Castle of Wizardry

****

4 Stars/5

The companions have retrieved the Orb and are travelling to Riva, to return it to its rightful place. On the journey back, with both Belgarath and Polgara incapacitated, the role of leadership is thrust on Garion, which is made difficult with the Orb fascinated with him. When Garion arrives in Riva, his life changes forever, but Torak is still out there and waking up. Garion discovers he is the only one who can defeat him. With war brewing between the West and the East, Ce’Nedra and Polgara must gather an army to hopefully protect Garion.

Whilst I still really like Castle of Wizardry, I did miss the quest as it was the main plot in the first 3 books, however, it makes up for it with more politics and character growth. The big twist, which I knew from the first book, is revealed, and it really changes the characters and the dynamic of the story.

Garion is more responsible in this book and has to learn how to deal with power and people with different opinions than him, and it is nice to see him change, but I do miss the farm boy a bit. I still like Silk as after everything they have been through during the quest and at Riva he has never treated Garion any differently.

Castle of Wizardry is really good book and I would recommend it to people who enjoyed the first 3 books.