Enchanters' End Game (Belgariad, #5)

by David Eddings

THE DRIVE OF PROPHECYThe quest was over. The Orb of Aldur was restored. And once again, with the crowning of Garion, there was a descendant of Riva Iron-grip to rule as Overlord of the West.But the Prophecy was unfulfilled. In the east, the evil God Torak was about to awaken and seek dominion. Somehow, Garion had to face the God, to kill or be killed. On the outcome of that dread duel rested the destiny of the world. Now, accompanied by his grandfather, the ancient sorcerer Belgarath, Garion headed toward the City of Endless Night, where Torak awaited him.To the south, his fiance e, the princess Ce'Nedra, led the armies of the West in a desperate effort to divert the forces of Torak's followers from the man she loved.The Prophecy drove Garion on. But it gave no answer to the question that haunted him: How does a man kill an immortal God?Here is the brilliant conclusion to the epic of The Belgariad, which began in Pawn of Prophecy--a novel of fate, strange lands, and a Prophecy that must be fulfilled--the resolution of the war of men, Kings, and Gods that had spanned seven thousand years!

• ISBN13: 9780552124478
• Publish Date: 15 February 1985 (first published 12 November 1984)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 18 October 2003
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd
• Imprint: Corgi
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[wyvernfriend]

Could do better When I was younger I quite enjoyed these but the suck fairy visited and shone her torch on the mysogony, hetronormativity and racism inherent in the stories. I do realise that it was there before but I had glossed over it while in pursuit of the story. A lot of the time I have bounced through a lot of this but I can't ignore it any more.
The fight between (Bel)Garion and Torak comes to pass, Ce'Nedra amasses an army and heads for the borders and several people are very smart about a lot of people deciding that others aren't so bad after all. There's a lot of relationships that come to a resolution, mostly with marriage.
It wraps up a lot of the plot but it's also leaving a lot of room for the sequels that happened.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

The final book in what is a series I absolutely adore!

Garion is no longer the ordinary, orphan farm boy he once was. Now, he is Belgarion, King of Riva, Overlord of the West, Guardian of the Orb, and a sorcerer. He now fully understands who he is, and his destiny; he is the Child of Light, the instrument the light Prophecy of millenia foretold would be born to set the universe back on the course it should be on - if he succeeds. To succeed he must duel Torak, the Child of Dark, and instrument of the dark Prophecy, who prophesises that the universe should go on a different course. And so he travels towards his meeting with Torak in the place where he lays stirring from his centuries long sleep, awaiting his arrival. Ce'Nedra leads her army of those from the West to draw away the Angarak's from Garion's actions. She fears her army will fail, and bears the guilt of persuading these men to fight when she believes many will die. But Garion is the man she loves, and if it will keep him alive, if it will save the world, she'll march them all to their death. She dinally understands her part in the prophecy, and the army marches onward to meet their fate, whatever that may be...

Ooooh, I LOVE this book! It is the end, it wraps it all up, and brings everything together. Garion is his true self, and has grown and matured so much from the boy we met in the first book. Ce'Nedra has now accepted how she feels about Garion, and more than that, will walk into fire for him. Danger and uncertainty lie ahead, and the tension is amped up tenfold in this novel as armies clash, and as the inevitable duel draws ever closer. There are some terribly sad moments in Enchanter's End Game, but some very beautiful ones too. Oooh, it's just so awesome! And I don't think there's much more I can say without spoiling the story!

But I will talk about my experience of re-reading this series as an adult. There is so much that feels so different. I remember a lot of the events that happen within the pages of these books, but my reactions to them are a lot different to how they used to be. I view these books with a great deal of affection, I will love them always and will continue to re-read them. But I smile as I read at the reactions of my younger self who was so in awe of these books and the magic within. She was blown away. And now, as an adult, I still enjoy these books immensely, but with time the shine that made these books so amazing has faded. They're still amazing, but in a different way. I've grown and matured as a person, I've lost some of my innocence, and I'm now reading these books with the experience of an adult, and I read them differently. these books aren't at all bad, not at all. This isn't a negative. It's just an observation on how strange but cool it is that we read things in the context of who we are and where we're are in our lives, and how we react to them can be different. It was an interesting and awesome experience. I will always love these books and think of them fondly!

I will be having a break now, though, before I move on to the Mallorean series. But I'm really looking forward to it!