Reader Response Jan.25
The book I am responding to is Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. I have read 610 pages out of 748. The
main characters are Eragon, his dragon Saphira, and Roran, his cousin. Eragon is the protagonist and the
antagonist is Galbatorix. The setting is in a fictional land called Alagaesia. The problem is the war between
the evil King Galbatorix and the Varden. Galbatorix rules Alagaesia but he enslaves and kills people. The
Varden is an opposing group of people and soldiers who are rebelling against King Galbatorix. The genre is
fantasy fiction because there are characters and ideas which are not realistic, for example dragons, elves
and magic. The theme is the conflict between the Empire and the Varden. The author sometimes uses
foreshadowing to create suspense; for example when the Varden have to ally with and fight alongside
their longtime enemies, the urgals, there is a tense and bitter atmosphere between them. This
foreshadows the following event when a human soldier of the Varden murders one of the urgals in its
sleep.
Retell
To summarize the text in 1-3 sentences, I would say that each chapter switches between Roran's point
of view and Eragon's point of view. Roran is one of the highest warriors in the Varden and is sent of to do
missions by Lady Nasuada, while meanwhile Eragon spends time at Farthen Dur (the dwarf kingdom) making
sure Orik becomes king. He then flies off on Saphira to Ellesmera to continue his training in magic.
What I want to remember about this text is how all of the characters and settings in the book are well
structured and written. The author is very good at storytelling and by reading the book you can tell he is
very creative and has a good imagination. You can learn a lot about writing by reading this book.
I did not find this book hard to follow because everything is spread out throughout the book well and
no part of the book is rushed or packed in. The book is over 700 pages long which is proof of this.
Relate
The character Oromis reminds me of Dumbledore from Harry Potter because he is old and wise and is
teaching Eragon about using magic like Dumbledore did with Harry.
I am different from most of the characters in the story because they are brave and always battle-
ready but if I were in their situation I would not want to fight because I would be too scared and I don't
like taking part in anything violent. Almost every character in the story is fighting or has fought in their
lifetime, even the girls like Nasuada and Arya. They are a lot tougher than I and most people.
The city of Tronjheim reminds me of a setting in a book I've read called The Serpent's Egg. In The
Serpent's Egg, there is a city located inside of a mountain. In Brisingr, Tronjheim is a city inside of the
mountain Farthen Dur. In both books, dwarves inhabit the cities.
Reflect
If I could speak to the author, I would ask what inspired him to start writing the Inheritance Cycle?
And how does he come up with the events and ideas in the books? Does it just come naturally or does he
go through a routine or something similar? I would also ask him what advice he has for young writers
because he was in high school when he started writing Eragon.
When I read this text I feel a lot of different emotions. Most of the time it's suspense because the
book is very suspenseful especially during the action scenes. I feel happy, sad and angry at times and that
is a good thing because it means it is a good book. The author wants to make you feel engaged in the book
and feel different emotions.
I think the text is effective because it is always very surprising. If the author didn't add in
unexpected plot twists, the book would be a lot less interesting and more boring. A good example of this is
when Eragon was going to the room where the dwarf king election would be held and he was suddenly
ambushed by a group of dwarves who were against him. It added an extra action scene and was a good
addition to the story.
