Tagged: christopher paolini
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
(Cover picture courtesy of Fairfieldbooks on Kids.)
It began with Eragon…
It ends with Inheritance.
Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now, the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.
Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chance.
The Rider and his dragon have come farther than anyone dared to imagine. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?
This is the spellbinding conclusion to Christopher Paolini’s worldwide bestselling Inheritance cycle.
After three long years of eager anticipation, I finally got my hands on the last book of the Inheritance Cycle. Boy, was I disappointed. I don’t even know where to start, but I think I should start with the worst part of it: the characters.
The characters in this novel have gone way into left field, especially minor characters like King Orrin and Angela. Orrin, who was always supportive of the Varden suddenly becomes a mean, irrational and selfish drunk. I understand that the pressures of war may have made him snap, but Christopher Paolini never showed this huge transition from eccentric to drunk. We see more of Angela and she goes from somewhat dangerous and mysterious to a really mysterious, incredibly dangerous…thing. We never find out what she really is, which makes me think Paolini is going to write a fifth book. In addition to minor characters changing, the main characters become caricatures of their former selves. Roran becomes a city-destroying killing machine that’s completely unrealistic (even for fantasy), Arya does a total 180 near the end of the novel and Eragon becomes a super-powerful magician and warrior to the point of ridiculousness.
This book is over 800 pages long, yet it probably could have been condensed to 500 pages. Christopher Paolini’s descriptions become excruciatingly long, but suddenly trail off with about 100 pages left. The last hundred pages are so poorly written I think that after 13 years of writing the same series, he just wanted to get it over with. Unfortunately, the result is a lot of disappointed fans.
I give this book 0.5/5 stars.
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
(Cover picture courtesy of Children’s Books.)
Oaths sworn…
Loyalties tested…
Forces collide.
It’s been only months since Eragon first uttered “brisingr,” an ancient language term for fire. Since then, he’s not only learned to create magic with words—he’s been challenged to his very core. Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still, there is more adventure at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.
First is Eragon’s oath to his cousin, Roran: to help rescue Roran’s beloved from King Galbatorix’s clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength—as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices—choices that will take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.
Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?
Okay, I have to admit that after I read Brisingr, I began to question Christopher Paolini’s writing abilities. The plot is so slow it’s almost non-existent, the characters are cardboard cut-outs and not much actually happens to get the Varden closer to Galbatorix. I honestly wish I had never read the series past Eragon.
The book starts out interestingly enough: Eragon and Roran are scouting out Helgrind to see where the Ra’zac are. But the plot slows down immediately after they rescue Katrina and Eragon stays behind to kill the last Ra’zac and figure out what to do with Sloan (who betrayed Carvahall to the Empire). He finds a way to help Sloan but make sure that he can never get in the way of Roran and Katrina again.
Then he spends many chapters travelling with Arya, who somehow manages to find him. I wouldn’t mind the fact that he got to travel with his love interest except for the fact that nothing happens between them. I won’t give anything more away, but let me say that the plot of Brisingr is basically the same as the first two books: Eragon travels, learns magic, pines for Arya, then a battle is thrown in at the end of the book to keep readers hooked. Christopher Paolini also throws in an apology at the back of the book for getting his fans’ hopes up about Brisingr being the last book. Then three years later, we get Inheritance, the actual ‘last book.’ But it has an open ending that leaves the potential for a fifth book open.
Despite all of his newfound power and strength, Eragon does not change much throughout Brisingr. He still pines for Arya and acts like a love-stricken child around her. Many characters do not change, but the few that do go completely out into left field. Nasuada, for example, begins treating King Orrin (her benefactor) rudely and bestows a completely unjust punishment on Roran to ‘keep discipline’ among the Varden, never mind that such a punishment would kill a normal human. A leader that relies on blind obedience and punishes initiative will end up like Pompey the Great did during the civil war with Caesar: an army near mutiny that will abandon you as soon as things start going badly. But of course this never happens to the Varden because that would be inconvenient for Christopher Paolini.
I give this book 1/5 stars.
Upcoming Reviews 11/02/12
Here are some reviews (and articles!) you can expect to be up this week.
Sunday: Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
Monday: Emperor: The Death of Kings by Conn Iggulden (Plus another article in the “My Favourite…” series)
Tuesday: Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
Wednesday: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
Thursday: A surprise because it’s my 42nd book review (any fellow geeks out there?)
Friday: Emperor: The Field of Swords by Conn Iggulden
Saturday: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
I know, there’s another two Conn Iggulden reviews this week. I’m re-reading the Emperor series and I need to review the books while they’re fresh in my mind because they have very complicated plots at times. Of course, for my Monday special I’m continuing the “My Favourite…” series. Last Monday, I covered my favourite villains, so this week I will be covering some good characters. I also have another article covering some upcoming YA books I’m anxiously awaiting, but I’m not sure when I’ll have that up. But I guarantee that it will be up some time this week.
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
(Cover picture courtesy of Gil T.’s Pleasures.)
Darkness falls…
Swords clash…
Evil reigns.
Eragon and his dragon Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesméra, land of the elves, for further training in magic and swordsmanship, the vital skills of the Dragon Rider. It is the journey of a lifetime, filled with awe-inspiring new places and people, each day a fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn and Eragon isn’t sure whom he can trust.
Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle back home in Carvahall—one that puts Eragon in even graver danger.
Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life.
Oh dear, where do I begin with this book?
First, let’s start with the many clichés, shall we? The farm boy with secret powers/a special destiny is already as old as dirt, but what really annoys me is all of the races in Christopher Paolini’s world. The elves are fair, powerful and are forest-dwelling agnostics/atheists. The dwarves are shot, good stonemasons and are mountain-dwelling polytheists. What bothers me is not the religion (which is a mark of good world-building), but the fact that these elves and dwarves are exactly the same as all of the other elves and dwarves in high fantasy. They’re all based off elves and dwarves in Norse mythology, which is fine, but I’d like to see a bit more variety. Why not use races from African or Asian mythologies?
Second, the plot drags on and on, rotating between Eragon and Roran. This would be okay if either character was sufficiently developed so they could hold my attention for more than a page. But they aren’t, which makes the changes seem like head-hopping. The entire plot of Eldest is pretty much Eragon travelling to or spending time with the elves and Roran pulling a Julius Caesar. Of course, Paolini adds in a quick battle at the end with a ‘plot twist’ most Star Wars fans could see coming a mile away. Roran and all of Carvahall come in one ship and completely turn the tide of the battle, which almost—but not quite—a Deus ex Machina.
Third, Paolini still uses way too much description. I love vivid imagery, but my patience (and attention span) has a limit. If Eldest had been written by someone like Conn Iggulden or Michael Scott, who have just the right amount of description, it would have been pared down to less than 300 pages.
I give this book 1/5 stars.
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
(Cover picture courtesy of My Opera.)
One boy…
One dragon…
A world of adventure.
When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the witner. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.
Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.
Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.
If you’ve been tuned into the blogosphere these past few years, there is a very good chance you’ve heard of Eragon, the debut novel of Christopher Paolini. It was written when he was fifteen and the maturity level of the novel reflects that, but it is still a worthwhile read.
Eragon follows the typical fantasy plot: a young farm boy discovers he has magical powers or is otherwise gifted and is whisked away by a mentor-figure who teaches him how to control his powers while they travel. They are usually travelling toward the rebel stronghold because the king is out to get them. On the way, they have many adventures and meet a variety of strange (usually magical) creatures/beings.
Christopher Paolini sometimes gets bogged down in his descriptions—he uses the word ‘eloquent’ very often—but long descriptions are what you expect in high fantasy. His plot and characters may be cliché, but there is one thing that is excellent: his world-building. He explains magic very well and places reasonable limitations on its use. Dragons are also explained well and have very distinct, almost cat-like, personalities. If I had to pick one reason to read Eragon, it would be because of Eragon’s dragon, Saphira.
I give this book 2.5/5 stars.