Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3) (The Inheritance Cycle)
by Christopher Paolini
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Book Reviews of Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3) (The Inheritance Cycle)
Book Review: I liked it just fine
Summary: 4 Stars
There are good and bad things about this audiobook.
The good things are in the audiobook, its length and reader:
its great at 54 hrs the reader is truly magnificient. He'd have to be or you would chase him with a knife. Actually look him up in the phone book, go to his house, hit him on the head and then chase him with a knife after 54 hrs of narrating if he wasnt a gifted reader. This guy was great.
So this audiobook was great company to clean the house, ride the bike, cut the grass, you get the drift. Relaxing.
There was a lack of progress in plot. Lets hope he does not do a Robert Jordan. Plot advancement was not significant in any way for that investment of time. The story went off in many different directions it did not have to go. It neglected to go off in some ways it needed to progress to the end of job. Which was resolution of the battle with Galbotroix.
Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers.
Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers. Spoilers.
These are the bad things.
After I have made an investment of my time, a considerable investment of my time, and it appears the author has not paid due respect to a key character it ticks me off big time. Has paid short shrift to a character. Its cheap. What was done to Glieder and his rider at the end of the Brisinger was just cheap, poorly and not well done or well thought out. At all.
Last, this issue stuns me. Saphira is a female dragon. From what I can tell, she is the last known female dragon. She and her rider are in a battle with male dragons and if successful will kill those other dragons known to exist riding for Murtagh. The others are male. I cant tell if Galbotroix dragon is alive or not.
The one dragon she is not trying to kill was Gleider and he strolled off to a battle that had a bad outcome for him. They did not mate. Gleider was described as a huge handsome dragon. I find this puzzling that he strolled off without ensuring his race would continue...before he risked his life.
In a space opera called "Deathstalker", they referenced an immortal all wise all knowing species that was incredibly advanced across the board in all ways. This immortal species had undergone a civil war. In its wisdom, after the civil war ended, there were only two individuals left in this species and both were ....males....
Mankinds chapter summing up that species is despite how great, wise and wonderful they were, they didnt think far enough ahead to leave a mating pair. Their issue is to keep from oblivion, as they are inhabiting their planet inhabited by two individual and are now a race and species of two that could never expand to beyond that two.
Saphira will be last free dragon. So it stunned me, when Glieder strolls off into the sunset as the last free dragon to his death and Saphira watches him. How is it that dragons with all their brilliance would do that unless knowingly they willing accept their race is going to be extinguished?
It occurred to me, wouldnt it have made more sense for her to lay or fertilize 40-50 eggs and then he stroll off to his death? But no, the author as the other reviewers pointed out spent 500 pages on the Sloan the butcher, dwarfs king rituals, Orc rituals with Roan, it goes on.
Eragon and Saphira keep yammering they are the last dragon and rider, but she being a female and Gleider a male, she could have laid 40 eggs and they could have replenished their entire dragon race. So instead, unless (a) she starts to consort with the enemy, or (b) kills them when they are defeated, Saphira will be a lonely dragon.
This isn't very smart for a species that is brilliant. Its puzzling.
Overall, I enjoyed the audiobook. I hesitated when I initially saw early reviews savaging the book, but when I saw how long it was as an audiobook, and the good reviews it had there, I could see it would be a good gamble. It was, I was happy. I look forward to the next book. Its not a literary masterpiece. Yes it has flaws. But as a relaxing book to use for yardwork, painting the house, steam cleaning the rugs, this is a hit.
I really hope this kid doesnt try to milk this for ll books like Robert Jordan. That just will not play.
Book Review: So I read Brisingr...
Summary: 3 Stars
Paolini's writing is improving; I'll give him that much. Brisingr, the third installment in what was supposed to be a trilogy but now has become the Inheritance Cycle, is definitely an upgrade on Eldest. Though it lacks the childlike excitement of the first book Eragon, it most certainly trumps the quality of Eldest. Paolini is more than nine years removed from when he commenced writing this series, and it really shows within his writing. His writing has surely matured since the first book, but he is still too smart for his own good.
Having graduated from home schooling at age 15, Paolini is indeed an intelligent fellow, yet he needs to understand that his largest intended audience is a group of teenage boys whose vocabularies are no where near as complex as his own. If Paolini doesn't abuse his thesaurus then I'll eat my socks. Yet despite his overuse of six syllable words in the foremost pages of his novel, his story starts to gain speed and flow after the first hundred or so pages. Of course, instead of advancing the plot, Paolini instead chooses to put his hero, Eragon, through a moral quandary, so that we can learn more about his character. So, instead of giving his readers what they want-battle scenes, romance, dragons-he decides to let Eragon battle with his conscience in isolation. Great idea Paolini, show your readers how righteous your hero is at the expense of advancing the plot. At this rate, we are going to be stuck with a Wheel of Time sized series, only with about a third of the substance.
Even though Paolini has his problems-and they're numerous: hacked plot, flat characters, cheesy love story, unoriginal creatures, wooden dialogue-his story is entertaining. I felt myself compelled to continue reading into the early hours of the morning. I just kept that midnight oil burning. I don't know why. I do really like Roran's character. His love for his wife, and how he comes to here defense, is portrayed in a really legitimate way. I also like his battle scenes so much more than Eragon's because he is unaided by magic. He has to fight his enemies with his bare hands, or with his hammer. Unlike Eragon, he can't pull some lucky magic trick out of a bag, and he doesn't have a fire-breathing dragon watching his back. (This is where I begin to see that Paolini never had much of a social life. The character he sees himself as is obviously Eragon. He always wished he found a dragon egg which allow him to harness magical powers. He never wanted to do things for himself, unlike Roran. I don't know though, I've never grown up in the boonies of Montana before.) I just wish Paolini would dedicate more to tree to his hero's much more likeable cousin.
Eragon's storyline is completely worthless, of course. He gets to interact with some interesting acquaintances. The Varden's leader, Nasuada, has to deal with the fact that she is a woman and that that causes her to be constantly underestimated. Her character proves herself in this story, and that is a very fascinating scene. Eragon also gets to moon over the mysterious Arya, whose athletic feminine prowess provides the romance side of the novel with some intrigue. Eragon also has to deal with the super-orthodox Oromis, an ancient elf, who no one will miss. The dwarves are somewhat interesting though why Paolini dedicates hundreds upon hundreds pages to their politics is beyond me.
In conclusion, the book is very readable if you go in with an open mind. There are entertaining parts, and Paolini can write when he doesn't think too much about it. You can just tell he tweaks everything a little too much. But all in all, I think he will eventually be a more efficient writer; I just hope that he comes with some more original plot lines. I will be reading what will hopefully be the last installment in the series though, because I always finish what I start, and I am interested to see the outcome of Eragon's battle with Galbatorix, who I wish had a POV in this series.
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Book Review: Paolini has developed his characters more deeply and brought an even greater intensity to the action throughout
Summary: 5 Stars
Still a boy and not yet a man, he is one of the greatest Dragon Riders and bravest of warriors. Eragon is on the edge of many discoveries and great changes. Though his sword has been taken by Murtagh, he still fights with the Varden against the madness of Galbatorix as they try to save the kingdom of Alagaesia. Shamed by the knowledge that he and Murtagh are brothers (both share Morzon for their father), he longs to understand more of his past. As a Dragon Rider, he continues to learn, to test himself and to push all of his limits with the help of Saphira. The beautiful, dangerous Saphira is only one of four dragons left. She is his constant companion. Without her, Eragon knows that he, like Galbatorix, would go mad. There is nothing they do not share --- or so he thinks.
"To know that you were with one who cared for you, and who understood every fiber of your being, and who would not abandon you in even the most desperate of circumstances, that was the most precious relationship a person could have, and both Eragon and Saphira cherished it."
On the battlefield, always the unexpected happens. Sometimes his spells, his magic, his strength are enough to save them. Sometimes the soldiers of Galbatorix are more demon than man, and in one battle with his ally, King Orrin, they encounter the following:
"The man was a soldier of medium height, with a purple birthmark on his neck and brown hair plastered flat by the helmet he had been wearing. His shield was a splintered ruin. His sword was notched, bent, and broken, missing the last six inches. River mud caked his mail hose. Blood sheeted from a gash along his ribs. An arrow fletched with white swan feathers had the shaft buried in the hard dirt. From the man's throat, a horrid gurgling laugh emanated. It rose and fell with a drunken cadence, pitching from note to note as if the man were about to begin shrieking with horror."
Though his cousin, Roran Stronghammer, has united with Katrina, he remains one of Eragon's true friends. Roran is not only brave but a natural leader. He proves himself time after time to be indispensable to Nasuada's armies. Still playful as boys, both Eragon and Roran are ready to sacrifice anything for their love of Alagaesia.
Despite all his successes as a great warrior, Eragon is in need of his most important weapon: his own sword. Not until a number of battles are fought, much blood shed and many sacrifices made does Eragon finally meet one of the most renowned of sword makers --- Rhunon-elda. This is where another story begins:
"A sword should feel like an extension of your arm, as if it had grown out of your very flesh. You shouldn't have to think about how you want it to move: you should simply move it as instinctively as an egret his beak or a dragon her claws. The perfect sword is intent incarnate: what you want, so it does."
In this third book of the Inheritance Cycle, more surprising secrets are revealed and readers get even better acquainted with Selena Black Hand, Eldunari, Tamerlein, Glaedr, Oromis, Fairth, Memoa Trees, Snowfire, Ra'zacs, Urgals, scrying mirrors, crossbows, Carn, Nasuada, Trial of the Long Knives, Shrrgs, Elva, Solembum, Angela, spells, Arya, true names, Thorm and brisingr --- and so much more.
Christopher Paolini has developed his characters more deeply and brought an even greater intensity to the action throughout. Very helpful information is given at the end of the book on the origin of names, a pronunciation index and listings of languages from the ancient, the dwarf, the Nomad and the Urgal.
When readers are finished with BRISINGR, not only will they be dying for the next installment (they will probably want to read this one again just for fun), they undoubtedly will want a dragon --- especially one like Saphira.
--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts
Book Review: A total miss on Paolini's part...
Summary: 1 Stars
Christopher Paolini is often marketed on trivial things about him as a person, such as how he was 15 when he started to writing the series, but what has become quite clear with Brisingr, the third book in what was suposed to be a trilogy (and has been proven by brisingr, should have reminds a trilogy)lacks the skill to handle a long series.
Brisingr is best discribed as 600 pages of nothing, leading to 150 pages of something. The First 600 pages of this book contains practically no value, and adds nothing to the series as a whole. It moves without feeling or meaning, and is nothing more then overly verborse filler. aside from the first three chapters of the book, which actually move the story along, from that point on, until around page 600, nothing really happens but random events that seem rarely to add to the plot of the book, but simply drags the reader through murky half battles, and lots of traveling.
The reason I am giving this book a one star rating is because it lacks story. by the time you get to page 600, you are met with a repeat of a previous plot that was used in a earlier book, which was lifted from a Star Wars in the first place, and in the second time in the series when he uses this Star Wars ripoff, it is tireing, and annoying. Sure, it gives a nice little confidence boost to eragon, but at the cost of repreditive use of dirivative plotting already used by Paolini in the series.
he follows it with a J.K. Rowlingesque plot device that was fresh and engaging when J.K. Rowling used it, and even though Paolini introduces a similer concept, with a few vague differences, the sheer numbers he utilizes to make his point is in my personal opinion to be massive overkill. J.K. Rowling understood that less is more, and Paolini seems to think why do a handful when you can do a vaultfull.
what follows is some more traveling, and I do not belive it to be a spoiler to speak of a battle, simply because he already made the battle clear to readers months ago, and it is expect. The problem however is that the turning tide of the battle in Brisingr is nothing more then a repeat of the turning point in a previous battle Paolini has written already. instead of useing a more inventive and unused within his world twist, he regurgitated something he has done before. the effect is to make it seem he just wasnt to be bothered coming up with something new.
in the end, with 600 pages of fluff in a 750 page book, I can see how this book could have been easily condensed to about 400 pages without dramatically changing anything about the story other then the length of the book.
ultimately, this will now leave a haze of questions over Paolini, the most prominate being if he really split the final book into two parts for money? or if he split it up for art? given the lack of plot in this book, and the incredibly length for something with such little value, and further unoriginality on his part, I am leaning towards it being a matter of money.
Did Paolini feel he would be a one hit wonder, and wanted to make sure he spread it out enough to squeeze as much as he could. with the failure that was the film (mainly due to the inability of the scriptwriter and film studio to make a legitimate translation that doesnt cut out all the important parts in haste to make a FX jubiliee.) I could see Paolini wanting to make up for the money he thought he should have gotten from the film.
all I know for sure, this book did not earn praise. it copies to much, drags on to long without anything of value, and lacks the ammount of plot of even most 300 page fantasies such as harry potter and the Sorcerer stone. when a 300 page book written for a younger audience has more to give to its readers then a 750 page book written for teenagers, then you have to question the authors motives.
Book Review: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Summary: 2 Stars
I just finished the book off last night. Yes, it was a book that I tried to read every chance I got. So why do I mark it with 2 stars? Well, lets just say that it took me about a week and half to get through the book when it typically takes me a few days. I kept falling asleep on the book! I must have fallen asleep about 10 times!
Let me start off by saying that the book was nothing but a filler book. It felt like Paolini wrote the book just to make extra money off of the fans of the series. It had no plot to really drive it. I found myself asking, "Where in the world is he taking this?"
Piece by piece review:
Eragon and Roran going after the Razac wasn't too bad. I understand that Eragon has great abilities and the death of the Razac seems a bit easy, but at least it was more than a single page of battle and ending...
The character interaction between Eragon and Roran, hmm, it was nice that Paolini wanted to really place a human element into it, but in book 2 Roran is extremely upset with Eragon and suddenly in book 3 it seems like they are back to the good ol days... The dialogue felt very cheesy and I didn't really feel the characters were the same as his prior books. An example is Arya and Eragon's interaction. In book 2 she felt friendly to show Eragon her world and when he made a move on her she would turn him down flat. So flat that it gave new meaning to crash and burn. Now in Brisingr, she seems so friendly and caring for him, like she now wants him. Then Nasuada, she is this shy and timid girl and in the second book she seemed like a strong leader. Now in this book she might as well be a man. "My name is Nasuada and I'm going to do this trial of long knives..." That was a complete waste of time! Sorry, but the only purpose of it was more of a conversational piece. Eragon saw the bandages on her arms and had to ask, "What happened?" Good grief!
Another annoying thing about this book was the showing off of his extensive vocabulary. If you notice, Paoini in many instances starts using out of the ordinary words. Some of which makes you feel like you need the dictionary to read his writing! Sorry, but Chris, you have to keep your target audience in perspective when you write. Not all of us are Lit Majors in college.
Another review I read stated that the characters felt out of context with the language they used. That goes back to what I said above. He started giving Eragon, a 16 year old, the vocabulary of a lit major!
The wedding:
There is a war going on and here we have Roran needing to get married because he knocked up Katrina... Need I say more?
So lets get to the war part now that I mention it. From about page 450 and on, the book got interesting with the missions that Roran had to go on. I was excited to read each chapter of his. Then came the Insubordination chapter. Ok, lets get realistic here. Insubordination in today's military can be something serious, however, if your insubordination saves the entire battalion's lives, you are awarded for it. Here Roran thinks on his feet to keep his men alive and he gets 50 lashes?!?!?!?! Sorry but if you are trying to make the story interesting, then that is a turn off. Why? Because immediately after he gets whipped, he is asked to lead a group or Urgals and humans on a mission. Something wrong there.
Now onto the Dwarf king election. Yes it got so boring that he had to throw in an assassination attempt.
As you can see, I can go on and on... I think I've said enough though. I will definitely send a review to him if I can find something for his fans to emailing. I am sure he is getting a ton of email at this point but what's one more!