Guest Review: The Inheritance Almanac by Michael Macauley

Hey Everyone, Maria, here! I just wanted to introduce our guest reviewer today - who also happens to be my husband, and the absolute love of my life ;) His name is Jason Martinez and he is currently a stay-at-home Dad (how lucky am I?), but has worked for the past 6 years as a NYC teacher.

So enjoy his review of The Inheritance Almanac - and don't be surprised if you see his reviews pop up every once in a blue moon. Enjoy!!

Paperback: 224 pages
Published: November, 2010

Christopher Paolini's internationally bestselling "Inheritance" series is an undisputed fantasy phenomenon that has sparked the imaginations of countless children and adults. "The Inheritance Almanac" is a fascinating companion to the series: an A-Z guide to the exciting world of Eragon and Saphira, for both loyal fans and those who are new to these epic adventures. Where did the Dragon Riders, the Ra'Zac and the Dwarves all originally come from? What is the secret of the magic behind Brom's tomb? Packed with the intricate details that make this world so real and yet so magical, with hundreds of entries arranged alphabetically, this is the definitive guide to one of the most popular fantasy series of recent years.

This book, as stated in the title, is indeed an almanac, but not in the calendar-type almanac you might be thinking of. It's actually more of a guidebook type of almanac. The Inheritance Almanac takes the reader, alphabetically, through information about all three books written in Christopher Paolini’s Inherticance Cycle: Eragon, Eldest, and Brisingr.

Now, this book is not meant for everyone. If you haven’t started reading any of the books in the Inheritance cycle, this almanac is going to sound like it is written in a different language, in fact, a lot of it is in a different language since Paolini created his own language within the books. Next, if you have begun to read the books in the cycle, I still do not recommend this almanac to you, unless of course you want to find out who is whose dad, and who might be someone’s brother. Basically Macauley has plenty of spoilers to those who haven’t read all three books.

However, if you, like me, have read all three books in the cycle, and are itching for the fourth and final installment to be published, then this is the book for you! Macauley does a great job reminding us of some of the important events throughout the three books, helping us remember some important details we may have forgotten in all the time we have been waiting for book number four. In fact, while reading the almanac, I found myself constantly wanting to go back and re-read the first three books.

Let me finally say, aside from checking out Macaluey’s Inheritance Almanac, you should also check out his website, which was the very first site dedicated to the Inheritance Cycle: www.shurtugal.com

- Jason M.