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bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Ugh.
Eldest is better than Eragon in a lot of ways. It’s also still my least favorite book in the series.
Things I like:
Eldest is better than Eragon in a lot of ways. It’s also still my least favorite book in the series.
Things I like:
- The elves. I love that they fill their days with hobbies that bring them fulfillment because their needs are met through magic. The fact that they are all vegan atheists is super interesting to me (and they are very reasonable vegans who still use wool and honey!). I love that they sing their houses out of the trees. And it was fun being reminded of all the technological advancements the elves have like indoor heating and alarm clocks.
- A lot of the philosophy discussions are super interesting. These books are definitely very utilitarian in their philosophy and while I don’t always like the choices of the characters or the narrative, I do feel like they make sense in context.
- Nasuada is complicated and not always likable (her approach to Elva is kind of awful, for example), but damn she’s a good leader and an interesting character.
- The gender politics of the world are still absolutely wretched, but a lot more women get to be actual characters in this book than in the first one. Queen Islanzadí has always been a favorite of mine, and she still is. There’s a lot more going on with the villagers, especially many of the women. All good things.
- The plot is far less derivative than in book one, I think because Paolini actually took the time to think about the ramifications of what he had written and to continue to explore them. That’s how we get Roran’s entire plotline as well as the Elva stuff: the author thinking through the choices he already made and seeing how they impact the characters and the world.
- The final twist is easy to see coming as an adult reader, but it still hits! Murtagh you will always be famous.
- Finally we are making Eragon question some of his beliefs, from human superstition to racism, and it’s not always done well, but I appreciate the effort.
- The scene with Roran and Jeod in Teirm. Yesyesyesyesyes.
- Expansions of the dwarves’ religion and clans and the animals of the Beor Mountains.
Things I dislike:
- The romance in this book (if you can call it that) is somehow even worse than I remembered. Arya is 100 years old. She repeatedly tells Eragon no. And he continues to pursue her. I hate it. It’s awful. The Saphira stuff makes a lot more sense, but of course Saphira has always been a more compelling character than Eragon with more coherent motivations. Eragon’s stuff with Arya is just so bad. Especially knowing where it ends up in the final book. It is impossible for me to root for any version of this relationship after Eragon’s behavior here.
- I think that Roran’s storyline is interesting, and I think that Roran makes a really effective Moses figure. Unfortunately I do not like him at all. He’s incredibly paternalistic. He has very little empathy. He’s basically a cult leader. Again, I think it’s effective, but I just do not like the man.
- What in the actual ever-loving fuck was going on with the descriptions of Nasuada’s skin tone in this book? It’s perfectly normal in book one (surprisingly so, honestly) and then suddenly in this one we have Roran asking if her skin is dyed????? Absolutely not.
- This is actually one of the most ableist books I’ve ever read, and for no discernible reason either. Why make Eragon disabled just to do a magical cure trope and give him superpowers? It’s cheap and it’s gross. I know that it was the early 2000s and the author was about 20 years old. I don’t care. The repeated messaging in this book that disabled people are weak and useless and need to be cured is so so harmful. And again, for what? There could have been such a rich exploration of disability here. Finding accommodations. Finding ways for Eragon to both be an overpowered chosen one AND a disabled character. But no, we got this instead. It’s awful. Probably my least favorite part of the entire series on this reread.
- Eragon is whiny and fantasy racist and weird about women. And then also he’s super smart and talented and ultimately succeeds at basically everything. He’s definitely the weak link here character-wise. Yikes.
- I really like the choice to give us some chapters from Roran and Nasuada’s POVs and I think those storylines add a lot. However, the structure is absolutely wretched. The book would have benefitted so much from just alternating between POVs more frequently.
- Important to note that about 200 pages of this book are basically just training montage. It is very slow. And then there’s a big battle at the end. Wretched pacing and structure.
- Paolini makes a big effort to show that the elves don’t have meaningful social OR biological sex/gender differences and then still continues to emphasize gender in his descriptions of elves and in their social customs. It is exhaustingly cishet man.
Brisingr was my favorite book in the series as a kid, so I’m excited to see how it holds up to a reread as an adult.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol
tascaraudo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Read in German.
I love Nasuada, I love how she is Technically Protrayed as on the good side, but also treats people (Elva, Eragon, etc.) as tools for her own purposes. Very Boss of her, and I love the little parallel between her and Galbatorix because of that.
I last read this book as a child and did not find Roran's journey very interesting then. This time I made a more conscious effort to follow his story and enjoyed it. We love a man who goes absolutely bananas.
Really enjoyed the training montage Eragon goes through, it's probably my favorite part of the book. The satisfaction when he finally gets the upper hand in swordfighting is still just as fun as when I was a kid.
Rereading the books gives me a much better understanding of Arya. She was attacked, her companions killed, imprisoned, tortured, almost died to poisoning, and once she survives all this just has to go back to work and also fend off 16-year-old Eragon from making moon eyes at her. I really feel for her. No moment or chance for her to work through what she's gone through, and while of course she doesn't share much of her feelings (especially not with Eragon) I can imagine how horrible the entire situation is.
I love Nasuada, I love how she is Technically Protrayed as on the good side, but also treats people (Elva, Eragon, etc.) as tools for her own purposes. Very Boss of her, and I love the little parallel between her and Galbatorix because of that.
I last read this book as a child and did not find Roran's journey very interesting then. This time I made a more conscious effort to follow his story and enjoyed it. We love a man who goes absolutely bananas.
Really enjoyed the training montage Eragon goes through, it's probably my favorite part of the book. The satisfaction when he finally gets the upper hand in swordfighting is still just as fun as when I was a kid.
Rereading the books gives me a much better understanding of Arya. She was attacked, her companions killed, imprisoned, tortured, almost died to poisoning, and once she survives all this just has to go back to work and also fend off 16-year-old Eragon from making moon eyes at her. I really feel for her. No moment or chance for her to work through what she's gone through, and while of course she doesn't share much of her feelings (especially not with Eragon) I can imagine how horrible the entire situation is.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Vomit, and Pregnancy
hedyharper's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
cturn's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, and War
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
sunriseat0519's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Violence, and War
Moderate: Blood and Pregnancy
Minor: Genocide, Slavery, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
clockworkhobbit's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gore, Slavery, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Vomit, and Death of parent
rangerwing75's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Very slow but very enjoyable - so nothing out of the ordinary for Paolini’s writing. A good sequel to Eragon with a lot more focus on developing Eragon and looking into more the cultures of some of the other races yes I mostly just mean the elves, but the Blood-Oath Celebration was so interesting . The only thing that bothered me was Eragon’s pining after Arya. She made it clear she didn’t want to date him several times, but he kept going until she literally ended their friendship because of how much it was bothering her But that’s my only complaint. Everything else was fantastic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Suicide and Pregnancy