Inheritance - The Feelings of Another Author

It began with Eragon... It ends with Inheritance.

Not so very long ago, Eragon- Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider- was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now, the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chance.

The Rider and his dragon have come farther than anyone dared to imagine. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaesia? And if so, at what cost?

This is the spellbinding conclusion to Christopher Paolini's worldwide bestselling Inheritance cycle.

I just finished reading the last book in the Eragon/Inheritance series, by Christopher Paolini.

I have severely mixed emotions about how it ended.

For those of you who have read the book, you understand why. It is a bitter sweet ending. It's worse than the breaking of the Fellowship in Lord of the Rings! All the characters you've grown to know are taking different paths in life, and the hero is forced to leave the land, likely never to see his friends ever again. It hardly seems fair.

Things don't always end the way we think they should, or hoped they would. It's not easy to face what's difficult, even if it's the right thing to do, but you do what you have to do. And that is just what the characters in this book (Inheritance) did. They did what they had to do, even though it was horribly heart-breaking and painfully difficult.

If Christopher Paolini writes more books to follow up with all of his characters from the 'Inheritance cycle', then the ending of this book won't be so hard to tolerate.

But if he doesn't write any more books, then his loyal readers are going to go NUTS because they are left to their imagination! No, they'll go beyond nuts... they'll go CRAZY!! It's torture!

However, I can understand why the author would leave his readers in such torture and agony. In fact I can understand very well.

An author has the best and worst of both worlds. He is the closest person to his characters, so he feels their struggle better than any one reader. Their struggle is his struggle in a way that the reader can never understand.

But also, an author has a similar attachment to his audience/readers. A good author knows his audience. If an author is skilled, he has his readers tied to him and literally eating out of his hand. He knows what the readers expect from a book and what they need from a book. He knows how to make them happy, sad, or flat uncomfortable. This knowledge makes an author dangerous... very dangerous.

Not only that, but the author (if he is anything like me when writing) LOVES torturing his audience. By ending a book the way Paolini did, he has made his audience love and hate him. He has control over them, even if only a little.

Believe me, I know what I am talking about from both the reader and the writer's perspective. Leaving the audience in mental agony is like a drug to an author. It gives the author a profound sense of... hmmm... what would you call it? Superiority? Perverse pleasure in the agony of others? I don't know if there is a single word to describe how it feels: the cruel satisfaction to know that you, the author, have your readers wrapped around your little finger and that they are suffering as much as you and your beloved characters are.

The sensation leaves the author feeling high. And I am a total addict to it. Ask any of my family members.

Anyway. Now that I have officially dropped you in a maze that will confuse you for the rest of the week....

As a conclusion, I would just like to say that the book 'Inheritance' was well written and Christopher Paolini should have an award to set on his shelf for finally finishing the series, finishing it well.