Picking up (or downloading, rather) my copy of Inheritance marked yet another end of an era for me. One by one, the epic series that colored my childhood are ending, and I am always somewhat loath to turn the last page because of what it signifies. I don't want to say goodbye to the characters that have grown and changed with me. I don't want their stories to end as mine, in some ways, is really just beginning. There are other things too that cause a tightening in my chest, like how the books don't seem as long as they used to, and the diction not as dense and complicated as my younger mind interpreted it to be. I am growing older and leaving these stories behind. It's saddening.
The concept of names, true names, has always been a strong theme in the Eragon books and is especially prominent in Inheritance. This concept has always fascinated me because of its answer to the age-old question: "Who am I?" To know your true name is to know yourself fully and completely - to tell another person your name is to give them complete power over you. Every flaw, every admirable virtue is laid bare in the the discovery of one's name. It is a great and terrible discovery, to know one's true name. Names truly do hold great power, do they not? We form a bond with the things we name, and gain a sense of responsibility and ownership over them - as well as a connection born from the fact that one of the defining labels denoting their identity has come from us. Yet, just as the truth in a true name has the power to shake a person to their core, everyone is the master of their own fate, the captain of their soul - and thus a name can change just as a person changes with time and experience.
Another image that continues to stay with me is that of a lesson taught by an ancient dragon to Eragon and Saphira, a lesson in the form of a memory. The ancient dragon shows them a nest of starlings, their dreams simple and fleeting. The great dragon initially feels contempt for their petty and inconsequential thoughts - but to the birds, their musings are all-encompassing and of great importance. The dreams of starlings are equal to the concerns of kings. Every action, every want, every fear is the same to each person who feels it, now matter how tiny or how grand. The key is seeking to understand. To understand one another is the key to breaking down the walls that separate us.
It is all of these images and themes within Inheritance that burn it into my memory and leave me turning it over and over again in my mind - the plot was, as many said, predictable. But what is plot but the framework for the real message of a novel? Plot is simply the skeleton, the ribcage supporting the beating heart of a story. What I highlight, what I hold in my heart, are those moments of such beauty and clarity that remind me why I love literature so much. Those ideas crafted into words that leave you simply lost in thought, long after the last page has been turned. And those other ones, those so massive to comprehend that you are struck with the realization that we really are so inconsequentially tiny, no more than a dream to a starling.
"For the sky is hollow, and the earth is round..."
so...how many stars? is his writing different by book 4?
ReplyDeleteI'd give it 3 stars, because he leaves too many important plot points from previous books unanswered, as if he forgot about them completely or hopes the reader has. The whole things seems like a first draft, not a complete ending to a series.
ReplyDeleteHis writing has matured though, I'll give him that.
I actually really liked Inheritance (possibly because I have no idea what loose ends you are referring to haha). I just blogged about the novel, I found the true-name concept interesting as well. As for the revelation that starlings thoughts are equal to the concerns of kings, I feel that the key to wisdom lies in that understanding. And I agree very much that the way to break down barriers is to give enough of ourselves to understand the person next to us.
ReplyDeleteOn a different note, I did notice a change in his writing. I kept coming across way too many words I didn't know...and I'm the kind of person that feels the need to look up the definitions. :) It was predictable, but enjoyable
I am wondering (not finished with the book yet) if the fact that he planned for 3 but added the fourth is part of the issue. Then Brisingr becomes a middle book, not a last book, but Inheritance starts with a handicap....
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