A Simply Enchanted Life

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Hrmmm, what can I say about Brisingr? I've been delaying writing this review simply because I haven't been able to come up with words to describe my mixed feelings. So, I'm going to be as raw and honest as I possibly can without giving away too much of the story.


I feel as if Eldest and Brisingr should have been one story instead of 800 pages or so apiece. I enjoy the story and I do feel as if it has promise, but Paolini has tried too hard to emulate other authors and this has been a complaint for me from the very first book. His extensive use of the "Old language" drags on and on, unlike Tolkien who was so inventive and expressive without it feeling forced and unreal... Paolini just didn't nail it. While reading Tolkien I feel as if he, the author, knew his language well and could speak it fluently. With Paolini, I feel as if he put his letters into a hat, gave it a good shake, threw it into the air and pieced the letters together to form his language. I don't feel that if he were asked to speak his language that he would be able to string together a sentence.


The plot of this story continues where Eldest left off. There's little to be said here in terms of plot. This story - I think - is less about plot and more about character development, which I feel is unnecessary this far into series. I did enjoy learning more about Brom even though I had already guessed his role in the story.


I look forward to seeing the conclusion to the story. It's a long time coming. I have no real complaints about the series except that it drags on unnecessarily long and the content feels unoriginal in parts. I do enjoy it but I feel as if the series could have wrapped up in three books.



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