Brisingr Review

By SlyShy from Sep 21, 05:26 PM

Brisingr, or, The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular is the third book in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. I would like to note that at his point, he is 25, and not 15, so he will be allowed no exceptions from the Age Card. Nor will he receive any exceptions from the War Veterans Card, since he is not a war veteran. It is interesting to note that this book took three years to publish. So you might expect that, given this amount of time, the book is pretty good.

Your expectations are always wrong, when it comes to the Inheritance Cycle, unless you were expecting an obvious plot twist. Spoilers ahoy: the only plot twist in the book is that Brom is Eragon’s father. Just about every fan who has ever posted on the Inheritance Forums predicted this, showing just how inventive the series is. But more than that the plot points are predictable, the book suffers from a far larger problem. The plot points are few and far-between. Wikipedia’s plot summary) deems a mere 5 events worthy of summary. Approximately 1 for every 155 pages of this colossal beast. Further, one of them involves the dwarves, who just aren’t very interesting.

Now, the book doesn’t contain a lot of plot, but it sure has a lot of scenes. The problem is, you get the feeling this book was just a collection of scenes cobbled together. For example, Eragon randomly meets a hermit magician in an abandoned keep… and then, nothing. After helping the hermit prepare a meal, and listening to a convoluted rant, Eragon runs away. It leaves the reader wondering what the point was. This is not the only instance of this. There are enough to fill 784 pages. Each page leads you to wonder whether the story will go anywhere.

I only comment on the need of plot, because Paolini’s characters still struggle to be sympathetic. In books by masters, such as Anna Karenina we can tolerate hundreds of pages of characters sitting around and talking. But since the Inheritance Cycle has always been about it’s Bildungsroman epic fantasy quest, when the book stops supplying this, it stops supplying at all. Perhaps the reason Eragon was the most tolerable book of the three is that it stuck to the formulaic but comfortable Star Wars plot. Eldest and Brisingr lack the eventfulness, and so they fall flat.

Actually, there aren’t even enough random events to fill 784 pages. Paolini’s signature purple prose and poor descriptors fill close to a third of the pages. This was an area I had really expected Paolini to make great headway in. Writing style is something you undoubtedly can improve with time, and Paolini has had ten years to do it. He also has a professional editor to help him. But the writing really hasn’t improved, and the book is still filled with guffaw inducing lines. Paragraph long descriptions of common place things in the environment still fail to breathe life into Paolini’s lifeless Middle Earth. The great novelist Chekhov once said, “In the particular is contained the universal.” Paolini’s descriptions are void of those little details of description that stick with us. Instead he uses his favored vague adjectives and cliches to describe things, sometimes forcing as many as five adjectives into a single terrified sentence, begging for mercy.

In addition, the dialogue is still contrived. Characters make use of such ridiculous anachronisms as “partook” and “forsooth.” Even as a realistic old English dialect, the dialogue falls short, as anyone who has read Shakespeare can probably tell you. This is ignoring the simple fact that the conversations are unrealistic to begin with. In particular, one Urgal is compelled to blurt out his entire life story, as the reader dozes.

Perhaps the reader would doze less if the most potentially exciting scene in the entire series hadn’t happened off screen. As we can all recall, the “epic showdown” between Eragon and Murtagh in the end of Eldest had been a huge anticlimax. Well, guess what? The fight between Murtagh and Oromis happens off screen. That’s right. What could have been the coolest scene in the series doesn’t happen at all, as far as we are concerned. All we get is a report that Oromis and Glaedr are dead. Truly a masterful story teller. Or perhaps, writing another action scene was too much work. Brisingr is crowned by another triumphant anti-climax.

If you were one of the people who gave Paolini the benefit of doubt, and hoped he would improve, I’ll say this: he did improve, but not by much. And considering how bad the initial quality is, a slight improvement still places you in the “Cliche Fantasy Paperback” category. It’s disappointing that after such a long wait, the book just doesn’t deliver.

For a chapter by chapter break down of the failures, check here.

— SlyShy

Comment

I’m wondering if Yoda Glaedr are actually dead. Galbatorix might’ve gotten a hold of them.

— Lazarus · Sep 21, 06:01 PM · #
They have to be dead, because Oromis gave Eragon his “heart of hearts” to make him more powerful. Never mind how hypocritical this is.

— SlyShy · Sep 21, 06:02 PM · #
Thanks so much for writing this!! I’m the farthest thing from a fan of the Inheritance Trilogy, and probably couldn’t myself have stomached reading Brisingr, but I still had that inexplicable desire to know what crap he’d spew this time. Great review.

— Kaye · Sep 21, 06:26 PM · #
Yeah, it is pretty hypocritical. But according to Paolini’s Book of Morals, it’s alright if GOOD people use BAD methods to achieve victory for the GREATER GOOD.

— Lazarus · Sep 21, 07:40 PM · #
Yeah, unless it is Murtagh killing a slave trader for the greater good. In which case he is still an evil bastard child of Morzan.

— SlyShy · Sep 21, 07:43 PM · #
Everybody, chill out — I resurrect every character in the last book for the final fight against the reborn Emperor Palpatine that takes place upon his Eclipse-class Star Destroyer.

— Christopher Paolini · Sep 21, 08:57 PM · #
Thanks for bearing the obscene amounts of vague analogies and adjectives so I didn’t have to, as well as giving me plenty of arguing points for one of my friends, who is a devout Paolinite.

Cliches: 0. Real Writing: 1.

— Brendan Kutler · Sep 21, 09:22 PM · #
I didn’t mind Eragon so much. Eldest was only a bit worse.

But.. jeez. This sounds terrible.

— Spanman · Sep 21, 11:18 PM · #
I probably should not have read this because I’m only 60% finished with the book, but I also had guessed the “plot twists” that you’ve noted here. I think you gave a good and fair review. I also had hoped that Paolini’s writing would improve more than it has. It has been disappointing so far.

— Professor X · Sep 23, 11:17 AM · #
You have the right to your own opinions. And I respect that.

However, I really enjoyed the book. The dwarves can become very boring, and I admit that I was not all too excited to watch their politics, but it could have been much worse.

As far the fight scenes, are you kidding? I mean, they weren’t bad. We weren’t expecting a huge fight scene in the last battle for two main reasons:
1. Murtagh was not fighting against the Varden, thus aside from the battle in the city of Feinster, what else could you expect but a win? Of course I really enjoyed the creation of the Shade. There could have been more action in that final fight, but due to the fact that it was a battle of wits more than anything else, I think it turned out very well.
2. We only saw a few clips of the battle at Gil’ead, which I very much enjoyed. You need to remember that exposing Galbatorix’s voice gives the appeal that Galbatorix really feared Oromis and Glaedr—something we haven’t really seen before from the Tyrant. This is the case due to his involvement in the fight.

And, I will admit many fans (including myself) were expecting the Brom plot twist. But, I was okay with how it was done, being that it was a happy moment for the series and character of Eragon—and Eragon not being the smartest person in the world, of course he wouldn’t figure it out on his own until told.

To say that this book was more of a collection of scenes rather than a complete, coherent book is not very intelligent. Just because only a couple of months passed by in this book does not mean that it wasn’t coherent and complete. I think that Paolini really improved with Brisingr. Do I think that there are still many areas he needs to work on? Yes, I do. But, considering how far he has come with his descriptions and dialogue and not always needing to have a huge fight scene, well I think it turned out very well. And, I don’t know of many books that come out with a few rather large fights by the time it has ended—and I think that was also a strength of Brisingr.

Also, seeing as this is the 2nd last book of the series, Paolini had to tie up a few more things, such as some prophecies and progression of the ‘rebel forces’ for lack of a better term. I thoroughly enjoyed the book, even as seeing its flaws, because I can tell that Paolini and his characters are growing and I find it interesting to see where he takes things.

— a plastic fan · Sep 23, 11:56 AM · #
I just got done with brisingr. It was an ok book, but Christopher Paolini gave us nothing we didn’t already know. He just couldn’t put all the cool parts of the story in because he promised us so much. And talk about joyous, all he finds under the Menoa tree is a fornicating piece of metel. Thats bullcoprophagous man, and Oromis fornicating hardcore dude dies in like 4 pages man he is fornicating out of hand powerful and yet he doesnt even fornicating put up a good fight. Wow thank you Chris for killing one of the coolest characters in your story, and then not even make him put up a good fihgt. fornicate you man. And you fornicating ass this was suposed to be a triology man and you fornicating fornicated that up. We all know it was for money, but you know good for you. You have found away to make 10 year olds pay 40 dollars for a book that says nothing but shit.

— THe burning jew · Sep 23, 12:03 PM · #
Here is that inproved dialogue and description you spoke of.

“Half of the young men gave their frames a vigorous shake when they stepped forward with their right foot, producing a dolorous cacophony of notes, while the other half shook their frames when they advanced upon the left foot, causing iron tongues to crash against iron throats and emit a mournful clamor that echoed over the hills.” (p. 2)

““Gar!” said Roran in an undertone. “You failed to mention that those errant flesh-mongers, those gore-bellied, boggle-minded idiot worshippers were cannibals.”
“Not quite. They do not partake of the meat.”

“Comforted, Eragon gzed into the void between the stars and slowed his breathing as he drifted into the trance that had replaced sleep for him. He remained conscious of his surroundings, but against the backdrop of the white constellations, the figures of his waking dream strode forth and performed confused and shadowy plays, as was their wont.” (p. 35)

“He was laying on his back, legs folded at the knees, stretching his thighs after running further and with more weight than he ever had before—when the loud, liquid, rumble erupted from his innards.” (p. 72)

Still, thank you for being an incredibly well spoken fan. I never say I didn’t enjoy the books. After all, I read through the entire thing in six hours. But what I am saying is that it needs to be improved. And this site is about pointing out those improvements that could be made, so other young authors can write better themselves.

I agree, the scene with Galbatorix was great. But besides that scene, the book was disappointing.

To summarize: Paolini has improved, that is a given. I still read the book, and enjoyed it. The book still isn’t well written.

Thanks for taking the time to respond. :)

— SlyShy · Sep 23, 12:08 PM · #
So I take it Eragon and Arya didn’t end up together in Brisingr?? If not is there any hope for it happening in Book IV???

— Justin · Sep 23, 06:09 PM · #
I’ve only read through a couple chapters in, but I find the dialogue to be rough. The book seems to lack fluid transitions. But who knows? Maybe it’s just off to a bumpy start.

— Tausha · Sep 24, 09:50 PM · #
Tausha, it doesn’t really get much better.

Justin, if his epic romance is going to be with some woman besides Arya, than Paolini has certainly taken his time to introduce her. At least, I hope we can reason out Angela…. for reasons I hope I don’t have to explicate.

— SlyShy · Sep 24, 09:57 PM · #
A great review – I’ve just finished the book and am very disappointed.
I noticed on his website that he notes Raymond Feist as an influence – then I realised that the whole Inheritance Cycle is just a really poor imitation of The Riftwar Saga.
Although, I’ll still probably buy the 4th book just to find out how it ends.

— pug · Sep 25, 09:16 AM · #
Alright. I just finished reading this book, and was left feeling somewhat empty and unsatisfied. The story was decent, but there is more fluff in here than I would like. I’ll give the author a pass on some apparently “random” material like the scene with Tenga (since he still has one more book to go). I also don’t particularly mind the way he “described” the fight between Murtagh/Thorn/Galbatorix and Oromis/Glaedr. There was just a bit too much awkward dialogue, and some parts really dragged (those dwarves ARE boring). Obviously, I read the entire series so far, so there is plenty of appeal to the stories, but, the thing that really bothers me about this “cycle” is that the main protagonist (Eragon) is really NOT an inspiring character. He comes off as a whiny, immature, hard-headed, impulsive brat, and while that was good in the first book, I keep waiting and waiting for the guy to grow up, or, at least, show some progress in maturity. I understand that’s how most teenagers behave, but I’d expect more from someone who is supposed to be so important. I found myself saying out loud, “How can he be such an idiot?” over and over as I read. It’s quite frustrating, but that also means I care about the character, I guess…

In regards to Justin’s question, hey, maybe Eragon ends up with Nasuada (she might qualify as “royalty”). That would be an unexpected twist. Or Trianna (okay, maybe not).

— Professor X · Sep 25, 02:34 PM · #
Well, it would be another example of how badly written Eragon’s character is if he ended up with Nasuada. So far he has displayed zero interest in her, other than as Lord of the Varden.

— SlyShy · Sep 25, 02:59 PM · #
Thankyou for this review.
Whilst I enjoyed Eragon, Eldest seemed like drivel, and I have to agree with the comment’s about Eragon being an immature character.
I envisage that it would be hard as a young person to write in a maturity that one doesn’t have.
Obviously Eddings’ Garion, Feist’s Pug, Jordan’s Rand al’Thor, et al started out life as these spineless, impetuous characters, who were overwhelemed by their sudden thrusting into greatness, but they did grow up. Maybe that is a sign of having been writen by more mature writers.

I’ll pick this up next week, and have a read.
Very disappointing to find out there will be a fourth novel.
I wonder whether it will be out before he turns 40 (or the next Metallica album, whichever comes first)

— mikey · Sep 25, 06:32 PM · #
I agree with this review!
The book was tiresome and long, the chapters with the dwarfs went on and on and I didn’t care for the Roan saga either.
I expected much more from this book, and I was caught off guard that it was not the last! (I didn’t keep up with the press conferences)
He was trying to make something more than it was, and turned it into a long game of risk. I will read the last, if only to finish it and add it to the shelf over ever growing novels.

— Kiki · Sep 25, 08:03 PM · #
Mikey,

Well… Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ books are “mature” are although they are also really bad, in my opinion. So I don’t know. I really think your writing reflects your life experience, so perhaps being sheltered ones’ entire life isn’t the best path when trying to be a novelist…

Kiki,

Thanks. :) Also, I found your Risk analogy amusing.

— SlyShy · Sep 25, 09:14 PM · #
I just wish that they’d publish a double-spaced version for us with the red pens. I really want to get the full set, mark them up, and ship them back to Paolini. Of course, it would cost me about two hundred bucks to buy and ship. Rolls eyes All that ink would probably double the weight.

It might be worth it if I could see his face when he opened them though…

— Puppy · Sep 26, 01:15 AM · #
Have been an avid fantasy fan for 25 years, read the Lord of the Rings at 8. I bought Brisingr on release day and have tried to start it three times, and cannot get the impetus going beyond page 6, it just appears he is trying to hard. After visiting this site, wonder if I ever will

— Bear · Sep 26, 09:14 AM · #
This is one of the worst reviews i have ever read, and you call yourself a critic, why dont you reread the book, because you were obviously drunk the first time you read it.
I loved this book, it was by far the best in the series, and the writer has definitely improved, it is a long winded book, but it was writen that way, and if you dont like that genre then dont read it.
I cant wait for the next book

— dane arries · Sep 26, 10:41 AM · #
I thought you said this was spoiler free???? Thanks for letting find out Brom was his father on your site. That’s very disappointing. I’ll still get the book to read it. Next time, please don’t be so careless with the title of your review.

— Joe · Sep 26, 12:13 PM · #
Sorry if that caused you any distress, Joe. As you can see, the link at the top of the page brings you to the spoiler free page.

Thanks for taking the time to respond, Dane Arries. I don’t call myself a critic. Turns out, none of the professional critics have published a review. They are probably still looking for something nice to say.

If you would like to offer examples and evidence to explain why this was your favorite book, I would be happy to hear it. I don’t often hear analysis from fans.

— SlyShy · Sep 26, 12:19 PM · #
Hi, I thought your review was spot on and from what I am seeing all over the rest of the internet bookstore reviews the 5-star reviews came from people who were just excited to read the book but hadn’t read it yet. It seems like people either loved it didn’t

Can I say I got the audiobook,fell asleep for several hours and didn’t feel a tiny pang of regret that I didn’t backtrack…and even worse, it appears I really didn’t miss much, except, as Kiki mentioned, I missed that player 1 now owns more of castles on the risk board than player 2.

And sorry Joe…if you watched the Return of the Jedi, it is a spoiler for Book 4…except it was much more concise.

CP, if you read this, take a page from good soap writers—anticipate what we’re going to think and stay two steps ahead…you could stretch this gig out another 8 or nine books. Eragon’s kids…Eragonette and Rosebud the Dragon, for example.

— JustCheerfulOne · Sep 26, 01:05 PM · #
I definitely have to disagree with the review given. You stated a lot of things as fact, but without much support. For example: “…Bildungsroman epic fantasy quest, when the book stops supplying this, it stops supplying at all.” Elucidate on said facts a little more; it gives the review a bit more power. I, for one, counterargue that Eragon continued to mature psychologically quite a bit in his philosophy of killing. Especially in that bit where the swordsman just ran away from him, begging for mercy, and Eragon killed him anyways. Eragon’s thoughts (and Arya’s responses) in the following section were pretty interesting to read, weren’t they? Not to mention how to punish Sloan. And then again in the siege of Feinster. But if you haven’t read the book yet, check it out.

In any case, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I remember reading Eldest through in one day, loving it, and when I heard all the negative reviews on it and read it again I wondered, “What the hell is this?” I loved reading it, much more than I have any other series I can remember (including LOTR, maybe not Deathly Hallows…) because of the wealth of description, and yet when I looked for (and found) all of those negatives it really soured the experience for me.

Point being: just… shut up (as offensive as that sounds… fine: shush! :P). The novels are much better when you don’t nitpick every single fault you can find, because if you look for them you WILL find them, regardless of whether they are valid or not. Brisingr is, IMO, the best in the series so far. Much better than Eldest (I admit there was a little TOO much description and not enough action) and better than Eragon (which you can tell was written while he was 15). It seems a balance of the two.

As for the scenes being “cobbled together”… I’m really not sure what you’re talking about (with the exception of the one scene with Tenga… what was up with that? AND the spirits, which was by far the most random event to happen in the story for me). I don’t remember feeling anything of the sort, or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention. They scenes seemed to flow reasonably well.

Don’t look for stupid things with the eye of a critique. Read the book, enjoy it, end of story. And if you’re so ingrained with a sense of pointing out flaws in books (I confess I have made a habit of it too, on occasion), then the Inheritance cycle isn’t for you. Trust me.

BTW, there was SO much epic plot. Did you not note (SPOILER ALERT… not that anyone cares if they’re so far into reading reviews) the painless soldier fights, Roran’s raids and battles (especially in the village; he killed almost 200 people! That’s nuts!), Murtagh vs. Eragon, siege on Feinster + Shade, invasion of Helgrind and all of that? I mean, come on! That was just awesome.

—RandomX2

P.S.: I would add more to this review and explain WHY I disagree with the above review so strongly and more in-depth, but I’ve learned it’s better to wait for the other person’s response. I don’t want to have misconstrued your review, and so give a bad reply. Just don’t think I’m done ranting yet. :P

(EPIC SPOILER ALERT!)
P.P.S.: OROMIS DIED! WHYYYYY! CURSE YOU, PAOLINI! Sorry, had to get that off my chest.

P.P.P.S.: REPLY SOON. I feel like discussing Brinsingr even more now. :D

P.P.P.P.S.: I like post-scripts (well, that and brackets).

— RandomX2 · Sep 27, 04:40 PM · #
I think, SlyShy, that you must take into account the fact that this was originally intended to be THE final book. Now, when I look at Brisingr from that perspective I can kind of grasp the fact that Paolini hadn’t intended it to be a dedicated book on its own. The fact that there was a heap load of charachter development, little action, LOTS of politics and the whole situation regarding Eragon’s choices, seems to hint that this was, in fact, merely a build up to the main story development that would have been the end of the trilogy (which is now the 4th book of course). I’m not so sure if you agree, but the synopsis is very clear that Brisingr was meant to address the consequences of all the oaths and promises that had been sworn, and for that, it has done very well to portray Eragons perspective and the mental turmoil that he was forced through due to his many alliances with all the different races.

To that effect, however, I feel that I must agree with you in some instances about seemingly pointless scenes. Looking back on it now, although they still feel pointless, it accompanies a nice change and I can definitely see it as the ‘calm before the storm’ that it was meant to be. Also, something to note, we do not know half of Paolini’s intentions. I for one feel that these loose ends will all be cleared up in the final book. Brisingr laid bare quite a few things that muddled and surprised me. The entire situation of Selena, Eragon’s mother, is highly confusing; was she truly a good person, or was she in fact a pawn of Morzan’s, struggling to break the shackles of her fate?
I’m sure you can appreciate the fact the Paolini dug himself quite a few holes in Eldest and now he’s trying his level best to climb out of them in a realistic manner.

— MegaB · Sep 27, 05:53 PM · #
Hey MegaB, thanks for taking the time to write.

When you put it that way, I guess I agree with you. Its awkward position as the “extra” book in the cycle necessitates a lot of what Paolini has done.

But, I feel like if Paolini’s style weren’t so verbose, and he really cut his story down and narrowed in on the pieces that make it an engaging story, he wouldn’t need four books. He could have said all he said in way fewer pages, and then this awkward sort of book wouldn’t need to exist.

Still, I think you’ve made a good point.

— SlyShy · Sep 27, 06:29 PM · #
Dear RandomX2,

Congratulations, you are probably the best spoken fan to stumble into this site. :)

Now, understand me when I say this. I take no issue with people enjoying the book, buying the book, saying they like the book, etc. I bought the book, and I enjoyed reading. What I don’t abide by is people saying “Inheritance Cycle is so well written!” or “Inheritance Cycle has literary value!”. True, everything is a matter of taste, but the fact remains there are simply a wealth of better writers out there, and to call the Inheritance Cycle good is demeaning to the likes of Anton Chekhov and other literary geniuses.

I’m happy you enjoyed the books. But I also hope you expand your reading horizons and read some of the classics. Most people don’t like the classics, because they are assigned by school, and thus automatically boring. But try reading some classics outside of a school assignment. I think you’ll find you enjoy them, and enjoy how well written they are. Now, do note, some classics are more tractable than others. I don’t recommend you attempt to read Anna Karenina right away. The Three Musketeers however, is a fun read.

There are also many contemporary authors that do a great job of writing good stories. If you are a fan of the fantasy genre, (and you probably are, since you’ve read Inheritance) you should read George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series.

— SlyShy · Sep 27, 06:38 PM · #
Ahh, indeed, I agree with you on that point, he could have cut down on the size very easily using that strategy. I think that he let himself off the train with this one, simply putting everything he thought of down onto paper, and that seems to be the biggest mistake as an author he has made!
However, I think he can be forgiven for that mistake, given the situation he was in and the fact that in the preface he clearly states:

“At Knopf: my editor, Michelle Frey, who did an awesome job of helping me to clean up and tighten the manuscript (the first draft was much longer)”

Now that, to me, raises some serious questions as to HOW LONG the original draft was!!! Anyway, I am glad that you agree with me on that point, it makes a far more enjoyable read when you try to ignore the bad points of a book and an author of Paolini’s calibre…..whatever anyone might say, his grammar is exceptional in this regard, his prose engaging and most of all his base plot is intriguing.

— MegaB · Sep 28, 05:50 AM · #
there was only one section of the book that mattered to me and that was when he was in Ellesmera and got his sword; than once he got a riders sword (which i’ve been anticipating for the last two books), the highlight of him using it is to cut open a door. bravo Christopher, nice creativity. now that i have a sword that can light on fire at my will i’m not going to lop off thorns head off with it, i’m going to open a door. copulating idiot

— GOD · Sep 28, 02:19 PM · #
also, i think he tried to hard to explain every detail in the book except for the details that the readers cared about. for example; he took 20 pages of the book to describe how Eragons sword was made when frankly all i cared about was what it was going to look like when it was finished. i dont care how they made a forge and heated it up and tempered his sword and the mechanics of the sword forging in its entirety. than when Oromis battles Thorn and Murtagh (something i care about) he only uses maybe two pages to describe the battle and outcome. it seemed towards the end of the book that the story line was jammed into a couple of short chapters when he took the time to tell Eragons encounter with that guy in the abandoned city or whatever it was. it seems to me that Paolini is trying to milk the series for all that he can by procrastinating on the plot and replacing the book with filler. that or hes just a half good writer with a very good idea.

— GOD · Sep 28, 03:19 PM · #
I think a major problem with CP is that anything he can think of, he’ll just put it on the paper. Most (if not all) of his descriptions are put in the worst places. This doesn’t make it necessarily bad, but we can all agree that it frequently interrupts the story, and gets boring (Eldest).

You can tell when he wrote it, as soon as he came up with a way to show something, he put it in with no thought, and kept going. Where is his editor?

I reread my favorite books over and over, and sometimes I’ll catch a word that I missed, and it makes the story a bit better. Maybe what we need is two versions of the story. One that gives the basic facts needed, and another that goes into more detail in each scene.

— Virgil · Sep 28, 09:45 PM · #
I think his fundamental problem is lack of revision. Every one of his stories reads like a first draft.

Because it is hard to revise in quill and ink. You know, most writers hailed the word processor as the single most amazing thing to ever happen to writing. Paolini threw that down the drain, and it washed up on the polluted seashore, dead.

— SlyShy · Sep 28, 10:56 PM · #
LOL!

“Paolini threw that down the drain, and it washed up on the polluted seashore, dead.”

Eloquently put I must say! Howevere, be that as it may, Knopf ARE his editors. I would say that they have done a very bad job with Brisingr, almost to the point of a schoolboy’s editing skills! Unless Paolini truly intended to have all these broken, unconnected scenes in the final storyline the editing was definitely a bad job.

As I said before though, don’t write off the series just yet, Paolini is known for surprising us in his own unique way. To go with your analogy SlyShy; Sometimes things thrown down the drain turn out to be things that are coveted, like a fossil on the seabed.

— MegaB · Sep 29, 05:48 AM · #
What was with the frequent italic words???
Is that the new black?
I thought it was a code or something to begin with, like join them all up and reveal something extraordinary.
…jibberish

— Nickoback · Sep 29, 08:00 AM · #
Hey!

I followed the link over from the 5 Minutes for Books site. Thanks for leaving a comment on my post about it leading people to this.

I thoroughly enjoyed your review of it.

=)

— Carrie · Sep 29, 10:30 AM · #
MegaB, yeah. Although I don’t want to defend Knopf, I’ve heard Paolini was very resistent to his editors. I don’t know.

Nickoback, those indicate citations. Sometimes people like to make their CSS nice. ;)

Carrie, thanks so much. I enjoyed your review as well, although we obviously had different perspectives. For those of you that are curious, the review is here.

— SlyShy · Sep 29, 10:47 AM · #
Yeah I just finished this. Yikes! I was soooooooo bored!

My personal opinion is he must be pretty arrogant to think he is still going to have a readership after writing such pointless crap. I’m sure that Eldest, Brisingr, and whatever the 4th book is called, could be compiled into 1 maybe 2 books of actual interest.

— Christine · Sep 29, 01:06 PM · #
Unfortunately I would have to say I was disappointed in this book. Although I did enjoy the first 2 books by CP this did drag on and needed to be put down like a rabid dog. I am hoping though he has tied up enough loose ends in this book to give us what we are asking for in number 4. When you think about in the Harry Potter series, book # 6 tied up some loose ends and was really not as good to me as # 5 was. But don’t get me wrong it was still good, I loved it in fact but you still need to tie up loose ends to give everyone the answers that they crave. In closing what is up with that idiot THe burning jew. His comment up above were moronic. Thank you and take care.

— Jay · Sep 29, 02:36 PM · #
Hey Jay,

His comment has probably made more moronic by my censorship of his gratuitous swearing.

And yeah, HP 6 did some things that needed to be done, but also the characters were engaging enough to sustain the book, I thought. I hardly hold JK Rowling up to be an exemplar of writing, but she is pretty good.

— SlyShy · Sep 29, 03:06 PM · #
Hi Jay,

I think you are correct in that regard, in fact, I think Brisingr borrowed alot of plot points from Harry Potter #6! The whole situation with Galbatorix and the Eldunari hits a bit too close for comfort to the Horcruxes and Voldemort…..

Anyway, putting that aside, it’s wrong to criticise the ENTIRE book! Indeed the first half was very bad, even by CP’s standards but the 2nd half was marginally better. The random plot points, so frequent in the first 200 pages or so almost completely disappeared, replaced by a coherent series of chapters that I felt were actually going somewhere. As I stated before though, CP may have something up his sleeves as that seemed like a kind of ‘run-up’ to the action that was MEANT TO occur at the end of the book, but for obvious reasons, was pushed to a further book as number 4. The ending of Brisingr, though, was definitely on a high note for CP. The fighting, both in Gil’ead and Feinster was engaging and very eventful. It was definitely what one would call an eventful ending! That definitely went somewhat to redeeming Brisingr in my eyes. Let’s just hope that book 4 starts on that high note and maintains it eh?

— MegaB · Sep 30, 07:56 AM · #
I’ll admit it: I read Eragon 6 times and Eldist 8 times.

I will not be reading Brisingr twice.

— ziggy · Sep 30, 11:11 PM · #
LOL Ziggy that hints that you will be reading it more than twice! Nice play on words there!

— MegaB · Oct 1, 07:38 AM · #
Can anyone reccomend some good Action/Adventure/Mystery books like Eragon for me to read? I especially like sword-wielding novels with an intriguing plot.
Mystery characters like dragons and elves would be awesome too…

— MegaB · Oct 1, 09:55 AM · #
If you are looking for light reads, I guess I would recommend R A Salvatore. It’s far better than Eragon although its literally merits are still questionable. Regardless, I read a good deal of those books, because I liked the characters.

— SlyShy · Oct 1, 10:16 AM · #
Personally i think the book is targeted for teenagers. Christopher’s series is easy to understand and get into through a teenagers point of view. I myself attend high school, and i have seen kids who i never thort wuld pick up a book, read, and enjoy. Chris sets a very descriptive and informative setting, giving the readers a clear idea of what is really happening. What he has done and how he writes suits different people. Some seriously dont give a sht if his writing is not better thn sum other dude. He captivates teenagers attention, which i think would have to be one of the hardest tasks for a writer. He has done well thorugh his Inheritance Cycle, and i hope he continues.

— J Nick · Oct 2, 05:05 AM · #
Honestly, I think you are giving CP more credit than he deserves, and Knopf’s marketing team less than they deserve.

— SlyShy · Oct 2, 08:56 AM · #
I am a teenager in 11th grade in high school. I have read all of these books and i loved every one of them, even over such books as harry potter, Lord of the rings, and the wheel of time series. I really don’t know if these are common reviews of these books and if so i really feel like a idiot for thinking these such good works. i read them very quickly and thought about them through the day, i liked the pointless scenes, it gave it a feel of realism, every detail of the book having a profound point, immediately would make the book wild. i would like some feed back on this, if any of you have answers.

— Taylor · Oct 2, 12:35 PM · #
I have to say i was dissapointed in this book, ive been following the series since it started. I patiently waited an entire year after the original release date to read this book, hopefully to end the story for good. I was dismayed when I began reading this P.O.S. 400 or so pages in and i knew it was gonna be a four parter (i didnt keep up with the press releases). The reason i knew is because of all the damn padding that was thrown in there. It felt like a freshman in high school trying to expand on a damn english paper!

— Jeff · Oct 2, 06:43 PM · #
Well, I have mixed feelings about this book. After reading Eldest, I guessed Paolini wouldn’t be able to finish up in three books. That’s fine, if he hadn’t been calling it a trilogy the whole time. It just shows a lack of foresight.
Also, I had to break off reading Brisingr at least twice. Once I fell asleep around 1am, which is odd considering I don’t sleep until two. The second time, I just got to a dull part and stopped.
Too much of the book was centered around Eragon traveling from place to place, and the events seemed relatively minor. An election, a siege of a minor town (that almost got Arya killed and relied on way too much perfect timing/luck on Eragon’s part), the preparation of a sword, and the retrieval of a sister in law are all that really happened to Eragon. I can excuse all this as prep for the next book (which better be good).
However, the language was a little too dull, and too much time was spent on descriptions. Arya’s boat or the gilded flower are great, but useless.
Most disappointing was Eragon’s outbreak towards Oromis. The anger came out of nowhere. Eragon became a child again, and for what? Why is his parentage Oromis’ fault? And any fool could guess Oromis had been forced to swear oaths in the ancient language, banning him from speaking of Eragon’s lineage.
I also wish the Arya/Eragon moments had more depth to them. We started understanding Arya a little, but it went nowhere, and all we got was a random hug after Oromis died, all the way at the end of the book…

All in all, Paolini spent too much time describing mountains and fields and air.

However, I would be lying if I said I did not enjoy the book. And while Eragon’s angry outburst seemed far too forced, Oromis’ death and Glaedr’s emotion was excellent. And to tell the truth, I enjoyed Roran’s adventures more than I enjoyed Eragon’s. Hopefully the less than brilliant qualities of this book are due to its position as a setup for an amazing fourth book…hopefully.
We’ll see.

— Trey · Oct 5, 03:57 PM · #
Its possible that my literary tastes have simply changed between Eragon and Brisingr, but the originals seemed to move faster and waste less time with side events.

— Trey · Oct 5, 04:01 PM · #
Because of the lack of foresight made this book just a filler. Even so if he cut down on unnecessary descriptions through all three books, he could have kept the trilogy.

— Virgil · Oct 5, 04:48 PM · #
Hey Trey,

I enjoyed all the books as well. The thing is, I hope everyone can look past the mere enjoyment, and look hard at the book. That way as readers and writers we can improve. I’m glad people here enjoy the books, because that means they didn’t waste their money. I’m more happy when people are able to enjoy the book, and look at it critically, as you’ve just done.

— SlyShy · Oct 5, 05:45 PM · #
Hi Trey!
I must say SlyShy, I stumbled upon this site after looking for reviews to Brisingr when I was half way through the book! But we are getting many comments here!

Anyway, I digress! Trey, I can see where you are coming from, however I don’t think it is wise to criticise Paolini on his lack of foresight regarding the number of books. You have to understand that the first installment, Eragon, was finalised when he was only 15 years old. More than 10 years have passed since then, and you can definitely see an improvement in Paolini’s writing style since then! Not only that, but I also think that when he wrote Eragon as a 15 year old, he had no idea that it would sell as well as it did and so he didn’t have everything planned out. In the end, no matter how many of his fans may protest, he is no Tolkein or Lewis. That is why I was not too surprised that a 4th book has been introduced. In a way it also makes things far better as now he can focus all of the important details into the last book instead of constraining himself to a set number of novels as Rowling did, and I’m sure we all agree when I say that the 7th book felt rushed!

As Taylor said, although all the little ‘conglomeration’ of scenes seem pointless, it did add a different approach to CP’s prose and was a nice change. It showed that no matter how much Eragon attempts to convince himself of his duty, his emotions are still very much human, and he is facing the consequences of his actions every second of the way. In this way, Paolini was very effective, and was that not the aim of Brisingr? To clear up all the doubt about his multiple oaths and allegiances?

I think we can definitely look forward to an ‘epic’ with regards to the final installment. I, for one, am very interested in how Paolini will tie it all up!

— MegaB · Oct 6, 05:46 PM · #
MegaB,

If you think we shouldn’t criticize CP for his foresight, then we should criticize him for his pacing and prose, because every book has been far longer than it ought to be.

Really, I think a skilled writer could have done everything in the four books in two. I think Paolini could have done it. But he was probably attached to the romantic notion of the fantasy epic trilogy ala Tolkien. I don’t know. When you read the synopsis, you realize there really isn’t that much there to justify 700+ pages.

— SlyShy · Oct 6, 05:55 PM · #
MegaB, you have to remember, Eragon wasn’t finalized when he was 15. He started writing his first draft when he was 15. The final draft was when he was 18. And he also mentions he planned a trilogy out from the beginning, so in many ways he is to blame.

— Virgil · Oct 6, 06:19 PM · #
To those who keep saying his writing style has improved…would you care to elaborate? As I see it, he still doesn’t know how to use a semicolon or even recognize and avoid run-on sentences. Nor does his convoluted sentence structure do him any favors, and I quote: “‘Would you I should stay or go?’” (I don’t recall the page number, but it’s in there.) Someone speaking actual English would just say “Would you like me to leave?” or something along those lines.
If there has been an improvement, it’s roughly analogous to watching the price of gas drop from $4.19 to $4.15: sure, there’s a slight improvement, but it’s still ridiculous.

— Elizabeth · Oct 9, 12:34 AM · #
Actually, it’s like watching the price of gasoline drop from $4.19 to $4.15 and then finding out the gasoline is actually pumped out of your septic tank and isn’t really gasoline at all.

— SlyShy · Oct 9, 12:37 AM · #
Haha! That gave me a good deal of mirth! An excellent analogy I have to say! But truly, is that a bad thing? His writing style is still very engaging and I think that he did hit peaks here and there at many points in the story. I still feel that scenes that were meant to feel ‘epic’ actually did feel like that! For instance the battle on the Burning Plains in Eldest.
SlyShy, Virgil, I do concede the point that his foresight was bad, you have said enough to convince me of the fact! However what I am saying is; can we really blame him? SlyShy’s point however was very valid. I suppose we cannot justify 700+ pages by the synopsis, but I still think he did a good job with what he intended. It really hit me, how Eragon was struggling due to his oaths so at least he fulfilled what he meant to, even if it was a bit long winded.

By the way, the gasoline analogy…..that was pure gold! :P

— MegaB · Oct 9, 05:06 PM · #
Firstly, i think this review is gold and I agree with you wholeheartedly. Sure, I mean, I enjoyed the book and almost, just almost couldn’t put it down. But, I can’t help but point out the flaws/faults/plot holes/more flaws/ like you did. This entire magic thing that Paolini has overused and is stretching really really thin is killing me. Basically, I’ve never been comfortable when authors inject magic into their books, partly because they never can do it properly, and with the questions that it always tends to bring about, leaving the reader constantly guessing, which is my main criticism of the Harry Potter books. It just automatically assumes that the character can just use a random spell to do nearly anything. In the book, it even said Eragon can fly with magic…. but just doesn’t… Now then, I can’t think straight enough to extend my rant further at the moment, so for a few questions. Plot hole from Eldest: How did Roran kill “uberpowerful” magicians like the Twins with a hammer when spellcasters are supposed to have wards cast around them to prevent this kind of thing? And the Ra’zac, there’s only two of them in existence? I know that there was only a pair that Eragon’s after, but from the first book, it always sounded like the Ra’zac were an evil hated race, like the Urgals. Another thing, why does everyone RUN OUT OF ENERGY ALL THE TIME IN NO TIME AT ALL!!??? They’re always like, no we have to conserve this, conserve that. Have they no stamina or endurance? Or are they just weak? Finally, why can’t Eragon kill any enemy mentally in an instant like he did on the Burning Plains? I know sometimes their minds are protected by enemy spellcasters, but like when he faces ordinary soldiers on the road, instead of having to hide or fight them in physical combat, can’t he just destroy them all at once in a split second? Once again, the whole magic thing has gotten way out of hand. Sorry, it’s late, so this isn’t the best list of criticisms ever, but still….

— Eragon Skywalker · Oct 9, 11:36 PM · #
I think you’re being a little unfair to Paolini here. I agree the writing was bad in many places. I personally think that although he’s a talented author, he seems to be trying to do too much, he seems to think that in order to make a name in the writing world, he has to ‘boost’ his language with adjectives. Its quite sad, because he would be a lot better if he just allowed the words to flow.

And yes, there were a few unwanted sub-plots. The part where he stays behind to rescue Sloan was a bit unrealistic, I mean, what kind of guy risks getting captured and killed just to mete out appropriate ‘punishment’ to a crazed psychopath who doomed his village.

But on the whole, I enjoyed the book. The ‘filler’ parts were actually quite fun to read, regardless of how obviously drawn out they were. And the end, I thought the ending was great. It was a good idea to show Oromis’ death from Glaedr’s point of view, and ‘off-screen’. The sense of loss was a lot more pronounced, as compared to the rather unconvincing ‘grief’ Eragon feels for Murtagh’s death in Eldest. And I think there’s significant evidence that lots of people enjoyed the book. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have so many people criticizing it. If I recall correctly, Eldest received as much criticism as Brisingr, and yet people are still reading the series, and the sheer number of replies here indicates that.

— Aquarius · Oct 10, 01:47 AM · #
Hey Aquarius,

You’ve got some good points here. Although I didn’t care that Oromis died one bit.

Like I’ve said many times before, we aren’t discussing enjoyability of the book, but rather writing. It’s good to note that better writing can make a book more enjoyable. I concede Brisingr was entertaining. But then, so were all sorts of cheap books. Drizzt Do’Urdan books are entertaining, as are paperback romance novels (if that is your thing). Entertainment is great, but as writers I think we want to strive for something more.

Anyways, I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, the number of people reading a series doesn’t make it good. Beverly Hills Chihuahuas was #1 in the box office last week, does that make it a good film? I didn’t think so.

— SlyShy · Oct 10, 02:09 AM · #
i just to tell everyone here that Gabatorix is actually Eragon’s Grandfather, if you don’t believe me check on Wikipedia and look up the fourth book.

— Super Awsm Azn Rugby Player · Oct 10, 07:37 PM · #
My comments, and some of the things which I picked out.

SPOILER ALERT.

I thought that the book dragged on.

I’m not the kind of person who grumbles when he sees that something has 400+ pages, I just think “Oh great! all the more to read” and trust that it was money well spent.

So many things in that book were drawn out.

And slightly too much detail can be a bad thing sometimes.

The random scenes I am unsure about, I think that it adds a sense of realism. Which is brutally mutilated by everything else in the book.

I would elaborate, but it is late, and I don’t want to spend enormous amounts of time on this.

Although I will use the example of.

In the second book, he gains control of some soldiers, and forces them to break the engines of war.

Whilst at the same time, they are guarded by a “magician”……

Whilst later on, when he actually needed to become a little leach, he suddenly couldn’t do the very same thing..

And then, as for all the other “battles” against the townsfolk.

They weren’t protected at all, is this character meant to be naturally stupid, or is the writer at fault?

I think I know the answer, and I’m thirteen years old, with such ailments as dyslexia… (I just wanted to make a point)

He has introduced a load of amazing things which you can do, things which anyone with a brain could have worked out before the end of the first book.

The flaw is…

(I actually took the liberty to devise this in a fit of boredom) He is riding in to battle, but whats this? siege engines! hmm.. too far away to hit, protected from every useful spell… I know, I will force the men there to save surprise attack them..

(after he becomes weary) “I can’t take energy from my surroundings, because the soldiers are protected.. oh wait, I can posses them with a little effort, and use their energy to, not only store great power within my belt, but also kill their comrades.”

It’s as if he is trying to write a children’s book (Oh wait…) with a characters who can’t think for themselves….

Until something gets pointed out by the narrator.

“Wait! you mean all this time I’ve been taking the dragon’s energy when I could steal someone else’s??”

Oromis dies..

Without even trying to use his supposed “100 years worth of energy” to kill/disable Murtagh…

Why couldn’t he just save us the anguish and get somebody to say “No Eragon, I AM your father…. Will help me evade the lawyers now.”

It is a relatively good read.

But for all of his detail, CP still misses out things, things which are actually important..

Forgive me if I have started to rant, rave, and loose control of my punctuation..

But it is late, and I am worried that people will forget classics, such as gulliver’s travels.

Thank you for reading this, I did manage to get into the flow of the book, otherwise I wouldn’t have read it all (Although, I admit that I skimmed over most of the part about Selena, the dwarves, and… most of the later half of the book)

I will probably read the next book, if just to see what has improved.

— Sadistic Slob · Oct 10, 08:04 PM · #
Is is just me, or did he use the word ‘bah’ way too many times in this book? It kept making me think of Scrooge, and then I would laugh for ages.

— Hunter · Oct 11, 10:16 AM · #
Another thing … this is just a personal opinion, but I really do not like CP’s attitude to religion. What he needs to realize is that there is a big difference between evidence and faith. Most religions are based on faith, not evidence.

— Hunter · Oct 11, 10:33 AM · #
I was extremely excited to read this book, and a little dissapointed at the end. It seemed like CP just crammed information we needed for the final book into this one.
I think it was a little stupid of Paolini to not realize he had too much plot for three books! This one was bound to fall flat as it was just the extra.
Seriously, when i read Eragon i liked the series, but now I.m just going to read to find out the end.

Also- by the end of the book, virtually NOTHING had changed (except you learn Brom’s Eragon’s father, and Glaedr and Oromis die :<)

— sara · Oct 11, 02:01 PM · #
I have to say i was rather disappointed by what he had given us. The least he could have done was reveal who the 3rd rider was. Or better yet made galbatorix actually confront eragon or anything similar. I nearly dropped the book mid way for i found it rather boring. But im glad i stuck to it till the end, for it did give me some amusement when i begun to read the last 3 chapters. I have to say the story line was a weee bit predictable and a bit shallow. The way the characters conversed seemed like some badly scripted sit com. Besides that it was a good book. Not great, but theres room for improvement.

— H.P · Oct 12, 06:24 AM · #
I think we pretty much all know the third rider is Arya…

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 11:34 AM · #
If we post it enough Paolini might change it… crosses fingers … but then I doubt it, he can’t have his perfect mate for his self insert not be a rider.

— Virgil · Oct 12, 11:43 AM · #
I think it is pretty clear Eragon and Arya will finally fall in love, and their dragons will too, and they will start the next generation of dragons and dragonriders. Of course, it is possible it isn’t Arya, because she had been carrying eggs around forever. And I wouldn’t want a cold hearted harpy as my rider.

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 12:41 PM · #
Ok here’s another thing that pissed me off royally about this book!!! Oromis died in a really joyous way! He has one of his seizures correct, and he drops his sword, that he put wards on specifically to HELP him if he had one!!! I thought oromis was SMART! how come he couldn’t have put an enchantment that said DONT FALL OUT OF MY HAND SWORD!!!!! he is copulating stupid if he forgot the most simple thing, even a kid could realize that “if i have a seizure i just might drop my fucking sword” DUMBGLUTEUS!!!!

— Jeff · Oct 12, 01:19 PM · #
i’m thinking that arya IS going to be the green dragon rider…aside from the point virgil brought up that eragon’s love couldn’t possibly be anything less (cp wants the best for his self insert), aren’t arya’s eyes green?

insignificant fact, sure, considering eragon’s eyes are supposed to be brown and saphira’s blue…but it’s just something i picked up on.

or it might possibly be roran…however, i think it would be the most interesting if it was katrina! that would be a huge plot twist…especially as she’s pregnant

— Snow White Queen · Oct 12, 04:43 PM · #
Arya also uses “Green Magic” which is ridiculous, since when did the magic system have a color system? This isn’t Magic: the Gathering, or at least, I hope.

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 04:54 PM · #
I just finished the book…I picked this book up the day after its release and I just finished it.

Yeah I was a bit busy with the start of school, but I can promise you with other books like Harry Potter 7 and Breaking Dawn I found the time, even if I read straight through a whole weekend. However with this series I am beginning to feel like its another Wheel In Time series…in other words…its not going anywhere…

This book bore me to tears, and it sadden me. CP is ruining his story. He has great characters and does NOTHING with them. Builds no tension, thicken no plot, half the book Eragon isn’t even with Saphira… Boring, boring, boring!!! Eragon should ache with every look at Arya, and what about Nasuada…the story line there is just dead…and she is one of my favorite characters…

The fight scenes and the conflict with Sloan, Roran and Katrina are the only redeeming factor in the whole book…

I liked Eragon, loved Eldest, and was excited about this book…now I may even forget to read the next book when it comes out…

CP you had me, and now you lost me…good luck on the next book…but please be more plot driven…

— Kellie · Oct 12, 07:19 PM · #
Hey Kellie,

Thanks for your comment. It seems to be in the same vein as just about every comment. Anyways, I’m interested in what you thought of Breaking Dawn. Obviously it drew a lot of fire from fans, and I don’t particularly like it. What is your opinion on it?

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 07:33 PM · #
Harsh reviews such as the one above and some contained in the responses below show us how warped people’s minds have become. Everyone is so busy picking apart this guy’s writing, they never even gave themselves a chance to enjoy it. When you have already made up your mind about how awful the book is going to be before you start reading it, no wonder all you see are the flaws. I also ask of SlyShy, please provide a list of novels you yourself have had publishes so I may read some of your infallible writing.

— Dan · Oct 12, 10:07 PM · #
Dear Dan,

Try to read the site over again. I have repeatedly said I enjoyed reading the book. So the entire premise of your argument is flawed.

Never once did I claim my own writing to be infallible, in fact, upon further reading you’ll find places where I admit my own writing to be shaky. I am, however, seeking to improve my craft, which in a field where practice is everything is vital.

You can find a short story of mine in the Critique section. I would be delighted to see what you have to say about it. Broken Strings.

Anyways, it still doesn’t matter whether I’ve published a book because you don’t have to be a published author to spot flaws in writing. Just like I don’t have to be an Olympic Gold Medalist to know the guy walking on his hands isn’t doing the 50m dash correctly.

Come back and try again sometime later, maybe, and thanks for you feedback.

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 10:13 PM · #
Also…

To Hunter,
I say “bah” to you. I found the word bah’s use entertaining, especially whenever in close proximity to a mention of sheep.

— Dan · Oct 12, 10:15 PM · #
Oh, I would also like to comment on this weird thing I’ve noted.

To say the Inheritance Cycle is bad you need to: publish a book that is wildy successful.

To say the Inheritance Cycle is good you need to: own a computer.

Why the double standard regarding credentials? Because logic has always belonged to the skeptics.

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 10:18 PM · #
Hey slyshy,

I just re-read your review and I am still not seeing the word enjoy. In my opinion, Paolini is swimming just fine and if I were him I would want the judges to have a little more experience than just teaching a water-aerobics class at the Y.

— Dan · Oct 12, 10:28 PM · #
Dan, you are logged in the large database somewhere as a fan who reinforces the fact that devout Inheritance fans are moro- well I don’t want to be mean. Most Inheritance fans are not logical in their arguments.

And ‘bah’ is a matter of opinion. I think it’s a perfect word to use in certain situations.

— Virgil · Oct 12, 10:29 PM · #
Virgil, your words only further the stereotype that most literary critics are narcissistic, pigheaded, sons of- but I don’t mean to sound harsh.

— Dan · Oct 12, 10:37 PM · #
Dear Dan,

Again, thanks for your feedback. Virgil isn’t exactly a literally critic. Nor is that even a real stereotype, except in your head. And of course, you were lying when you said you don’t mean to sound harsh, by using the phrase in a caustic way.

Again, I would love to hear your comments on all aspects of the site. However, insulting our users will simply earn you a ban. Criticize content, not people.

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 10:56 PM · #
You still haven’t read carefully. Look at the comments under the review. Let me quote it for you, since this seems to be a difficult task for you.

Hey Trey,

I enjoyed all the books as well. The thing is, I hope everyone can look past the mere enjoyment, and look hard at the book. That way as readers and writers we can improve. I’m glad people here enjoy the books, because that means they didn’t waste their money. I’m more happy when people are able to enjoy the book, and look at it critically, as you’ve just done.

— SlyShy · Oct 5, 05:45 PM · #

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 10:58 PM · #
SlyShy,

A. Thank you for elaborating on my “not meaning to be harsh”, I feared some were just not up to figuring it out themselves.

B. What piece of literature was Virgil critiquing just before my comment.

C. I just realized this entire site is dedicated to picking apart children’s/teen literature like it’s some PHD hopeful’s dissertation

— Dan · Oct 12, 11:12 PM · #
D. perhaps your sudden enjoyment of the book in the comments is due to your realization of the faults in your review in the face of other commenter’s arguments

— Dan · Oct 12, 11:15 PM · #
In response to

A. Part of the problem with CP’s writing is he employs exactly this tactic when dealing with his reader.

B. That doesn’t make Virgil a professional critic, and you didn’t respond to my other point.

C. Took you a while. And actually, it’s about improving writier by observing mistakes present in existing writing.

D. Nope, I’ve always enjoyed reading the books enough to at least finish the book. That doesn’t mean I didn’t notice the blatant flaws in the book.

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 11:28 PM · #
In response to your resonse

B. I was not saying it made Virgil a critic, I was refering to the fact that you felt honor bound to chastise me but not Virgil, I don’t care if you meant it for everyone I want you to reply similarly to Virgil or I am taking my toys and going home

— Dan · Oct 12, 11:36 PM · #
That’s not at all how your comments came off.

If it would make you feel better, Virgil, be more careful next time. You wouldn’t want to offend anyone.

Dan, still go home. You aren’t contributing.

— SlyShy · Oct 12, 11:47 PM · #
dan,

actually, i thought this site only picked apart inheritance and twilight in any great detail, and in my opinion, i think that they really do need some picking over. some of the criticism may be over the top, but it’s all in good fun. people may like the books, of course. i know many people that do. it’s all a matter of taste.

and i’m not saying that all books geared for teens are bad. there are teen books out there that are very good. i happen to love many YA novels, such as the book thief, speak, etc. however, a lot of it is mediocre, and fantasy especially tends to be guilty of this.

even if you haven’t published a book before, you know when someone’s lifted a supposed ‘astonishing plot twist’ out of star wars (hint- switch ‘luke’ and ‘father’ with ‘eragon’ and ‘brother’).

you know when you don’t care about diddly squat about what happens to the main character (or for almost all of them, for that matter), the author’s done something pretty seriously wrong.

i didn’t mean to drag on, but i like to hear the sound of my own voice :)

anyways, that’s my two cents worth.

— Snow White Queen · Oct 12, 11:48 PM · #
Im board, I vote we change the subject and pick apart the flaws in character development in humpty-dumpty

— Dan · Oct 12, 11:57 PM · #
Bored*

Anyways, you might be interested in reading Humpty Dumpty And Symbolism by Bernard M. Knieger.

— SlyShy · Oct 13, 12:23 AM · #
Arya also uses “Green Magic” which is ridiculous, since when did the magic system have a color system? This isn’t Magic: the Gathering, or at least, I hope.

Well, Eragon’s magic is always blue (even the fire), which was established early in book 1. Likewise, Murtagh has a red (dragon, sword, magic) color scheme.

In M:tG terms, Blue/Red, though an odd combination, works quite well for Eragon. As a Gary Stu, his Blue side warps all reality to counter anything his opponent might throw at him, while his impulsive Red side grants him immense destructive force. And a dragon.

Arya is Green. Green cares about life and nature, and thus does not use creature-destroying effects…unless they’re evil nasty flying creatures, in which case they must die a swift and painful death. One can only assume her hawt leather outfits are made from Lethrblakas.

— SubStandardDeviation · Oct 13, 12:34 AM · #
U/R was okay in Ravnica, but to a limited extent… it only worked because of Urzatron anyways. :P

— SlyShy · Oct 13, 01:12 AM · #
Well, I suppose I will have to be more careful on who I comment on.

— Virgil · Oct 13, 07:08 AM · #
I like how Dan compared the book he was defending to Humpty Dumpty.

Also, anyone that is going to defend these books, please for the love of God actually think about what you are about to say before you say it. It might also be good to look at all of the arguments that have been used and have failed. Like the “u havent published anything so u should shut up” argument, and the “lol y r u critiquing a teen book” agrument. Maybe we are critiquing teen books because those are the books that relate the most to our audience, and people care about those books more than others. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here arguing with us about it.

— Lord Snow · Oct 13, 05:32 PM · #
Yes, Snow you’re right. It might be one of those inverse equation laws: The more dedicated to Inheritance you are, the less your arguments make sense. But of course, I’m narcissistic and pigheaded, somehow.

Most Inheritance fans are not logical in their arguments.

— Virgil · Oct 13, 07:30 PM · #
I have to say, this discussion is becoming more entertaining as time wears on! I actually laughed at Dan’s comment after I read it, the irony was a blatant stab at Virgil! Please, don’t allow this educated ‘banter’ to be degraded to simple-minded conjecture and insults.
If the comments are anything to go by, most of you are just reading the review and not the comments that go with it. I know the comments section is becoming quite large, but in my mind that shows that psychologically (and if anyone here has studied psychology at a decent level, you would agree with me!) it emphasises the point that most readers have taken enough of a liking to Brisingr to search for, and comment on, a lone reviewers thoughts.

SlyShy has pointed out some of the major flaws in the Inheritance Series’ plotline and I am grateful for it. It helps to see the story in the light it’s meant to be shown, but I think many people are forgetting that ALL authors are human, without exception! We all make mistakes, every Author does, and so far we have only looked at the flaws in Brisingr. Yes, I could write a whole essay of PQE (or whatever variation anyone who has done up to A-level/College standard english of essay writing) on CP’s writing but frankly, I haven’t the time :P.

As a book of fiction, Paolini has done remarkably well. He’s managed to hold most of his fans even so far in and that in itself is a testament to the interesting plot he has built up. To say ‘there was no development in Brisingr’ or ‘the storyline didn’t go anywhere’ is completely baseless. Paolini has in my opinion, achieved what he said was the goal of Brisingr. For those who have not read the early comments, I reiterate; The plotline quoted by the blurb of the novel was:

“OATHS SWORN . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide.

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 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, Katrina, 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 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?”

Notice the emphasis on the results of his choices and tests of loyalty. The ENTIRE book was about his allegiances and his choices, whether it was the pragmatic politics of the dwarves, or the movement of the Varden, everything that was brought in met the requirements of this summary.

The thing was, and here I’m sure I speak for everyone, it was longwinded, drawn-out and contained unnecessary scenes that detracted from the overall perspective. However, it was still an engaging read and I feel, for the genre and audience it represents, it did a good enough job to deserve its place in the series.
We have already discussed the fact that there was unsatisfactory forethought and that is what led to the trilogy being extended, but again that has little effect on CP’s writing prowess!

About the colours of each charachters magic, how could it not be so? Paolini himself has stated that Eragon was influenced by many of the modern day novels that have this idea. It may not be original by a long stretch but is still one that has reasoning behind it. Each charachter has a different personality, a different style, so the variation of colour may be affected by this. There are many plot points that, and I’m pretty sure most would agree, Paolini has left for the reader to decide where the explanation comes from. For instance, the manner of Oromis’ death and the use of magic to kill soldiers. If you use your imagination, you can come up with a whole host of reasons as to why this is. Paolini went to great lengths to describe the fact that magic is a very crude art. It’s all about how you ask not what you ask. And this explanation allows the reader a great scope to figure out just what he means by that. Did the twins think of protecting themselves, or just about protecting the soldiers? Or did they think that they only needed protection from magical attacks but not physical ones? Similarly, did Oromis believe in his fighting prowess enough to think that he wouldn’t drop his sword?
This is actually a small gem in a haystack – not a needle. The fact that Paolini allows the reader to decide, even if unintentionally, and it shows that he has strove to make the charachters have faults that become their undoing. This also foreshadows the fact of how the whole series will be wrapped up. Maybe not by an ‘epic’ battle of Eragon vs. Galbatorix, but by something subtle that Galbatorix overlooked due to arrogance or ill-formed intent.

This was my longest comment yet, but please, a structured argument is far better and more convincing than an ill-conceived one. This may seem like a ‘glowing fanboy comment’, but I felt after picking out a few of the flaws in the comments, it would do well to remind people that Brisingr wasn’t all a massive shortcoming and that there were plenty of reasons to respect Paolini’s prose as well.

— MegaB · Oct 14, 07:32 AM · #
Okay, I was avoiding posting anything in the Brisingr reviews because that’s not why I visit this site, but I felt I had to comment based on what MegaB has said.

Before I start, here’s a recap:

I do not like these books, but I have already posted elsewhere on this site that I believe they have value. They have encouraged children to read, and to hold lengthy debates on the subject of literature. For these reasons alone, the books have to be applauded. I would prefer my child to read a book (even a bad one) rather than watch television, and if reading Brisingr encourages someone to go on to read better (although not necessarily bigger) books, then again, I applaud Paolini for what he has done.

Having said all that, some comments baffle me. MegaB has very articulately argued why Paolini’s obvious plot holes are in fact clever literary techniques that he is employing to help us better understand the world he has created and set up an exciting climax .

Another fan has said they loved the book, and yet openly admitted to skipping dozens of pages at a time.

The loyalty of Paolini’s support is incredible, and I only wish my readers were as forgiving. He is clearly doing something right. Fair play to him.

— Carbon Copy · Oct 14, 11:13 AM · #
Aha Carbon Copy, some very good points made there. I did however, say that it was quite possible that some of the techniques employed by Paolini may have been unintentional. I think that is probably the case with the whole magic fiasco. I do agree with you on the other example though. To love reading a book yet skipping over most of it?! What about it do you love?

As for the literary value of the inheritance series, in terms of language it is very well written. Structured sentences and grammatical techniques are almost overdone, in fact many would say there’s just too much in Brisingr! Otherwise, the rest is a matter of opinion, I like to hear what other people thought as I feel it allows me to understand the book better.

— MegaB · Oct 15, 06:03 AM · #
@Sly
Ya know, Arya’s green magic does make sense in that she hates ugly flying things. Green has Hurricane in Tenth Edition, Dense Canopy from Kamigawa, and the whole “Pretty is in” thing from Lorwyn.

I read Brisingr after visiting this site, and was unimpressed. I thought Eragon and Eldest were alright, Eldest was my favorite, and I even liked the passage about Liafen and Nari.
(prepares for stoning)

— Rhaego · Oct 15, 08:32 PM · #
Haha, apparently there are a number of M:tG fans here.

Yeah, anyways, he really doesn’t need to steal from any more Magic systems.

— SlyShy · Oct 15, 09:06 PM · #
omg! The book was decently good. I doubt any of you could write as well as Paolini can! It was a good book.

— pizza · Oct 16, 10:27 AM · #
Dear Pizza,

Whether or not we can doesn’t matter. Fact is, there are tons of other authors who can, and have. Although, since the goal of this site is to learn from his mistakes, and avoid them, actually we probably could write better than him. We will find out in November. Cheers.

Please, if you want to say the book is good, give a rationale. Tell us what was good about it. We all give analysis of mistakes, nobody wants to give examples of strength, it seems.

— SlyShy · Oct 16, 10:40 AM · #
Ah SlyShy, that’s a bit harsh! Some people have raised some good points regarding Paolini’s good areas with regard to Brisingr. It’s just that not many people take the time to read every comment and so only intend to voice their own opinions based on your review.

Your review was excellent, there is no doubt in my mind about that. I do not necessarily agree with you on all the points made but it was definitely informative and helped to build a better perspective with which one can view the book. But isn’t that the point of a review?

— MegaB · Oct 16, 11:34 AM · #
MegaB, in fact, you have provided reasons, and I’m thankful for that. Which is why I don’t bother you for any. Mostly it’s just been you though. Thanks for the continued feedback, in anycase.

— SlyShy · Oct 16, 11:40 AM · #
Am I the only one who noticed that when Snow White Queen attacked Dan, he pretty much said “Well whatever,” and changed the subject?

— Rhaego · Oct 16, 03:28 PM · #
I am the Rider and I will be victorious in battle!

— Eragon · Oct 17, 01:36 AM · #
^
Can someone delete that, or shall it stand as a testament to the general immaturity of at least this one Brisingr fan? At least, I think he/she is a fan, it wasn’t very emphatically expressed.

— Elizabeth · Oct 17, 01:43 AM · #
Oops sorry Eragon, I didn’t mean you. The post got deleted.

— Elizabeth · Oct 17, 01:44 AM · #
Yeah, I deleted it. :P

— SlyShy · Oct 17, 01:45 AM · #
Well, there seems to be enough points in the comments section to write another whole article!

Excellent review, Slyshy, it is still number one on Google search lists and at a time where there doesn’t seem to be many professional reviews (big surprise there) it provides a nice look into the tome that is Brisingr.

Just some of my thoughts:

My favourite bit of the book is when Murtagh delivers the final blow to Oromis. I admit, I felt some emotion when that happened (as a reader should, but perhaps I have conditioned myself to feel sorry for Glaedr? Or was it Paolini who managed to write that part well enough to convey emotion?)

It annoyed me that their fight should be limited to two small scenes though, and I felt it detracted from Eragon and Arya’s fight (did anyone else think that the whole fight with the shade was a bit…sudden? As if Paolini needed a cool enemy to insert just to have a fancy last fight? So, yay, Arya is now also a ‘shadeslayer’)

The scene with Tenga was extremely random and even though it was referenced later on in the book I felt it wasn’t needed. And if that scene was one of Paolini’s ‘I put scenes in my books that might not make sense now but when they go back to read it after reading the whole series they get it’ I’m not buying it. There are better ways to foreshadow or whatever he was trying to do.

The whole thing with the spirits as well, it’s as if Paolini wants to find any excuse he can to ‘infodump’ parts of his world onto us, that, admittedly, are coolish, but are not needed. In what way did the spirits scene advance the plot or the characterisation of Eragon or Arya?

Sometimes I wish that someone would recreate the Inheritance Cycle as something more riveting. Perhaps Paolini when he is older and more experienced will go back, read the Inheritance Cycle, cringe, then proceed to do a complete edit, no, a complete revision, and then release a revamped version. (On second thought…perhaps I don’t want that to happen. The series might actually get bigger)

— Silent Storm · Oct 17, 02:35 AM · #
he should not have to rewrite the whole thing, not if he’d had people who’d actually criticized his works. the fact that he does says that either

a. it didn’t get enough editing
b. he doesn’t take criticism well, and he didn’t listen to whatever suggestions were given to him

or even both.

honestly, i don’t think you should go to your parents for that sort of thing unless you’re certain they’d be unbiased. but even then, if you’re in the publishing business, aren’t there plenty of qualified people to bug to read your draft?

unless (and who knows) inheritance was ALREADY heavily edited when it was published, and the manuscript was much much worse.

— Snow White Queen · Oct 17, 09:21 AM · #
Wow, some good points there Silent Storm! I especially agree with you in the fact that the Tenga scene just didn’t fit whatsoever.

However, it does actually seem that Paolini will use it as a plot point later on. This is evident from Angela’s statement when Eragon informs her. We will definiteley find out more about her past in the final installment and Tenga may play a big role in the fight against galbatorix. Remember, he has those scrolls that no-one is meant to have. So although the entire scene seemed very dislodged from the rest of the novel, I do feel that it will eventually have some significance.

With regard to the spirits, well…..I can also kind of view what Paolini was trying to achieve from that. I think he put in all those scenes regarding them to show how the shades were made and also to attempt to deliver the right emotions to the reader with regard to bad charachters. i.e. “This bad charachter is truly bad…..how can he do that to such things as the spirits??” Catch the sarcasm? :P
I felt that the major drawback to those scenes was that he dragged it out. He milked the idea dry and them some more.

— MegaB · Oct 17, 09:31 AM · #
I just got done reading the book… And thought it sucked! It has only gone down hill since the first one. This book just drug on forever, nothing really happened. He spent way to much time on explaining pointless things, and just glancing over important things. For instance; It took something like eight pages to make his sword. Who cares? then what was supposed to be such an important part, the siege of the city he just glanced over it. When saphira ripped off the roof he could have gone into so much detail, but he just glanced right over it.

Then when Ormis finally comes out of hiding and you think finally there going to kick some ass, He gets killed off right away! I mean what’s up with that? And Gleadr says “I was old when you were born, you will not best me” then he gets killed right away! the whole book was a disappointment.

The one thing that bugs me the most though is, that Eragon is just a big pussy. His brother kicks ass over and over, kill 200 people by himself. and the dragon rider who is supposed to be so stronger and kill Galbatroix, can’t even take on a couple dwarf’s by himself. he would have got killed, but once again luck swings his way and he makes it.

— Robby · Oct 17, 07:06 PM · #
i know, robby, murtagh kicks butt.

not like he’s the most wonderfully developed character out there, but out of all the characters in inheritance, i’m pretty sure there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that he’s one of the most popular.

i’ve always said that the books would have been so much more interesting from murtagh’s pov.

too bad we’re stuck with eragon, the generic hero/gary stu instead.

— Snow White Queen · Oct 17, 07:20 PM · #
Not that it matters now, but some minor scene changes could have made it much better.

Tenga: I realized as well it had something to do with the plot later on, but he could have put it in the beginning of the fourth book, and it would be relevant.

Oromis’ death: Could have done after the seige. Then more focus could have been put on the seige and the Shade, and then we could have a decent insight into what was happening with Oromis, and watch Eragon suffer because he couldn’t do anything.

Spirits: Totally unnecessary. We knew all we needed to know about spirits before the book, that you could control them and so on. Even the little chat with Oromis about them revealed a little, but the scene did nothing. I kept waiting for something interesting to happen.

If Inheritance was rewritten, using the same plot, it would be so much shorter. You could do it in a book the size of Eldest. But if you actually made the plot cool, I don’t know. It would be in a much different place. I might try that. Just start in Palancar with the egg, and go from there.

ponders

— Virgil · Oct 17, 07:23 PM · #
Yeah to me it seems the only way he will be able to over throw Galbatroix is if murtagh changes his true name and helps Eragon fight. Other than that I don’t see any likely was of Eragon defeating them both! I mean after these three books when eragon has been such a wimp, he can’t just turn into some bad ass all of the sudden

Chris’s chance to make eragon a stud was then the Dragon’s blessed him, but no he is still a wimp. Roran should have found the dragon lol.

— Robby · Oct 17, 07:27 PM · #
I bet you Roran will be the next Rider. That or Arya, and if it’s Arya I’m returning the book…

— Virgil · Oct 17, 07:35 PM · #
i’m guessing murtagh’s going to die a cliched death, trying to help eragon overthrow galbatorix.

then the mighty (surviving) dragon rider will proceed to take all of the credit, plus his elvish babe, and sail into the distance.

sad but very likely.

— Snow White Queen · Oct 17, 07:36 PM · #
roran?

ehhh something tells me it’s not going to be him…however i have been wrong before. my clairvoyance is notoriously unreliable.

i mentioned before that having katrina be the final rider would be a big twist.

first of all, she’s a girl, and so far, we’ve only had guy riders take center stage (eragon, murtagh, brom, oromis). plus, she’s pregnant (isn’t she?). having a pregnant woman be a rider would be unexpected to say the least.

however, i don’t expect that to happen. it would be interesting though…

i’m betting on arya (and that when they’re both dragon riders, they’ll both be on some mission together, and arya will fall in love with him, and saphira will find a mate, etc. etc.)

— Snow White Queen · Oct 17, 07:44 PM · #
Hm… maybe Horst will be the next rider. That would be a twist. If so, I called it.

— Virgil · Oct 17, 07:46 PM · #
haha, if the rider’s ANYONE but arya it would be a twist, wouldn’t it?

with that said, if it really is horst, all credit goes to you.

— Snow White Queen · Oct 17, 07:59 PM ·