- Title:
- Inheritance
- Author:
- Christopher Paolini
- Release:
- November 8, 2011
- Format:
- Audiobook
- Narrator:
- Gerrard Doyle
- Series:
- Inheritance Cycle, Book 4
As I do, I make my bias’ known at the start of my reviews. This is one of my flavorite books (and series) of all time. Christopher Paolini has been one of my flavorite authors since 2008. That being said, if you think I hold anything sacred, you need only read my review of The Fork, The Witch and The Worm.
I first picked this story up in late 2011 or early 2012. I haven’t read it (or listened) since 2014. While I had years with the other stories (2008 – 2014), I was never as familiar with Inheritance. It picks up right where Brisingr left off. I was genuinely curious how the book was going to go on for so long, without the plot feeling stretched out.
The answer is rather well. While the events of the story progress, it never losses that sense of urgency. While the plot may focus on a specific character or characters, it never feels as if the events of the story have been put aside for this specific moment.
The combat remains one of the best aspects of the book. Christopher Paolini has a real talent for writing battle scenes and making them feel as if you’re really there. While the majority of the characters are nameless, faceless bodies to fill space, they never feel any less human (or elven, dwarven, or Urgal).
One of my biggest gripes with this book and the series, in general, is the endless number of one-off mysteries, locations, and characters that are never again addressed. I’ve been a fan of this series since 2008 and interested in it since 2004. And after all these years, the fact that there are so many unanswered questions and no proper follow-up novels is seriously annoying. While seeking out some answers, I stumbled across an interview. Based on the mention of the year 2013, my guess is it’s from 2011 or 2012, and seemingly half the answers are just “Book V”. It’s been a decade, there’s no… looks at The Fork, The Witch and The Worm no book 5 worth reading. 2/3 of those short stories just add more goddamn unanswered questions.
My second gripe with this book is rather minor and it’s an issue with all of the audiobook copies. The map that can be found when opening the cover of the various books is something truly special. I’ve spent many hours staring at the various aspects of the world while reading the series. I wasn’t always able to look up the map while listening and there’s no mention of it, so you might not even know it exists, had you not had prior knowledge. I found it difficult to tell exactly where things were in relation to each other. As much as I’ve enjoyed listening to the audiobook versions, I think I’ll always prefer the physical releases, in part, due to how useful the map is.
This was the first audiobook for the series I listened to. I discovered it on YouTube back in 2014, when I was trying to finish my re-read of the series but also invested in something else. While I initially disliked the voice Gerard Doyle did for Saphira, I’ve since changed my mind. It makes more sense for her to have a deep, raspy voice than to sound like a human female. He does an excellent job of reading in general, making each character feel distinct. I never had trouble telling exactly who was currently speaking, as I was always able to tell based on the voices he provided.
There’s much more I would love to say about this story, but it would require a spoiler warning, and that limits who would be able to read my review. Despite how annoying the unanswered questions are; (and even more so, the interview that hinted at a book 5 we still don’t have a decade later) I’ve really enjoyed returning to the world of I can’t spell the name and I’m not going to look it up. In a lot of ways, it felt like returning home. To characters and a world, I’ve spent hundreds of hours of my life immersed in. Now that I have a full audiobook set, I’ll likely be returning more often, as I’ve regretted letting myself go so long without re-reading the series. I highly recommend this series to anybody who enjoys fantasy.