Murtagh – Christopher Paolini

Murtagh by Christopher Paolini, is a book in the World of Eragon series. By all accounts it’s book 5 of The Inheritance Cycle Series. However, not having read the first four had no negative impact on my reading of Murtagh. It held its own. A quick long read of 688 pages including glossary and pronunciation guide (why at the end?), it promises a follow on but in July 2026 there is no indication when it will appear. The author’s website was last updated in this regard in August 2025 – see paolini.net

Murtagh is a good, solid adventure – fantasy style. The usual good versus evil dilemmas come to the fore. It’s how they play out and manifest that keeps one’s interest. The social and cultural encounters, how reliant beings are on each other for survival and how that can sometimes be a hard lesson to learn. Issues of trust and forgiveness come to the fore. Knowing one’s self is a strength in dealing with challenges that seem overwhelming. A lesson in changing one’s outlook has significant consequences – psychological and real. Dealing with fear and past misdemeanours also feature in how our heroes deal with what comes their way. It’s a story of faithful friends and what can be achieved by working together.

I didn’t set out to look at the text as I have – I was simply intending to let you know this was an enjoyable easy read which did not require me to think too hard (unlike my reading of Terry Pratchett). Yet, there is clearly more to the book than a simple tale.

Not as epic a read, but in similar vein are Linda Kane’s stories – The Guardians features a dragon