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A review by janeleng
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
2.0
When starting my reread of this series, I was excited to get to this installment because it was the only one I couldn’t remember the plot of. And now I know why—it doesn’t have one.
Although bookended by action, Brisingr is weighed down by the 500 pages in the middle containing an extraordinary amount of detail about events that aren’t important. At one point we watch Eragon run errands for 100+ pages. Anytime a character speaks, it’s at least a paragraph of text if not a couple of pages. Every dialogue reads more like two monologues happening simultaneously.
Even more irritatingly, I also found Eragon’s character to be inconsistent compared to previous books. There’s one instance where he suggests solving a problem with brute force like Galbatorix and another where he expresses a desire to learn the same magic as Durza. It would be one thing if Paolini was using these scenes to explore Eragon’s potential for corruption, but the other characters react with a chuckling “Oh Eragon” before moving on.
The only parts in the middle that I found to be compelling were Roran’s chapters. Very interesting to watch someone who is exponentially more competent than everyone else have to fall in line.
Overall, Paolini seems to have done an extraordinary amount of research on swords and philosophy for this book and was unable to cut a single detail. I’m going to need a palate cleanser before book 4.
Although bookended by action, Brisingr is weighed down by the 500 pages in the middle containing an extraordinary amount of detail about events that aren’t important. At one point we watch Eragon run errands for 100+ pages. Anytime a character speaks, it’s at least a paragraph of text if not a couple of pages. Every dialogue reads more like two monologues happening simultaneously.
Even more irritatingly, I also found Eragon’s character to be inconsistent compared to previous books. There’s one instance where he suggests solving a problem with brute force like Galbatorix and another where he expresses a desire to learn the same magic as Durza. It would be one thing if Paolini was using these scenes to explore Eragon’s potential for corruption, but the other characters react with a chuckling “Oh Eragon” before moving on.
The only parts in the middle that I found to be compelling were Roran’s chapters. Very interesting to watch someone who is exponentially more competent than everyone else have to fall in line.
Overall, Paolini seems to have done an extraordinary amount of research on swords and philosophy for this book and was unable to cut a single detail. I’m going to need a palate cleanser before book 4.