I thought it would be fitting to cap off the fantasy series with a review of a popular fantasy book. Most of you have probably heard of the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini. The first two books, Eragon and Eldest, were best-sellers, and Eragon was even made into a movie a while ago (although most people hated it). The third book, called Brisingr, came out this September, and I finally got to read a few weeks ago. This review may contain spoilers from the first two books, so if you haven't read them and would like to, you may not want to read any further.

Ever since I started reading them, I've had a bit of a love/hate relationship with the Inheritance books. On the one hand, they aren't very well-written, they copy The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars almost to the point of plagiarism, and they're obviously written from a non-Christian point of view. On the other hand, they are very entertaining, the characters are convincing enough to make me want to find out what happens to them, and the plot is often exciting and surprising (when it isn't too much like Star Wars).

I loved Eragon when I first read it two years ago. I was less enthusiastic about Eldest, mostly because nothing significant happened for about three hundred pages of it. When I was finally able to read Brisingr, I hoped that it would be an improvement on its predecessor. It was, for the most part, though I was very disappointed to find that one of the chapters is titled "Shadows of the Past".  Although there were a few boring stretches in the middle, I enjoyed it overall.

Brisingr picks up right where Eldest leaves off, with Eragon and his cousin Roran on a mission to rescue Roran's fiance, Katrina. From there it traces Eragon's efforts to unite the peoples of Alagaesia as their rebel army marches steadily closer to the final confrontation with the evil king, Galbatorix.

As far as writing goes, Brisingr is about the same as the first two books. The story is creative and the characters are developed well, but it seemed to me like there were more words than there needed to be. Christopher Paolini certainly has talent, but I don't think he's a great writer yet. I think he could be one someday, but not yet.

The main thing I want to highlight about Brisingr, though, is not the writing. It's the worldview. The Inheritance books are a great example of fantasy's potential to mirror its author's beliefs. I highly doubt that Christopher Paolini wrote these books to convey any kind of "message". It seems to me that he was just like the rest of us - a  teenage fantasy nut writing a story for fun.  Yet his worldview still comes out very strongly in his writing.

For one thing, Paolini is a non-Christian living in 21st century America. As a result, most of his female characters fight in the battles, the ruler Eragon follows is a dark-skinned woman, and one character becomes pregnant before she is married. Though it's not as obvious as those other things, there is also a slight emphasis on tolerance Brisingr; a race of creatures who were evil throughout Eragon and most of Eldest are suddenly accepted into the rebel army, for example.

For another thing, I'm pretty sure that Christopher Paolini is an agnostic. His imaginary world, Alagaesia, is the first fantasy world I've encountered where the inhabitants actually worship "gods" - and call them that. Each culture has its own religion, except for the elves, who don't believe in any gods at all. Eragon, who is increasingly exposed to all the cultures, is often uncertain as to which belief - if any - is the right one. The difference between good and evil can also be somewhat fuzzy at times. All this may reflect Paolini's own spiritual confusion.

All in all, Brisingr is entertaining, but it is not worthy to be compared with great fantasy books like The Lord of the Rings; both because of the poor writing and the false worldview. Just so you know, the battles can get pretty gruesome, and as I mentioned above, one unmarried character becomes pregnant (though the story doesn't dwell on that at all). If you are sensitive to this kind of thing, or if your parents object, don't read Brisingr. If not, I would recommend it as a fun read, but not a story that will touch your heart or stick with you for years afterward.