Been There, Read That » Christopher Paolini

Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3) – Christopher Paolini

zach — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 23:21:45 +0000

Title: Brisingr

Series: Inheritance, Book 3

Author: Christopher Paolini

Genre: Fantasy

Paolini continues his Inhertiance saga with Brisingr. Originally, I understand he intended it to just be a trilogy, but I think he’s been having so much fun developing his world and characters, as well as the story, that the story is just getting longer and longer. For some authors, that would be a bad thing, but for Paolini it is just giving him more room to develop and flex his fantastical and creative muscles.

This is definitely not the book to start the Inheritance books with, so if you haven’t read Eragon and Eldest, do yourself a favor and get your hands on them as well.

The book starts with a summary of the last two books, which you can definitely skip if you’ve recently finished reading the first two books of the series, but, if you’re like me and it had been a bit, the quick rehash was a nice reminder of what had gone on before. There are little to no gaps between the events in the books of the series, each one picking up very shortly (as in days after) the last events of the previous book. This book is no exception, and you are thrown headlong into Eragon and Roran’s fight to rescue Katrina, Roran’s betrothed.

To me the book kept a very lively pace. Paolini has become very adept at balancing the action with the more narrative sections of his stories. That said, when I came to the end, I really felt I had just read the next step in Eragon’s journey. Just as in Eldest, this book moves along through the story of Eragon, but it would have a hard time standing on its own – in fact, when removed from the series, it is rather anti-climatic. There is really only one conflict that is resolved in this book (revealed in its name), and that conflict seems almost secondary when compared against the other conflicts of the story.

In the end, I highly recommend the Inheritance saga to any and all fans of the fantasy genre. It is in the vein of Tolkien and maybe even Robert Jordan (the latter being one who has indulged in the epitomy of the unending saga). But don’t read this book without having first read Eragon and then Eldest, you would only be doing yourself a disservice.

Worldview: overall, secular, though slightly theistic in places, and pantheistic in others.

Age Recommendation: Fine for High School age children, and probably Middle School age as well – though the violence rather well-described.

Eragon – Christopher Paolini

zach — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:00:06 +0000

Title: Eragon

Series: Inheritance Trilogy

Genre: Fantasy

Author: Christopher Paolini

Ah, the first of the Inheritance Trilogy by Paolini. I grabbed this book in it’s original edition (when Paolini first published it himself) at a used bookstore. Why? Because I enjoy fantasy and am completely fascinated by different people’s takes on dragons. And I don’t regret for a minute picking this book up. There’s a reason Paolini was picked up by a major publisher and they re-released this book – it’s just plain good.

Some might criticize his classic themes of good and evil, but I think those themes are classic just because they’re so basic and foundational to mankind. And Paolini is just starting something in this book. The cliff-hanger at the end is one of the most abrupt I’ve encountered, and it really left me thirsting for more. I’d suggest at least getting your hands on the second before starting the first, that way you can just read them back to back without ever having to stop (like I did – it was two years before I got my hands on the second book!).

So if you’re in the least bit intrigued by or enjoy fantasy, pick this up. Paolini obviously has read and enjoyed Tolkien – and if there’s an influence I’ll never argue with, Tolkien is it. Enjoy!

Worldview: Atheistic, though there are a few theistic leanings.

Recommended Age: Middle School age and up; there is really no sexual stuff in this book, and though there is violence, it is not too explicit or extreme.

Additional links:
Inheritance Trilogy entry in Wikipedia
Inheritance Trilogy wiki
Shurtgal.com – a a fan site with all kinds of news, gossip, and other stuff about everything in the Inheritance Trilogy
TeenReads.com Author Profile
Inheritance Trilogy website
HubPages.com author profile of Christopher Paolini
BookBrowse.com interview with Paolini

Eldest – Christopher Paolini

zach — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:47:51 +0000

Title: Eldest

Series: Inheritance, Book 2

Genre: Fantasy

Author: Christopher Paolini

I had been waiting for years when this came out. After reading Eragon
, the first of the Inheritance series, I was just left hanging with the abrupt ending. Well this one picks up just about as abruptly, and doesn’t really let go or calm down throughout.

I had read some reviews which complained about the training which Eragon and Saphira go through – how it takes up so much time and how its so boring and all that. I’ll admit I’m a bit of a nerd, but I thought Paolini did an excellent job keeping things moving through the training phase. He actually left me wanting more. He also utilizes that period in the book to explore a little more the history of the world he’s created. You can see a very strong Tolkien emphasis there (not to mention with many of the names he’s chosen for characters and places!).

And I think this book turns the tale more into a multi-character tale, with the return of Roran and the adventure he undertakes which eventually links him back to Eragon.

Overall, very well done. I pretty much inhaled the book – it definitely moved and kept the story rolling on. I had a really hard time putting it down every night. It’s also neat to see Paolini’s maturation as an author. And I just can’t wait for the third book!

Worldview: Atheistic, though there are a few theistic leanings.

Recommended Age: Unlike the first, this book does have a few slightly sexual themes which emerge, though they are pretty chaste overall, so I would suggest this for High Schoool age children, with maybe the exception of 8th graders.