Castle of Wizardry (The Belgariad, Book 4)

Rating:
Summary: Keep it up Mr Eddings
Review: It may not be the best in the series - but I sat up many a night! I wasn't a major "fantasy" reader until I met this series and Eddings! I'm hooked and anyone looking for something just a little different, but quite believable, needs to read this series.

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Summary: A familiar, enjoyable ride
Review: No great surprises await in the series but it's a skillful weave of sharply defined created peoples, gods and cultures. Probably unappreciated for its deceptive simplicity, in actuality, Eddings is to be commended for making it all look so simple. If you want a familiar-seeming tale with an upbeat bent, then the Belgariad is for you.

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Summary: The Elite few...
Review: Not the first book,but certainly one of the best,Eddings has acheived the status : Elite. I read this book during my lunch breaks, ( I was always late returning to work). It was delightful to have a dining room full of people look my way when i could no longer hold back my mirth at some witty comment made by one of the char's, and burst out laughing....Extremely delightful!! Thank you David for putting some humor back into life!

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Summary: They have the Orb.
Review: Now Garion must reach Riva before it is too late. A great action novel with my close calls. Eddings goes back to his classical ability to write a great action novel which will keep you page turning until the next morning.

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Summary: Great!
Review: Simply great! The action really becomes intense in this book and everything starts to wind down to the final conclusion!

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Summary: Very funny
Review: Some people have told me that they don't like the Belgariad because it drags on too long, but I disagree. I think that Eddings gives each of the five books in the series it's own distinct flavor and character, and that makes the entire series sufficiently entertaining to be worth reading. "Castle of Wizardry", the fourth book in the Belgariad, has less action than the rest of the series, but it makes up for that by having more humor. There's lots of hilarious conversations and clever descriptions that poke fun at characters. It's the comic high point of a series that already very much tongue-in-cheek, and a delightful way to burn through a few hours of your spare time.

Rating:
Summary: Very funny
Review: Some people have told me that they don't like the Belgariad because it drags on too long, but I disagree. I think that Eddings gives each of the five books in the series it's own distinct flavor and character, and that makes the entire series sufficiently entertaining to be worth reading. "Castle of Wizardry", the fourth book in the Belgariad, has less action than the rest of the series, but it makes up for that by having more humor. There's lots of hilarious conversations and clever descriptions that poke fun at characters. It's the comic high point of a series that already very much tongue-in-cheek, and a delightful way to burn through a few hours of your spare time.

Rating:
Summary: If you like saga's--get it.
Review: The 4th in the series the Belgariad by David Eddings. This book completes the quest of retrieving the sacred orb of Aldur started in Pawn of Prophecy. Eddings' further develops the characters of young Garion and Ce'Nedra as they assume their destiny and the final battle that could end the world. The consistency with which Eddings develops his characters is amazing and fun to read. A good story for adults, and teens. Teens will identify with the main characters 'teen angst' in a world beyond their control and adults will appreciate the wry political commentary on a cold war that is no longer going on.

Rating:
Summary: It's the sweet dessert served after a heavy literary meal.
Review: The Belgariad as a whole is an entertaining piece of work. The stereotypical characters are fun to watch and listen to, and the plot doesn't tax your senses or raise the tension too high that you stop being entertained and actually start worrying about whether the heroes are going to make it or not. For those who haven't read the rest of the series yet, I'll recap quickly. It's the story of a young hero named Garion who has no idea he is the descendant of kings of old, whose destiny is to reclaim his ancient throne and kill the mad god Torak. He's aided in the quest principally by his Aunt Pol and his grandfather Belgarath. Other memorable companions include the wiley thief/merchant/spy Silk, the flightly princess Ce'Nedra, and the knight Mandorellen. Compared to the rest of the books in the series, Castle of Wizardry is a standout in this regard because this is where the lull in the story occurs. Readers that require it get some breathing room. This is the calm before the storm. As such, I don't find it to be as entertaining as the next book in the series. Nevertheless, you do get a lot of playful banter and relatively safe plot. The characters get to explore their own selves for a little bit, as opposed to being acted on by a whole lot of external forces in the previous books of the series. I like this book precisely because we learn more about the characters themselves. We find out the who and the why behind a prophecy that's thousands of years old. We get to follow the progress of a young kitchen scullion (Garion) who would be king of half the world, as he learns more about the extraordinary family of which he is the latest, and arguably the most important, member. We get to see old companions from previous books return. We get to see all the preparations being made for a titanic battle between the West and the East, and the struggle of a young hero to find a way out of all the bloodshed to come. Though it doesn't try to reach the level of literature with a capital L, it does obliquely ask some interesting questions. The question of how a mortal man can kill an immortal God is an intriguing one, and Castle of Wizardry ends on a rather high point by asking the question but not providing any hint of an answer. Overall I liked Castle of Wizardy. I think it's the best of the series behind the final book, Enchanter's End Game. Sure it's not high literature, but it's great "safe" reading for a rainy afternoon.

Rating:
Summary: eddings is the best
Review: the books of eddings wore the first fantasy books that i have read and for my they wore the best