Dear Mr. Chase,
I have just started reading Eldest and I am finding it’s like a not-as-good continuation of the book, Eragon. A confusing flurry of events have just happened and I find it hard to keep track of. So many things have happened in the first chapter that I don’t know what’s happening. I think Christopher Paolini may have lost steam when he started writing the second book. I hope he gets me more intrigued or else I’m probably going to put the book down and start reading Ghost Hunter.
There is one part of the book that I’m liking, there has been a couple chapters where the story was written from Eragon’s cousin’s point of view. Eragon’s cousin thinks Eragon fled when his uncle died and does not know anything of Eragon’s adventures. I always have loved reading a section of the story not frommain character’s point of view. These chapters remind me of these little short childish books I used to read that told a classic fairy tale then told the fairy tale from the villians point of view. I loved them (and still do)!!!
I hope you’re enjoying your book more than I am!!
Answer Soon!
ZR
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October 4th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Dear Zev,
I think you are a very discerning reader. Don’t get me wrong, I truly enjoyed Eragon, and Eldest was fun, but I have to agree with you. Paolini is no Tolkien and never will be. There are many readers who would absolutely (and perhaps violently) disagree, but if one is honest with the long line of fantasy of writers to come and go, I would not place The Inheritance books anywhere near The Lord of the Rings or Narnia as some feel they should be. To his credit, Chris Paolini was what, 15 when he started writing Eragon? Considering this, he has accomplished quite a lot, and we surely can look for some great writing ahead. However, I find his writing to be a bit bland, verbose, and cliche. Plus, I think Eldest could be chopped in half. It simply did not need to be so long.
Nevertheless, Zev, this is my opinion, and I would not share it with you if I didn’t truly believe you to be a sophisticated reader who can make his own decisions regarding the books he reads. Please do not let me persuade you to stop reading the book. There are many, many people who disagree with me, and found The Inheritance books the best thing to come along in decades (Paolini has sold a lot of books!) I just don’t see it. If you ever look through my library, you may notice that the third book, Brisingr, is not in my collection. I took it out of the library, and was glad I didn’t spend the money to buy it. I hope my opinions don’t cause you to abandon the book prematurely, but I can understand if you eventually do.
What is the title of the fairy tale villain book? It seems quite intriguing!
Happy reading,
Mr. Chase