Take a photo of a barcode or cover
theinquisitxor's Reviews (804)
Edit: Reread Spring 2020. I just finished a reread of the series! I still enjoyed this collection of short stories, and I hope Paolini gets around to Book 5 and more projects soon!
Original 2018 Review:
Its been years since I last read anything from the world of Eragon, but the Inheritance cycle has remained one of my favorite series. I absolutely love the characters, the world, and all the small unanswered mysteries that go along with Alagaësia. Within these three short stories, I felt completely transported back into this world and I was able to lose myself in Paolini's wonderful writing. All three stories were great and we got insight in to what the characters are doing as well as some further knowledge the workings of the world.
Each story begins with Eragon's point of view, but soon delves off into another character's story. It was nice to be able to check-in on Eragon and see how he is doing, but then still be able to learn about other characters. If this book was solely focused on Eragon, it would, in my opinion, be boring. The first story, The Fork is about one of my favorite characters, Murtagh. The second, The Witch is about Angela the herbalist. This story was written by Paolini's sister, and namesake for the character. Angela is such a mysterious character and it was nice to know more about her- even if it lead to even more questions. I would totally read a book just about her. The last story was the best. The Worm presents a view point that Paolini had not expanded much on- the Urgals. This is a story about a Urgal woman who swears revenge on the dragon who killed her father. This story is very important, empowering and wonderful.
I hope there are more volumes the Paolini's write, because there are still characters we need to check up on. And the ending! This volume ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, and I am excited to see exactly what happened. I definitely plan on re-reading the series this summer. There were several times I had to look up a character or element from the original series that I had forgotten about.
Original 2018 Review:
Its been years since I last read anything from the world of Eragon, but the Inheritance cycle has remained one of my favorite series. I absolutely love the characters, the world, and all the small unanswered mysteries that go along with Alagaësia. Within these three short stories, I felt completely transported back into this world and I was able to lose myself in Paolini's wonderful writing. All three stories were great and we got insight in to what the characters are doing as well as some further knowledge the workings of the world.
Each story begins with Eragon's point of view, but soon delves off into another character's story. It was nice to be able to check-in on Eragon and see how he is doing, but then still be able to learn about other characters. If this book was solely focused on Eragon, it would, in my opinion, be boring. The first story, The Fork is about one of my favorite characters, Murtagh. The second, The Witch is about Angela the herbalist. This story was written by Paolini's sister, and namesake for the character. Angela is such a mysterious character and it was nice to know more about her- even if it lead to even more questions. I would totally read a book just about her. The last story was the best. The Worm presents a view point that Paolini had not expanded much on- the Urgals. This is a story about a Urgal woman who swears revenge on the dragon who killed her father. This story is very important, empowering and wonderful.
I hope there are more volumes the Paolini's write, because there are still characters we need to check up on. And the ending! This volume ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, and I am excited to see exactly what happened. I definitely plan on re-reading the series this summer. There were several times I had to look up a character or element from the original series that I had forgotten about.
I love this book. By far the best installment in the series and it's just so good from the first page to the last. I often find last books of series to be a little disappointing, as authors sometimes struggle with big concluding endings. But not this one, the final confrontation is just as big and climatic as it should be. Even though this is the longest book of the series, each word seems counted and important. Unlike in Brisingr, where I found many parts of the book to be unnecessary and dragged out, this was just *chef's kiss*.
I would like to examine several of the main characters, so here we go:
Eragon and Saphira: I've liked Eragon throughout the entire series and I don't feel like I need to say much about either of them. Saphira is just great as always. Eragon seems to fall a little in the likes of characters such as Harry Potter. In that he is a well loved character, but often not everyone's absolute favorite. And that is because (like with Harry Potter) we are supposed to self-project onto these characters. And that's fine. That's often how it is supposed to be for the mc's of middle grade/YA books.
Arya: I loved Arya a lot when I first read these books when I was much younger, and I've found that I don't like her quite as much in this reread. In the first three books she was just okay, I never found her super special like I used to. However, I will say that in this final book, her character really shines. I enjoyed her here much more than in any other book. Her friendship with Eragon is great and her support and determination to remain beside him is very wholesome.
Roran: I don't have a whole lot to say about Roran. I've always enjoyed his chapters and I'm sure he's building a fine castle on that hill in Palancar Valley.
Angela the herbalist: I liked Angela a lot when I first read the series, but my love for her has grown immensely. She probably makes it on my list of top characters of all time. I love powerful, mysterious characters and she is just great. I want a whole series just about her life and adventures. I want to know if she was the Soothsayer, and the theories about her being a Time Lord are such fun.
(side note: I enjoyed Evla much more too. Although, I do wish she had a bit of a bigger role in the take-down of Galbatorix than she did)
Nasudea: I enjoyed Nasudea much more this time reading. I liked her before, but she and Angela might be my favorite characters of the series now. She goes through a lot in the book, and yet comes out if it a better leader and person. There isn't a better person to rule Alagaesia and bring back peace to the land.
Murtagh and Thorn: I like their character arcs in this book, and I'm glad they are so crucial to the ending. I think it's a good decision for them to fly off and live in the woods for a bit, but I hope they eventually make it out to where Eragon is and help the new Riders.
I know some people don't like the decisions made at the end, but I think Eragon's decision to leave is a good one. Overall, I'm glad I reread this series, and I'm going to reread The Fork, the Witch and the Worm again as well. I hope Paolini continues to put out more short stories because this world, I will read them all. These books were a large part of my middle school self, and continue to remain dear to me.
I would like to examine several of the main characters, so here we go:
Eragon and Saphira: I've liked Eragon throughout the entire series and I don't feel like I need to say much about either of them. Saphira is just great as always. Eragon seems to fall a little in the likes of characters such as Harry Potter. In that he is a well loved character, but often not everyone's absolute favorite. And that is because (like with Harry Potter) we are supposed to self-project onto these characters. And that's fine. That's often how it is supposed to be for the mc's of middle grade/YA books.
Arya: I loved Arya a lot when I first read these books when I was much younger, and I've found that I don't like her quite as much in this reread. In the first three books she was just okay, I never found her super special like I used to. However, I will say that in this final book, her character really shines. I enjoyed her here much more than in any other book. Her friendship with Eragon is great and her support and determination to remain beside him is very wholesome.
Roran: I don't have a whole lot to say about Roran. I've always enjoyed his chapters and I'm sure he's building a fine castle on that hill in Palancar Valley.
Angela the herbalist: I liked Angela a lot when I first read the series, but my love for her has grown immensely. She probably makes it on my list of top characters of all time. I love powerful, mysterious characters and she is just great. I want a whole series just about her life and adventures. I want to know if she was the Soothsayer, and the theories about her being a Time Lord are such fun.
(side note: I enjoyed Evla much more too. Although, I do wish she had a bit of a bigger role in the take-down of Galbatorix than she did)
Nasudea: I enjoyed Nasudea much more this time reading. I liked her before, but she and Angela might be my favorite characters of the series now. She goes through a lot in the book, and yet comes out if it a better leader and person. There isn't a better person to rule Alagaesia and bring back peace to the land.
Murtagh and Thorn: I like their character arcs in this book, and I'm glad they are so crucial to the ending. I think it's a good decision for them to fly off and live in the woods for a bit, but I hope they eventually make it out to where Eragon is and help the new Riders.
I know some people don't like the decisions made at the end, but I think Eragon's decision to leave is a good one. Overall, I'm glad I reread this series, and I'm going to reread The Fork, the Witch and the Worm again as well. I hope Paolini continues to put out more short stories because this world, I will read them all. These books were a large part of my middle school self, and continue to remain dear to me.
3/5 stars
I had some trouble sleeping last night so I just stayed up and finished this. I think there is a reason why this was the least memorable book of the series for me. Before I started this, I could barely remember what happened. While reading, I of course started to remember the plot and events better. However, I think it remains the least memorable for me, because despite the 700+ pages, not much really happens. I felt like this book could have been scaled down by at least a quarter of what it is now. I just thought there were some scenes that were really drawn out with dialogue lasting pages and pages and I found myself skimming parts waiting to get back to more prominent plots.
However, the writing and story continues to grow and improve from the previous books. There were still plenty of important events and information given in this book that makes for the last one possible. Either way, I'm ready to get into Inheritance and finish up my reread of this series!
I had some trouble sleeping last night so I just stayed up and finished this. I think there is a reason why this was the least memorable book of the series for me. Before I started this, I could barely remember what happened. While reading, I of course started to remember the plot and events better. However, I think it remains the least memorable for me, because despite the 700+ pages, not much really happens. I felt like this book could have been scaled down by at least a quarter of what it is now. I just thought there were some scenes that were really drawn out with dialogue lasting pages and pages and I found myself skimming parts waiting to get back to more prominent plots.
However, the writing and story continues to grow and improve from the previous books. There were still plenty of important events and information given in this book that makes for the last one possible. Either way, I'm ready to get into Inheritance and finish up my reread of this series!
4/5 stars.
There is a definite change between Eragon and Eldest. The writing is better and the story is better plotted and more original. Tbh, Elves aren't my absolute favorite fantasy race, and Paolini's elves aren't particularly my favorite either. And a good part of this book is just about Elves. Still, I enjoyed reading those parts and they added a lot of lore and essential knowledge for the story to proceed.
I thought that reading this might drag a bit, considering its length and the fact that Eragon wasn't as great as I remembered it, but I read this very quickly. That might be in part of me procrastinating on my school work (and the fact that I can't really go or do anything right now). I'm excited to start Brisingr and I really don't remember anything from it, so that will be nice.
There is a definite change between Eragon and Eldest. The writing is better and the story is better plotted and more original. Tbh, Elves aren't my absolute favorite fantasy race, and Paolini's elves aren't particularly my favorite either. And a good part of this book is just about Elves. Still, I enjoyed reading those parts and they added a lot of lore and essential knowledge for the story to proceed.
I thought that reading this might drag a bit, considering its length and the fact that Eragon wasn't as great as I remembered it, but I read this very quickly. That might be in part of me procrastinating on my school work (and the fact that I can't really go or do anything right now). I'm excited to start Brisingr and I really don't remember anything from it, so that will be nice.
overall: I enjoyed reading this again and revisiting a childhood favorite. This book/series tends to get some bad press now because people see it as so cliche or tropey, but I a) think it is a great introduction for younger reader into the genre (it was my first introduction to high fantasy) and it helps set the themes and stuff that you find all across other fantasy books and b) those who complain about this book are usually adult readers who primarily read adult fantasy, so reading a story that is middle grade/younger YA throws them off. Yeah, this doesn’t hold up as well against some of the stories that it drew inspiration from, but as a little kid I loved it and as an adult I still enjoyed it with some doses of nostalgia.
I'm going to bump my rating down to 4 stars because even though it was probably only a 3 star read for me, all the nostalgia makes it 4.
I'm going to bump my rating down to 4 stars because even though it was probably only a 3 star read for me, all the nostalgia makes it 4.
It's been 8 years since I first read this, and I don't think my 13(?) year old self fully 'got' everything in this book the first time, so rereading it has almost been like reading it for the first time all over again. Still really enjoyable, but my 20 year old self now sees and perceives things in an entirely new way.
This was a lot of fun! I’m totally a sucker for girls disguising themselves to learn how to fight. Definitely got some Alanna vibes from this story. I also love paladins and journey narratives and this is what this book is all about!