Reviews

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini

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lolos_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

4.5

annakat's review against another edition

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4.5

The strength of this series has always been world building and grand scope, so I was a little disappointed by how limited it was. Otherwise, though, quite good!

ajowens76's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

kaseyd's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

elizabethanne106's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.5

guccishoestrings's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Murtagh was a book I was never expecting to ever be released as after inheritance I thought Christopher was done with the main stories of the Eragon series. However, this book was a welcome surprise and is arguably my favorite of the five primary books.

Now to the actual book, Murtagh is the primary and only narrator in this book which has not been done since the first book in Eragon. This is a welcome change as I personally enjoyed Murtagh more than Eragon as Eragon started to become boring during the final book in inheritance. Murtagh is an exile/outlaw jumping from city to city trying to elude the law while also trying to figure himself out. He then has a deal fall through in where he finds a mysterious amulet that makes him go to Gil'lead where the story starts to form.

The Good:

Pretty much a whole new plot that takes the history of the quartet and introduces a whole new antagonist that fits the world and does not feel forced much if at all.
Getting Murtagh perspective is a refreshing and interesting change that adds to the world and a character that I felt was not used as well as he could have.
Writing is the best of the series, Christopher has definitely grown to be a stronger writer although there are some parts that could have been better (more on that in the bad section).
The mystery of Bachel and her cult that follow
Azlagur
and where it could lead to in the future is intriguing.
Galbatorix's first appearance and end in the fourth book was terrible and he felt like an underwhelming villain that was hyped up for the entire series and failed to reach the hype. However, is story might not be all that it seems and he might have just been a pawn in the grand scheme of things.

The Bad:

The book starts off slow and does not really start until
Lyreth
appears and talks to Murtagh
The book is much longer than it needed to be
The section with Muckmaw could have been discarded and nothing really would have changed.
The two chapters during the climax
where Murtagh is chasing Bachel in the tunnels
is weirdly placed and could have been shorten to just a few pages.
Eragon, Saphira, Arya, and Nasuada (who shows up at the very end) are only mentioned in this book, which is not bad, but was a little disappointing.

This was a great book and I am Happy that Christopher is coming book to the series that started is writing career. Eragon was one of the first fantasy books I read when I was in middle school and helped launch my love in the fantasy genre. If you have read the inheritance cycle I highly recommend you read this book as it only positively adds to the series. If you haven't read the series you could still read this book and enjoy it.