Brisingr

I give up. I've spent two weeks trying to get through this 700-page snoozefest and I'm still completely uninterested in what happens next. I can muster more enthusiasm for the third season of 'Rock of Love.'

To be fair, I've never been ecstatic about the Inheritance trilogy (although I think

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there's going to be one more book because 700 pages just wasn't long enough). Eragon was a pleasant enough, if unoriginal, story, made more impressive because of Paolini's young age. (Heck, when I was 15, I was busy puffing my bangs and writing love poems to NKOTB. Writing best-selling novels was out of the question!) Eldest was a little better, which I attributed to the author maturing.

I had high hopes for Brisingr. Unfortunately, I was completely wrong. It's so tedious to read - overly detailed, an overwhelming sense of self importance, no real plot. Plus, it's so heavy, it can be used as a door stop. The author is in desperate need of an editor. This book could've easily been pared down to a breezy 500 pages

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I love this series....but sometimes I have to laugh at Paolini's simplicity (or should I say youth? inexperience?) - the cliches he uses and sometimes he flat out states his views instead of inferring them as a more experienced writer might do. Some of his foreshadowing seems obvious, but I'll have

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to wait until the 4th and final book to see if I am correct on that one.

The 3rd book sees Eragon and Saphira suffering as they must be apart for a good part of it. Their bond is special. So is his cousin Roran's shared life with Katrina. Love is an important theme here as Eragon finds out more about his parents and their history.

There is a good deal of adventure, war and killing....but, as usual, the characters are the important part. Paolini does an excellent job continuing to develop them - even after we've seen them in 2 large books already.

I can't wait to see what happens next!

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Brisingr is the third installment in the YA fantasy series from Christopher Paolini. Even keeping in mind the author’s young age, this is a weak book when compared to the other two of the series and overall, I have to say it is above average for reading enjoyment, but not by much. Because of

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other flaws it does not even deserve a mediocre rating.

The beginning of the book reminded me of Tolkein’s Silmarillion . . . but for all the wrong reasons. It was long and ponderous. Yes, Paolini spent a lot of time filling in the history of the characters, but the pacing still could have been better. The most interesting portion of the book was the section devoted to telling the story from Saphira’s point of view. Too late now, but if Paolini had told this entire saga from the dragon’s point of view, this book would have been equal to original in terms of impact.

The book is not entirely wasted, as we get to see a lot of personal development in some of the lead characters. Eragon is maturing well and learning the burdens of being a leader. Paolini forces the issue in some spots, most notably when he concocts a reason for Saphira to be forcefully separated from her rider for an extended journey.

In this installment, Paolini seems to revel in pain and punishment. There are detailed descriptions of public mutilation, a test of pain involving willingly slicing you own arm with a knife, public flogging and lot of other gore. I’m not even talking about the battle scenes where such things might be considered appropriate within the context of warfare being brutal, but many of the scenes seemed to have no other reason to be included than the author’s flight of perverse fancy. I’m not adverse to situational violence, but a gore fest of sadism and masochistic practices is not my idea of heroism or what makes a story good. More points lost in my overall rating of this story.

I was also disappointed that the story was not finished. In an interview, Paolini said he changed the plot from his original outline. In one scene, Eragon spares the life of a character that may have deserved to die. This was done to further Eragon’s development as a person and a leader, to more fully understand the long-range consequence of actions. This is a good thing and I support it. As a result, the plot was changed and the writing became longer than originally intended. The final battle is now being delayed for another volume. Given my complaint about overly graphic violence in the preceding paragraph, I believe the book could have been shortened through deletion, or at least reduction, of the slice ‘n’ dice scenes. That would have left enough room for the final confrontation to happen in this volume.

Brisingr is capable of standing alone, but it will be more meaningful if you read the two preceding books. If you are a big fan of Saphira Brightscales and Eragon Shadeslayer, you will welcome this latest addition to their saga. I am so put off by some of the things in this book, however, I do not know if I will read the fourth book when it comes out. I already know the ending, so I don’t know if the story will be worthwhile. I may read it though, if for no other reason than to see if the author’s style improves.

While we are mentioning style, I had to resist rating the book even lower because of the narrator. My rating above is based strictly on the story. I can forgive a narrator for not having a rich range of voices at their command, but Gerard Doyle gave me the worst interpretation of a dragon voice I’ve ever heard. Saphira sounded more like a fuzzy Muppet you wanted to cuddle than the regal dragon she is supposed to be. The other dragons Doyle voiced weren’t much different. While there was some variation in two legged character voices, there was not enough variation for it to really tell you who was speaking. You could tell an Urgal from a Human, but not which Urgal was speaking. Because of the character voicings, I was sorely tempted to bring the rating down to a single star.

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I continue to be disappointed by Paolini's series, and would not have finished this book were it not for my own compulsion to finish every series I start, no matter what. I was able to excuse the poor writing of his first book, Eragon, since the story was compelling and he was so young when he

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wrote it. However, his writing has not improved over these past six years, and the story barely progressed in this installment of almost 800 pages. Save your time, this one isn't worth reading.

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This is a great book. It is action packed with cool new spells and a love story. It keeps you guessing at every page. You can't hardly put it down.

The third book. A little predictable and honestly no major battles are fought. There are a couple brawls, but nothing huge. Eragon learns two very important secrets that change his life.

In the third and (not) the final book of the Inheritance cycle continues the adventures of Eragon the last dragonrider vs the evil Galbatorix. No original ideas? Sure. Massively overwritten. As hell... But besides these Brisingr has more values than hinderances. Good read after all...

I have an obsessive-compulsive need to finish what I’ve started. Thus, I have now finished Brisinger, the third book of what WAS the Inheritance trilogy. Why, oh why, did he not let the misery stop?! The story line of the series is cute but amateurish, and borrowed from other classics. Instead of

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getting on to the ending of the series (as he should have) Paolini dribbles about here and there adding in pages of details and politics that very few of us are interested in reading. If he had cut out all that stuff, and got along with the story, we’d be done now! Also, Paolini’s writing style still hasn’t matured any from the first book: he still tries way too hard. I’m finding the characters less likable, and the story has gotten a bit bloody for my tastes. Normally I’d ignore the violence for the sake of the plot, but I lost the plot amid all the dithering in details.

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Aside from the actual writing, this book is great. Because it is the second-to-last book in the series, the majority of it is spent getting all of the characters to where they need to be for the final book. That means that there is not a ton of action or new developments. However, we do get a lot

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of lore and background information on the characters. It is nice to see the big picture coming together in this book. My main gripe with it is how many Roran chapters we get. In the second book, they were nice because we were seeing events unfold that were not happening around Eragon, but now they seem rather redundant. Also, what they hell was Katrina getting pregnant about? There is no way she would have known that she was pregnant in a week and if she conceived the baby the night that she was kidnapped then I suppose it makes a little more sense. But she probably would have lost the baby because of all of the traveling and trauma she went through. I just find it hard to believe that she actually got pregnant and don't see why Paolini went to all the trouble of writing just to speed up her marriage to Roran Though this book might seem slower than the others, it is a great addition to the series and answers a lot of questions that readers have had since the first book.

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Book 3 in the Inheritance Series was better than book 2. The story did not move quite as slow although parts of it still dragged on. It was, however, not as predictable and presented some new twists to the story. Paolini goes to great lengths to make sure his reader really understands who the bad

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and good guys are in his story. This I find utterly unnecessary. We know that Eragon and Arya are strong fighters so why introduce a 30 second battle with a shade, when we already learned in book one how difficult it is to slay one and then go the extra mile of reminding us how few people have actually done such a deed. The one thing that is intriguing about the story, and in great contrast to what I just pointed out before, is that the reader is presented with arguments that blur the lines between good and bad. Who is the villain? The Varden or the Empire? Or are both on the same line in the cruelties that their form of warfare brings about the land. This point, however, is not well developed which makes me think that the blurring is not intended by the author. The fact that these questions arise, however, proofs to me that there is a mistake in the development of characters. A narrator who simply points out again and again who is good and who is bad only to have this notion questioned by the actions and words of the characters themselves seems to be an indication of poor skills as storyteller.
The stile of writing Paolini uses seems to stick to the same level. While there is a slight improvement between book 1 and 2 the level of writing in book 3 does not improve. Paolini borrows all kinds of phrases and stylistic devises from other classics in the fantasy world, even some scenes and ideas seem to be directly out of other books. (For example when Arya meets Eragon in a pub). This makes the book less original than it could be.
Overall I liked the book better than book 2. Yet, the story did not draw me in as much as I would have liked after its 748 pages.

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"Brisingr" means 'fire' in the ancient language of the world Paolini has created; unfortunately, 'fire' is exactly what this story lacks. In fact, it plods. Conversations are followed by internal moralising (of a very limited nature) which is followed by some political debate (ie. more

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conversation) and every once in a while there is an extended action sequence (more on these later). I find it very revealing that this should have been the final title in the 'Inheritance' trilogy, but it became so lengthy that Paolini decided to publish (at least) one more book to create a (VERY profitable) series. Realistically, this was not necessary: so much of what is in this book is mundane and unnecessary and - somewhat bizarrely, given the length - undeveloped. By which I mean that that after pondering, pontificating and pouting, the characters act and that section of the story just closes, without really changing anything or anyone, or anyone's opinion of anyone.

I have not read the first two in the series, so I cannot comment on how far the style here is similar, but I would imagine that to create such a successful fantasy series, you would have to include more elements of fantasy. Instead, Paolini mainly switches between two styles: extreme violence and gore; political/ moral conversation. Rather than seeing the main characters learning spells or exploring elvish or dwarvish customs (other than an extremely dull section regarding electing a new chief), we see copious amounts of slaughter.

The novel opens when Eragon (our hero) and his cousin, Roran, are hiding from a cult and about to witness a rather unpleasant custom. As part of their sacrifice to their Gods, these people hack off their own limbs and smile beatifically as they spray blood over the altar. Although Eragon reflects that it seems wrong to deliberately mutilate yourself, it is revealing that there is a "spark of excitement" in his heart as he watches them. His cousin is horrified, exclaiming that they are cannibals. Our hero calmly points out that this is not strictly true because "they do not partake of the meat." His reasoned approach is perhaps sensible, but it seems that war has dulled his own senses. Later on this lack of empathic response is emphasised when he and Roran fight in seemingly endless battles, repeatedly slaying soldier, after soldier, after soldier. Obviously, war does inure soldiers to death to some extent, but some genuine discomfort in the hero would make him more realistic and likeable. Instead of giving him this sensitivity, Paolini emphasises his violent credentials by describing how he and Roran kill each individual soldier and are hailed as magnificent heroes. Yes, there is a lot of violence in war, but I found it disturbing the way the author and his characters seemed to revel in carnage.

At the beginning of the book, Eragon has three main aims: rescue Katerina, Roran's beloved, continue his training with Oromis and defeat Galbatorix. One of these aims is tackled early on, another is touched upon towards the end of the book, but where is Galbatorix? After 750 pages, the dread warlord himself has not been seen and Eragon is almost exactly where he was at the beginning of the story: preparing to do battle against the evil King. This is slightly disappointing. After a few initial skirmishes, much of the book follows Eragon as he tries to meet the demands of the many oaths he has sworn, some of which are almost conflicting and result in important people trying to assert their control over him.

There is a continuous sense of plot, and although the reading never becomes exactly dull - how could it when you are describing interactions between dragons and elves? - it never becomes gripping, either. I read this book slowly, because I was never compelled to find out what happened next. Perhaps, for me personally, it is almost too clearly a saga. There is never any real sense of stories opening or closing, only a gradual build-up of information. Some characters seem to appear briefly just to say: "look! I'll be important later on! Remember what I said/did/looked like." Because of this, I read along fairly contentedly, with no real impetus to complete the experience.

It is possible to read this book without having read the previous two, since the author has usefully provided a synopsis of each before the 'main feature', but I question why anyone would want to. I suspect that those who have read and enjoyed "Eragon" and "Eldest" might be more willing to tolerate the lack of drama in this instalment because they share some bonds with the characters. Those who haven't read either should probably start there, because I suspect this is the weakest link in the series so far.

So is it worth reading? Personally, I think not. It was not a bad read really; it's just that there must be much better books out there, and 750 pages is a long time to spend on something that doesn't really grip you. I will qualify my review by stating that I do not typically read fantasy stories and much prefer science fiction or crime fiction or - well, most other types of writing, really. I read this as part of shadowing the 'Berkshire Book Award' with a group of pupils and will be very interested to hear their views on it, as they are the target audience.

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Paolini's writing has not changed, which thankfully does not disappoint. It's about as bad as ever. He never truly writes about the scenes, but merely summarizes them. Constantly he uses passive writing when active would be so much more appropriate. It feels more as though he doesn't want to take

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the time to write out the story then that the scene's dialogue is not very important. Just as he uses passive writing when he should use active, so does he as well use passive tense when it is not needed. At times I wonder if he knows where the delete button is, or how to erase. For example, in the prologue: 'It is into this tense political situation that Eragon finds himself thrust.' There is no need for passive, and while I do like passive tense, there are times when it should not be used.
As I'm on the topic, the prologue itself was, while useful, annoying. He did not seem to know what who was saying the prologue, whether it was a narrator or Eragon. For a recap, there should not be point of view changes. It is sloppy and why his editor or publisher did not push him to rewrite it is a mystery to me.
I never liked his series, however I find it a wonderful teaching tool. It is a wonderful example of what not to do when writing. It is always a good idea to read, bad or good books. As a writer, you can learn what is and is not a good idea. In Paolini's instance, it is to always think ahead. Plan your stories, otherwise you slip up, and you don't know what you're doing anymore. Also, there is always a delete button. Always look over what you have written and change what is necessary. Learn from your mistakes. Do not give in to what 'sounds cool'. His series has much posturing and posing, as though everyone is trying to look cool. What's worse is that the villain is much more respectable than the main character--who is alive merely because the story would end if he died. Eragon is a stupid, reckless boy.
It is always a good idea to make your story believable in some way, particularly if it is a fantasy. Within the first chapter, we are shown a cult of amputees. Every member is missing a limb. By the end of this scene, we find that it is because in order to show fealty, they hack off one of their limbs. The reasoning behind this, I do not know. I suppose it is to make Galbatorix's world seem more evil, vile, and horrifying. To me, it shows that his subjects are highly lacking in IQ. Yes, it sounds cool to have this evil cult of self-mutilators, but to actually cut off whole limbs, it goes too far. This goes the same when, later on, there is a trial for control over a tribe, and to do so is to slice open your wrist. The two contestants for leadership start at the elbow and cut until they are a few inches away from the hand. What Paolini does not understand about basic human anatomy, is that no matter where you cut on the underarm, there is an artery, two actually. If these people were giving themselves shallow cuts, there'd be blood, but they'd be fine. However by how much blood he describes them to lose, they should have bled out. What's worse is that they did it on both arms, and weren't allowed magical healing. And yet, they continue to move around as though they never lost a fatal amount of blood for weeks after the event. Paolini has no sense of how the world works. Real or his.
Besides unbelievability abound, the 748-so pages are a giant list of things to do for the Dragon Rider. It's actually even the subtitle: The Seven Promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular. There is no climax or exciting point of the story. It's Eragon running around the world completing everything he promised to do. It'd be best to just read a summary, as you would get the same information and in less time. Also, you wouldn't have to buy the book and save the $20-something for a different book. Maybe a real fantasy, like George R.R. Martin or The Wheel of Time series.
There were, as well, too many scenes that had no point, and never will. They may add to the world, but literally have nothing to do with the story. Eragon finds an old man, who we find out later that he knows a friend of Eragon's, and that's the end. There is no point whatsoever to the scene but wasted pages. Or wasted potential. There is large mystery behind Angela, or the werecats, or spirits, but the mystery is wasted; it's not exemplified upon. I have a feeling that Paolini does not know what to do with these things.
It's obvious that this all started out as a kid's fantasy, because that's still what it is. It doesn't deserve ththeree praise and popularity. It's just not well thought out. It has too many weak points, and most certainly not enough strong ones--and many of the strong points are not his original idea, as he has taken too much from D&D, Wheel of Time, Martin, Tolkien, Dragonheart, and much more I am unfamiliar with.

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If anyone here hasn't read Diana Wynne Jone's "The Tough Guide to Fantasyland", may I suggest it as a rippingly funny antidote to Paolinism?

Paolini's stuff is just so much mulch. The only fun I've had from it is playing "spot the reference" - and that wore thin after the first hundred pages of the

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first book. Reading the second and third books felt like gawking at a nasty traffic accident.

If, instead of homeschooling by indulgent parents, Paolini had had someone like my best English teacher, who would have pointed out in short order that what he was writing was jejune, derivative and unworthy hackwork, and that unless he intended to become the Barbara Cartland of fantasy writing, he'd better find some dignity, discipline and originality - well, he might perhaps have made a writer of himself.

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For all its length this book is a quick read, partly because it's YA and partly because I was interested in seeing how the story went. Paolini begins with a short synopsis of the two previous stories which was helpful as it had been a while since I read Eldest. While I can see why some reviewers

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think that cutting out at least a hundred pages would have improved the story, on the whole I enjoyed once again being in Eragon's world. Eragon and Saphira are still growing up and learning about themselves and others and still trying to fix past mistakes. While Galbatorix is still very powerful, by the end of the book they are beginning to see how he might be defeated. We also see a lot more of Roran as they rescue Katrina and Roran makes a place for himself among the Varden. I do want to continue to the end of the Inheritance Cycle but I don't really see myself rereading this series anytime soon.

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The series is good. Paolini is not a particularly great writer, but the story is engaging and I enjoy the characters. A lot of his ideas obviously came from Tolkein. The story is different enough to seperate the two.

Too. Much. Information. I liked the two first books, but it seems like this one just keeps rambling on about how to make a sword and other stuff which isn't quite necessary. Of course, I might just be a little annoyed that I didn't know that this was not the final book after all, and that I only

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discovered this half-way through the book.

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Every time Christopher Paolini releases a new novel, his target audience seems to climb by eighteen months. Brisingr is the third book in his bestselling Inheritance Cycle, and it is thicker, darker and more adult than either of its predecessors. This isn’t just an adventure novel; it’s a war

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novel, and Paolini isn’t afraid to turn on the blood accordingly. Themes that were hinted at in previous books are now examined in more detail – the most powerful of which is that no one escapes from war unscathed. With his intriguing concept of true names as a guide, Paolini explores his characters as he never has before, throwing all manner of adversity at them, and showing readers that there are some experiences from which they will never fully recover.

The turning point for me was when I spotted the parallels that Paolini seemed to be drawing between Urgals and Native Americans. “Surely,” I wondered, “he can’t actually be making a social comment here!” But he was, and it was a social comment that emphasised a significant improvement in the overall quality of his writing. Paolini has come a long way since he first brought Eragon to life at age fifteen, and the depth and complexity of Brisingr reflect this. As an added bonus, the plot of the Inheritance Cycle finally appears be separating from that of Star Wars (although elements of the latter Harry Potter books seem to be surfacing instead!)

As to the pace; readers will have to accept that it will never again be as quick as it was in Eragon – and it’s difficult to call a novel a ‘page-turner’ when there are over 750 pages to turn. Luckily, the title contains a hint for impatient readers who want to lop off some of the novel’s excess flab; whenever the characters settle down beside a fire for a chat, feel free to skip ahead twenty pages or so. Brisingr, however, is still an improvement on Eldest; its multiple plot lines weave together nicely to ensure that there is always something happening. Whilst it may be long-winded, its prose flows quite well throughout, and it is by no means an uphill slog.

Paolini may have ditched his younger readers, but older fans are sure to appreciate how his writing has developed. This is Inheritance as you’ve never experienced it before – and it will leave you with high expectations for the final instalment. A must-read for Eragon fans.

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Very good overall. Paolini's writing style has certainly matured since "Eragon" although I didn't find "Brisingr" quite as exciting as "Eldest". I think this book was made for answering the big questions however (and it certainly did). The next one should be action-packed since most of the loose

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ends have now been tied up.

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Paolini has come a long way since Eragon. Originally, I didn't have much hope for the series because of the level of writing. I decided to continue reading the books because the story, while unoriginal & formulaic, was still interesting. After reading Eldest, I was especially worried since much of

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the story's developments seemed too pat, forced, and unreasonable.

But Brisingr has done much to ease my worries about the series. Paolini's decision to expand the trilogy into 4 books allows him to slow down the pace of the plot and allow developments to happen more naturally. Eragon seems less like Anakin Skywalker in Attack of the Clones and more like well-developed character. His flaws feel more believable in this installment.

Paolini's level of writing has also greatly improved from the first & second books also. The writing no longer sounds like a 16 year old's writing, but instead sounds like an author truly writing for young adults.

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This book series isn't what I would consider a masterpiece. It is however rather epic...and as the author has grown I feel the work of the novels have too. I don't remember loving this series before, but after this one...I really do. The plot was so intricately worked. Everyone was constantly

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playing a part, a hard fear when the character number rises. And while conversations seemed to go on, I never mind reading dialogue, and the length of the novel never seemed to really wear on me. And the ending is a both heart-warming and heart-wrenching. Overall a true pleasure to read.

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I was a little dissapointed when I heard this was not going t be the last book in the series; mostly because it means waiting another few years for the next installment to come out. However, in a way I am glad this isn't the end of the series, as I am enjoying reading them very much.

I was looking

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through the reviews for this book one day and saw: "whenever the characters settle down beside a fire for a chat, feel free to skip ahead twenty pages or so."
If you cut out all the parts of the book in which the characters sit down beside a fire for a chat, the entire book would be killing soldiers, evading the Ra'Zaac, etc. It would make a fine adventure story, and it would be considerably shorter, but I think there needs to be that contrast between the heat of the battle and sitting down beside a fire for a chat. If this story was taking place in real life, there would have to a fair bit of sitting down beside fires for a chat.
But that's just my opinion. After all, this is a fantasy story. I, for one, like the the contrast of the bits where the characters sit down beside a fire for a chat.

Somehow Brisingr is not as easy to read as the previous books in the series; the plot is thicker and darker, and the book considerably longer. There seems to be more 'filling' too, which often requires you to skip several pages.
Having said all that, I love this book, if a little less than the others in the series, and look forward to the next one.

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If Mr. Paolini had taken any longer getting this book out, I would have boycotted (well that's not true, but I would have let it sit longer in my tbr pile). I thought that this book took on a darker edge to the series. Here we have the cousin who only wants to be left alone, leading the fight and

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killing the most. We see that Eragon is not being told the truth by Saphira or most of the people around him. I really enjoyed this book, and when I was reading the last page, I didn't want it to end. I only hope that Mr. Paolini does not take another two years to put out the fourth (and hopefully the last) book.

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I felt that this book moved slowly in the beginning. There is a lot of background information that I felt just kept the book from really hooking me in like the last two books did. Once when Eragon went back to his teachers is when I really started to enjoy the book more because I felt it was moving

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faster then it was in the beginning.

Other then that I enjoyed the book. Eragon and Saphira do learn how Murtagh and Galbatorix are able to sustain energy for so long during battles. That part surprised me and drew me more into the book.

Eragon does find out who is real father is and at first he is upset. I will not reveal who is his father. You will need to read the book to find that out.

Eragon acquires a new sword which he names Brisingr. He does help craft the sword too.

I would give Brisingr 3 out of 5 stars.

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I enjoyed reading this third of Paolini's series although I recognize he does use some well worn conventions of fantasy literature. The castles are strikingly similar to medieval castles in Europe without anything unique to fit them into an invented world. The alliances between different "races" of

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creatures are really too much the same as the alliances between various medieval tribes. So with that criticism in mind I do not call this book brilliant or even all that unique; however, it is a good tale and with a bit of romp and some delightful descriptions of scenes. I enjoy the relationships between dragon rider and dragons, between Elves and humans, etc. My sympathies were engaged and I found the book to be a good read; even an excellent escape.

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