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The Inheritance Almanac

An A-to-Z Guide to the World of Eragon
by Michael Macauley
216p. 978-0-37586-493-3.
COPY ISBN
Gr 5—8—Macauley is the creator of Shurtugal.com, a fan site covering Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance" series (Knopf). He has written a great deal about the books over the last few years and has compiled the information into a reference work. Although called an "Almanac," the volume is a simple A-to-Z directory of the characters, creatures, concepts, and places introduced in the books. Many of the listings under a name or word are simple definitions of 25 words or less; only a few dozen of them, such as "Dwarves" or "[Princess] Arya," are longer than a page. Among the names and places, Macauley drops bits of trivia, such as "Helgrind was inspired by Shiprock Peak in New Mexico." While it would not take long to find all of this information online, many true fans of Paolini's works will appreciate having it all in one place.—Walter Minkel, Austin Public Library, TX
[=With]Macauley, who runs an online Inheritance trilogy fan site, assembled this alphabetical directory of people, places, and events in Christopher Paolini's fantasy epic. Photos showing Paolini and inspirations for his work, drawings of Inheritance creatures and objects, and ornamental spot art create a Tolkienesque mood. Only die-hard fans will find use for the exhaustive catalogue, but that subset will enjoy some behind-the-scenes tidbits.
Reviewed by Walter Minkel , Apr 01, 2011

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