Becoming The Muse

Murtagh Book Review

Murtagh is a 2023 fantasy novel by writer Christopher Paolini. It is part of the World Of Eragon The Inheritance Cycle which includes Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance. It was published by Knopf Books for Young Readers on the 7^th of November 2023.

Murtagh is the fifth full novel  from the author and is regarded as a stand-alone sequel and not the fifth book in the Inheritance Cycle which is a tale yet to be told – but Christopher says its coming. Set a year after Inheritance, the book follows Murtagh and his dragon Thorn as they come to terms with their actions in Galbatorix’s empire as a new and deadly threat plagues the land….

The Good

For fans of the Inheritance Cycle it’s a dip back into the familiar land of Alagaësia, expanding the worldbuilding to new places, cultures and people; seeing how its changed and unchanged after Galbatorix’s flaming conclusion. As a standalone story it also means you don’t really need to read or recap the story so far..

The Inheritance Cycle is centred around Eragon and Saphira, with the typical fantasy hero arc, its refreshing to get a story based on the perspective of an antagonistic character turned anti-hero giving a peek into their redemption arc…

While Eragon and Saphira have had a fairly easy journey in terms of mentorship and training, Murtagh and Thorn have mostly had to figure it out on their own in a sink or swim scenario which has given them a deadly streets smart edge and deadlier survival skills.

“Because a scar means you survived. It means you’re tough and hard to kill. It means you lived. A scar is something to admire.”

The Bad

I had hoped that Eragon and Saphira might make an appearance in this book but they are conspicuously absent although constantly referenced to the point of distraction.  Like its OK if its not their story can we stop dragging them into every other conversation…

“No one is perfect. No one makes it through life whole and unscathed.”

For someone who is supposed to have exceptional  training, advanced survival skills and a Rider to boot Murtagh seems make a whole of careless mistakes just so that there can be action scenes while the plot drags along…

“It was bootless to consider what ifs and might have beens. What was, was, and it was the lot of the living to deal with it as best they could.”

And boy does the plot drag…  the story takes place in about a week but it feels much longer because of its erratic pacing, there’s isn’t much going on but the side quests take up almost half the book before getting somewhere and then rushes to an ending which sets up for another potential quest….

The Ugly

For a young adult fantasy, the book seems to revel in graphically detailed violence and torture which runs longer than it should..

“Whirling darkness swallowed him, and in the center of it, at the bottom of an impossibly deep hole, at the very heart of the widdershin void, lay a formless horror..”

While its slow to get into its stride, it becomes unputdownable in the last third of the book and you’ll likely find yourself reading away way past your bedtime long into the night, missing important deadlines.

Final Thoughts

Murtagh is a compelling and gripping dive into the world of Alagaësia from the perspective of its titular character…

Fun Fact According to Chrispoher Paolini, the initial inspiration for Murtagh came from a tweet describing Murtagh enchanting a fork to use as a weapon which is a scene first encountered in The Fork, The Witch and The Worm.

Have you read any of The Inheritance Cycle Books… is this on your reading list? Its taken me a year since its release to finally read Murtagh.