I'm the kind of person who tries to avoid literature fads for as long as possible. I always pass by the displays in the bookstore that hold all of the 'it books' and turn up my nose. I scoff at the fans who devote themselves entirely to the series and usually make fun of the plot (vampires and werewolves? wtf?). Then a few years later once the hype has died down, I crack. I try to resist, I really do, but my own personal taboo against reading these books over takes my pride and I give in to the guilty pleasure. Usually, I secretly buy and read the books, whilst trying to avoid public places so people don't judge me. I tend to mutilate the book, in a feeble attempt to hide the cover from other people.
The Inheritance Cycle is one of these situations. About a year ago I read the first book in the series, Eragon, and was mildly impressed. I think what initially drew me in was the fact that the author was only 16 when he wrote the first book. Once I have read the first book in the series I feel like I have to read the other books, it's some weird obssessive-compulsive thing. I was hesitant to read the second book, Eldest. I try not to read reviews beforehand because I find that they instill a bias in my own reading, but for Eldest I decided to read them anyways. A lot of people really liked it (mostly 14-year-old boys) and a lot of people weren't impressed (everyone else above the age of 14). Needless to say, I wasn't expecting much.
I wouldn't say that Eldest is a great work of literature. It is a YA fantasy novel that is better than most. Definitely a purely entertaining read, not much symbolism or depth. Although, half the time I felt like I was studying for the verbal part of the SAT. Paolini loves obscure adjectives. I have never seen the word 'cacophonous' used so many times in one book before. He also promotes the pursuit of scholarly endeavors within the plot, which seems really out of place and condescending.
If you have read Eragon, you know that Paolini's writing style isn't the most complex or mature, but with Eldest he has definitely evolved as a writer. In Eldest, there are multiple perspectives which gives the story much more complexity and allows you to get more involved in the story. I am not a huge fan of the main character (Eragon), so I was happy that we get to see the story unfold from other perspectives, such as his cousin, Roran. If you aren't familiar with the series, the story takes place in the country of Alagaësia where a evil omnipotent king named Galbatorix rules over the people whom he repeatedly enslaves and abuses. Galbatorix is a semi-immortal being who was previously a Dragon Rider but murdered his fellow riders so as to rule Alagaësia himself. Since Galbatorix murdered all of the other riders and almost all of the dragons, no one can stand against him. As a safety Galbatorix has kept three dragon eggs for himself so that he can maintain control over the dragon race. Fortunately for our protagonist, one of the eggs is stolen by a rebel group (the Varden) and, through a series of events, comes into Eragon's possession. As I am sure you can figure out, the egg hatches for him and he becomes the only other dragon rider in the empire. From there on the story becomes very predictable in nature, so I wont bore you with any more details. Basically, if you know anything about Campbell's monomyth (hero cycle) theory, you can figure out the entire plot. Eldest follows Eragon further on his journey to become the dragon rider to defeat Galbatorix. In retrospect the most memorable narratives of the book were the chapters from Roran's point of view. Unlike most of the characters, Roran is not definitively good or bad. Instead, he struggles with the consequences of the murders he must commit in order to rescue his fiance and keep an entire village alive in the face of great odds.
OK, time to wrap up this obnoxiously long post. Overall this book is exactly what you would think any YA fantasy novel would be. The only difference between this book and all of the other books in this genre is the writing. Although Paolini's writing isn't very well developed, he shows promise for improvement and maybe some really impressive work in the future. This is a good book to read if you are looking for a simple guilty pleasure that doesn't involve vampire, werewolf and dumb-girl love triangles. Also, you may learn some new fancy words you can impress your friends with. If you don't know what cacophonous means, look it up and try using it more than once in your entire life. Easier said than done.
If you have read Eragon, you know that Paolini's writing style isn't the most complex or mature, but with Eldest he has definitely evolved as a writer. In Eldest, there are multiple perspectives which gives the story much more complexity and allows you to get more involved in the story. I am not a huge fan of the main character (Eragon), so I was happy that we get to see the story unfold from other perspectives, such as his cousin, Roran. If you aren't familiar with the series, the story takes place in the country of Alagaësia where a evil omnipotent king named Galbatorix rules over the people whom he repeatedly enslaves and abuses. Galbatorix is a semi-immortal being who was previously a Dragon Rider but murdered his fellow riders so as to rule Alagaësia himself. Since Galbatorix murdered all of the other riders and almost all of the dragons, no one can stand against him. As a safety Galbatorix has kept three dragon eggs for himself so that he can maintain control over the dragon race. Fortunately for our protagonist, one of the eggs is stolen by a rebel group (the Varden) and, through a series of events, comes into Eragon's possession. As I am sure you can figure out, the egg hatches for him and he becomes the only other dragon rider in the empire. From there on the story becomes very predictable in nature, so I wont bore you with any more details. Basically, if you know anything about Campbell's monomyth (hero cycle) theory, you can figure out the entire plot. Eldest follows Eragon further on his journey to become the dragon rider to defeat Galbatorix. In retrospect the most memorable narratives of the book were the chapters from Roran's point of view. Unlike most of the characters, Roran is not definitively good or bad. Instead, he struggles with the consequences of the murders he must commit in order to rescue his fiance and keep an entire village alive in the face of great odds.
OK, time to wrap up this obnoxiously long post. Overall this book is exactly what you would think any YA fantasy novel would be. The only difference between this book and all of the other books in this genre is the writing. Although Paolini's writing isn't very well developed, he shows promise for improvement and maybe some really impressive work in the future. This is a good book to read if you are looking for a simple guilty pleasure that doesn't involve vampire, werewolf and dumb-girl love triangles. Also, you may learn some new fancy words you can impress your friends with. If you don't know what cacophonous means, look it up and try using it more than once in your entire life. Easier said than done.
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