Brisingr

Brisingr
Author: Christopher Paolini
Series: Inheritance Cycle (#3)
Publisher: Random House
How Received: school library

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?

And then the book was finished. I shut it, and grinned at my friends who were staring at me.

"Okay, now go return it so I can check it out!" As I stared at Alyx, my grin grew broader.

"I can't do that quite yet... I have a book review to do."

Groans echoed all around...

Yes, I finished Brisingr. I risked not rereading Eragon and Eldest, but thankfully, it wasn't needed - Christopher Paolini summarized the two again in the prologue to spark my memory.

Spoiler alerts for those who haven't read Eldest yet.

A great novel, except for the fact that Eragon gets annoying and ponders things far too much...

[SPOILER ALERT]
Christopher, I'm disappointed. I saw the whole Brom thing coming, I called that he would get a new sword, and I believed with a certainty that he and Arya would get closer.

Honestly, with the exception of the dragon's heart-of-hearts, I wasn't that surprised by anything. It's still a great novel, mind you, and written well, and you can get into it. It just wasn't as shocking as I expected.

I still really want the next one to come out, like, now. I want Galbatorix dead.
[/SPOILER ALERT]

Overall Rating & Final Comments: 7/10. Like I said, I got into it and enjoyed it, and I can't blame the character for annoying me, but I saw so much of what I think Christopher thought would be *gasp* super shocking secrets.
Eragon or Dragonflight?: Have I done this comparison before? I don't remember. ^^" But, as much as Eragon is thicker and has a more dramatic plot (yeah, Impressing Ramoth isn't as dramatic when you don't have to hide her), the characters in Dragonflight (DRoP) are much more likeable. Both are enjoyable novels, but depending on how long you have to sit and read... DRoP if you have less time and like simpler plotlines, but Eragon if you have more time, a higher tolerance for annoying characters, and like more complicated plotlines.

Happy reading!

Se' onr sverdar sitja hvass!

~Nicole