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Old 01-01-2009, 10:12 PM   #1
nekokami
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Brisingr/Inheritance discussion (spoilers)

I'm not kidding about spoilers. If you haven't read this book and don't want to read details about it, stop now!

I just finished Brisingr (it was a Christmas gift). I liked it, though I thought it was a bit slow in places, particularly in the first half. But then, I liked the first two books, and thought that Eragon improved after I read Eldest, which I thought deconstructed the common tropes used in Eragon in a fairly clever way.

I was a bit disappointed that the Ra'zac were exterminated, though, after the big deal about the extinction of the dragons being such a moral tragedy in Eldest. I had sort of hoped that they would turn out to have some kind of natural ecological function, like scavenger beetles, that had just been subverted by Galbatorix. I'd even thought that perhaps they were intended to collect the souls of the dead, proving the elves wrong about the existance of the soul after death, and that those souls they collected were being used by Galbatorix to generate power. (I guess I was sort of close on that one, though it turns out to be a rather different situation.) Their defeat was a bit of a non-event, as well, though there might be some interesting repercussions once their weird cult of devotees discovers it.

I felt like Eragon's adolescent yearning after Arya was better in this one, as well. That was kind of embarrassing in Eldest.

I'm afraid Brom being Eragon's father wasn't much of a surprise at all, but Selena's rather dark past was. Did anyone else see that coming? I'd begun to wonder if Roran will turn out to be hers as well-- in fact, I was wondering if Gower was really her brother, or a former lover, because I suspect Roran is going to turn out to be Eragon's half-brother as well. But people say he looks like Gower, so I suppose that's not likely.

Another loose thread I'm waiting to see about is whether Gower really betrayed Eragon and Saphira to the Empire, as I suspect. (I think the merchant Gower took them to see in the first book was an agent, and Gower knew that, then decided not to betray Eragon after all, and sent him away on the day he expected the king's agents to show up.)

I suppose the "Vault of Souls" will have something to do with a stash of dragon hearts (shades of Escaflowne there), though I'd be interested to see the elves proved wrong about the survival of the soul (of non-dragons) after death. The elves seem a bit too sure of themselves in Eldest-- about a lot of things. And the appearance of one of the Dwarven gods in Brisingr raised some interesting possibilities about just how fallible the Elves' knowledge might be.

Anyone else have any thoughts or speculations on the series thus far? (I'm looking for constructive discussion, not just series bashing or fanboy cheering, which is why I'm posting here rather than in some other internet group dedicated to the series.)
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Old 01-02-2009, 07:06 AM   #2
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Hello.

I did not like the idea of "Harts to Harts". I would like a development of the collection of energy from the surroundings, and not only living creatures, for instance. fire "hot" water and air is in motion.
Yes elver think they are so clever that they sometimes forget to think and a man like Eragon take the time to think in some areas as elver forgot all about because they are so old that they think that they do not have to spend more time on it. example. "Sloan beat to death or not."


btw. I did like the idea of the sword they made.

I've used Google translator to write this text so I hope that understands what I have written.

Regards

Lars

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Old 01-08-2009, 08:24 PM   #3
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You know I got this book back in September for my Birthday and all. Overall I was not pleased with the book.

Compared to all the other books it was boring and slow. Sure there was a lot of information packed in there. Finding out Brom was Eragons father, finding out about the 'heart of hearts'. The fact that Murtaug or however you spell his name.. still wants to be good but he's being sworn to do things he doesn't like.

All in all though the book was still disappointing. Compared to Eragon and Eldest the way the book was written didn't catch my interest at all. In Eragon at least the battle scenes had detail and seemed more involved. In Brisingr it's more like they were just there. The way the scenes were written didn't catch my interest at all. Unlike the other books I only kept reading to finish the book and know what happens. There was never any point that I was like "Ohh I have to keep reading.. must know what happens!"
It was just dull.

I know the book will be important to reading the next book and all. It was just horrible in my opinion. I know someone out there had to like it. I just can't find anything good about the book in my opinion. It's just kinda there to me.
I won't be rereading it at all except to read it again to refresh the details in my mind before the last book comes out.
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Old 01-08-2009, 08:58 PM   #4
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I feel like the subtitle ("The seven promises of...") took over the book. Yes, I imagine this will be a set-up for the fourth (hopefully final) book, but I think Paolini's editor should have reined him in more.

Then again, the publisher knew this would sell, after the first two books, and they can charge more for a larger book.

About a week after finishing Brisingr, I read Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley. I had sort of put off reading it because I think I was afraid it would be some sort of silly fantasy clone. I should have known better, considering the author. The writing was a bit odd, not nearly as polished as her usual, but the story was good and the characters were excellent. I can't remember if it was marketed as "young adult" or "teen" fiction, rather than mainstream fantasy, but I'm not convinced it's a "kid's" book. There are a lot of references to pop culture from one or more generations ago, for one thing. And though the narrator is a teen, the events and issues the story is dealing with are pretty sophisticated.

I guess I was really impressed with how Eldest and how Paolini made the reader reconsider all the assumptions in Eragon (e.g. the Urgals are just bad). I was hoping for another clever layer of interpretation in Brisingr, and it just wasn't there.
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Old 01-14-2009, 03:26 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nekokami View Post
I'm not kidding about spoilers. If you haven't read this book and don't want to read details about it, stop now!

I just finished Brisingr (it was a Christmas gift). I liked it, though I thought it was a bit slow in places, particularly in the first half. But then, I liked the first two books, and thought that Eragon improved after I read Eldest, which I thought deconstructed the common tropes used in Eragon in a fairly clever way.

I was a bit disappointed that the Ra'zac were exterminated, though, after the big deal about the extinction of the dragons being such a moral tragedy in Eldest. I had sort of hoped that they would turn out to have some kind of natural ecological function, like scavenger beetles, that had just been subverted by Galbatorix. I'd even thought that perhaps they were intended to collect the souls of the dead, proving the elves wrong about the existance of the soul after death, and that those souls they collected were being used by Galbatorix to generate power. (I guess I was sort of close on that one, though it turns out to be a rather different situation.) Their defeat was a bit of a non-event, as well, though there might be some interesting repercussions once their weird cult of devotees discovers it.

I felt like Eragon's adolescent yearning after Arya was better in this one, as well. That was kind of embarrassing in Eldest.

I'm afraid Brom being Eragon's father wasn't much of a surprise at all, but Selena's rather dark past was. Did anyone else see that coming? I'd begun to wonder if Roran will turn out to be hers as well-- in fact, I was wondering if Gower was really her brother, or a former lover, because I suspect Roran is going to turn out to be Eragon's half-brother as well. But people say he looks like Gower, so I suppose that's not likely.

Another loose thread I'm waiting to see about is whether Gower really betrayed Eragon and Saphira to the Empire, as I suspect. (I think the merchant Gower took them to see in the first book was an agent, and Gower knew that, then decided not to betray Eragon after all, and sent him away on the day he expected the king's agents to show up.)

I suppose the "Vault of Souls" will have something to do with a stash of dragon hearts (shades of Escaflowne there), though I'd be interested to see the elves proved wrong about the survival of the soul (of non-dragons) after death. The elves seem a bit too sure of themselves in Eldest-- about a lot of things. And the appearance of one of the Dwarven gods in Brisingr raised some interesting possibilities about just how fallible the Elves' knowledge might be.

Anyone else have any thoughts or speculations on the series thus far? (I'm looking for constructive discussion, not just series bashing or fanboy cheering, which is why I'm posting here rather than in some other internet group dedicated to the series.)
Absolutely, but I think Selena is alive. You will notice Brom & Murtag never actually saw her body. Remember the woman with the scarred wrists and strong sword arm that Eragon was asked to bless?

Betcha!
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Old 01-14-2009, 06:53 PM   #6
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Good to hear these thoughts -- sounds like I'll stay away from this book. I liked Eragon, but was quite bored by the end of Eldest. Maybe I'll go look for Dragonhaven instead.
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Old 01-15-2009, 10:22 AM   #7
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Absolutely, but I think Selena is alive. You will notice Brom & Murtag never actually saw her body. Remember the woman with the scarred wrists and strong sword arm that Eragon was asked to bless?

Betcha!
Hm. There's a thought. She did disappear rather mysteriously, didn't she?

What about Gower? Do you think he was an agent of Galbatorix? He certainly seemed to recognize the egg. On re-read, that whole scene with the traveling merchant looks pretty peculiar.
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