Shurely Shome Mishtake?

I remember reading these books as a teenager and enjoying them; as I currently walk to and fro work, I thought they'd be ideal for a bit of commuting brain candy. The stories are still as much fun as I remember, although the constant repetition of each character's establishing traits can be a little trying - for example, try taking a drink every time someone says 'you're a bad man, Silk'. You'll be on the floor in no time...
Unintentional hilarity is provided by the narrator, who is obviously a perfectionist as he strives constantly to improve his characterisations, often in the middle of a sentence! So Silk is either from Eastern Europe, Chelsea, or even Turkey or Greece, depending on what the narrator's feeling like - often's he's all three in a sentence. This can be annoying, but at least not as bad as it was in Queen of Sorcery, the book preceding this one (...all the Knights sounded like John Cleese in Monty Python and the Holy Grail). Less cheese, please.

12 persone l'hanno trovata utile

I liked it.

I stand by my statement in my review of Pawn of Prophecy. The best narrator for the Belgariad novels, for me at least, has always been and will always be Jon Beryl, who narrated the Talking Book versions. But Cameron Beirle does a better job of giving the characters personality. The problem he sometimes has is that sometimes multiple characters sound exactly the same. He also still often has difficulty pronouncing the same names the same consistently. But as I said before, this can perhaps be excused. Not only does he have to try to give voice to names that are difficult to read let alone say out loud, but I suspect that English wasn't his native language judging from his accent. That would make it harder on anyone. But he tries and he does a good job despite these difficulties. I've always wanted the Belgariad and Malloreon to be avaible in audiobook form commercially, but for years nobody seemed interested. Thanks to Books in Motion I got my wish.
As for this book, Cameron has some more new characters to deal with. He did a good job capturing the ancient sorrow of the god Mara and the evil of Ctuchik, as well as his fear and panic in the final moments of his cofrontation with Belgarath. He also does a good job on the emotionally conflicted Relg. I said before the Cameron was beginning to find his footing with Queen of Sorcery and he does seem to be improving with each book.

5 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Adventures and Action for the Audio Mind

Would you consider the audio edition of Magician's Gambit to be better than the print version?

I've read, and re-read this excellent adventure series by David Eddings several times over the past 20 yrs., but just recently purchased it in audio form. I must say Cameron Beierle has a gift with bringing out the accents and attitudes of each character. It took me some time to warm up to his voice, because I had already established the personalities in my head, but once I opened up to his reading of the story, it all became new again!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Magician's Gambit?

When Ce'nedra found out she was going to marry Garion

What about Cameron Beierle’s performance did you like?

His voice is warm and full, and perfect for bringing a character to life.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Garion revisited Faldors farm.....that moment, among others brought me to tears.

Any additional comments?

If you like Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia, you will most definitely love this action/adventure series.

4 persone l'hanno trovata utile

The next best thing to reading the books yourself.

What made the experience of listening to Magician's Gambit the most enjoyable?

Beierle gets a bit carried away with off-the-mark accents (still fun to listen to, though), and mis-pronounced names, but he probably has the widest range of voices of any narrator I've listened to so far. And he does a good job of voice acting, not just reading.

Any additional comments?

Beierle had his faults--he gets a little carried away with his accents (and I think he misses the mark significantly on a few), but his narrations are the best so far.

However, I seriously wish the narrators would put in the time to get the name pronunciations right. I really don't understand how they can mangle some of them so badly. Here's something "straight from the horse's mouth" I found after a 15 second Google search.

3 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Good, but still more??...

Although I've enjoyed the story and listening to it, the fact that I need to fork out yet another credit, or two, or? to keep going with the narrative finally got to me. I bought and listened to the first three, but you know where the plot is headed, and it's just not worth the extra $'s to keep on with it.

3 persone l'hanno trovata utile

Another great listening experience

All the readings I have made my way through have been great so far.

My only issue w/ this book is the charecter Relg (sp?), the cave diviner. He plays an essential role, but he is by far one of the most annoying literary charecters I have come across.

2 persone l'hanno trovata utile

rereading this series is like visiting old friends

loved it! wonderful characters and a classic battle of good and evil. A fun must read

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

Aaaa so good

reader doesn’t ruin the story like people say. Just takes some getting used too. :D

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

Magician's Gambit

The Prophecy continues

I cant even cover everything that happens in this book. So much happens in each book its hard to remember where one book begins and the other ends.

I do no Ce'Nedra is accepting her fate as a bride to Riva. She's coming to believe in the impossible.

Garion is coming into his power. Part of the gang separates for safety while others are still coming along.

I can not imagine the planning Belgareth and Polgara had to do to ensure the Prophesies would happen.


I love how the group seems crazy and yet it fits and works perfectly together.

I cant wait for the rest.

1 persona l'ha trovata utile

My Will and My Word

Flawless story and storyline. love the characters and how they live and love. A true adventure.

1 persona l'ha trovata utile