Brisingr/ Christopher Paolini

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. YA fantasy, adventure, dragons, series, 800 pages.

The third volume of Christopher Paolini's Inheritance cycle (and the last one to be released until November of this year) is definitely my favorite of the series. Once you get over pronouncing the title (briss-ING-urr), you are in for one heck of a ride. I've always been a fan of fantasy books that do away with what I have been referring to since I read the first Harry Potter book as the DP or Dursley Period (named for Harry Potter's boring ass non-magical family, the Dursleys). This well-traveled author's tool is when an otherwise promising book filled with action leads off with a boring stationary period in which our beloved characters reflect on the events that have occurred in prior books and wait around while filling up about 80 pages waiting for an excuse to get to the good stuff. I mean, I understand why this stuff is necessary when informing readers who are starting up a series in the middle, but honestly, who picks up book 3 of a 4 part series and says "hey! this would be a WONDERFUL place to pick up a series." Every once in awhile, however, an author chooses to skip over this period and get right to the good stuff. Brisingr is one such book, and Paolini starts it off swords drawn and dragonfire blazing.

I also like this volume of the series because it fleshes out the mythology of Paolini's world. Up to this point, we believe that the characters live in a world with very defined rules (even though those rules include magic, dragons, and other mystical occurrences). Paolini manages to bend/break these rules while staying within the confines of believability. Paolini's ability in this department allows for more than one OMG moment that definitely enriches the reading experience.

Furthermore, Brisingr expresses a theme that has been subtly mentioned in the earlier volumes of the series, which is that maybe the villains we face aren't all bad. Although the series features one completely evil character in Galbatorix, the evil emperor of Alagaesia, the rest of the villains, even the Ra'Zac, an almost-extinct half-bird, half-shadow, all-evil race of creatures are presented in a light that one could almost deem sympathetic. It's clear that Paolini wants to show his readers that in a war, whether fantasy or real, there may be people who we have to fight even though they aren't necessarily bad people. Handling this issue adds depth to a genre that tends to lean towards black-and-white good-and-evil conflicts.

Can't wait for the final book to come out in November. Good thing I've got plenty to read 'til then.