If you are settling in for a weekend read and you loved Eragon and the Inheritance Cycle, then grab Murtagh, settle in and enjoy the read.
Murtagh
This book requires some dedicated time… and that is why it took me forever to find the right time, and then I got started and just couldn’t stop. If you loved Eragon and the Dragon Rider Series then you are going to love this one. And you are going to love the magical, mystical maps by Paolini in between the main sections of the book. It is the fifth book in the Inheritance Cycle, it stands alone and it has had me gripped for days…
As a family we loved the Eragon Series and literally inhaled them as they launched, but it has been a while and I was a little bit worried that Murtagh would seem like more of the same, how wrong could I be… Murtagh is a dragon rider, and his dragon is Thorn. Together they are on a quest, through a land of darkness and complicated murmurings, there is always the threat of danger… don’t mention your name, don’t mention where you are from and especially don’t mention your lineage.
Paolini has the ability to write great characters, you love them, you live them and you feel connected to them… so many times I have looked out hoping to see my dragon resting his head alongside me. Murtagh appears to have it all, he is a chap who is essentially good, with a dragon that he adores him and a heart ready to save the world… and yet time and time again, he finds himself in the most incredible difficulties that he and Thorn have to overcome together. All building up to the one big problem: will they be able to get out of this dungeon and the evil entrapment of the witch, where every breath and every morsel is filled mind numbing poison and there is no help on the way and no one to turn to… it is nail biting stuff and to be honest I couldn’t read it fast enough so I bought the audible version… it is excellent listening. (Don’t make the mistake I made, and buy the French version, though Audible were very happy and quick to exchange it for me).
So it’s a long book, nearly seven hundred pages, and the first half is a slow and methodical LEAP back into the world of Eragon and everything to love… long descriptions and clear details… and then the story picks up dramatically and you may or may not have a few sleepless nights trying to get to the end of it… you have to know if these two somewhat damaged and severely traumatised heroes make it… it is a close call. And while the vibe is somewhat darker than the original Eragon series, the fans have grown up a lot, and the world is somewhat darker… I feel that rather than closure, Paolini has left a door open for more… this series is by no means over.
You can take a look at Paolini’s website here.
This book is available from Penguin Random House South Africa. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely my own.