Brisingr

In my last post a talked about how I much prefer Science Fiction to fantasy and here I am reviewing another Fantasy book.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini is the third book in what was going to be The Inheritance Trilogy, and I have to say that I am very impressed by what Paolini has done especially at a very young age. The first book in this series was published shortly after he graduated from high school at fifteen. Impressive enough to be published at that time, but the scope of this epic and its intricate subplots also testify to Paolini's dedication to his writing and ability to craft a well written story. This is a very interesting story in spite of its borrowed plot devices. A special group of peace keepers is betrayed by one of their own, who goes on to destroy them and become a powerful and ruthless ruler. Almost by accident a young man rises up to challenge evil with the promise of restoring the ancient order.

Most of this story has been told before, but Paolini's strength comes from the writing of the story. His choice of words is clear and he adeptly portrays his vision of what is happening within the story. Within the larger story, Paolini includes many subplots and details that make this story unique as well. Most of these succeed, however some demonstrate his lack of real world experience, namely his portrayal of pregnancy.

The action scenes come swiftly and Paolini does an excellent job of describing the fighting however he does tend to emphasize the gore more than necessary. He also does an excellent job addressing some of the moral conundrums that are brought to the minds of good people when they have to go to war. Overall a good book and I hope that the final book comes quicker than this on did.