By: Christopher Paolini
Eragon can hardly believe he began the life of a dragon rider only months ago when the stress of war has made him feel years older. Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and Saphira narrowly escaped with their lives. Now bound in fealty and oaths to nearly every race in Alagaësia and a member of his own family, Eragon must carefully navigate a web of politics to ensure the Varden’s success against the mad king.
When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices that ripple across the Empire and lead to unimagined sacrifice.
Does it feel like it’s been ages since I wrote my last review? I can tell you it sure does for me. I fell into a horrible reading slump while trying to get through this book which is sad because the beginning seemed to hold considerable promise…at least when compared to the beginning of Eldest.
The strangest thing is, I felt Brisinger was slightly better than Eldest because there were less training sequences and more fight scenes. However, the book still suffered from being too long for the story it was trying to tell. I don’t blame that as much on Paolini as I do his editor who should have made him take more unnecessary pieces of the book out. If this is the end result, I cringe to think what the book looked like before the cuts.
Had it been around 400-500 pages, I could have dealt with it, but this book was 748 pages long (hardback version) and way too rambling for my taste.
I recognize this series isn’t meant for me anymore. I’m reading through it because I’ve had the books for years and promised myself that this would be the year that I finally finished them. The Inheritance Cycle is meant for people much younger than myself, but I also find that mildly confusing. I lost my interest as an adult reading this book because I thought it rambled on too much. How is this supposed to hold a child or teenager’s attention when their attention spans are supposed to, at least in theory, be shorter than my own?
Anyway, I see Paolini fell into the pattern of predictability when it comes to the structure of his novels. The beginning and middle of the story are dedicated to traveling with some action scenes but nothing particularly exciting. At the end, there is always a large battle where something important happens. Then the story ends. Rinse and repeat. Gee, I wonder what the last book will be like when I finally get to it. I’m sure it will be a huge surprise.
Overall rating: 3
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