Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings, 0552554774, Lowest Book Price Finder

Customer Reviews:

Stereotyped and repetitive, but not that bad.

This is the second book in the Belgariad (after Pawn of Prophecy, and before Magician's Gambit, Castle of Wizardry, and Enchanter's End Game).

Leaving Cherek after the council of Alorn kings, Belgarath, Polgaria, Garion and their companions set off in pursuit of Zedar the Apostate, who stole the Orb of Aldur to bring it to the evil god Torak.

Following the corrupt disciple's trail will bring them across Arendia, then Tolnedra and finally to Nyissa via the Wood of the Dryads. They will meet new companions along the way: Lelldorin the rash Arendish archer, Mandorallen the bold Arendish knight, and Ce' Nedra the spoilt red-haired Tolnedran princess.

All the while, various enemies such as Murgos, Grolim priests and assorted monsters make their best to hinder their progression, but thanks to Polgara's, Belgarath's, and eventually Garion's powers, those are usually quickly brushed aside with the flick of a hand.

After the exciting reunion with a world I had enjoyed 11 years ago, while reading this second volume I finally realized how annoyingly stereotyped some of the characters are and how repetitive the plot is: move to a new kingdom - meet new allies - encounter baddies - fight - win - move on to the next kingdom - ... while Garion wonders about his past and reluctantly discovers his abilities. However, these books manage to stay entertaining, thanks to some of the characters' traits intended for comic relief, such as Silk's knavery or Ce'Nedra's willfulness. All in all they're not that bad.

Eat your heart out Tolkein

This book forms part of a terrific series beginning with `Belgareth the Sorcerer' which for some reason is not available through Amazon UK. I don't read much of this genre (fantasy) but like The Hobbit/ Lord of the Rings this will appeal to a large audience.

Following Belgareth the Sorcerer there are two series of 5 books, `The Belgariad' and `The Mallorean' and it is advisable to read them in order, and if you can read `Belgareth' first (although you could save it and read it afterwards like a prequel).

I raced through the series. The Eddings' (the books were written by a couple) create a Tolkein-esque world with our hero Belgareth learning powers known as `the will and the word' through centuries of study under a benevolent God (the gods that created this world still live on it in physical form). This study elevates him to the status of a sorcerer and elongates his life span - he becomes a legend and a force for good in the world. However, another disciple of his benevolent master rebels and steals the holy `Orb' stone, following a more sinister God. In the later series the Gods have left the planet in fear that their battle will destroy the world but their peoples continue to war - following the Prophecies left to them by the Gods. The two series follow the course of events as Belgareth leads the hunt for the traitor and the stone. It's very cleverly written and characters and events reappear as we become familiar with the history of this fictional world through the course of the books.

Really good fun and a definite recommendation if you want a light hearted escape that will keep you reading late into the night.

This is the order of the books:

The Belgariad
1. Pawn of Prophecy
2. Queen of Sorcery
3. Magician's Gambit
4. Castle of Wizardry
5. Enchanters' End Game

The Malloreon
1. Guardians of the West
2. King of the Murgos
3. Demon Lord of Karanda
4. Sorceress of Darshiva
5. The Seeress of Kell

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Eddings - a fantastic read

Book 2 in Eddings' Belgariad series sees Garion learning more and more about wizardry, and travelling further into danger.

This book is very enjoyable. As always, Eddings is a master at creating believable, likeable characters. His books are easy to read, very witty and a real pleasure to immerse yourself in.

I would recommend this book to everybody.

Read at your peril.

I've given this book 2 stars instead of 1 because it had a decent enough plot to keep me reading. It didn't get a higher rating because after a while I realised Eddings had only written a certain amount of original text before replicating it, only pausing to change certain names and places.

If you've read one Eddings book you've read them all I'm afraid.

It just gets better

Continuing on from where the Pawn of Prophecy left off, Queen of Sorcery plunges us headlong into the world of the Belgariad. Hot on the trail of the apostate Zedar and the stolen Orb of Aldur, Mister Wolf and Aunt Pol lead their band of destiny bonded warriors across lands and continents in the search. This book sees the first signs of Garion's true destiny, what he is to become and introduces further races and in fact encounters with Gods themselves. Everyone wants to possess Garion for his is the destiny that will shape the world. The Gods, their servants, the voice inside his head and even the tiny Princess Ce'Nedra will stop at nothing to manipulate him to their ends. This is a worthy sequel and a fantasy book that is right up there with the best of them. Classic David Eddings and a damn fine read!

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