Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #135323 in Books
• Published on: 1998-07-06
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 807 pages

Synopsis
The last volume in the Belgariad series: the story of the queen of truth, love, rage and destiny, Polgara the Sorceress. In the story of Polgara, whose constancy and inner power have been the foundation of all that has saved the world, the full truth of "The Belgariad" is revealed.

Customer Reviews

Nothing less than a direct consequence of Belgarath´s story
"Polgara the sorceress" is a book that can be liked by everybody that enjoys reading an engaging fantasy book, but will only be fully appreciated by those who have already read "The Belgariad", "The Malloreon" and "Belgarath the sorcerer" (yes, in that order).

The reason for that emphatic statement is simple: this book is the autobiography of Polgara, one of the main characters in those books. As such, "Polgara the sorceress" contains spoilers that could dim your enjoyment of the previously mentioned books. And believe me, "The Belgariad", "The Malloreon" and "Belgarath the sorcerer" are so wonderful that they fully deserve all the time that you need to read them first :)

"The Belgariad" and "The Malloreon" tell the story of a group of friends in a dangerous and magical quest, while "Belgarath the sorcerer" recounts the same story from the point of view of one of the main characters, who has the benefit of being almost immortal, thus having a thoroughly different perspective regarding the events that preceded that quest and everybody involved in it.

"Polgara the sorceress" is nothing less than a direct consequence of "Belgarath the sorcerer". Polgara is Belgarath's daughter, a sorceress and the guardian of the Rivan line. She didn't exactly agree with her father's version of what happened, and told her friends so. Despite that, Polgara wouldn't have gone so far as to write her own autobiography is Ce'Nedra (spurred by curiosity) hadn't plotted for her to do so.

Truth to be told, I specially enjoyed Polgara's take on what happened, and how she explained many things that Belgarath hadn't considered important. Also, I think that this book allows the readers to understand better Polgara's role in the preparation of the "Events", and how she became "Lady Polgara" and "Duchess of Erat".

In my opinion, this is a book that the fans of "The Belgariad" and "The Malloreon" will thoroughly enjoy. I always liked Polgara, and considered her to be a very likeable albeit perhaps overly mysterious character. I really enjoyed reading about her life, and I bet you will too. Recommended!

Belen Alcat

Polgara the Sorceress
I read the Belgariad and the Mallorean a long time ago and found them to be fantastic, I couldn't put them down. In fact I nearly got fired through reading one of them when I was supposed to be working!
But at the time this book didn't interest me enough to buy it, but I recently have and have found it to be just as good as the series, I sometimes find that companion novels are just a rehash of the original story but this insight into Polgaras upbringing was I thought, far from boring. This book helps you to understand her character and the occasional digs and comments to her father and the other characters that feature in the series made me chuckle.
I suppose I'm biased as Polgara is one of my all time favourite characters but I think anyone who likes the fantasy genre would find this book as fascinating as I did, in fact it's made me pick up the Belgariad and start all over again.

Wonderful, a totally engaging read
Polgara the sorceress was to be frank one of the best books I have read for a very long time. The style of the writing is easy to read and understand, but still grips the reader much better than many "action-packed" books with more frenzied and careless writing, and the storyling catches the imagination perfectly. The story, told in Polgara's own words, is in places funny and in places sad, but there are no unlikely swings in mood or pace which would spoil the story, and it is all told with the same perspective and imposing presence anyone who has read the original series will connect with the matriarchal sorceress. It answers many irritating questions from the original ten books, and gives the 'other side' of Belgarath the sorceror's tale in the other accompanying book.

As relaxing, no-effort reading matter I would definately give this book top marks, and it is easy to pick up and pout down without losing the plot. It is a several-layered story, with layers of simple storytelling over a deeper, more thoughtful ideal, and is suitable for any type of reader accordingly.

The only problem I would mention about this book is that it might spoil some of the earlier books if it is the first you read, because since it answers all the questions the earlier books are not likely to make such an impact on the reader. But it would also be possible to read it first, if you like to not have loose ends in stories, and some people may even prefer it that way. All in all, I heartily recommend this book and its companion to anyone interested!