The Inheritance Cycle Comes to an End

A while back I wrote up a post on Christopher Paolini’s The Inheritance Cycle. I tried to convey the wonder and magic that this series created in me when I first picked it up. I have finally finished the final book in the series – it took me over two months – and I am now forced to acknowledge something that I have been desperately trying to deny since I read the third book in the series, Brisingr: somewhere along the way this series lost its magic.

When I read Eragon and Eldest in a matter of days I was so excited to have found another epic fantasy series to tide me over between Harry Potter books. I praised these books far and wide, defending them against the many criticisms that were leveled at them. When I then picked up Brisingr a few years later a little voice whispered in the back of my head that those critics may have been right after all. I quickly pushed that voice aside and convinced myself that the issues I couldn’t ignore were simply because it was originally supposed to be the last book, but Paolini had been forced to divide it into two. Surely once the final book came out all my concerns would be resolved, right? I clung to that hope like a lifeline.

I was so excited when Inheritance was released and I couldn’t wait to dive in. Uh oh. From the first page those things that I had been ignoring came crashing over me, but this time there was an added problem – I had spent the last several months studying the craft of writing and now I had names to put to all the things that had been bugging me before. The book opened in the middle of a full on battle, there were pages and pages of internal monologues, descriptions that went on to the point where I was no longer taking in the words, a writing style and word choice that came off as just plain pretentious……the list goes on.

All of those things I could have forgiven, however, if the story had been gripping and left me feeling satisfied. That was not the case. It took a good 150 pages for me to really get to that “can’t put it down” reading zone and even then it didn’t last for more than a few hundred pages. When I got about half-way through the book I got really busy and didn’t pick it up for about a month, which never bothered me. That is not normal for me. Usually I don’t care how busy I am, I will make time for a good book.

Then, when I started reading again everything felt like it was being unnecessarily dragged out. I got excited again when the big battle that the entire series had been leading up to happened, and it was just as intense and gripping as I had hoped, but the way it played out was…disappointing. Paolini had made the bad guy too powerful and was forced into the corner of contrivance. Oh, and did I mention there were still about 100 pages after the climax of the book ended? I felt like Paolini was trying to emulate Tolkein and it didn’t work. Again, I could have forgiven all of this if the ending had left me satisfied. It did not. It left me depressed. As my twitter friend Moriah put it, “forever alone = ALL THE CHARACTERS”.

I seriously hate writing a review like this. It pains me to complain so much about a book, especially a book in a series I once loved, but to not say all this would be dishonest. I originally tweeted that, overall, I liked Inheritance, and there were many parts that I did really enjoy, but as I thought more about it I realized that, overall, I was disappointed.

When Paolini started writing The Inheritance Cycle he was a 15 year old kid telling a fun adventure story and that youthful joy shone through the writing. I don’t know if he grew too full of himself and his abilities, felt the pressure to impress and tried too hard, or some other possibility that I can’t think of happened, but something happened and it breaks my heart.

Have you read The Inheritance Cycle? What did you think of it? Did the books lose their magic or keep going strong? Am I being too harsh? Let me know in the comments.

The Inheritence Cycle: The End is Almost Here (Finally)

After a three year wait the final book in Christopher Paolini’s The Inheritance Cycle is just one  month away from being released. The first three books – Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr – follow the story of 15 year old Eragon who stumbles upon a dragon egg while hunting. Soon after his discovery a blue dragon whom he names Saphira hatches from the egg and he becomes the first Dragon Rider since the tyrant Galbatorix and his followers killed all the other dragons and their Riders. Thanks to this chance discovery Eragon finds himself thrust into the forefront of a rebellion that wants to end the reign of Galbatorix.

When I first read these books I devoured them. The world that Paolini created, called Alagaesia, is a vibrant world full of races both familiar and new. There are elves, dwarves, and dragons as well as creations called Urgals and Ra’zac. Most of these different races have their own unique language that Paolini created and uses throughout the series. All of this would be impressive on its own, but what is truly remarkable is Paolini was only 15 years old when he began writing Eragon. At such a young age he created and put to paper an intricate and detailed story that is better than some of the drivel put out by “more seasoned” authors.

Like any book or series these books are by no means perfect. They have been criticized a great deal for being derivative with comparisons to Star Wars and The Lord of the Rings most common. If you go through the story and list out the similarities they are quite numerous, but the same can be said for a number of books. The Lord of the Rings pretty much revolutionized the fantasy genre and I think you would be hard pressed to find a contemporary book of fantasy that was not somehow influenced by it. In the case of Star Wars, that series utilized many common storytelling conventions, such as the hero’s journey, but because it reached such huge levels of popularity many seem to credit it with creating those conventions. Yes, Paolini used a lot of the same plot devices, but so do many other stories in a variety of genres. To me it just isn’t that big of a deal as long as the story is interesting, which The Inheritance Cycle is.

From the start of the first book I fell in love with the characters and story. The relationship between Eragon and Saphira is fascinating and I love watching as they grow with one another. In the second book, Eldest, Paolini introduces the parallel story taking place in the home Eragon was forced to abandon through the eyes of his cousin, Roran. At times the story of Roran is even more interesting than that of Eragon. Roran is just an ordinary human with no magic or any other supernatural aid, but when his home is attacked by the Ra’zac he faces the challenge head on and does whatever needs to be done to protect those he loves. He goes through his own hero’s journey and it is a nice juxtaposition to that of Eragon’s.

The past three years have been a long wait and I am so glad it is almost over. There are so many unanswered questions and mysteries I am ready to have answered. So it is with eager anticipation that I wait the final month for Inheritance and the answers to all my questions.

What about you? Have you read any of the books in The Inheratence Cycle? Do you enjoy them or agree with some of the criticisms? Will you be purchasing the final book of the series? Let me know in the comments!