Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings, A Review

By the time you reach book four of David Eddings Belgariad sequence, there's really not a lot new to say. Castle of Wizardry is still the story of farmboy Garion, his Aunt "Pol" (Polgara) and "Grandfather" Belgarath. It's now also very much the story of the Imperial Princes Ce'Nedra too.

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Readers are at this stage fully aware of Garion's significance to Eddings fantasy world, even if he remains somewhat oblivious to it. With the Orb of Aldur now rescued from the Murgos, we move on to the second story strand that Eddings has been weaving as he explores why the Orb is so important and who Garion really is.

All of which gives him ample time for the character moments which are what he really seems to enjoy writing. In terms of action this is by far the slowest book in the series as when you sum it all up and the end, very little has actually happened. What does happen though is crucial to the final book.

We finally get to actually hear just a little bit of the Prophecy that everyone has been talking about for the last three books, though not too much. The relationship between Garion and Ce'Nedra also gels a lot in this book, though perhaps a bit too rapidly for my liking.

Fundamentally though this is more of the same, its fun, light hearted and somewhat juvenile fantasy that mainly pulls you in through the appeal of its central characters.