Customer Reviews

Magician's Gambit (The Belgariad, Book 3)

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Volume three of the Belgariad brings the first story arc, the quest for the orb, to closure. It also complete the grand tour of the West that Eddings has been taking the reader through. With Nyissan interference out of the way, Belgarath and Silk rejoin the rest of the party and reveal that the Orb has fallen into Murgo hands. Ctuchik, an old enemy of Belgarath is guarding the Orb in Cthol Murgos, and the wizard is willing to let him have for the moment. There are more important things to do before fetching it back.

Taking a shortcut through Maragor, where a lonely god weeps for his lost people, the party heads for the Vale, where Belgarath first learned to be a wizard, and Polgara grew up. It's time for Belgarion to meet Aldur and even experiment with his new found (and uncomfortable) powers. It's also time to start developing C'Nedra into something other than a very spoiled and dubious imperial princess.

The next stop is the land (make that caves) of the Ulgos. When gods were choosing out peoples, the Ulgos got left out. After what is probably the world's most effective guilt trip they managed to get Ulgo to be their god. As a result, they have become a very serious people about their religion - in a good way. Belgarath is looking for a special Ulgo guide who can deal with solid stone walls, and he's quite willing to interfere in a religious rebellion to get what he needs. C'Nedra is left safely behind, and the trek to Cthol Murgos to retrieve the orb is under way.

In Magician's Gambit, Eddings' style crystallizes. He will spend a lot of time on side adventures, details, and character interaction, only advancing the plot when he has to do so. Later this will become the characteristic that will cause some people to become great fans and others to lose interest. Because I like Eddings' sarcastic style, I enjoy the periods where almost nothing happens just as much as those times when the action really picks up. It's a pleasant break from the high speed novels of modern fantasy.

Eddings has created a very large world. So large that two more volumes and another whole series will fit into it. This interesting environment and the characters that people it make Eddings' work into the equivalent of literary comfort food for me. If you've made it this far, you will want to read on.

Magician's Gambit steps up the actual quality and stakes in this ongoing series. Princess CeNedra is a wonderful creation, definitely one of the more colorful and vivid characters in the series. She adds a new element to the story, and readers take a sly pleasure in knowing exactly what Garion and CeNedra's destiny is while the two unwitting youths stumble closer to each other. Eddings masterfully weaves this semi-subplot into the ongoing saga of Garion, Belgarath and Polgara.
The story telling is crisp and without frills again, causing the action to move swiftly and the reader to be drawn in immediately. Description and setting are done well, but not overdone to the point of stagnating the story. Subplots move along swiftly--unlike the plodding of Robert Jordan.
All in all, an excellent episode in the ongoing saga of the Belgariad.

Once again I am shocked by yet another amazing book in The Belgariad series. My expectations for these books were extremely low before I started reading them, but over and over again I am surprised as I get caught up in the plot and in the amazing characters. However, by now my surprise is wearing off and I'm becoming more and more scepticle of the overall quallity of the writing.

The plot is simple: a boy called Garion has started a quest into perilous lands to recover the Orb of Aldur, a very powerful magical item which was stolen by a thief. With the Orb, the thief could awaken the evil god Torak and then mount a campaign to attack and defeat the western civilizations, all of which are eternal enemies of Torak. Garion is traveling with his aunt Polgara, his grandfather Belgarath (both of which are sorcerors), and several other interesting characters as he chases down the thief to recover the Orb. All the while Garion is discovering a strange power which he has, and things are revealed about a mysterious other awareness which inhabits his thoughts occasionally.

That was just the basic plot-as basic as it gets. That was simple, but the details and twists in the book pulled me in from the first pages, and constantly I found myself caught up in it, turning the pages as fast as I could to finish and find out what happens. The thing about the plot is that it's exactly what I started reading fantasy books for in the first place. The Belgariad captures your imagination and curiosity better than so many other series, and it inevitably led to me sitting around, reading a few hundred pages a day because I just couldn't put it down.

Then, there are the characters. I can say that the characters took no small part in getting me caught up in Magician's Gambit. I found that I cared about the characters quite a bit. I really wanted to see how they'd change over time, with their general actions and actions toward each other. I was very pleased as I found that, like in the first two books, the developement of the characters was natural and believable.

However, my initial shock of how amazing the plot and characters are began to wear off as I got into the book as I found more and more ways to criticize the writing. The quality of the writing really isn't anything special. There are parts which should be shortened, parts which should be lengthened, and parts which just simply need work. I have read some really amazing books before by really amazing authors, and the quality of the writing really isn't anything special.

In the end, though, I had to give this four stars. I can't say something's terrible if I was so caught up in it and read it in just a day or two. I'd reccomend it-it's easy, enjoyable, and a very good example of a fantasy book.

*Please give me feedback-helpful or not?*

Garion and his new found friends continue on their search for the Orb of Aldur. Now that Asharak is dead, our focus turns back to Brill, the rank smelling, evil looking "farm hand" who seems to be attempting with all of his power to kill Garion. We then add another evil character to the story, the magician Ctuchik. In the caves of Ulgo, the party gains one more member, that being the Ulgo fanatic Relg. Relg is a diviner, meaning that he can walk through stone. Our crooked friend comes to be very useful once he gets over the fact that he sins, and he becomes a staple character in the story. Silk spends his time being devious as usual, Barak now has an overwhelming urge to turn into a bear every time Garion is in trouble, Mandorallen swears himself the protector of Ce'Nedra, Lelldorin gets over his hate for Mimbrates and he and Mandorallen become close friends. Ce'Nedra is starting to have certain feelings for Garion that she knows she can't have because she is a princess and he is a scullion. When Ce'Nedra is left in the caves of Ulgo, her feelings for this sandy haired farm boy grow and intensify. Belgarath finally confronts Ctuchik, and we meet the little boy who carries the Orb around like it's his favorite toy, and then he tries to hand it off to people saying "Errand?". Errand seems to be the only word the little boy can say. I fully recommend that you continue to read this book, and do whatever you have to do to get you hands on it. Borrow it, steal it, hey, you can even buy it if you want to, but whatever you do...Read this book!

The Magician's Gambit, and this entire series rocks! I have also read Tolkein's Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and I thought they were great. But they were very intricate and sometimes VERY difficult to get into and enjoy. A lot of Tolkein groupies are out Eddings-bashing. They seem to think that a great fantasy epic is a threat to their geekdom. Well towel off people, and realize that its just another great fantasy series. Yes there are times when the plot of the Belgariad is a bit predictable. That is about the only negative thing (if you consider that negative) that can be said about this series and the Mallorean. The characters are extremely rich and diversified. You are plunged into their very lives. Playful, witty, even affectionate banter is a staple to the stability of these wonderful characters, from the first campfire banter between Silk and Barak outside of Faldor's farm, all the way to Garion and his unforseen buddy Zakath on the Island of Perivior. There is a lot of good humor throughout the entire series. Lots of good savage fighting, even if a bit easy for the good guys, but hey - they had the Overlord of the West on their side! As far as this individual book goes... In a nutshell it was excellent. Not many fantasy books can actually get a sniffle outta me, but when Garion brought that colt back to life up in the cave of the gods, I almost got a bit choked up. I guess I have a soft spot for horses. By the way, Lord Hettar rules! Buy, read, and covet the enitre 10 book series. You will love it and find new things to celebrate every time you read it!!

Alright.. sorry but I had to do that.
Ahead there be SPOILERS

The Belgariad is an odd series in that it is five books long but really should ultimately consist of two trilogies. The first trilogy would consist of books 1,2 and 3 and the second would consist of books 3,4 and 5. Now there are going to be some people that look at that statement and say "Yeah I get it" and others that say "That guy makes absolutely no sense" so let me explain.

First off let me say that I think that Magician's Gambit is the tightest and most focused book in the series. We (the readers) and the characters now both know what the goal is, they know WHERE the goal is and they are now actively headed to get the Ring..ahem I mean Orb so there is a feeling that finally everyone is on the page to some extent. Yes there are surprises along the way and yes there is a fair amount of just sitting around yaking it up but for the firt time the story is moving in a solid direction. (The first two books were very much like "Oh.. we're going here? Oh.. no? Let's go talk to these people? Ok.. Where are we going? Hey look I just blew a guy up.. was that supposed to happen?" and so on)

Now, if you read the first paragraph of my review you can see that 3 is an overlap point. This book has the properties of both the first AND last books of a trilogy.

It feels like it's the last book because by the end the companions are finally all with the company, the Orb has been gotten and one of our principal villains has blown himself into oblivion. There is the obligitory fantasy pyrotechnic moment where a city is blown off of a mountain. By this point we have met all of the main characters and kings (Brand being a major exception). We're familiar with most of the culture and we've even met a god or two. In some fantasy series this would be enough and we could go home (It is even in Eddings other series The Elennium).

It feels like the beginning of a trilogy.. actually for some of the same reasons. With the addition of Relg, Errand and the Marag girl Taiba this kind of feels like Act I where we introduce new characters. We also see Garion start stepping up to fill his newly acquired role as a sorcerer. If you know where this series goes then you know he'll be moving on to become a king and "Overlord of the West" and that path begins in earnest in this book.

Anyone who has read my reviews for the previous books has seen me rail against Eddings writing of female characters. While my feelings about Polgara haven't changed, C'Nedra has definately grown here and Taiba, while only being introduced briefly here is my favorite Eddings female up to this point. But more on that in the next review.

So the upshot is: If you didn't like this book.. you might as well give up on this series (Or at least not expect much better from it)

First, everyone is a critic, few get paid to do so.

Any work had rave reviews and negative reviews. Take a chance and read it for yourself to be the final judge.

Well, Unlike most reviews, I'm not going to 'book report' it and summize what happened. The story continues nicely, and a tension that started in the first book continues to build.

If you've read the first 2, then, you'll want to finish!

I would recommend it! A+

This third installment of the Belgariad has what the readers expect from David Eddings: clever diaglogue, exciting adventures and a whole lotta fun. Not a kids story precisely (there's graphic violence, if childishly described), this series is written in a decidedly juvenile fashion, but that's part of its charm. Sure, there are problems and gaps in logic, but it's a good book to read when you don't feel like thinking. English professors will probably hate it, but I recommend it to anyone who likes a good, enjoyable read.

This is one of several books by Eddings in a continuing saga,"The Belgariad" and "The Malloreon." The entire series can be read for several different reasons. First, they are simple and just fun to read. Secondly, some of the writing is so bad, that it is an absolute delight. I rently hand a proglong illnes, and for lack of anything else to do, started reading both series again. Upon finishing, I was able to find over 200 discrepancies in the story line. I have no doubt, with a third reading, I could find more. BUT...as I said, they are a fun read. The character developement is great and the banter between the characters is wonderful. I recommend these books.

This is an excellent book that leaves you just bursting for more! I am sad to say that I haven't read all of Eddings' books but what I have read is excellent. The 'Belgariad'(the series that this book is part of) has many of the components of other fantasy but they are put together in a way so that they turn out completely and amazingly different. I am an avid fantasy reader and I have found his books to be among the best fantasy I've ever read. Please, as Silk once said, "Trust me.". I would really like to see more people my age, 14, reading him. This is definately a 'must-have' for any library!