Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings
Well, no one has eaten that annoying princess yet, but she does show a few signs of growing up, so maybe it will OK. Kind of tired of her being called "a tiny little girl" when she's 16. Unless she's a dwarf or a midget, she's probably not that tiny anymore. She's just short. And yes, they called her "winsome" again. It's a good thing this author is dead, or I'd be writing him a letter.
That aside, I did enjoy this book and I'm deep into the final book now. Side note - where'd the title come from? I was expecting some cool magical castle or something, but there's nothing like that. Just more about Garion (now called Belgarion) and the upcoming battle between Good and Evil. If it sounds intriguing, don't start here, but with #1, Pawn of Prophecy.
Well, no one has eaten that annoying princess yet, but she does show a few signs of growing up, so maybe it will OK. Kind of tired of her being called "a tiny little girl" when she's 16. Unless she's a dwarf or a midget, she's probably not that tiny anymore. She's just short. And yes, they called her "winsome" again. It's a good thing this author is dead, or I'd be writing him a letter.
That aside, I did enjoy this book and I'm deep into the final book now. Side note - where'd the title come from? I was expecting some cool magical castle or something, but there's nothing like that. Just more about Garion (now called Belgarion) and the upcoming battle between Good and Evil. If it sounds intriguing, don't start here, but with #1, Pawn of Prophecy.
I wish I could give this book six stars! It has been my absolute favourite in the series so far. Relg is too pure. ❤ And my heart breaks for Silk.
I'm very excited for the final instalment in the series!
I'm very excited for the final instalment in the series!
I think this is the worst in the series.
The pacing is strange, for one. While the second and third book introduced the idea of multiple view points between Garion and CeNedra, I felt that it didn't work at all here. The other books her viewpoint showed up for a chapter or two and were definitely disruptive and a little pointless. This one, she played a far bigger role which actually did make it feel justified to have her perspective. I just don't like how it was presented where we had to go back in time instead of the narrative being presented chronologically.
I didn't like the weird retcon on Belgarath's character either. The whole spiel where Garion changes his mind about him and thinks that he isn't as ruthless as depicted... When was he ruthless? It was a bit comical. We've seen him act in a lot of ways that show A LOT of emotion (another thing that Garion's inner monologue claimed he wasn't.) It was just so strange and really threw me for a loop. It's a lot of inconsistency here.
I also noticed it with Polgara. Why did they make her have a strange tantrum? It makes absolutely no sense because even when she's mad, she's always kept her temper. There wasn't even any reason for her to lose her temper because she notes multiple times in this novel that she knew about the Mrin Codex. Why wouldn't she understand? Why would she completely lose her head?
Also, I'm just going to say it: the hand waving to get these relationships going is tiring. There hasn't been a single bit of chemistry between any of them. Maybe between Polgara and Durnik (in previous installments, not this one) but the thing between Taiba and Relg is just lame, CeNedra and Garion's hatemance is tiring and unbelievable to the extreme, Barak's wife doing a 180 because she had a son? LOL.
It's just not believable, at all. Even though this is a reread, I'm surprised and taken aback by the choices here. Where is the chemistry? Why have this big production of it if the writing and development is going to be so lazy? Just don't include it or don't include us in it.
The pacing is strange, for one. While the second and third book introduced the idea of multiple view points between Garion and CeNedra, I felt that it didn't work at all here. The other books her viewpoint showed up for a chapter or two and were definitely disruptive and a little pointless. This one, she played a far bigger role which actually did make it feel justified to have her perspective. I just don't like how it was presented where we had to go back in time instead of the narrative being presented chronologically.
I didn't like the weird retcon on Belgarath's character either. The whole spiel where Garion changes his mind about him and thinks that he isn't as ruthless as depicted... When was he ruthless? It was a bit comical. We've seen him act in a lot of ways that show A LOT of emotion (another thing that Garion's inner monologue claimed he wasn't.) It was just so strange and really threw me for a loop. It's a lot of inconsistency here.
I also noticed it with Polgara. Why did they make her have a strange tantrum? It makes absolutely no sense because even when she's mad, she's always kept her temper. There wasn't even any reason for her to lose her temper because she notes multiple times in this novel that she knew about the Mrin Codex. Why wouldn't she understand? Why would she completely lose her head?
Also, I'm just going to say it: the hand waving to get these relationships going is tiring. There hasn't been a single bit of chemistry between any of them. Maybe between Polgara and Durnik (in previous installments, not this one) but the thing between Taiba and Relg is just lame, CeNedra and Garion's hatemance is tiring and unbelievable to the extreme, Barak's wife doing a 180 because she had a son? LOL.
It's just not believable, at all. Even though this is a reread, I'm surprised and taken aback by the choices here. Where is the chemistry? Why have this big production of it if the writing and development is going to be so lazy? Just don't include it or don't include us in it.
Ein weiterer Band der Belgariad-Reihe, die ich zum ersten Mal auf Englisch lese, aber bereits aus meiner Jugend kenne. Unterhaltsam, aber nicht viel mehr. Nachdem der dritte Teil mich in 5-Sterne-Nostalgie versetzte, war hier wieder viel vom Pläneschmieden und wenig von Action zu lesen.
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No