Enchanter's End Game

I've finally arrived at the end of David Eddings Belgariad, with Enchanter's End Game. This wraps up the first series of novels about Belgarion and his role as the embodiment of one of the two prophecies each seeking to gain dominance throughout the universe. The prologue that opens the book is an extremely self-serving account of the god Torak's original theft of the Orb from his brother Aldur which gives some insight into Torak's character, but doesn't really add much to the plot, so I'm going to skip over it and jump straight to the action.

Having slipped away from Riva with Silk and Belgarath the Sorcerer, Garion — now King Belgarion and Overlord of the West — is making his way through Gar og Nadrak incognito bound for a chain of small islands in the arctic circle that link the western continent with Mallorea. Along they way they encounter a Mallorean press gang and find themselves dragged to a meeting with King Drosta lek Thun who wants to put a proposition to the Alorn kings. On leaving the city of Yar Nadrak, they head north into the territory of various demon-worshiping tribes called the Morind. Fortunately Belgarath seems just as good at magic as he is at sorcery and after an unpleasant encounter with a band of Morindim out to make a name for themselves, they are allowed to pass on unmolested to the Land Bridge.

The Nadrak section is rather good, with both the place and the people reminiscent of medieval Russia. I like the fact that they don't much care for Torak and having spend years trying to get rid of his priests, they're not at all pleased to see their country swarming with Mallorean grolims, leaving Drosta little alternative but to turn his coat. The sojourn in Morindland serves an important world-building function, establishing that demons really do exist and that there are more supernatural ways to manipulate the world than sorcery alone. It also allows Eddings to insert a good dose of classic horror, complete with pentagrams and mystic incantations, into his story.

Meanwhile the Alorn army, lead by King Rhodar of Drasnia, has moved its base of operations to the top of the towering escarpment that separates Algaria from Mishrak ac Thull. Having lifted the Cherek fleet up the vast cliff using hoists, the Alorns now have to neutralise the city of Thull Mardu, which sits on an island in the middle of the river, in order get the Cherek war boats into the Sea of the East where they can begin sinking the the ships transporting Zakath's army from Mallorea to Thull. Unfortunately their battle plan is significantly complicated when they find themselves caught in a pincer, with the Malloreans approaching from the north and the Murgo army approaching from the south, with the priests of Torak manipulating the weather to advantage the Angarak forces. With the battle still raging, Ce'Nedra, Durnik, Errand and Polgara, who is too exhausted by her efforts to counter the grolims' sorcery to defend the group, are taken captive by Mallorean forces and, after a series of interviews with the melancholy Emperor Zakath, handed over to the priests of Torak for transport to the abandoned city of Cthol Mishrak.

I'm not convinced that the giant pitched battle really works because it's always left me feeling a little underwhelmed. And I'm not sure that Eddings might not have felt the same because his later books don't really feature the same sort of vast clash between impersonal forces, but instead focus on smaller, more individual moments of combat. That's not to say that the events that occur aren't interesting and important: Taur Urgas, the King of Cthol Murgos, is slain by Algar Clan-Chief Cho-Hag; we discover that the four disciples of Aldur are an effective counterbalance to the combined magical power of the massed grolims of Angarak; and more than a few named characters are killed in the battle. The aftermath, too, matters because it marks the first appearance of Zakath, who goes on to play an important part in the later Malloreon series.

Despite their very different routes, all the principal characters find themselves arriving in Torak's city of Cthol Mishrak at precisely the same time. Belgarion and Torak fight and change the world forever. Returning home, weary but victorious, they arrive in Riva in time to attend to some important details: Aunt Pol, having finally been forced to admit her feels, marries Durnik in a small private service; while King Belgarion and Princess Ce'Nedra finally tie the knot in a huge public ceremony. The book ends in typical Eddings fashion with Belgarath, having shared a quiet moment of reflection with the Orb of Aldur in the throne room of the Rivan king, leaving to look for more ale.

The finale is pretty effective, although the outcome was pretty obvious from the second Garion, Aunt Pol and Durnik first left Faldor's Farm back in Pawn of Prophecy. Rather than ending with the climactic fight Eddings winds down gradually, following his characters back to Riva and allowing them to tie up some of the loose ends that have kept them form domesticity and happiness. Which, given that he excels at writing this sort of scene, closes the series on a note of great charm that leaves you wanting to come back to the world.