Inheritance

I have to hand it to Christopher Paolini, he's good. That's a rather complex and wonderful imagination he must possess in order to weave such a lengthy yet absorbing tale of dragons (and their Riders)! It is also most apt as we enter the Year of The Dragon!

Ever the story-teller, Paolini's writing could even match up to JK Rowling's. The central theme is strickingly similar with a young man (teenage boy) as the main character who grapples with a newly bestowed reality of fate, destiny and various challenges that forces him out of his shell and to adapt to new surroundings in a timely manner. I guess among the reasons these novels will never go out of fashion is because young people can relate to it.

The challenges we face are no doubt dull, but it wields the same edge of toughness to it- being torn to make important decisions, the harsh training we have to go through, an honourable yet heavy responsibility to bear, high expectations from adults, much of it is like how Eragon reluctantly accepts his new role as a Dragon Rider. Most people will feel a tinge of sadness that at the conclusion of the cycle, the naive farm boy is indeed gone as a mature man takes his place.

A notable and praiseworthy characteristic of Paolini is that he builds strong female characters. Paolini emphasizes and underlines through his various female characters that beauty goes hand- in-hand with intelligence. Arya the elf, Nasuada the leader, Katrina the doting lover of Roran (Eragon's cousin) are all beauties with brains and courage. Although their strengths are prominent in different situations, these young women are all fine role models.

Not to be forgotten, Paolini instills intelligence and wit yet in another form, that of the dragons. Ancient and wise, clever but fierce, Paolini embodies precisely what has been known in dragon folklore and myth. Surprisingly, his temperament and traits of the dragons (in Inheritance) almost fully matched what I had discovered while reading a copy of an in-flight magazine. Noble indeed. The most entertaining aspect is how his dragons behave like dragons (dignified, ferocious beasts they are), but wield a strong magic and a consciousness equal to that of a human's.

For the villain character however, much is easily predictable as Paolini treads on the worn-out path, in which the overly powerful and singularly evil tyrant is brought down by the main character through an unexpectedly simple spell, wrought with full force of determination. As always, I am hardly interested in the main villain (who has always been a letdown and one dimensional of character), but of the villain apprentice, I pay full attention. Murtagh reminds me of various (villain apprentice) characters, who usually starts out as a (young, promising and potentially skillful) close friend to the main character, betrays them in the process and totally cross over to the dark side. Sounds familiar?

Anyway, Murtagh's story was nicely done, but it was lacking only in the sense that we readers do not get to see anything happening from his perspective, we are unable to ascertain his thoughts and real feelings, (only view his expression from the eyes of other characters) and thus, are largely ignorant of the pain and suffering he had gone through to turn him evil. Having to hear his account second-hand and in snippets is not as satisfying. In this regard, crafting and relating sob stories is trickier in writing, but usually effortless in anime. A viewer/reader experiencing the event(s) along with the character is more impactful that having the character relate his own back story to another character.

Well, no one could argue that Paolini is a great (if not brilliant) writer and many has indeed fallen in love with his world of Alagaesia- that of dwarves, elves, humans, Dragons, Urgals, magic and all things fantasy, yet which seems so real with his careful and detailed depiction. However, a quick check online revealed that most hated the ending, where the main character did not get his happily-ever-after closure. But I honestly thought it was realistic and better that Paolini had ended it that way, he purposefully kept all his characters to stay true to themselves and their real feelings, instead of forcing on a corny romance just to placate the audience with a sugary ending.

The ancient language is Paolini's trump card card, along with Angela and Solembum, two mysterious and humorous beings who made graceful appearances from time to time to amuse the readers and bewilder the other characters! Being a person who favours languages, the ancient language had been fun to interpret and I usually try to guess out the meaning from the story plus the way the characters speak and behave rather than refer to the direct translation immediately. Being a full-time fiction/fantasy writer is indeed a privilege and one the world's most amazing job, to eke out a living purely by the work of one's own imagination!

All in all, the Inheritance cycle had been nothing short of adventures, excitement, and blissful reading which I could not get enough of.

Cheers to Paolini, and May your swords stay sharp!

Work woes

I hate to complain, since it was after all something I brought upon myself. In my eagerness to secure a part-time job to fullfill my long semester break idleness, I had searched high and low and was elated when I finally got accepted at a very well-known company.

First of all, I was determined to try something different. Thus the part-time job had not the slightest thing to do with mass comm (my area of study). And of all things that attracted me, the company was a music centre and shop. As a piano amateur/intermediate level pianist, I was pleased that perhaps some good had come after all of my learning of music, however little that knowledge might be.

The dreamy impression I conjured up was entirely off track. After the initial first few weeks of sugar-coated treatment, I soon found out my true place in the company. It was indeed unforgiving. The pecking order was apparent and established and unfortunately, as the youngest and most inexperienced, I was placed among the lowest of the low. Simply put, newcomers had it tough.

Then, the torment started. One particular person, although uneducated and ill-mannered, enjoyed jeering, snickering at me and making me do work that shouldn't have been my responsibility. Never before had I loathed a person so strongly. The indiscreet bullying and being looked down upon, being disrepected and sidelined, soon became a routine. That one particular person enjoyed doing that. Although I hardly took notice upon it at first, it bothered me that my pride was being trampled on. In order to preserve peace and not aggravate the situation, I kept my cool, feint ignorance and make things work logically as it should be.

Persevere I must, but all is not well. I vividly remembered that after one particularly rough night (which included getting an earful from two bosses simultaneously and snide remarks from the heartless), I had my mask in place as usual, and brushed off the attacks as if there were mere flies, even managing to smile, but upon reaching my safe comfort zone, I was reduced to tears. Pathetic as it was, but in torrents of tears, I related my sorrow to my ever-understanding folks. Although my eyes were swollen after that, it felt extremely good to release the pent-up emotions.

And after that, every day was just a ritual to endure. One that I can't wait for to end.

While I'm at it, might I add that job descriptions (no matter how well described) are often not what they seem to be. If you expect everything to go according to black and white, you might end up surprised.

A Brand New Year

As the countdown kicked off and fireworks tore apart the dark skies at precisely the stroke of midnight, the moment everyone has been waiting for was finally here! Amidst a crowd of people, we ushered in the new year. 2012. The noise and excitement level was suitably hyped as the crowd was no doubt jubilantly cheering during the spectacular display of fireworks.

And just like that, I know life's daily routine is all once again lined up for me. Whatever lies ahead is out of my control as I will once again wake up everyday to face the odds stacked against me on tough days and sail smoothly on better days.

2012 motto:

Cast off your fear!

Look Forward!

Face Forward!

Stand up be strong

Know right from wrong

Forever hence

Believe yourself