Review:
Brisingr is part of a series called the Inheritance series. It’s about a land that is ruled by an evil king who is almost immortal, meaning he will never die of old age. The reason for this is because he is a dragon rider. The series is set in a land where dragons used to be everywhere, and that created a problem with some of the other creatures that lived there. So, they created a magical bond between three races, the dragons, humans, and elves. Therefore some of the dragon eggs were set apart so that when they were in the presence of their set rider they would hatch and chose him/her. Then they would have a mental bond between the human/elf and the dragon. The dragon would become stronger and the human/elf would learn magic and be immortal. The rider’s job used to be to rule the rest of the people of this land and keep the peace. Then, one rider by the name galbatorix set out against all the other riders with the help of 12 others. After destroying the all the riders, dragons, and eggs he began to rule. And so started the story. The first book, called Eragon follows a farm boy who lives in this world under the rule of galbatorix. It’s been so long since the riders and dragons lived that the had become a myth, all except for Galbatorix. But when Eragon, the farm boy, is out hunting for food for his uncle and cousin (who he lives with) he stumbles on a bright shiny rock. Being interested he takes it and when it hatches for him and a dragon comes out of it and chooses him his whole world changes. His biggest priority instantly becomes protecting this dragon, so he doesn’t tell anyone about it. As it turns out, the egg had been in the possession of Galbatorix and had been stolen by a rebel group called the Varden and had been Magically sent to him by an elf while she had panicked as she was being taken captive. Galbatorix learns of its location and sends his best hunters to kill Eragon and take the egg. Eragon leaves to protect the dragon with the towns storyteller who turns out to be an old dragon rider who’s dragon had died in the war, but the hunters come and kill his uncle sending his cousin into a rage to find him since no one even knows of the dragon. Eragon and the storyteller start heading toward the Varden where they hope that he will lead them to kill Galbatorix. Eragon quickly learns magic and instantly becomes one of the most powerful Riders that ever lived. The storyteller dies on the way but Eragon finds the elf who sent him the egg and rescues her, then they go to the Varden. Eragon fights a big war against some of Galbatorix creatures and wins then goes to the Elf lands where he would be trained in magic, Sword play, Art, exc. He gets there to find that there are a rider and a dragon hiding there since it was there job to train the last rider. Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, train under them for a long time while the varden move forward towards Galbatorix’s army. When Eragon and Saphira stay for a celebration that the Elves have every 100 years made by magic (the elves are all born magical) two dragon tattoos come to life and speak for the raise of laid dragons making Eragon the most powerful, fastest, and best rider that there ever was, hoping to give him the best chance to kill Galbatorix. Eragon becomes faster than an Elf, with more power, he never needs to sleep, and has so many gifts with magic and sword play. After a little more training and learning that Galbatorix has been imprisoning the consciousness’ of the dragons he killed and making them give him power, Eragon and Saphira return to the Varden, fight a whole bunch of wars. On one of the last wars of the book another dragon rider shows up. His dragon had hatched while he was in possession of Galbatorix. This rider turns out to be murtaugh one of Eragon’s old friends who they had thought dead. Murtaugh reveals the fact that they are actually brothers and both sons of the most evil man that ever lived next to galbatorix. During this war Eragon meets with his Cousin Roran, who when he finds out Eragon is a Dragon Rider, asks for his help in rescuing his fiance from the hunters who came to get Eragon. Eragon accepts, and so ends the second book in the series.
Essay
The book Brisingr continues to follow the story of Eragon in his fight against the empire. As each book shows a different side of Eragon, Eragon shows his , Eldest shows his warrior, I think that Brisingr shows his judgement. Being a rider, his job is to judge people’s cases and discern correctly. As he starts to fall into this role he has to open his eyes and see a bigger picture. To see more than just Aglasia and fighting Galbatorix. This leads to him wondering about the future of the riders race after the death of Galbatorix, as well as him pondering his own character and struggling with the revelation of his parentage. Throughout the story we see Eragon growing to in knowledge of himself, as well as his power that will aid him in his fight against the empire.
Throughout the whole book, Eragon struggles to grasp who he is as well as why he fights. At the end of the 2nd book Murtaugh reveals the fact that him and Eragon are actually brothers, and both sons of Morzan a powerful rider who was Galbatorix’s second in command and the last of the 12 forsworn. Throughout Brisingr Eragon is trying to discover more about his mother hopping that at least she was good. In one scene Eragon goes to an old friend of Brom who had helped steel Saphira’s egg and finds out some things that he didn’t like. He learned that Morzan had married a woman who was just as evil as he was, (some say even more) and who had gone on all of the dirtiest missions for Galbatorix. She was always hidden from sight, so no one knew much about her. After Brom had started the Varden he went and hid as her servant in Morzan’s palace. During that time he learned a lot of information that he sent back. Eragon learned that while Brom was still in the palace, his mother had vanished from sight and no one could find her for 7 months. Then when she showed up she came back sick and died soon after she arrived at the palace. After talking with Broms friend, Eragon struggled even more with himself. He wondered how he could be fighting for what is good if His father was Galbatorix’s most loyal follower, his mother was one of the most evil people of her time, and his brother is now a dragon rider who kills in the king’s name. Through talking with a friend of Brom Eragon learns a lot of bad things about both his parents, but he did learn one thing that gave him comfort. His mother cared about him enough to send him away so that he wouldn’t grow up with Morzan as his father.
As Eragon struggled to learn who he is and what he is fighting for, there is one thing that bugs him throughout the whole book. In the book Eldest, a raven, who is pet to the elf Queen and has the gift of prophecy, visits Eragon and gives him this prophecy;
“By beak and bone
Mine blackened stone
Sees rooks and crooks
And bloody brooks!
Son and father alike,
Both as blind as bats.
While two may share two,
And one of two is certainly one,
One might be two.”
As soon as he says this the bird leaves. Eragon is left troubled by the line ‘son and father alike,’ and when he learns that his father is Morzan he worries that he might not be fighting for the right thing. With this prophecy always on his mind Eragon has to cope with the ever taugnting threat of his brother Murtaugh, as well as the crisis of who and how his family becomes family. Throughout the book Brisingr Eragon learns that family are those who are there for you. He says “Morzan is not my father, Brom, Garrow, or even Oromis are more of a father to me than Morzan. And Murtaugh is not my brother, only Roran is my brother and Katrina my sister.”
Towards the end of the book Eragon’s struggle becomes so overwhelming that he can’t fight. Without knowing what else to do he goes to Oromis to discover why he fights and what Blagden’s prophecy means. Upon arriving Oromis realizes that his struggle could cost Eragon his life and the Varden the war and so is released from an oath he apparently took. Oromis tells Eragon to look inside him, to see what he finds. And when Eragon looks at himself with clear eyes Oromis tell him that his father isn’t Morzan, but it’s Brom. Eragon learns that while Brom was in Morzan’s castle he fell in love with Eragon’s mother. She gave him information about the Varden and he would stay there. When she got pregnant she brought her child to her brother to save him from Morzan. When she died upon her return Brom figured out what had happened and went and found his child, Eragon. As Eragon discovered the truth about his parents he finds pride in their Bravery and Accomplishments. He is proud to accept the man who trained him and took care of him in his most difficult times as his father. He is proud of who his mother became when she fell in love with Brom, and is comforted by what she did to save him from Morzan. Eragon learns that people can change like his mother did, and that sometimes things aren’t always how they seem.