45. Brisingr - Christopher Paolini

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?

I have been waiting to read this book for a year and a half. I became a fan of the Inheritance Trilogy last year when I read Eragon and Eldest. I was fascinated by the world of Alagaesia and the hero of the story, Eragon. It felt like such a long wait before this book came out. Then my book finally came in the mail. I was so excited! I open it only to find that instead of this being the final installment of the Inheritance Trilogy, Paolini decided to add another book to the series and change it to the Inheritance Cycle. GRR!!!! I was so eager to find out what happens to Eragon, Saphira and the Varden and now I have to wait who knows how long for him to finish writing the next book. And who knows, he might decide then that he wants to add another book to the series!

Paolini claims that he extended the series by another book because he wanted to "explore and develop the characters' personalities and relationships at a more natural pace." In my opinion, I think he just wants more money. This book was 748 pages long - plenty long enough to develop all the characters' personalities as well as finish the story. This book just seemed to drag on and was filled with numerous unnecessary descriptions and story lines - blah! It wasn't until the last quarter of the book that it started feeling like the Inheritance books I would expect. And it seems like I'm not the only one who feels this way. I've read quite a few reviews where people agree that he made the story a lot longer than he needed to.

Another aspect of the book that irritated me was Paolini's injection of religion into the story. Here is what another reader thought:

I also found Paolini's waxing on religion and philosophy through his main
character annoying - it's as if he is trying to make this series more
poignant than it is should be - because after all, it is just a good fantasy
tale at its core and I feel like he should just stick to those roots.

I couldn't agree more. He should have just kept it a good fantasy story and left out all the different religious aspects of the various races of Alagaesia. Just too much was put into this book.

Rating: 2.75/5