INHERITANCE CYCLE: ELDEST by Christopher Paolini

Readers always have high expectations for sequels, hoping for them to be as good as or better than the first. Such was the pressure faced by Paolini’s second installment in the Inheritance Cycle, Eldest. And after having read it three times over the past several years now, my verdict is that, it didn’t disappoint. Of course, it didn’t blow my mind either, but it was as good as its predecessor, Eragon.

One of the things that I liked most about this book was the change of scenery and pace of the story. In the previous installment, Eragon was constantly on the run, always travelling, either tracking the raza’ac or being tracked by them. In this one though, he only makes two long voyages, one from Farthen Dur to Ellesmera, and the other from Ellesmera to the Burning Plains in Surda.

I found that the slowing down of Eragon’s movement across Alagaesia allowed for Paolini to focus on a few new things, one of which helped distinguish his work from that of Lord of the Rings as had been the opinion earlier on. I felt that he did this mainly by choosing to elaborate on the lives of dwarves, humans, and elves. While with each of the three kinds of beings, the surroundings and its inhabitants were observed very keenly.

Everything from their architecture and interior decoration to the people’s dressing sense and diet were given an account of. Even individual appearance, emotion, and personality were given attention to. To me, this made it easier for me to imagine myself within the events that were happening. The characters came through quite naturally and connected with me as a reader. Some of these details may not even seem significant, but I have a feeling that Paolini intends for them to be of some use in the future. Of those, some of my guesses have been right and some have yet to come true.

Another thing that was done, though not really novel, was jump between the heads of characters. In the first book, only Eragon’s thoughts were given to the readers. In this one, however, both Roran’s and Nasuada’s were added. This tool was mainly used to provide the reader with updates on the events that were occurring simultaneously in three different parts of Alagaesia as well as to show how these characters were connected to and affected each other. I suppose it’s also a bit of a refresher to jump between heads. Being in one for too long may sometimes get a little bit constant. The change in setting, pace, and mood helps some readers to re-concentrate themselves—it does for me.

A more subtle difference that I found as the story progressed was Eragon’s maturity. Compared to the young sixteen year old boy, who acts mainly on impulsive decisions, given in the first book, Eragon has progressively become more mature. His thoughts are ordered, calm, and slightly more rational. I would attribute this to his lessons with Oromis and Glaedr. Of course, this personality hasn’t entirely changed either. But one can’t expect it to either.

Indirectly, this isn’t just Eragon’s maturity, but also Paolini’s maturity as an author, a person, and his understanding of his characters. But I still have to say that his writing style has a lot of room for improvement. For a person as young as him to be able to write a fantasy novel such as this is good, but as we have seen from other fantasy writers, a lot can be done to further both the reader’s experience and the character’s development.

Again, I’ll say that Eldest wasn’t mind-blowing or anything, but it was still good. One can read it a couple of times over several years—as I have done—and not feel it become predictable. It also provides a different enough timeline, situation, and observation that the book doesn’t seem like a completely copied book with substituted words, while at the same time providing a continuation to the story and character.