Brisingr

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
Audio CD (23 in the set!)

The third in a four-book cycle, Brisingr suffered the same fate as it's partner of stuck-in-the-middle-of-a-series, Eldest. Both had unfulfilling resolutions, and, for me, left me wishing the series was just over so I could move on to something better. I will say that Paolini has improved drastically throughout the series; the first book (Eragon) was so bad that we could barely get through it. That, and the author copied fantasy and science fiction ideas from other renowned writers, left me feeling no sympathy for the state of the book. However, book three redeemed the series (slightly) by presenting a couple of twists that I did not expect. One of them seemed pretty 'convienent', though, like the author wrote it for a specific thing to happen in the next book, even though it was slightly out of character. I don't know if that makes sense, but it is one of my biggest pet peeves (think of Pirates of the Caribean: one was funny and engaging, two and three were unbearable because the characters did things that the characters shouldn't have done based on their introduction in the first movie just to fulfill something in the plot. Bad writing. But I digress....)

The reader of this audiobook was okay. His narrative was good and his male voices were just fine, but he really didn't capture ANY of the female voices with skill. The dragon Saphira was among the worst, but all of the female characters were not to my liking. I guess it would be hard to do female voices as a baritone, but it was still difficult to listen any time a female character spoke. I think they should have had another reader for the female voices.

One of the characters I really enjoyed getting to know more in this book is the hero, Eragon. It seems he has moved past the 'young boy, teach me everything' to the 'I have learned a lot, but am still no perfect judge' stage. He is faced with moral/ethical dilemmas that he feels unprepared to make, but due to his position he must make them. His respect for human life (not to kill just to kill, but to kill because he is being attacked or the person refuses to surrender) is admirable.

I would suggest this series for younger readers who are not so interested in the deeper meaning behind stories, except that the author consistently uses brutal and graphic scenes of murder and carnage. Some may say it is no more graphic than current movies, but I'm pretty sure I don't want my children thinking about such things at a young age.

Overall, the book was decent but not earthshattering. We will probably read book 4 just to see how the author orchestrates the good guys' triumph and the demise of the evil king.