I recently finished the three available books in the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini. I was impressed!
I have to say that I put off reading this series for quite a while. Part of it was my doubts about how a teenager (sorry Paolini) would be able to do at writing such an epic fantasy series. Part of it was all the hype. But, eventually, I decided I needed to see what all the fuss was about.
Well... I was wrong, way wrong. I thoroughly and completely loved the series, and my biggest complaint is that the fourth one is not written yet. All of the characters were alive and real and complex, and not without faults. There were prophecies interwoven neatly that foreshadow future events without spelling out the rest of the story.
There is a love story, but it is (like so many "super hero" romances) not safe to pursue, and thus must not exist. It is not the main storyline, but a side story that is strong enough that you long for more details on how the romance fairs, and a desperate desire to see the characters throw reason aside and end up together anyways.
I was also really pleased with the side story of Roran, Eragon's cousin, and his own journey through Alagaesia with all of its trials and tribulations.
I couldn't decide which story I most wanted to follow, and suffice it to say, I couldn't stop reading the series once I started it.
I must add my slight critique that I thought some elements of the story reminded me of Star Wars and Harry Potter and a few other stories I have read before, but it was not overwhelmingly similar, it was just moments here or there that I thought the story line followed those paths. And if you are going to take elements of another story, it is good to model off of those other very popular franchises.
Out of 5* possible-
***** Overall
***** Hooking me into the story
***** Desire for a sequel
***** How far removed from this world
I give this series the best rating I can give on all of my categories, and I truly hope you will pick it up and read it yourself.
Check out Christopher Paolini's website http://www.alagaesia.com/index.php
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You know, my first encounter with the series was through the movie "Eragon", which was ok, but I didn´t love. And when I found out there were books about the story, Iinstantly thought they would just be "ok" (really, you think I should know better about the relation book/movie, by now!!).
ReplyDeleteBut I´ll put this on my list and give them the oportunity they deserve.