I thought that the release of the final brick might warrant a separate discussion aside from the general Eragon thread, since most of those posts are really old. Anyway, I havent read it, but most "fans" are pissed off about the ending. I wont say any particular spoilers, but nothing exciting happens at all, everything goes how it is supposed to (except for one really weird thing) and there are still a lot of questions. Most disappointing, especially from my perspective, apparently his writing didnt get much better either, and there was very little character development. While he did dig himself a ditch with the proceeding three books, I hoped his actual skills would have improved somewhat, but apparently not.

I dont know if I should make a separate thread, but here it goes. Discuss away. Oh, and I will tell you any specific spoilers if you want to know without reading the damn thing.

I would really like to know what happens in this book, since I devoted such a considerable amount of my life to writing snarky comments about these books on the internet. I don't feel like buying and reading it, though, so if someone wants to come up with a plot summary for me, that would be appreciated.

I haven't read it, but I've been reading and posting a bit on IF.

Here's a few things: WARNING all ending spoilers.


So, yeah. Some snippets of conversation from IF.

Sounds like the most uninteresting book ever. He didn’t seem to really introduce anything new to the story at all. He simply wrapped up everything he already introduced. How long is it compared to the others?

It is the longest I believe. If not, it is right up there with the last two bricks in being far too long.

I was disappointed that no real major characters die. A bunch of minor ones that nobody cared about, but nothing to make the book interesting.

It is hilarious how disappointed all the IF fans are, if you can even call them fans anymore. I have the feeling that this book will not sell that well; I dont think anyone particularly cares about it anymore.

Edit: Wow that is a harsh critique by that guy from IF, but from what I have seen and heard about, it is pretty spot on. If anything, CPs writing seems to have regressed with this book, whereas it improved (slightly) in Brisingr.

Yeah I have noticed that when I started going over there a few months ago to see how hyped they all were (not much). It only seems like a few years ago that people were having all out flamewars over the subject, but now there is almost no debate at all. I believe it was a specific age group of 8-11 years who grew up on Eragon/Eldest who thought it was the best book ever and were its strongest defenders. Now that they are grown up, the book really has no supporters left.

I didn't necessarily mean that IF was like that, just more of his fanbase in general a few years ago.

But expectations are like fine pottery: The harder you hold them, the most likely they are to break.

This is a great line. Post is unrelated.

anti-shurtugal is doing a massive group-sporking, chapter by chapter. It’s going to be epic.

Anti-Shurtugal is still up? Linky plox. I thought they’d blown up years ago.

Must be anti-shurtugal live journal because I'm pretty sure the Dog-Eared forums is deader then... a corpse?

Okay, anyone who wants to discuss Inheritance in podcast episode 3 (who’s actually read it?), which we’ll record in a couple of weeks, post on my wall with your email address.

A family friend ordered the book for me as a late birthday present, because she knew that a while ago I liked the books. It hasn't arrived yet, but I looked on Shurtugal, and in the comment section, after a moderator specifically said no spoilers [they changed that later] the SAME MODERATOR was leaving spoilers, and raging at someone who said the book was bad. I quote "I don't think we are talking about the same book...Inheritance was amazing." This was in the early hours before the comments exploded with people saying how disappointed they were with it. The thing is, I wonder how many Inheritance fans are going to come over to this site, now?

BlueMask: Lol, that story’s pretty epic.

@NoOne: you were an ex-fangirl? How did I not know?

I loved the bit in Chapter One where

It only lasted for a sentence and was immediately handwaved by the narrative, but it was awesome!

@ No One: I don’t, actually. Mostly because I was busy being the Twilight fan who was sort of anti but couldn’t really understand why everyone else had the level of vitriol for Twilight that they did.

Oh my dog. The fail in Chapter One? Best bit ever.

^^I got mine for 16 bucks. Talk about cheap. :D The ebook version is expensive in comparison.

What happens in it?

I’m reading the synopsis on the Inheritance wiki. I’m not sure if it was appropriate but I loled at Eragon being elected the leader of the Varden while Nasuada is kidnapped. He really is a Gary Stu because there’s no way in hell he should be leading anything. And first they take control of a city. Okay. Then they take control of another city. Great…

How convenient of Glaedr and Oromis to have their memories wiped so they couldn’t have told Eragon something ages ago. Then the synopsis skips straight to Galbatorix getting killed so I don’t really know what happens if anything. Then stuff happens. I guess with a more detailed synopsis the book does introduce some new things and there’s probably loads more stupidity I won’t know till I read a chapter by chapter analysis. I am not reading the book.

And apparently the chapter titled “Brains!” that Paolini went on about didn’t make the cut or something…

Good point.

So like the last couple seasons of Lost.

Falling: I think that’s the show they used as an example, yeah.

I’ve just reached a bit where Roran, the level-headed one (ha!) is reflecting on Garrow’s death.

Wait, Garrow died?

Um, yeah. I totally forgot about him.

That’s true. Poor disposable family members. Do any fantasy writers actually have family?

How would the books have even worked without Harry’s parents dying? Recently someone told me JK was considering killing off Ron. Dunno if that’s true. Kind of irrelevant to this thread…

Yeah Roran’s thoughts make no sense because at that time Eragon and Saphira weren’t strong, right? It’s just to make Paolini feel even better about himself because of how awesome his self-insert is.

I remember hearing that Rowling was originally going to do this with Harry’s parents, but real-life family issues made her rethink this.

Yeah, I read that somewhere too, I think.

Recently someone told me JK was considering killing off Ron. Dunno if that’s true.

I know she was gonna kill off Ron’s dad in OotP originally, but didn’t.

And about Inheritance, I still can’t decide if I want to read it or not. I did like the series at one point, but this site has shown me the error of my ways, and there are so many better things to read. Plus, it’s been so long that I’ve kinda lost interest.

But sometimes we need to indulge in a bit of guilty pleasure.

This is true, but at this point, I’m not even interested enough in the series for it to be a guilty pleasure.

I think we love it because it's so bad. It's like a guilty pleasure not because it's good, but because it's so bad. We can read it, and snigger over the terrible bits, and then come here and rip it to shreds even though we shouldn't be wasting our time on bad literature. Actually, we should, but whatever.

That summary almost makes it sound... kinky.

Maybe Eragon is just weirdly obsessed with scenery and likes to wax poetic. gasp He’s being doing this on purpose the whole time!

So, the extreme description of scenery isn’t just a sign of bad writing, just a sign that Eragon fancies himself a poet? That would be almost clever, if it wasn’t painful to read.

^^ Win

I think the interesting thing about this book is that all the heroes (Eragon, Arya- who gets some character development, Roran, and Nasuada to a degree) are just as ruthless and heartless as Galbatorix when we finally meet him. Eragon, Arya and Roran all slaughter and threaten innocent civilians. Paolini makes sure to write about their deaths in a rather gory way too- unusual for a children’s book. Galbatorix wasn’t any more evil than the people we are supposed to support.

Big Spoiler:

At the end, when they confront Galbatorix, he has two children sitting by his throne that he says they will kill if they don’t put down their weapons. Eragon thinks to himself that he’ll feel bad about their deaths, but sacrifices must be made. Then he gets ready to attack.

To be fair, this probably would have been justified if Galbatorix had been portrayed as being a terrifying, inhuman antagonist that had to be stopped to prevent dire consequences.

Also, it displays an interesting ethical dilemma for Eragon, although of course Paolini doesn’t give it much more than a perfunctory thought. Did he actually kill the children? The fall out from that would have been interesting, if it wasn’t just everyone patting Eragon on the back saying ‘You did what you had to do’.

Having Eragon as a sociopathic hero actually would have been very interesting. The Varden would then have to struggle to control him as he threatens to spiral out of control in his quest for victory, and would make his final showdown with Galbatorix much more exciting. (I know this has been mentioned before, but oh well…)

...this is making me want to read it now…

The Riders were a military junta, and I took them down so that we could have progress. Before, the Riders controlled all and there were scientific advances that were hidden by them for fear of the change they would bring. I have discovered the true name of the ancient language. With it, I will alter the ancient language so that magicians cannot use magic to hurt others. This way everyone will no longer have to worry about being killed or hurt or mindwiped by magic. Only I will be able to use dangerous magic, because I know the secret name. Then, since it will be safe, I will teach everyone all the secret knowledge I have found and we will enter an age of prosperity. Everyone hates you because you are terrorists. Haha.

...this is the bad guy? Wow. If Paolini had revealed Galby to be the good guy, I would have bowed down to him.

It would have been brilliant if the reveal of his “evil” plot showed him to be the good guy after all. There could have been a lot of conflict with Eragon and the Varden realizing that they were wrong the whole time.

Or what if Paolini meant Eragon to be revealed as the bad guy? Supposing the whole reason that Eragon was so damned difficult to not want to kick in the crotch is because when the reader gets to the end, the reader discovers that the entire series was through the eyes of the villain? Done by a talented author, that could end up being pretty cool. Unfortunately, I don’t think Paolini had anything like that in mind. I’m guessing he finished his series thinking, “I’ve created the most awesomest hero . . . EVER!”

Hi, and welcome to II! I hope your time here goes smoothly, and nobody murders you, or sends you sobbing into a corner. Beware, however- don’t try and convert us, for it’ll end in tears.
I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, and will fiercely dispel logic when it comes to potential flaws in the series. Like a Twihard. Except I can’t believe I just mentioned those two in the same sentence. Oh, and I tend to ramble.
I would like to point out that in my opinion, Snape isn’t a ‘good guy’, nor a ‘bad one’. He had certain reasons for everything he did, and in the end, he did ‘redeem himself’, but most of his reasons up until then were purely selfish. He might have ended up being ‘good’, or at least self-sacrificing and helping Harry win, but to me, he was one of the most realistic characters in the story… anyway. ramble ramble
I read Inheritance, and I thought it was much better than I expected. The ending was a bit fanfictiony, but that exact ending leaves a lot of room open for fanfiction, so the fans are pleased. I liked how he explained what happened after Galbatorix was killed- from a story point of view, that’s not bad. It means that the story doesn’t end when the Big Bad is dead, and that there is always cleanup and troubles afterwards. Much better than I expected from Paolini.
Anyway, I hope that was what you’re looking for. I am probably one of the most gentle when it comes to talking about Inheritance- if you want a list of flaws, or arguments against it, talk to someone about giving you links to sporkings and essays and stuff. I’m too nice for that:)

Seconding SWQ about the reason to read Deathly Hallows. And the attachment from growing up with the books. I think part of the appeal is that a whole generation of readers grew up with Harry, anticipating his next year at Hogwarts alongside him, and that’s an experience you can’t replicate.

As for Inheritance, I’ve always been ambivalent about the series as a whole; I actually enjoyed Eragon and found Eldest somewhat decent. However, as, back then, treating the Inheritance Cycle as anything less than the greatest works ever written was tantamount to sacrilege to the rabid fans, and one couldn’t point out obvious flaws within the work without being bitten by countless foamy mouths intent on spreading the fandom virus, I wound up haunting and eventually joining the ranks of the antis.

And then along came Twilight.

I have yet to read the fourth book, seeing as how I have yet to make it through Brickingr, but I do plan on reading it. Eventually. Once I manage to slog through Brickingr.

To Inkblot: Sorry, a what? And would I be right in assuming that your thinking my name might be the greatest thing ever is because you know what a war wizard is?

To Kyllorac: Do you refer to Brisinger as Brickinger because it is thick, or because it is thick and you believe flawed, therefore making it cumbersome like a brick to read? Quality arguments aside, I'm just wondering what exactly you mean. If it is simply due to the length of the novel, then I would like to refer you to the series that explains what a War Wizard is. Each of the novels are at least 800 pages (if my memory serves me right), and the second is 1000.

To BlueMask: "I would like to point out that in my opinion, Snape isn’t a ‘good guy’, nor a ‘bad one’. He had certain reasons for everything he did, and in the end, he did ‘redeem himself’, but most of his reasons up until then were purely selfish. He might have ended up being ‘good’, or at least self-sacrificing and helping Harry win, but to me, he was one of the most realistic characters in the story" (sorry, I can't seem to figure out how to move it all over so you see it's a quote)
In hopes to express what I mean a little more clearly, I shall explain sort of how my disposition towards Snape's character changed over time. At first, He just seemed to be a jerk and of questionable intentions. As time went on, my belief that he was a very bad guy simply grew. I wondered how Dumbledore couldn't see what a mistake trusting him was. Every one of his actions seemed to be him trying to do Voldemort's work...until Harry saw his thoughts and memories. Then I realized that he had indeed been on Dumbledore's side the entire time. He just happened to really hate Harry because of a combination of what his father did and Harry's own behavior as well. In the end, I realized that he was a very strict, kind of jerky, teacher, that was truly a spy for the good guys even thought ALL of the evidence was against him. It blew my mind when I realized that we (maybe not you, but me for sure) had been fooled by Rowling for seven books. I had to pick my socks up afterwards.

To Snow White Queen: I will definitely agree that their character development was at least a major highlight of the novel, but I'm not sure where I stand for it being THE highlight.

Alright, I would like to thank you all for the welcome, and while we are on the subject of growing up with Harry Potter I would like to ramble a little something. Harry Potter is one of the reasons that I read. I read Prisoner of Azkaban when I was in 3rd grade and it kinda cemented in my mind that reading was actually worth while. The book that made me give reading a shot was The White Fox Chronicles by Gary Paulsen, which I read in second grade. Before that my known reading skill was negligible. To those two authors, I give my thanks.

Now, back to Inheritance. First, as far as the whole defending the novel thing goes, much of it is a matter of opinion. Therefore, I would always like to DISCUSS it with any and all of you as fellow readers. There have been times when I wondered what Paolini was doing, there have also been times when I have wondered what you all were doing. Whatever the case, I believe there is no need for enmity while discussing something. I think I'm rambling here again..what was it that I was going to finish with? . . . . . .oh Yes, I remember. When I read books such as the Inheritance Cycle, one of the main things I do it for is FOOD. Food, for my imagination. Any new way of looking at something, or a new way of using something, or anything that is new period. That is one of the things I like. Ok, I've said my piece for now. (I hope it wasn't too long)

Sorry, I was altering what I wrote..holy cow it's long. Sorry Guys :/

In my opinion, it seems somewhat rude (not quite sure if that is the right word for what I mean..) to say an Author puts unnecessary anything in a book. They put it there for a reason, we just have to figure it out. I say that with no intention of deriding anyone in any way, shape, or form. Although, I must say that in the case of a story that I ran across a review for on this site (don't know what it was) sometimes authors really should go back over there work.

Hmm…I actually with cordially disagree with you there. Sometimes authors do put things in just because they think it’s cool, or because it’s character development. The Thing is, sometimes they put it in the wrong place, or it clogs up the story. Like in the middle of a fight scene [and CP is guilty of this] they stop describing the action to describe the surroundings, which completely slows the pace of the novel down and clogs it up. The thing that Paolini needs to realize is that less is more when it comes to description.
Actually, less is more when it comes to storytelling. One or two unnecessary sentences may not seem like much, but they add up, and completely slow the book down.
It’s not as much the authors problem as the editors, in some case. It’s their job to publish good books, and I can’t believe that so many of them have such bad taste when it comes to editing a story. It’s not as much the grammar and spelling and flawed punctuation as as it is the flow of the book, the style of writing, the plotholes, the timeline, the character development, and relationships, which CP completely screws up most of the time. There are a couple of nice moments between Roran and Katrina, but apart from that…

Sometimes authors do put things in just because they think it’s cool, or because it’s character development. The Thing is, sometimes they put it in the wrong place, or it clogs up the story. Like in the middle of a fight scene [and CP is guilty of this] they stop describing the action to describe the surroundings, which completely slows the pace of the novel down and clogs it up.

BlueMask sums this up very nicely. Just because somebody is an Author doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re a Chessmaster Author and everything is there for a reason.

To further this point, I would also say that English teachers often over-analyze books. Recently, I saw a cartoon contrasting what an English teacher interpreted blue curtains as (something to do with a character’s overwhelming depression) vs. what the author intended (‘they’re fucking blue curtains!’)

That’s not to say that I don’t have fun looking at the minutiae, it’s just that I have a healthy amount of skepticism concerning what the author actually meant. Whether it’s fair or not, the scale usually depends on how sophisticated I believe that author to be. (Not to be offensive, I believe that CP tries to be sophisticated, but doesn’t quite reach it. To be fair, I would not call Tolkien, CP’s most obvious idol, the most sophisticated writer either.)

In any case, at a certain point, a book becomes a reader’s property just as much as the author’s, and therefore is open to varying interpretation. That’s what makes reading fun, at least for me!

As far as the ratings system goes…I haven’t read a full book by him in years- not since I dropped Eldest, incidentally, so I’m not sure I’m quite qualified to comment. From snippets and memory, I would say that he’s in the 4-6 range on most fronts. I do respect his enthusiasm and earnestness about his work (not sure that he’s still like that, but I remember him as genuinely loving to write.)

Sometimes a tree is just a tree.

Yes! I always hated that in English! Although, I once realized how much significance things could have when I considered creating a heavily theme laden story. I was trying to make everything have some hidden meaning.

I suppose that I'm just not so much of a critic, not in the negative sense, just in the critique sense. I tend to focus more on the story than the presentation maybe.

Has anyone heard of The Sword of Truth Series?

I tend to focus more on the story than the presentation maybe.

What’s presentation in a novel? The cover? (I will admit to being much more fixated on book covers than I probably should be.)

I meant how the story is told. Things like throwing a mountain description down in the middle of an underwater lightsaber battle with dark jedi ninja dolphins wouldn't really bother me. It just adds to the story. Does that make sense?

Yes, except a mountain description in the middle of a battle would halt the flow of the story.

Perhaps. It’s still jarring, though.

@War Wizards Rule-But then, which is more important: the reader actually wanting to carry on reading the story or the author managing to fully describe exactly what was going on in his head? Not allowing the story to progress well is a huge sacrifice to make in order to do the latter. And there’s a time and place for everything. Scenery descriptions don’t belong in the middle of a battle, maybe before anything exciting happens so that you have a nice backdrop for this kind of scene.

I’m just saying that to me, It’s not that big of a deal.

Yeah, that would be where you and I differ. I just get annoyed when a writer wants to get all artistic. I mean, writing is an art, excellent writing is often described as a masterpiece due to the writer’s ability to paint certain images for you, bringing the reality of his/her world right through the pages to you. It’s just that when the author goes off on a tangent, I get annoyed that he/she has forgotten all about the reader. Now they’ve gone off into another direction and I have to patiently wait for the story to get back on track. This kind of behaviour from an author comes across as selfish to me. But yeah, I can see why you’d be okay with it. Sometimes certain descriptions should be accepted as just part of the story. I just don’t like it when it’s overdone.