Monday, February 14, 2011

Book Review: Brisingr

OATHS SWORN . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide.
Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.
First is Eragon’s oath to his cousin Roran: to help rescue Roran’s beloved, Katrina, from King Galbatorix’s clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength—as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices— choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.
Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once-simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

Excerpt from Goodreads


I would have to say that I give this book 3.5/5 stars. I have the same issues with this book as I did with the first two in the series. The book starts out really fast paced and ends in a flurry of action. The problem is that all of this action at the start and the finish comes at a price in the middle. The book is so slow through the middle that it is almost unbearable.

I appreciate good character and world development as much as any reader does, but there comes a point when you go too far with it. Paolini reaches that point and perhaps goes over it. I'm not an author, far from it in fact, but I feel like he could have accomplished the same effect he got with about 100-200 less pages. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story but it takes him too long to tell it.

I will get off of my soapbox now. He does a great job of storytelling at the end and completely makes up for the dragging through the middle. So, I will get the 4th book when it comes out. As far as I know he hasn't set a release date yet for the last book. I hope it's not too far off because I don't want to have to read through all of these books again to remember what happened and why. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.

Rating: 3.5/5

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