Product Description

OATHS SWORN . . . loyalties tested . . . forces collide.

Following the colossal battle against the Empire’s warriors on the Burning Plains, Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have narrowly escaped with their lives. Still there is more at hand for the Rider and his dragon, as Eragon finds himself bound by a tangle of promises he may not be able to keep.

First is Eragon’s oath to his cousin Roran: to help rescue Roran’s beloved, Katrina, from King Galbatorix’s clutches. But Eragon owes his loyalty to others, too. The Varden are in desperate need of his talents and strength—as are the elves and dwarves. When unrest claims the rebels and danger strikes from every corner, Eragon must make choices— choices that take him across the Empire and beyond, choices that may lead to unimagined sacrifice.

Eragon is the greatest hope to rid the land of tyranny. Can this once-simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and defeat the king?

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-20
• Released on: 2008-09-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 784 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The much-anticipated third book in Paolini's Inheritance Cycle continues to rely heavily on classic fantasy tropes. The novel launches with magician and Dragon Rider Eragon, his cousin Roran and the dragon Saphira on a quest to rescue Roran's betrothed. The cousins soon split up, and Roran undergoes his own series of heroic tests, culminating in a well-choreographed and intense fight against an Urgal (a ram-human hybrid). Eragon, at the same time, encounters treacherous dwarves, undergoes even more training with the elf Oromis and gains a magical sword suitable for a Dragon Rider. The silly revelations about Eragon's background in the previous book, Eldest, are given a new spin near the end, but the change is neither unexpected nor interesting. Predictably, the book concludes with even more character deaths and another battle, but those expecting a resolution will have to wait until the next novel. The cliched journey may appeal to younger readers of genre fiction. Older teens, even those who might have first cut their teeth on Paolini's writing years ago, are less likely to be impressed. Ages 12-up.
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About the Author
Christopher Paolini’s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at 15. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana.

Customer Reviews

HORRIBLE, SKIP TO THE FORTH BOOK AND DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME
What a waste of a weekend. I was so upset at the end of this book when NOTHING HAPPENED. All of a sudden I'm as the end of the book and I realize that the only knowledge gained by this book was the key to Galbotrix's power. This book drug on and on with battle after worthless, meaningless battle. There were some interesting parts to the battle scenes, but as a whole the book got no where in the series. SPOILER ALERT: The other egg is still there, Arya and Eragon have made no progress in their relationship, and there were no great defeats.

And when did this Trilogy become a saga? I was under the impression that this was going to be a Trilogy and I feel as though Paolini has wasted our time with a book of filler in order to write and sell a fourth book. I would highly recommend skipping this book and waiting for the fourth to come out. You won't miss out on much.

Still moving along
To tell you the truth, I'm no youngster. Actually, I am 70 and a great fan of fantasy. Nothing has ever matched LORD OF THE RINGS for me but there are many superb fantasies around. Presently I much love Sharon Shinn's Thirteenth House series. I find Paolini's series most interesting and am amazed at how so young a writer can do so very well. I think, like others, that there is too much violence in this last book but over all, I am kept interested and have found it quite enjoyable. This young man has a great future ahead of him.

Thanks, Christopher.

Disappointing effort
Despite their flaws, I enjoyed the other books in the Inheritance series. Paolini is creative while clearly paying homage to many other fantasy stories. However, this book is painfully slow and poorly written. Pages are spent, Moby-Dick style, exploring details that have no bearing on the plot. It's as if the writer did a lot of background research (on swords, for instance) and then couldn't manage to let any of it go. Similarly, he seems to want to explore the post-traumatic stress soldiers experience, but is unable to create scenes that express the characters' personal experiences realistically. Instead he dwells on the gruesome violence of battles while the after-effects on characters is all very similar and bland. The only thing that kept me reading Brisingr was the fact I'd already spent time on the other books. This one needed more editing.