Murtagh by Christopher Paolini
Fantasy. 688 Pages. 4 stars
Synopsis:
Master storyteller and internationally bestselling author Christopher Paolini returns to the World of Eragon in this stunning epic fantasy set a year after the events of the Inheritance Cycle. Join Dragon Rider—and fan favorite—Murtagh and his dragon as they confront a perilous new enemy!
The world is no longer safe for the Dragon Rider Murtagh and his dragon, Thorn. An evil king has been toppled, and they are left to face the consequences of the reluctant role they played in his reign of terror. Now they are hated and alone, exiled to the outskirts of society.
Throughout the land, hushed voices whisper of brittle ground and a faint scent of brimstone in the air—and Murtagh senses that something wicked lurks in the shadows of Alagaësia. So begins an epic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled, where Murtagh and Thorn must use every weapon in their arsenal, from brains to brawn, to find and outwit a mysterious witch. A witch who is much more than she seems.
In this gripping novel starring one of the most popular characters from Christopher Paolini’s blockbuster Inheritance Cycle, a Dragon Rider must discover what he stands for in a world that has abandoned him. Murtagh is the perfect book to enter the World of Eragon for the first time . . . or to joyfully return.
My Review:
Okay, so I have to preface this with: I love the series. I love Murtagh’s character. And I really wanted to love this book. I didn’t hate it! Buuuut, I didn’t super duper love it either. I wobbled back and forth between 3 and 4 stars, but I do think it’s better than the books I normally rate 3 stars and I like to round up when I wobble cause books are freaking hard to write and produce, so I know just how much work goes into a story like this. That said, let’s dive a little deeper.
So, my main problem with this book was the pacing. I got pretty bored in a couple of places. It drug on for me (ironically, a common complaint against the original quartet for many people). I recently reread the first four to prepare for this fifth one coming out and I was afraid nostalgia would disenchant me, but honestly, I still really enjoyed the previous books (though I did get a new perspective on some of them since I hadn’t read them in many years). There were some great parts to the story! But we also spent a lot of time in introspection, in Murtagh’s head. He and Thorn are loners and isolate themselves, so a lot of what we read is just internal monologue in places.
On the other hand, I do love Murtagh! So, it wasn’t total drudgery. I like his perspective and am intrigued by his beliefs and struggles. It was really cool to get to see his connection with Thorn and to get to know Thorn as a character too. So many of the other characters in the story were fascinating. Paolini does characters and world building really well. Those were my two favorite parts of the book: I loved that we got to see new places (both in Alagaësia and new places in old places we’d seen parts of before) and I loved the new characters.
The book is kind of weirdly divided into episodes. Where the parts split made sense; I just don’t love that the organization doesn’t match the first four books. It annoys my OCD. But I think my favorite part was in Gilead with Muckmaw. A really cool portion of the story. The opening is basically the exact same short story from The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm, but told from Murtagh’s perspective. While I generally don’t mind seeing the same chapters from alternate povs as bonus material, I had literally just read the short story prior to reading Murtagh, so that also was a little repetitive for me.
Bachel must not be overlooked. As a villain, she was supreme. The whole culture of her followers created an intriguing storyline and I loved the urgle component. The mystery of unraveling what’s going on was enough to keep me turning pages (so to speak – I listened to the audiobook cause I adore the narrator, more on that below). But I do have to note that plots to do with cults generally aren’t my favorite, which may also be another reason this book wasn’t as good to me as the first four.
Speaking of, in terms of content: I don’t recall any swearing off the top of my head, and there isn’t really much romance (none of it explicit) at all. But there is definitely fantasy violence (some kind of graphic) and dark thematic elements (such as torture, PTSD, a cult, and human sacrifice). This isn’t a light and fluffy read and it isn’t from a Christian perspective. I think Paolini shows a respect for good vs. evil, so it isn’t depraving, but there does also feel like a little bit of a hopeless element with characters who don’t really know what to believe. On one hand, it makes for some epic worldbuilding because Paolini is able to create distinct cultures with very different beliefs and religions, which makes for some creepy bad guys. But on the other hand, as a person of faith, I definitely feel the absence of hope that I see in works by those of faith (whether that hope is explicitly Christian fiction, implicitly Christian fiction, or even general market). This is not a book I’d give my kids. I’d probably say like 17+ on this one honestly.
Oh, and as a quick note: I loved the narrator! I think it’s so cool that they were able to get the narrator from the other books in the series. He was the first narrator/audiobooks I listened to as a kid so it was nostalgic to get to hear him again. You can hear a little bit of difference in how he voices some of the characters I think, but I certainly can’t blame him when it’s been so long since the previous books came out and I still greatly enjoyed it.
More:
Book 1 in the Inheritance Cycle is Eragon (5 Stars)
Book 2 is Eldest (4 Stars)
Book 3 is Brisingr (4 Stars)
Book 4 is Inheritance (5 Stars)
Book 4.5 is The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm (4 Stars)
Book 5 is Murtagh (4 Stars)
I have rated each of the above on Goodreads. Follow the links to find more info on the books.
This series must be read in order.
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Check out my thoughts on other books in the series: