Castle of Wizardry (The Belgariad, Book 4) (Mass Market Paperback)

by David Eddings (Author) "CTUCHIK WAS DEAD-and more than dead-and the earth itself heaved and groaned in the aftershock of his destruction..." (more)
Key Phrases: massed legions, old sorcerer, Aunt Pol, Lady Polgara, King Rhodar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Absorbing. Touches all the right Fantasy bases. Warring gods, political intrigues, supernatural creatures, and appealingly human magicians." -- Publishers Weekly

"Exactly the kind of fantasy I like. It has magic, adventure, humor, mystery, and a certain delightful human insight." -- Piers Anthony

"Fabulous! Eddings has a marvelous storyteller style. Exceedingly well portrayed." -- Anne McCaffrey --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Description
END OF THE QUEST

It had all begun with the theft of the Orb that had so long protected the West from the evil God Torak. Before that, Garion had been a simple farm boy. Afterward, he discovered that his aunt was really the Sorceress Polgara and his grandfather was Belgarath, the Eternal Man. Then, on the long quest to recover the Orb, Garion found to his dismay that he, too, was a sorcerer.

Now, at last, the Orb was regained and the quest was nearing its end. Of course, the questors still had to escape from this crumbling enemy fortress and flee across a desert filled with Murgo soldiers searching for them, while Grolim Hierarchs strove to destroy them with dark magic. Then, somehow, they must manage to be in Riva with the Orb by Erastide. After that, however, Garion was sure that his part in these great events would be finished.

But the Prophecy still held future surprises for Garion--and for the little princess Ce'Nedra.

This continues the magnificent epic of The Belgariad, begun in Pawn of Prophecy, Queen of Sorcery, and Magician's Gambit--a fantasy set against a background of the war of men, Kings, and Gods that had spanned seven thousand years--a novel of fate, strange lands, and a prophecy that must be fulfilled!

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Del Rey; Later Printing edition (December 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345335708
• ISBN-13: 978-0345335708
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #153,191 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Belgariad Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Weakest of the Set, January 4, 2002

By	A. Stefanski "just someone" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Garion, Belgarath, and group have just managed to retrieve the Orb of Aldur, and Chutchik managed to annihilate himself, and that's where this book continues.

It starts off decently, as the group has to escape from Cthol Murgos with the Orb, and the odd little child Errand. Of course, half of the Murgos and most of the Grolims are on their tail. Sadly, after this exciting escape, the book starts to get a little boring.

Garion's destiny, as if it was ever in doubt, it finalized, along with Ce'Nedras. Things move along rather slowly for most of the rest of the book - even as Garion, Silk, and Belgarath sneak away to face Torak. The book never really reaches any sort of climax at the end like the previous three did, sort of simply building up for the fifth book.

It's good, like the entire series is, but seems to serve little more than advancing the story, instead of really being exciting to read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's the sweet dessert served after a heavy literary meal., March 21, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Castle of Wizardry (The Belgariad, Book 4) (Paperback)

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.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK, April 12, 1999

By A Customer

I've read all the books in the Belgaraid seris but this one's my favourite!! I was reading the other reviews and I just can't understand how people could not like the book!! But then I'm only a teenager whilst others are adults so my bottom line is: this book is great for younger people because from an adult's point of view the book might be too immature and boring.