Filtered Visions

Inheritance Book One


Dragons, swords, Elves, Dwarfs, magic, mountains, spirits and an epic struggle between good and evil – what will book 2 bring!

Wow! This is book is my answer to Harry Potter! Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the Harry Potter novels, but they didn’t capture my imagination in the same way that they seem to have for other people; Eragon does.

Eragon is a young boy, whose story begins on his uncle’s farm, where his whole mundane future is mapped out for him; that is, until fate brings a dragon hatchling his way that turns his existence upside down. The presence of the dragon draws enemies to the quiet village, the consequences of which are the destruction of everything that Eragon holds dear. Eragon and his dragon stead, Saphira, begin an epic journey of revenge and discovery which lands them right in the middle of a historic struggle of power across the Empire.

Christopher Paolini has created a wonderful universe, where magic, ancient languages and mystical creatures reside. The realm of Alagaesia contains the lands through which the journey takes place, Paolini’s vivid descriptions of the areas through which Eragon passes help to completely immerse the reader in this magical universe. With every new landscape or town that was visited Paolini managed to always capture the essence of the place, allowing you to see the dangers and hardships that each new area brings; providing a fuller understanding of Eragon’s plight.

The characters are very real, with their own back stories and secrets just waiting to be discovered. I found each character to have their own interesting personality and its fun to try and work out where each of their motivations really lie (I’m still not sure with some!). The relationships between the characters are also very real and touching in places, giving the book that extra edge as you can identify with their feelings (even if it’s difficult to imagine life with a dragon!). I love the special bond between Eragon and Saphira, their protectiveness over each other and the way that they are growing together; I can’t wait to see how their relationship develops in the next book.

Others have noted troubles with some of the language and names used in the book; something which immediately put me off (having stopped reading the Hobbit for the very same reason), but I persevered. Paolini created an ancient language to add weight to the magical nature of this book; an even though you have no hope of understanding these words (unless you look them up in the glossary), it doesn’t hinder the story in any way. There are only a small number of characters with unusual names to remember, and I was happy to read without looking up the ancient words. They are used on the most part in order to cast spells, and do not in any way stop you from understanding what is happening. I just read them as magical words like abracadabra (I’m sure Paolini would be mortified!); saying that, now that I’ve finished the book I may look back over it and see what they really mean (you never know – I may have missed out on something after all!!).

There are places in which you can recognise the influences, but I see this book as only adding to the magical lands created in the likes of the Lord of the Rings (I’ve never read it, but from watching the films, there are places where the similarities are pronounced  ); it is a great book in its own right. The crossovers with other novels, such as Harry Potter, are also there, but I feel this is likely to happen as they are both coming of age stories crafted within a magical universe.

All in all, I would rate this book very highly; I would list it among my all time favourites. It is a totally absorbing, easy read, with enough danger, mystery and heart to pull you along to the last page without a struggle. In addition, I find Christopher Paolini and his family completely inspiring (have peek on his website www.alagaesia.com ). He began work on this novel as a teenager, and through a couple of years of hard work and dedication, with support from his family (who published the book in the first instance), he has created a top selling novel and blockbuster movie to boot. His story makes me want to be a better person, I’m sure we all have it in us!

I can’t wait to read Eldest!!

ps. I tried to watch them film - I made it twenty minutes before having turn it off - it was awful!!!

From the author of The Secret Life of Bees comes another vividly descriptive book, The Mermaid Chair.


The novel details a tempestuous time in the life of Jessie Sullivan, dependable wife and mother. At a time when she was feeling trapped in her settled and routine life with her husband; Jessie welcomed the opportunity to go home to Egret Island, after her mother has an ‘accident’. Upon returning to the island, after five and half years of being away, Jessie embarks on an emotional journey; as her soul re-awakens.

In a drastic departure from her quiet married life, Jessie begins a torrid affair with a Benedictine Monk, revelling in her new immense feelings of sexual desire, freedom and longing; and releasing her to find the real Jessie that had got buried during her marriage. The question of whether her marriage will survive the end of the book is one that kept me in agony, knowing how she felt about both the men in her life. I also really felt for both the male characters as the author gave enough depth to their characters to make me care what happened to them.

The sub-plot of her mother provides an equally emotional distraction to Jessie’s unfaithfulness. Her mother’s instability and the secrets surrounding her father’s death give an air of mystery to the novel which peaked my interest to try and discover the truth.

As with The Secret Life of Bees, this book is incredibly descriptive. It is set on an island for which Sue Monk Kidd has beautifully created the look, feel and smell of each scene; and for me, it perfectly captured the feeling of time spent by the sea. As an example…”…the aroma of the island penetrated, a powerful brew of silt, old crab pots, salted air, and black, gooey mudflats alive and crawling with pungent creatures”. Even now, I can close my eyes and picture the sights and sounds of Egret Island.

The Mermaid Chair has a nice easy pace and is very easy to read, with enough going on to pull you through and keep you interested. It explores themes of religion, faith, love, relationships and the strong bonds between female friends. I wouldn’t rank this book as one of my all time favourites, but it was an enjoyable read. I loved the self discovery aspect of the novel and how Jessie became a whole person again, taking control of her own life. I did find it a little too emotional at times for my taste (I don’t cope well with story lines of unfaithfulness), and also some of the scenes involving the mother were sometimes a little strong; but on the whole I would recommend this book.