Fantasy or Travesty?
December 2, 2008
I think Paolini could have accomplished the same things in a book half as long. Many times the story meandered off course and didn't find it's way back for quite some pages. In fact, quite a few things seemed completely unnecessary. It was too "graphic". Much of the book is spent describing gruesome scenes of carnage. It is NOT a series for people younger than 13.
Much of the book seemed like a game of chess for lack of a better desription. I could feel the author striving for things to make sense, trying to counter the reader's skepticism. I had a hard time believing in the magic system a few times. For example (spoiler), if Brisingr is really the true name of Eragon's new sword why can't other people control the blade if they also know the name? One person doesn't have possession of "rock". Knowing the true name of someone elses weapon would be a deadly advantage in combat.
A lot of this criticisms could be put to rest by some simple edits here and there. Other would be more difficult to amend, but maybe those things are subjective.
I must say that it was entertaining. Enough so that I didn't stop reading it until it was done. I needed to know how things turned out. There are many creative ideas that had me fascinated. I love the Dragons. That's the best part about this series I think. Christopher has potential. He has good ideas. But like some people have said, he lacks a good editor.
In summary, the good things are all too often overshadowed by the flaws. Such as plot, excessive description, "dithering" politics, etc...
I hope that the fourth book will be better, because in all truth I'm "attached" to this series and will see it to the end. For his own sake, and for the sake of his readers, I hope Paolini reads these reviews and remembers them when he writes the next book. This series could still end well!!
Lost in Tronjiheim ...
December 1, 2008
I enjoyed Eragon, thought that the second book was plodding ... and am deeply, deeply, deeply disappointed in Brisingr.
Like many others, I slogged through 100's of pages of Brisingr. When Eragon went to Tronjiheim and, sounding like an American tourist, started to whine about participating in a culture that views time differently from his own ...
.. I simply gave up and stopped reading.
I wanted to like Brisingr, but I got lost in Tronjiheim.
I can add little to the excellent reviews of Brisingr by Christopher Lintel and racapowski (When is Amazon going to allow links to other reviews within reviews? ;-)
So I'll content myself with adding my one star vote.
Note to Christopher Paolini: Please, sir. Find yourself a decent editor who will challenge you to become a better writer. You have potential.
One step forward, two steps back.
December 1, 2008
Paolini is overrated. So grossly overrated. Yes, the guy is incredibly young and wrote a very good story at an age when your chiefest concern should be which zit to pop first. He should have stopped there. If anything, his skills have deteriorated throughout this series to a point where the effort to turn each page in this book feels like I'm lifting a station wagon.
I won't go on and on as it is apparent that this book has turned enough people against St. Christopher of Paolini, but I just want to get something off of my chest:
I hope Saphira dies.
Every time that dragon opens her mouth I just want to set the book on fire. Why Paolini made the choice to create this awesome character and then fill her craw with the most cliche, unoriginal dialogue is beyond my reasoning. She speaks like a romance novel.
Alright that's it. Don't buy this book.
Brisingr
December 1, 2008
My 13 yr old daughter loved this book. It was a great gift for her.
Better than the 2nd, in my opinion
(1 of 1 Found this Helpful)
December 1, 2008
As a fan over the 1st 2 books and the story in it's entirety, i have been eagerly awaiting the release of this book. The book starts and ends at an excellent pace, with an epic battle with the Razak to start and another interesting war at the end. I felt that Christopher did a good job at taking his time in this book and really developing the characters. Extending the series to 4 books really allowed him to dig deeper into the story line. At times i felt like the plot took a while to develop, however in the end, knowing the characters in detail really allowed me to feel the storyline as it intensified.
Without risking any spoilers i will simply say that if you were a fan of the first 2 books, you will enjoy this one. If you are a die hard fantasy reader, well you may be a little put off. Christopher is a good author, whom i believe continues to get better. He's no Tolkein, but there is potential.
Pick this up if you enjoy a nice long read... 748 pages isn't a joke :-)
