Inheritance

Finishing Inheritance felt like finishing a marathon: I have been reading the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini since elementary school. I actually went to the midnight release of one of the books: Eldest? Brisingr? I can't remember. Although actually, that's my problem with all of the books: I can't remember what happens in each of them, because the events and battles are so similar, they all blur together into one long, repetitive story. My friends and I used to joke that the series would never end, or by the time it did, we would have long lost interest. Yet, here I am, finishing the final book two weeks after it came out. I just had to. I had to finish out what I had started years ago. And I'm glad I did. To me, Inheritance rises above the previous volumes and their predictable plots to create what I now consider to be the best book of the series- until the last 100 pages.

Paolini originally intended the series to be a trilogy, but before Brisingr, the third book was released, he announced his intention to make it into a "cycle" of four books. He explained that he simply couldn't fit everything he needed to into a final third book. And thank goodness he didn't- Inheritance runs at 880 pages, Brisingr at 748. Too much.

But where the other books (especially Eldest) lagged, Inheritance keeps the plot snappy, with plenty of battles and interesting discoveries. It's due in part to the fact that the series is finishing, so things need to be revealed and wrapped up within the whole book. It's a welcome change from the dragging pace of the last books, and it definitely helped me to finish within a week of beginning.

Inheritance concludes the tale of Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, as they battle the evil emperor Gallbatorix with the rebel forces of the Varden, dwarves, and elves. Plenty happens in this book, and I can't really summarize without either giving things away or explaining the contents of the entire series to those who haven't read them. But suffice it to say the plot is everything a final book should be: epic and final.

I won't discuss specific plot points, though there were several sweet ones I would love to linger on. Instead, the thing that intrigued me most about this book was the ending. Gallbatorix is killed and the final battle ends with 100 pages left in the book; an unusual leftover amount. In the last 100 pages, Paolini attempts to show the "after" of the "happily ever after," something often left unexplained in many other fantasy novels. And he does a mixed job of it. Some of it feels unnecessary and boring, information the reader doesn't want to know. Other bits of it are interesting. But most striking is that these last 100 pages show that the focus of the novel was not on killing Gallbatorix, but rather on Eragon and Saphira. The decision they make in the last 100 pages about what to do with the rest of their lives as Rider and dragon is probably the best one, but I felt saddened and unsatisfied. It's not the ending everyone hoped for. It's not happy, it's not tragic, it's simply a different direction. I don't think the majority of the fan base is satisfied with the ending. Still, I give Paolini credit for attempting to be original in his conclusion of a series that has often been criticized as a knock-off Lord of the Rings.

I can remember feeling as though I had wasted my time at the end of Eldest, the second book in the series. But I'm glad that I stuck with these characters and the land of Alegaesia to the end, completing the cycle. It was an arduous journey, but in the end, a fun one.

Wicked

I saw Wicked the musical for my birthday. For years, my friends have raved about this musical. I’ve heard “Defying Gravity” many, many times, heard of how great the music was and been warned of the twist at the end, alluded to slyly but always kept a secret for me; so I couldn’t wait to see it for myself.

It was incredible. Just incredible. Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, was a powerful singer who blew me away. She stood out from all the rest with her incredible voice- almost better than Idina Menzel, the originator of the role (saying that is practically Broadway heresay!). The story itself was equally as good. It’s so cool to look at a favorite childhood story from a completely different angle, and to actually like the scary green witch from my worst childhood nightmares. Wicked tells of Elphaba’s whole life, from being born green in Munchkinland, to her days at Shiz Academy, where she rooms with Glinda (then Galinda) the Good Witch, to her eventual spiral into becoming the Wicked Witch of the West. I was completely fascinated by the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, and I loved how cleverly everything was explained from the original Wizard of Oz, how favorite characters were woven into the story. I emerged from the theatre glowing with excitement, promptly borrowed the soundtrack from my friend, and stowed the book in my bag for beach reading: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire.

I was expecting similar magical storytelling, interaction of the characters, and an even better and in depth look into Glinda and Elphaba's unlikely friendship. I wanted more behind-the-scenes secrets of the land of Oz. Instead, I got copious political commentary, ungraceful storytelling, and jaded characters, none of whom were likeable. The plot of Maguire's book barely resembles that of the musical, and to be honest, the musical plot is much easier to follow, relates more to The Wizard of Oz, and is more absolute. It was frustrating to know that there was such a wonderful potential for a story that was utterly ruined by the author's overriding political agenda and crude writing.

Wicked begins with an unnecessarily long section characterizing Elphaba's mother as a selfish, shallow girl and her father as a self-righteous and prejudiced missionary to the Munchkinlanders. Elphaba's birth seems a side-note to the vigorous ridicule of her father's religious beliefs and narrow-mindedness. After this painful section ends, we find Elphaba at Shiz Academy, meeting Galinda, who is shallow and preoccupied with her social status. Through a series of muddled events, Elphaba becomes involved in an experiment with her goat-teacher, Doctor Dillamond, that is never fully explained and yet referred to throughout the novel, while Galinda continues with her socialite lifestyle. Boq, a young Munchkinlander, falls in love with Galinda and enlists Elphaba's help in getting to know her, which eventually leads to Galinda and Elphaba's "friendship," though it never appears genuine. It is around this time that Nessarose, Elphaba's disabled younger sister, attends Shiz as well. Nessarose, like her father, is equally ridiculed as clinging blindly to her faith in a negative way. She's cranky and self-righteous. The adventures of Elphaba, Galinda, Boq, Fiyero (a handsome boy from the Vinkus lands), Nessarose, and others are documented, again at great length and without any seeming point except, at times, to be crude. Through even more complicated events, Elphaba meets the Wizard and then goes into reclusion for twenty years, supposedly involved in secret resistance.

Thus far, the musical and book match up enough, though the play thankfully simplifies things (for example, Elphaba's parents have only a couple measures in the opening). But after this, Elphaba has an affair with Fiyero, who suddenly crops up, and he is killed through her resistance work. She embarks on a long journey to visit Fiyero's family in the Vinkus, now with a child in tow. There she stays (mostly) until her death. Again, there are hundreds of pages wasted on uninteresting background, plots that seem to go nowhere, and that don't relate to the Wizard of Oz at all. At this point I was skimming through, wanting to get to the end. Which, thankfully, was what I had been looking for in the book: a neat tie-in to the original story, involving Dorothy and Toto. But certainly, slogging through the whole book was NOT worth that little tiny bit at the end.

The book was hindered by the author's political ideals, and relentless ridiculing of the Christian religion, thinly veiled as a different religion in the book. When a child's story so beloved as this one is simply used as the wheels for an author's opinions on the real world today, he is better off in journalism. Let us have our fairy-tales unsullied by an obnoxious narrator.

It all Ends: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

Last night, at 12:01 AM, I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. I sat with hundreds of other Potter-lovers in a cavernous theatre, all dressed as different characters from the franchise- everyone from Dobby to Lucius Malfoy to Fenrir Greyback; I even saw a Darth Vader & Princess Leia wandering around, shaking their heads and joking, "Am I at the wrong movie?" Those with the best costumes were asked by strangers in the audience if they could take pictures together. The few without costumes (including the two friends I came with) felt embarrassed to be normal! As we whiled away the two hours before the movie started by reading Prisoner of Azkaban, I thought of what people had been saying all day: this is the end of our childhood.

The story of my romance with Harry Potter is not particularly unique or interesting; Harry and I met when I was handed the second book (yes, the second one) by my grandpa, who told me it was supposed to be very popular with kids my age. He could never have predicted how true that statement would become. I can still see the book in my hands, brand new, and feel my anticipation of another good read. As the years wore on, I read each of the books eagerly. I had in-depth conversations with friends and neighbors that lasted for hours on Harry Potter. After Half Blood Prince was released, I must have spent hours guessing who R.A.B. was, what the other Horcruxes were, and whether Snape was good or bad (of course he's good! Dumbledore had to be right!) In the summer of my sixth grade year, I went to the midnight release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with my patient aunt. We waited in line eagerly, discussing how much we loved the series with the other fans in line. I read the book from 6 in the morning to 2 that afternoon, and cried the whole way through. I'm sure many other people have this story: reading the books from a young age as soon as they came out, and seeing the movies as well. I saw the sixth movie in Australia with one of my best friends on the day it came out, and the seventh (part 1) at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Florida, again on the day it came out. And last night, for a grand finish, I dressed up and saw the final movie at midnight, a little less than a month before my 18th birthday.

The movie itself was excellent- epic in scale, poignant and emotional. As someone who's never thought that the central actors were unbelievably talented, I thought that Daniel, Rupert, and Emma performed perfectly this time, enhancing the movie where they used to detract from it. This was a movie about Harry more than anyone else, and Daniel Radcliffe carries the movie with ease and sensitivity, embodying the Harry of our imaginations perfectly. The other actors, as well, finish their roles with excellent performances, especially Alan Rickman (Snape). The sequence in which Harry discovers the reason Dumbledore trusted Snape so much is beautiful and heart-breaking, as is Snape's death- at once horrifying and touching. Rowling has an incredible gift to be able to make people cry for Severus Snape: a man so mocked and hated throughout the whole series, and yet who the theater all cried for. As always, the visual effects were spot on, enhancing the magical world and taking it to the next level of believability. The soundtrack was beautiful (that's something I always notice), epic and touched with sadness and a sense of finality. From the opening, the film jumped right into the action, which is relentless until the final 5 minutes. From the Gringotts break-in to Hogwarts, the action is exactly how I pictured it- except for a few crucial details.

These details are my complaints about the movie. In splitting the last book into 2 movies, the filmmakers basically ensured that every detail could be put in the movie. Part 1 did this extremely well. Part 2, not so much. It completely cut out Teddy Lupin, Harry's godson and Lupin & Tonks' son. It's a real loss, as it makes Lupin and Tonks' death that much sadder, and brings Harry's story full circle: Teddy's story is much like Harry's own. But I can understand that the announcement of Teddy's birth might have felt too happy in the midst of planning to break in to Gringotts. Percy Weasley never returns to assist the fight in Hogwarts, and Fred's death isn't shown onscreen, only his body- I sobbed the hardest at that point in the book, and in the movie, too, it was the point at which I (and people all around me) broke down. An added fight between Nagini and Ron/Hermione feels pointless and overwhelming- as viewers, we really just need to see Harry and Voldemort dueling.

But the thing I am the most dissatisfied with in the movie- and it's a big one- is Voldemort and Harry's final duel. It takes place in the courtyard of Hogwarts, which is cinematically impressive, but it takes place alone: just Harry against Voldemort. They are almost wordless as they throw spells at each other, and then, Voldemort's wand flies to Harry, leaving his Killing Curse rebounding at him. Voldemort looks at Harry, and then sort of dissolves into ashy flakes that float gently up into the night sky.

Dissolves? He just dissolves? That's it? Why couldn't he go out with a bang, a finality? Even a hardening to lifelessness, or a collapse, would have been better than just flaking into the air and floating like snowflakes. And he dies in silence. One of the things that makes the duel between Harry and Voldemort so memorable in the book is the dialogue between them. When Harry says, "Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle...Try for some remorse..." It is such a great moment of Harry offering Voldemort one last chance. Harry understands Voldemort, and for once, he has more knowledge than Voldemort. They were equals, before, when Harry sacrificed himself to kill the Horcrux inside him, but now Harry has the upper hand. I so wish that they had talked, even for a moment, in their duel. And finally, I wish that everyone had watched the duel so that they could see Voldemort die and react. There is little to no resolution or reaction to his death by everyone else at Hogwarts, and it would have been a bigger relief in his death to see everyone else relieved.

Despite my problems with it, the movie was still an epic ending to the series. I literally sobbed through the last half hour to hour of the movie, as did many others around me (from what I could hear of the sniffing). I didn't sob only because of what was happening in the movie; I sobbed because it was the ending of something so incredible. So many people love Harry Potter, and for good reason. As I sat there, watching Harry sacrifice himself for everyone in the castle, I was reminded powerfully of first Aslan in the Narnia stories, then Jesus himself. Harry Potter emphasizes the importance of love, but more importantly, it tells the truth of love to millions of people. It shows the truth of our Creator's love for us to every single fan of Harry Potter. It is a true story, one that adds beauty to the world and that will continue to teach people for years and years to come.

Harry Potter is the soundtrack to my childhood, first through the books, and now through the movies. Though my journey with Harry Potter will contain no more surprises, I know I will continue to love Harry and his friends for the rest of my life. I will continue to look to J.K. Rowling as an example of how to create a real world from your mind, with believable details and authenticity; as an example of how to create characters that literally can walk off the page, and are so real you know them like your best friend; as an example of how to tell a true story about the world around you. Goodbye, childhood. Mischief Managed.

The Lost Hero

Rick Riordan's new promise- two books a year!- had me skeptical about the quality of The Lost Hero. I mean, how much attention can you devote to a novel when you're writing 576 pages in so short a time, juggling two series', no less? In particular, after the plunge in quality of The Red Pyramid, Riordan's first book in the new series The Kane Chronicles, I thought he'd peaked with the conclusion of the Percy Jackson series. Not to mention that The Lost Hero is the first of a spinoff series of Percy Jackson, and really, how good could a spinoff be? Percy Jackson ended well, all were happy, the conflicts were all resolved- what more could Riordan write about?

Well, actually, a lot. And, surprisingly, he could write it very well. The Lost Hero brings back all the fun and cleverness of Percy Jackson, with fun new characters and whole realms of information about the Greek gods and goddesses to dive into. Three new demigods are introduced: Jason, Piper, and Leo, all older teens, enrolled in a school for delinquent kids. But there's one catch: as the story opens, Jason awakens on the bus to the Grand Canyon, holding hands with Piper, listening to Leo: with no idea who they are, where they are, or even who he is. As the book goes on, and they find out the obvious- they're demigods!- yet another conundrum is introduced, one which hooks readers of the Percy Jackson series immediately: Percy Jackson is missing.

The plot follows the typical arc of Percy Jackson: the heroes go to Camp Half-Blood, receive a quest, and set out on it to appease the gods for some reason or another. This time, the reason is to fulfill the mysterious Great Prophecy that has been made about them, to stop the stirrings of a new and dangerous enemy, and discover the reason why the gods of Olympus have gone silent. Along the way, they encounter minor gods and characters from Greek mythology in adventurous escapades.

The opening is brilliant, hooking readers from the very beginning, intrigued by Jason's memory loss. And if that didn't hook the readers, the appearance of Annabeth her announcement of Percy's disappearance certainly does. The three new demigods make a good team; they're funny and complement each other well. And as an older reader, it makes me feel less geeky and childish to read these books if the characters are around my age, as they are (finally) in this book. The backwards romance between Jason and Piper (due to his memory loss) is cute, just present enough to satisfy girl readers without totally isolating the pre-teen boy audience. Though sometimes juggling three main characters is tough, Riordan seems to have no problem with it, alternating chapters from each's perspective, and creating very real characters. Not only are they ethnically diverse (Piper's half Native American, Leo's Latino), but Riordan also excels at making strong female characters: first Annabeth, now Piper. They're very different, but each can stand up for herself.

Familiar characters also abound in this one at Camp Half-Blood, though some are sadly lacking, such as Clarisse, the harsh and crazy daughter of Ares, and Grover, Percy's best friend the satyr. But old characters are brought back to play a more prominent position in the story, giving the world of Percy Jackson a fleshed-out feel.

Riordan said he decided to focus on minor gods and goddesses more in this series, and that's evident in the characters the three demigods meet on their quest. Even I, who know a lot about Greek gods and goddesses, hadn't heard of most of the gods he met. They were well-sketched, interesting, funny. Riordan manages to pack so much information about them just by their surroundings and personality that I feel I could almost base a school report off the book. I hardly feel like I'm being taught anything due to his clever presentation of the information.

Riordan took it even farther in this book by beginning to deal with the Roman gods as well, and the simultaneous existence of the two. I loved this part of the book, since the idea of Roman gods always bothered me while reading the original Percy Jackson series. My only complaint was that after a while, the constant pit-stops to meet a new minor god got old. I just wanted to find out the answers to all my questions: Where's Percy? Why can't Jason remember anything? Who are they fighting against? Why are the gods silent?

Most of these questions aren't answered until the very end. In this way, Lost Hero is dissimilar to Percy Jackson, reading more like a mystery than an adventure. Riordan drops several clues along the way, so that I had my suspicions about the mystery of Jason and the identity of the new enemy due to a history project I did two years ago... but I didn't fully get it, or guess where Percy was, until the very last sentence of the book. And what a brilliant ending it was! The whole plot worked so well, tied together so flawlessly, in such an intriguing way... I could say so much more about it, but obviously it would spoil the entire book. Suffice it to say that I'm very excited for the rest of the series!

My friend and I figured it out- we'll be in college by the time this series will end, at the rate of one book per year. We have no doubt we'll still be reading them then, too, even if the other kids make fun of us. Actually, I have no doubt that I'll still be reading many children's books and young adult books far into my college years. Immature as Riordan's humor can be, it's clean and truly funny. Though without flowery words, he creates vivid images. And young as his characters are, they're relatable and funny. All in all, one of Riordan's best, highly recommended, an excellent piece of good, clean fun!