Inheritance

Inheritance, written by Christopher Paolini, is the fourth and last book in the series The Inheritance Cycle.  The first three books of the series are: Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr.  The books have been published in several different languages:  German, Spanish, and Chinese.  Christopher Paolini has also written Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia, which is a guide book to the continent of Alagaesia where Eragon and his dragon live.  It includes pictures, maps, timelines, legends, history and culture of its inhabitants. When interviewed, Christopher Paolini, has made statements about a forthcoming Book 5 to the Inheritance Cycle.  More can be discovered about these books with the following link: https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/8349.Christopher_Paolini

This final book of the Inheritance series is much like the first three books: Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr. It is a continuation of Eragon’s struggle to gain as much ancient and magical information and powers as he can in order to defeat the evil King of Alagaesia, Galbatorix.  Throughout all four books, Eragon is constantly gaining new knowledge about how his world came to be as it is. On the continent of Alagaesia there are many races of creatures including:  humans, elves, dwarfs, Urgals, werecats, dragons, magicians and many more, too great to mention.   Some of these creatures use good magic and some use dark magic; some are skilled at casting spells; some communicate by using telepathy; some can control the minds of others; some have only their huge muscles and powerful axes or swords. Then there is Saphira, Eragon’s dragon who is gigantic; she can fly and breathe fire, of course. Throughout the books, Eragon continues to build new friendships and alliances that help him in his quest to defeat the evil king and gain freedom and a peaceful life for the inhabitants of Alagaesia.  Inheritance is the final chapter of his long and exciting journey.        .     

Main Characters

Eragon Shadeslayer is the leading character in Inheritance; he is the hero who along with his dragon and numerous defenders of good, fight to defeat the evil king who has taken control in the land of Alagaesia.

Saphira Bjartskular is Eragon’s female blue dragon; she is his most loyal friend and defender who travels with him to fight the evil of King Galbatorix and his supporters in the land of Alagaesia.

Arya Drottningu is a female elf who is beautiful and wise; she has inhuman speed, grace, superior fighting and magical skills.  She is the only love-interest of Eragon. 

Roran Stronghammer is Eragon’s cousin and loyal friend who fights with him against the evil empire of Galbatorix.

Galbatorix is the evil King of Alagaesia; he is the one responsible for the destruction of the old order of Dragon Riders.  He has magical strength gotten from captured souls of dead dragons.  He uses his magical powers to enslave and control those who oppose him; he tries to destroy or rule all the races of creatures that live in Alagaesia.

Murtagh is tricked by Galbatorix when he learns Murtagh’s true name and is forced to swear allegiance to the evil king.  Murtagh is Eragon’s half-brother; they share the same mother.  Thorn is Murtagh’s red male dragon who is bound to him; he has sorwn his allegiance to the evil king also.

The story begins with a battle at one of the Empire’s cities controlled by evil King Galbatorix’s forces.  Eragon’s dragon, Saphira is almost killed by a death spear from the Dragon Wars which has had black magic placed upon it.  After Eragon’s forces gain control of the city, an alliance is made with the werecats who are shape changers and have powers to foretell the future.  Eragon and his forces move on to the city of Aroughs, which his cousin Roran is trying to capture, but is not having much success.  They attempt to gain access to Aroughs through secret tunnels under the city.  Once inside, they plan to open the gates and let Eragon’s forces, called the Varden, in.  After being captured and then rescued Eragon and his troops finally take the city.  

In a quest to find a way to diminish Galbatorix’s strong magical powers, Eragon and Saphira try to locate the Rock of Kuthian and Vault of Souls.   They are hampered by the magical spells that have been placed upon the knowledge of where the Rock and Vault are hidden.  The Vault of Souls contains a hoard of Eldunari which are a dragon’s heart of hearts and is thought to be Galbatorix’s source of magic and power.  The Vault of Souls also contains dragon eggs.  Both the Eldunari and dragon eggs were hidden away before Galbatorix destroyed the Dragon Riders.  The Rock of Kuthian stands guard at the entrance to the Vault of Souls and will not open unless Eragon and Saphira can speak their true names in the ancient language.  After Eragon and Saphira, finally gain access to the Vault, the leader of the Eldunari says it is time that they reveal themselves and help Eragon overthrow Galbatorix.  Eragon takes all of the Eldunari except five, who have volunteered to stay behind to guard the precious dragon eggs. 

They all proceed to Uru’baen, the city where Galbatorix and his major forces are stationed.  Eragon and Saphira join forces with the Varden, elves, werecats, dwarves and Urgals who are huge, muscular human-like creatures with circular horns on their heads.   Together they all plan an attack on the city and Galbatorix’s forces. 

Eragon, Saphira, and Arya along with elevn spellcasters make it to Galbatorix’s throne room where he has been hiding out.  Galbatorix tries to use the powers of magic he has gained from his knowledge of the ancient language; he attempts to use mind control on his enemies; he also attacks Eragon’s mind with his own.  Using energy from the Eldunari, Eragon casts a spell on Galbatorix causing him to understand his crimes, and experience every piece of pain and suffering that he has caused from the last 100 years.  Other incantations and spells are uttered which ultimately end with an explosion that causes the citadel to be almost completely destroyed.  What happens as a result of this explosion leads us through to the ending of this tale.  Who ends up as leaders in the land of Alagaesia?  Will the different races learn to live together in peace and under whose rule?  What will happen to the Eldunari, and those precious dragon eggs?  What happens with Arya, Eragon and Saphira in their lives after the war?  These are all explained in the final chapters of Inheritance.      

The most prevalent theme of this book is “good versus evil” with Eragon and his supporters fighting to defeat the evil Galbatorix for control of Alagaesia.  Morality of actions taken is also a part of the fight of good against evil.  Another theme flowing through the book is the value of duty, loyalty and friendship.  Eragon has built many friendships that support him in his efforts and he knows that he can depend upon their loyalty in battle.  Galbatorix casts spells and plays devious tricks in order to gain support for his goals and in the end many supporters leave him.  One other theme in the entire four book series is Eragon’s coming of age as he matures to adulthood and assumes the power and responsibility he has inherited from his ancestors and previous Dragon Riders.

The main conflict in this story is the fight against the evil King Galbatorix with the goal to achieve peace throughout the land of Alagaesia.  Another conflict is the use of the mind power or telepathy used in various situations throughout the book. Eragon and his dragon can communicate just by using their thoughts, but some of the creatures use this telepathic power to gain control over others to get their support in the fight for power.  In a final battle of wits, Galbatorix attacks Eragon with his mind in an effort to overpower him.  Whose magic is going to be stronger and will it be good magic or dark magic that is the more powerful?  Another conflict to be solved is finding a way into the Vault of Souls.

The acceptance of the existence of many strange and magical creatures that inhabit Alagaesia is one central idea of all the Inheritance Cycle books. There are many races of creatures who live in Alagaesia: humans, elves, dwarfs, magicians, werecats , dragons,  Dragon Riders, Urgals who are huge, muscular, brutal creatures with long curved horns, and many more.  Another central idea is that magic and even dark magic exists and several of the different creatures are able to use it against their enemies.  Also, a central idea is that Galbatorix is evil and must be defeated in order for peace to reign.  Another central idea is that the story and folklore surrounding the dragons and Dragon Riders goes back thousands of years into ancient times where they lived in a time of peace.

If folklore, fantasy, use of magic and spells, and strange and magical creatures is your thing; then this is definitely the book for you.  In fact, you would surely enjoy the entire series.  The book keeps you spellbound with its numerous characters of many different races and how they interact with each other.  Although the book is very captivating and you will find it hard to put down, you will enjoy it most if you read it slowly savoring all the detailed descriptions of the characters, reading about their special powers and how they use them against their enemies, and using your imagination to picture them in your mind.  You can easily lose yourself in this fantasy/folklore and feel you are a part of the story along with Eragon and his dragon as they fight the evil king and his supporters.  You will enjoy visualizing the many imaginary characters and creatures in Inheritance: elves, dwarfs, werecats, Urgals, dragons and more  which do not exist in the real world, or do they? 

Book Review by Samuel J.