pretty much the same things in 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 and 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 see in the book. Other than that, I would say that this is very exciting, and very good.

Even though the writing isn't all that great, I'd still recommend it. The plot and characters just about make up for the writing, so overall this is a pretty good book.