All right, here's the one I've really been excited to do. Of the entire Inheritance Cycle, the last book, Inheritance, was my least favorite.
I hated the beginning. I felt like Paolini wasted the first 150-200 pages. I felt that all the main characters did was whine about how bored they were. Nothing important happens in those first two hundred pages. Even the siege and battle of Aroughs wasn't that important, nor was it that interesting. I felt that Paolini wasn't sure how to start the book, and stuck it on there to get page length. Nothing important happens until the battle of Dras-Leona. It took me two weeks to get through the first two hundred pages of Inheritance, and then a week to finish the remaining 650. After the build of tension that the first three books have been slowly working up to, the beginning of Inheritance was a huge letdown. The other books in the series start in the middle of the action. Starting that way easily hooks readers and brings them in. This book nearly lost me. I wasn't sure after the first hundred pages if I even wanted to finish it. How could the ending be interesting if the beginning of the book wasn't interesting?
The siege of Aroughs was somewhat interesting. Like much that happens at the beginning of the book, it was dragged out. It took Roran an awfully long amount of time and words to figure out how to get into the city. The main battle was good; in general, I liked it. The biggest problem for me came when Roran was shot in the back with an arrow, and Roran passes out. Paolini then cuts to a new chapter. This new chapter starts with Roran talking with Nasuada, however, it is not clear right at first exactly what happened immediately before, how much time has passed, and if Roran has been captured (which was my first thought). It takes pages before you finally understand what has transpired since Roran was hit with that arrow. It was a sloppy chapter cut and carried an unfinished air about it. I'm not sure that Paolini really wanted to leave it that way or not.
I also had an issue with the Vault of Souls. I had already surmised that the Vault of Souls contained Eldunari; it was the only thing that made sense for it to contain. However, Paolini weakly tries to assert that there could not possibly be any more Eldunari. Through Brisingr and Inheritance, Paolini tries to make it clear that the only way to defeat Galbatorix and Murtagh is to have a stash of Eldunari. Therefore, it is very simple to guess what is in the Vault of Souls, even though Glaedr says there are no more Eldunari. Realistically, he shouldn't have said anything about it, and let readers follow Eragon through the process of opening the Vault.
It took Eragon a massive amount of time to find his true name. It slowed down the pacing that Paolini had (finally) managed to build up.
I hated King Orrin's character in this book. The closer he gets to Uru-Baen, the less I like him, and the more I think Paolini should have just killed him off. By the end of the book and in "Heir to an Empire," I was desperately wishing that Orrin had just died in either the battle of Uru-Baen or Dras-Leona. Either way, you wouldn't have had to deal with his whining and complaining about every decision. I actually started thinking that he was one of Galbatorix's spies because his character changed so drastically from the end of Brisingr to the end of Inheritance. Orrin's complaints and "beefs" with Nasuada are never really addressed. Orrin seems placated by Nasuada's solution, but he never really seems satisfied. The problem is never really addressed properly. All Nasuada did was appease him, but he'll probably cause trouble later on for her, an oath of fealty or no.
I wish Paolini had re-visited the Council of Elders. While they're mentioned, they never really pose a significant threat or really appear again. In fact, that was an almost unnecessary plot to even introduce in Eldest if he wasn't going to have them cause problems later. I expected them to rear their ugly heads again, especially when a new monarch was being chosen.
When they finally reached Uru-Baen, that battle was also dragged out. What Paolini tried to do was to build the tension, and to leave readers frantically trying to finish the book. There is a point where you can build too far, and readers begin to lose interest (if you notice, movie makers also make this mistake). Personally, when I saw that I was only barely half-way through the book and the battle for Uru-Baen was starting, I was very worried that he was going to drag out the ending just as much as the beginning. He walked that line, narrowly avoiding that pitfall with the ending. I could have done without so much of Roran's story-line. While intriguing, it was distracting from the main plot. The whole battle with General Barst was a waste of time. I agree that Islanzadi's death was interesting, and an important plot point, however, I think it could have been done in a different way. The battle of Uru-Baen from the time that the Varden arrive, to the time Eragon lets Murtagh go after the death of Galbatorix was 168 pages long which is roughly 20% of the book. I think that Paolini could have left the main battle in the city mostly out, and just focused on what was happening with Eragon in the palace. That alone would have carried the tension along without going overboard.
I did like the whole conflict happening in the palace between Eragon, Murtagh, and Galbatorix. I wish that Paolini had left his focus there, instead of branching out to other less important side plots in an attempt to build tension.
The ending of Inheritance was the best writing I think I've seen from Paolini. He successfully tied up all of his loose ends. Even though he takes his sweet time doing it, I think his manner was necessary. It feels almost like the end of Lord of the Rings, where Frodo is trying to make sense of his life, and trying to pick up where he left off. However, like Eragon, Frodo is no longer the same person. Eragon's decision to leave Alagaesia is somewhat surprising, but not completely unexpected (again, think Lord of the Rings; Frodo leaves Middle Earth). The conclusion is satisfying. It leaves the reader feeling as if they haven't been jipped. All of the side plots have been tied up, and I think it ended quite nicely. The ending was (thankfully) the best part of the book.
I hated the beginning. I felt like Paolini wasted the first 150-200 pages. I felt that all the main characters did was whine about how bored they were. Nothing important happens in those first two hundred pages. Even the siege and battle of Aroughs wasn't that important, nor was it that interesting. I felt that Paolini wasn't sure how to start the book, and stuck it on there to get page length. Nothing important happens until the battle of Dras-Leona. It took me two weeks to get through the first two hundred pages of Inheritance, and then a week to finish the remaining 650. After the build of tension that the first three books have been slowly working up to, the beginning of Inheritance was a huge letdown. The other books in the series start in the middle of the action. Starting that way easily hooks readers and brings them in. This book nearly lost me. I wasn't sure after the first hundred pages if I even wanted to finish it. How could the ending be interesting if the beginning of the book wasn't interesting?
The siege of Aroughs was somewhat interesting. Like much that happens at the beginning of the book, it was dragged out. It took Roran an awfully long amount of time and words to figure out how to get into the city. The main battle was good; in general, I liked it. The biggest problem for me came when Roran was shot in the back with an arrow, and Roran passes out. Paolini then cuts to a new chapter. This new chapter starts with Roran talking with Nasuada, however, it is not clear right at first exactly what happened immediately before, how much time has passed, and if Roran has been captured (which was my first thought). It takes pages before you finally understand what has transpired since Roran was hit with that arrow. It was a sloppy chapter cut and carried an unfinished air about it. I'm not sure that Paolini really wanted to leave it that way or not.
I also had an issue with the Vault of Souls. I had already surmised that the Vault of Souls contained Eldunari; it was the only thing that made sense for it to contain. However, Paolini weakly tries to assert that there could not possibly be any more Eldunari. Through Brisingr and Inheritance, Paolini tries to make it clear that the only way to defeat Galbatorix and Murtagh is to have a stash of Eldunari. Therefore, it is very simple to guess what is in the Vault of Souls, even though Glaedr says there are no more Eldunari. Realistically, he shouldn't have said anything about it, and let readers follow Eragon through the process of opening the Vault.
It took Eragon a massive amount of time to find his true name. It slowed down the pacing that Paolini had (finally) managed to build up.
I hated King Orrin's character in this book. The closer he gets to Uru-Baen, the less I like him, and the more I think Paolini should have just killed him off. By the end of the book and in "Heir to an Empire," I was desperately wishing that Orrin had just died in either the battle of Uru-Baen or Dras-Leona. Either way, you wouldn't have had to deal with his whining and complaining about every decision. I actually started thinking that he was one of Galbatorix's spies because his character changed so drastically from the end of Brisingr to the end of Inheritance. Orrin's complaints and "beefs" with Nasuada are never really addressed. Orrin seems placated by Nasuada's solution, but he never really seems satisfied. The problem is never really addressed properly. All Nasuada did was appease him, but he'll probably cause trouble later on for her, an oath of fealty or no.
I wish Paolini had re-visited the Council of Elders. While they're mentioned, they never really pose a significant threat or really appear again. In fact, that was an almost unnecessary plot to even introduce in Eldest if he wasn't going to have them cause problems later. I expected them to rear their ugly heads again, especially when a new monarch was being chosen.
When they finally reached Uru-Baen, that battle was also dragged out. What Paolini tried to do was to build the tension, and to leave readers frantically trying to finish the book. There is a point where you can build too far, and readers begin to lose interest (if you notice, movie makers also make this mistake). Personally, when I saw that I was only barely half-way through the book and the battle for Uru-Baen was starting, I was very worried that he was going to drag out the ending just as much as the beginning. He walked that line, narrowly avoiding that pitfall with the ending. I could have done without so much of Roran's story-line. While intriguing, it was distracting from the main plot. The whole battle with General Barst was a waste of time. I agree that Islanzadi's death was interesting, and an important plot point, however, I think it could have been done in a different way. The battle of Uru-Baen from the time that the Varden arrive, to the time Eragon lets Murtagh go after the death of Galbatorix was 168 pages long which is roughly 20% of the book. I think that Paolini could have left the main battle in the city mostly out, and just focused on what was happening with Eragon in the palace. That alone would have carried the tension along without going overboard.
I did like the whole conflict happening in the palace between Eragon, Murtagh, and Galbatorix. I wish that Paolini had left his focus there, instead of branching out to other less important side plots in an attempt to build tension.
The ending of Inheritance was the best writing I think I've seen from Paolini. He successfully tied up all of his loose ends. Even though he takes his sweet time doing it, I think his manner was necessary. It feels almost like the end of Lord of the Rings, where Frodo is trying to make sense of his life, and trying to pick up where he left off. However, like Eragon, Frodo is no longer the same person. Eragon's decision to leave Alagaesia is somewhat surprising, but not completely unexpected (again, think Lord of the Rings; Frodo leaves Middle Earth). The conclusion is satisfying. It leaves the reader feeling as if they haven't been jipped. All of the side plots have been tied up, and I think it ended quite nicely. The ending was (thankfully) the best part of the book.
Haha Erin I love your criques, and I find that you and I are pretty much on the same page when it comes to these books. As a whole I thought the whole story a bit pointless, and a rip off from the Lord of the Rings. Often times it seemed the Paolini was just making up names at the top of his head that were hard to pronounce and to understand. It distracted the reader from getting into the story, because you couldn't help but stumble upon the made up words. However, the prologue from Eragon was so thoroughly dramatic and inspiring that it propelled me to begin to write in the first place. It also made me excited to write my own fantasy. Too bad I'm currently working on my scifi, or I would be working on my fantasy right at this moment! ~Rachel B.
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