Anyways, on to the book. It was decent. That is really about all I can say. It had a few great moments, a few terrible moments, but the majority of it was pretty bland. At least he tied up the majority of the earlier loose ends, but most of them seemed pretty weak.
The major one was the Vault of Souls. I honestly expected whatever weapon be there to be something completely different, but instead it was just a bunch of the Eldunari that were hidden away from the world after Galbatorix went crazy. My question is that if the dragons are that powerful that they could make everyone forget about these Elunari, how come they could not do more against Galbatorix?
Also, the more I think about it, I feel like the Eldunari and Paolini's magic system come like a video game. You can gain and absorb power, I almost expect to see a health bar near Eragon's head during battles. "You have discovered the Vault of Souls! Unlimited magic power!"
Second thing that bothered me was the way he portrayed Galbatorix. At first, he seems to be very much not insane. He has grand plans for the use of magic throughout the land. He wants to make it fair and pretty much put everyone on equal footing. Remember how Murtaugh said that Galbatorix had grand designs for the world? Well, it seemed like he was not lying.
I just wish that Paolini had continued with this idea. In fact, he should have taken it to an extreme. Make Galbatorix the good guy, who represents change in the world. Eragon and the rest are fighting to keep things the way they are. This would have been an interesting idea, something to help ponder. But, in the end, it turns out that Galbatorix is just batshit crazy and wants to rule the world. Lame.
Although, I did enjoy that the secret to Galbatorix ended up being that he discovered the name of the ancient language. Unfortunately, I did not like that the way he is defeated. Murtaugh falls in love with Nasuada and this causes his true name to change, meaning all of the binding spells by Galbatorix are null and void. He reveals this by stripping Galbatorix's wards with the new magic word. Eragon then uses a spell without words to make Galbatorix feel pain or something. Galbatorix then pulls an Emperor (or Sauron) and explodes, almost killing everyone.
Speaking of love...ugh. Murtaugh and the Nasuada love story was pretty much the most predictable thing ever. If someone could not see it coming, then they must have been mildly retarded. Another thing I could do without: the stupid contemplations about murder during war that Roran and Eragon both go through. If I wanted to read about soldiers thoughts on the horrors of war, I would read biographies from actual soldiers...the reason Tolkien could write about these things is that he actually fought in World War I.
Wow, so it probably seems like I did not like anything at all. Which is not true, allow me to mention the things I enjoyed:
-Angela. I would love to see a short story, or maybe even a featured novel about her history/adventures. Also, I loved the Monty Python reference. She tells a story to the Urgals about a killer bunny and it ends with "and there was much rejoicing."
-Roran. Again, if there was another book about his adventures in securing Carvahall or something. I would be most pleased.
-I actually enjoyed the ending with Eragon going away and not ending up with Arya. Especially now that she has her own dragon. I was a little upset that we never really saw anything from Vanir until the end. I thought for sure he would lead an elf battalion or something. Or at least become friends with Roran...oh well. I also liked the way Eragon handled the Urgal situation. He created the Olympics AND allowed an Urgal (and dwarf) to be a Rider.
-Minus the love story, I did enjoy the fact that Murtaugh decided to leave. Maybe that is what his next book should be: Murtaugh's adventure outside of Alagaesia. Then he can return and explain to Nasuada that her becoming High Queen is idiotic. He could bring democracy to the land...
Like I said, it was an okay book, but nothing amazing.
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