Sunday, March 18, 2007

I wasnt a fan of Paolini after I finished Eragon but this time, the young writer has shown great improvement. At times, the writing feels overly-familiar to fantasy genre fans but in Eldest, Christopher brings up numerous plot points that are genuinely interesting. Issues such as Saphira being the last of her kind and the loneliness she feels, Eragon's rebuffed advances towards his beloved Arya(so that he can focus his energy on fighting the Empire) bring depth to the all too cheesy Dragon and Rider created in Eragon. Certain parts of the tale still bothers me. After learning about the attack on Surda by the Empire, Eragon rushes off to their defence, agreeing to return to complete his training under Oromis.(Empire Strikes Back anyone?) In the final pages of the book, Roran(Eragon's cousin) is able to sneak up and brain the Twins with only his hammer when the duo are magicians powerful enough to decimate the ranks of the spellcasters in the Varden army. Eragon was also thought a forbidden secret of magic that I find very intriguing. A magician is able to draw upon energy from living things in its surroundings to power his or her spells, thereby granting him or her limitless power. The downside is that the loss of energy harms and even kills the living things that are used. The use of magic is also discussed to some detail in the book. There are some elves who prefer to practise their craft with their hands rather than by the use of arcane arts because it becomes "meaningless"

Vehicle Navex was fun. After going through the training area so many times, I kinda have a rough idea of where everything was. I have to admit that I cant navigate with a compass and map very well. I have problems estimating distance too. However, once I get a feel of the area, it becomes much easier.