23.4 - The Inheritance Cycle

I´ve spent the past seven months reading the four books of "The Inheritance cycle" by Christopher Paolini. The series consist of: "Eragon", "Eldest", "Brisingr" and "Inheritance". The first book, "Eragon" was made into a not-so-well-known movie by the same name.
The books are set in Alagaesia, a fictional Empire ruled by a dictator king, Galbatorix, who killed the Dragon Riders that once protected the land and took over the throne. Eragon, the main character, lives in a valley at the far north of Alagaesia. His mother left him with his uncle, Garrow, when Eragon was a baby, so he grew up with his cousin, uncle and aunt on a farm in a small village called Carvahall. One day, while hunting, Eragon finds a strange blue stone lying on the ground in the forest. He brings it back to his village. The stone turns out to be a dragon egg. When his dragon, Saphira, hatches, Eragon hides her in the forest to protect her from the villagers. Despite his effort to keep Saphira a secret, one of the villagers, Brom, an old story-teller soon finds out. Brom tells Eragon more about the Dragon Riders and introduces him to the unbelievable truth that he has now become the last free Dragon Dider in Alagaesia (Galbatorix is also a Dragon Rider- he betrayed the others, killed their dragons and he and the Forsworn, riders that have joined his side, took over Alagaesia). Unfortunately, Brom isn´t the only one to know about the dragon, Ra´zacs, black-hooded human-meat-eating monsters and spies of the king turn up in Carvahall one day and appear to be looking for something. When Saphira senses the Ra´zac in Carvahall she takes Eragon on a flight far away, guided by instinctive anger towards the monsters. When they return, Eragon finds his uncle dead and their farm burnt down- the Ra´zacs are looking for him. Eragon, Saphira and Brom have to leave Carvahall at once. They embark on a journey to find the Ra´zacs and avenge Garrow´s death on which Eragon learns more about the Dragon Riders and what it means to be one of them. Brom introduces him to magic and mind reading and teaches him how to handle a sword. Eragon is also told about the Varden, the rebels that are planning to overthrow Galbatorix, which begins Eragon´s (And Saphira´s) long adventure full of battles, plots and responsibilities with one ultimate goal: to kill Galbatorix.

The Inheritance cycle is the second (The first being "Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S Lewis) "fantasy, Fantasy" series I´ve read. Typical fantasy novel elements are included: elves, magic, Urgals (muscular humans with horns), magicians and, of course, dragons. The series resembles J.R.R.Tolkein´s "Lord of the Rings" (or at least resembles what I have heard of the "Lord of the Rings"). Despite the unoriginal overall idea, The Inheritance cycle has something to it which kept me reading throughout the course of seven months. The author does an excellent job at describing- the setting, the feelings, the whole story seems so real. Details like the language of each of the races of Alagaesia (Elves, Urgals, Dwarves...) are included and add to the "real-ness". It is easy to get pulled into the story. Reading The Inheritance cycle requires a lot of concentration, though, as it is sometimes hard to take in all the details and the books cannot be read in a hurry. Highly reccomended as great example of the classic fantasy genre! (If you have seen the movie, please read the book(s), it is so much better and the movie, as it is with nearly all of the movies based on books, leaves out a lot of the important parts).

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22.4 - Neverwhere

"Neverwhere" is a fantasy novel by Neil Gaiman. The story takes place in London and is closely linked with the London underground. When Richard Mayhew, the main character, moves to this city, he has a perfect life- a good job, a girlfriend he loves, and everything he needs. Like it is in most stories, nothing lasts forever, and Richard´s life suddenly takes a turn when on his way to an important dinner with his girlfriend, Jessica, and her boss, Richard encounters a half-dead injured red-headed girl lying on the pavement next to a brick house. Richard, seeing that the girl is unconscious, takes her and carries her to his apartment, abandoning Jessica and her formal dinner. The next morning two men in dark suits, Mister Vandemar and Mister Croup, come ringing Richard´s doorbell asking for a girl called Door. Richard answer´s that no, he doesn´t know a girl called Door, while knowing that the girl they are looking for is hiding in his bathroom. It the next few days Richard helps Door find someone that will help her- The Marquis de Carabas, a liar a traitor and a dealer who Door, for some reason, trusts, and he leaves her with this man, saying goodbye somewhat too quickly to be considered proper. Richard then discovers that by the small act of kindness he did for Door by taking her to his apartment, he managed to get Jessica to dump him. As if this wasn´t enough, Mister Vandemar and Mister Croup, who turn out to be hired assassins, find out that Richard lied to them and put a curse on him, making him invisible to the outside world. People no longer hear him, he looses his job, someone moves into his apartment, and it is like if Richard Mayhew never existed. Furious and helpless, Richard meets a homeless man on the street who can hear him. He asks for help and gets dragged into a world of dirty sewers and rats, a world where magic mixes with reality and life is a constant fight for survival, a world of the London underground. He meets Door and the Marquis again and finds out that Door´s family was killed by Mister Vandemar and Mister Croup. Along with Door, Marquis and Hunter, a bodyguard who Door hired to protect her from the assassins, he embarks on a quest to avenge the death of Door´s family members and to get his life back.

This book is a masterpiece. The way Gaiman tells the story, playing with every word, choosing those that will fit the situation best, is extraordinary. The story flows very well and those 400 pages go by quicker than you would think. It is very original- a city below a city. I like how the author chose to leave some things, details mostly, hidden for the reader to figure them out for himself. He encourages readers to use their imagination by focusing only on the most distinct details and not overly describing the unimportatnt. Something that I didn´t like about this book was the predictable ending- it was too easy to guess what will happen. This was quite a disappointment as the rest of the book was completely UNpredictable, with evil waiting behind every corner and the strange atmosphere hanging in the air making you think that everything is possible. In it´s own way, "Neverwhere" is similar to Incarceron, mostly in the setting of the story- the depressing underground. The author also mentions actual places, the underground stations of London, making the unrealistc sometimes even exaggerated story seem more "real". This book is definitely worth a read. Reccomended to older readers (aged 11-12 and above), who like playfully written stories.

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