Reviews:
My reviews are personal thoughts, and tend to be complaints more than anything else. Stars are based on a 1-5 rating, five being the best.
The Inferno, Dante: *** Three Stars
Dante is rightfully called”Master of the Disgusting”. His depiction of Hell invoked both potent distaste and sometimes a strange amusement. It’s obviously a Catholic work, so I fear I do not relate to every belief put forth in the story. Overall, not a bad read. I recommend it on the basis that it provokes thought as to the consequences of sin.
Eldest, Christopher Paolini: *** Three Stars
We have here some very repetitive reading: the typical “master and apprentice” stuff made so well-known to us by Star Wars and the like. What’s more, the trilogy itself sadly follows the typical Tolkien cast of Elves Humans and Dwarfs (or Dwarves) that most fantasy writers can’t seem to get away from, even to the point of their basic descriptions and ghostly echoes of elvish and dwarvish hostilities.
But it’s about Dragons! And I love Dragons. While most of it was predictable (even the revelation at the end of the story was something I had gathered in Eragon), the story was easy to get engrossed in and difficult to put down.
In one place where it forsook a possibly boring area was that of romance: while I was not surprised by the outcome of Eragon’s attempts at wooing Arya, I would have been sorely disappointed if it had turned out otherwise. Another was Roran’s story – in fact, I found myself more eager to read about the exodus of the village than I was to get back to the elven forest.
If you can look past some the obviousnesses of the book, it’s an enjoyable read – a must for Dragon-lovers.
