Customer Reviews: Read 24 more reviews...
 Loved. It. October 6, 2008
Better than the first two put together (and bigger, too!)- it was a great break from my Uni studies and I wasn't disappointed! Paolini is certainly becoming a better writer as the series progresses; I think ending the trilogy here would have been a bit rushed- Brisingr allows Eragon to develop as a person and a Rider, and the result doesn't feel as if everything is being crammed in before the inevitable final conflict. Instead we have the continuing adventures of Eragon and Saphira as they mature and struggle to find Galbatorix's weakness (yes, he has one ^^)- there's enough revelations and action in this to satisfy any Inheritance Cycle fan.
And to those moaning about extensions for commercial reasons, etc... WE GET ANOTHER BOOK AFTER THIS!!! YAY!!!
Recommended 100% ;D
xoxo
 A big dissapointment. October 5, 2008
After having thoroughly enjoyed the first two books, Eragon and Eldest, my expectations for the third were admittedly high. Even so, when I was reading Brisingr, the only thought that kept me reading on was that these rather lame side plots were building up to a "gripping" scene. To my dismay, this scene never came.
Paolini's influence from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is clearly noticeable, and this put me off the book. There is no doubt about it that the Paolini's creation of Alagaesia is very impressive, but it needs to be completely original, (gosh I sound so stuck up and pessimistic)!
In addition, some of the scenes were very long and I found myself losing concentration, and i'm not one for having a short concentration span. Despite the long scenes, it is not as detailed as I imagined it to be, and I believe that some stages of the book are completely unneccessary. Sorry, but parts of Brisngr have been poorly written.
To justify these perhaps hypercritical views, I came up with a thoery that, being 17, i was perhaps not young enough, and too critical to enjoy the book.
If this is the case, although i strongly doubt it, I am dissapointed that Paolini hasn't aimed Brisingr to the age group who were "the right age" when Eragon was released. But I will repeat again, "i strongly doubt it."
WELL... I think it is quite clear that I found Brisingr a big dissapointment, so I am surprised by my rating and my urge to buy the last book of the cycle. so I suppose Paolini's technique in dragging the 3rd book out has been to keep readers hopeful that the last one of the series will be worth the bore of the third.
enjoyable... but hardly original October 5, 2008
Better than the previous books in the series, several strands of the previous books are rounded off (concerning the werecat's riddle) there are some decent battles, the pace of the book makes it easy to read and shifts of perspective add interest. I felt satisfied after reading it (good job I had no high expectations!)
However, several great flaws cannot be over-looked. Instead of a decent story it was more like a string of ideological debates and rather pathetic speeches on morality put togeather, forced onto a narrow plot. There is no room for this in fantasy- only the greatest of stories could make such garbage bearable. Unfortunatly that doesn't apply in this case.
Once again, we are forced to bear pale shadows of Tolkien's middle earth- namely Paolini's 'ancient language' and the rather pompous 'on the origin of names' section at the back. We are forced to endure his rip-off versions of evles and dwarfs- of which there are no characters of real depth.
I don't like the characters. I despise Nasuada, a chimpanzee could run an army better and add more wit to proceedings. She is cold hearted and completely lacks any likeable qualities. Eragon has no spine, he more or less lets everyone else make decisions for him and has no individuality whatsoever. He moans about killing people, if he felt that bad, then why battle at all? The Varden do not strike me as a force of good but as another power-hungry organisation after the crown. There is no real distinction between them and the mad-king. Saphira is the only redeemable character- but even then- lacks any depth.
Overall the lead character and plot failed a bit. And whilst on the whole enjoyable, this is nothing original (plenty of stuff filched from star wars). It will probably still recieve a good reception though, despite quality of writing, because of it's use of age-old 'hero' patterns. Hardly 'Lord of the Rings'.
 Enjoyable, but a strange change of pace October 5, 2008
Overall, I enjoyed reading Brisingr - it's a worthy follow-up to Eldest. The book does exactly what Paolini sets out to do in his afterword - explore the characters a bit more, explain things in more detail, set the stage for the final book without rushing things. However, after the steady pace of Eragon and Eldest, you can't help but feel that not much happens in Brisingr - you almost feel like he's moving all the chess pieces into place in readiness for the final book.
It's not an agonising Robert Jordan kind of slowness, and the plot does move along relatively nicely, but compared to the other two books, it's a weird change of pace. You get the feeling that if Paolini could write all of the books again, he could make it a bit more consistent and evenly paced. That said, his authorial skill has certainly increased tenfold since Eragon, which I found vaguely irritating and slightly amateurish in places - whereas Brisingr is polished and potentially slightly too self-impressed. However, cynicism aside, Eragon's adventures continue apace in Brisingr and there are plenty of nice twists and plenty of time for Roran's own adventures. It's the kind of book you'll really love once you've got all four - but it left me wanting more. I'd agree with the previous reviewers that the attempts at humour don't really work - the book didn't really make me laugh, and (according to the afterword) the reference to Dr Who is completely out of place - I'm a fan too, but it's just not appropriate and make Paolini look slightly juvenile, which is a shame, because his writing is clearly that of a skilled adult and his overall execution is really excellent.
It's a great book, and I'm really looking forward to the fourth one. I don't want to say I'm disappointed with the book, because I never felt that way - and it is a very compelling read (I finished it in less than a week) but there are some odd points to it, and it does feel a bit inconsistent at times. Overall, an excellent book, but with some strange touches.
Overall very good October 4, 2008
Brisingr was a lot better than Eldest but I was disappointed with a few things. Although I like the fact that Brom is Eragon's father, it was thrown up quite suddenly and it's quite annoying that the climax in Eldest was when Eragon found out who his father was when he could have just found out Brom was his father anyway. Overall the book was very good and I really can't wait for the final book.
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