And then there were two: Inheritance

Inheritance is the fourth and the concluding book in the book series written by Christopher Paolini which was released worldwide on November 8^th 2011.

The protagonists of the series, Eragon and his dragon Saphira, had set out on a mission to stop the prime antagonist, evil king and dragon rider Galbatorix from carrying out his master plan to rule the world. With help from the elves, dwarves and dragon rider Oromis and his dragon Glaedr, Eragon started a magical journey to slay Galbatorix. This magnificent and action packed journey continues in the fourth book with a bunch of other creatures joining the Varden like werecats, Urgals and some warriors from Carvahall, Eragon’s village, including his cousin Roran.

The book is a real cliff-hanger with every chapter revealing a new plot. The chapters move in point of view between Eragon, Roran and occasionally Nasuada, the leader of the Varden. They eventually take us to the major conflict between good and evil as the Varden struggle to fight Galbatorix. All the characters in the book (including Galbatorix) are extremely charming and Alagaësia has been portrayed very beautifully. Eragon has grown substantially throughout the series and his development is not just confined to his increasing skill in swordsmanship but also extends to self-awareness and magic. New monsters are introduced in this book such as Galbatorix’s Rasputin fighter Barst, the Snalgli, the self-mutilating monks, the priests of Helgrind and the horrible burrow grubs who make the book more horrifying and in some ways gruesomely funny. The usage of the ancient language, Urgal language and dwarf language makes reading tedious as one has to frequently flip pages to look up their translations. The inclusion of the synopsis of the previous books helps us connect to this book. The ending of the book is good but the book is extremely long and gets a little boring in some parts where extra attention is given to Eragon’s development, making you want to skip to more action packed scenes.

To say more might give too much away. So, I conclude saying that overall this is a tremendous and engaging finish to an extraordinary series. While reading this book you might have to put other things behind since it is not a book you can start and then stop lightly. Despite the few flaws mentioned above, I would recommend this book to all my friends.

By Sanjana Krishnasarma [XI - D]