"The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm" - My Thoughts on 'The Fork'!

Spoiler Warning!!!

Ok so I finally dove into "The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm" and the verdict is.... I LOVE IT.

Seriously incredibly wholesome, and beautiful stuff! After my fresh re-read of "The Inheritance Cycle" this was a spectacular treat. I have known of, and appreciated the main series for awhile now and finally enjoying fresh content in this magical world is so beautiful I can't even put it into words. Just unbelievable.

Each book in the series besides "Eragon's Guide to Alagaësia', which unfortunately I lost at some point in time throughout moving a lot over the years, has been extremely long and in depth which I am not complaining about! The detail and depth is what makes the books so fun.

But when it comes to "The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm" this is such a wonderful pivot from that style. This book is three short tales in one. With such a rich backstory to fall back on, Christopher Paolini really did a clever job at keeping the vibes so magical and precious for this installment. I can't even express how happy this first tale made me.

Just holding the book in my hands was such a nice time because, it simply fits perfectly in the hand. The pages are short, and everything is super easy to digest. I got through the first tale titled 'The Fork' quickly and with such ease. I imagine reading this whole book will be smooth and wonderful.

I've only read 'The Fork' so far but this book overall seems like the perfect way to waste a day away.

Pure joy. This book offers a fresh COLOR map of the Eastern Reaches, and cover art for each of the three tales!!!! EPIC.

The first tale is in Eragon's perspective, sort of, along with Saphira of course. They are building their new life in the Eastern Reaches! Gahhh! The intrigue!!! The peace!

It blows my mind that Eragon still has loose contact with Nasuada, via food and supply shipments! Also, he references meeting Orik in the future!!! My goodness. I think when I was younger, after 'Inheritance' concluded, I thought that all contact was cut off between him and those buddies. But after re-reading so recently, and having a better grasp these days, of course he's still going to be loosely involved with his friends! He has to raise the new Riders of course, he's not completely cut off simply because he's chosen this new separate life, and he's not alone as people did join him in the Eastern Reaches. These mysterious lands are apparently two weeks of slow sailing from Alagaësia! Too fun.

So in this first tale, Eragon grows frustrated by the sheer amount of work needed to create this new settlement. And through advice of Saphira and the Eldunarí, in an effort to relax, the Eldunarí invite him to see a vision taking place in Alagaësia!!

The vision sends him alllllll the way across the lands to the Northwest area of Alagaësia to the city of Ceunon. So cool how far out this goes. And near Carvahall! It's mentioned earlier that winter is coming and it's already apparently already flurrying. Look, I'm a sucker for snow. Pure magic. And the fact this was released in December adds a nice layer to all of this.

The tale continues to take place from the perspective of a girl in the town named Essie who's dealing with a bit of bullying. She then meets a man in her father's inn who goes by the name of Tornac. That should have been a DEAD giveaway for me as I know Tornac to be dead. I was just enjoying the story too much. I don't know what I was thinking. Indeed Tornac is a FAKE name and it's Murtagh! Murtagh helps the girl with her bullying problem with some wholesome advice all the while gathering intel from a man he's made a deal with regarding some strange black stone. A fight ensues and Murtagh defeats six thugs with a magic fork! Unbelievable! All the while I didn't realize 'Tornac' was actually Murtagh, I was worried one or a few of these thugs were Ra'zac based on various descriptions.

Later after the battle, Murtagh essentially blesses the girl and her family by giving her dad money that is well beyond the cost of the damage, as well as healing the girl of her scar leaving just a simple S for 'survival'. Murtagh also gives the magic fork to Essie, Essie then names the fork MISTER STABBY!!! Absolutely caught me off guard and I was rolling!!! Maybe the funniest moment in the whole series.

All in all it's just such a beautiful opening story. Murtagh and Thorn are seemingly healing slowly but surely mentally and emotionally from their tumultuous lives. So happy for them. As Murtagh leaves the inn, he notices the little magic boat sailing across the lands, the boat Arya constructed to sail basically infinitely, using the plants to sustain the magic. Under the snow, under the stars.

Later Saphira surprises me by saying she wishes Murtagh and Thorn could visit them.

The very room that Eragon keeps the Eldunarí I do want to mention, seems so beautiful. Ugh.

All in all this tale was really special on many levels. After so many years, finally experiencing a new chunk of story is so deeply satisfying.

I also can't help but wonder if this odd black rock has anything to do with Murtagh's book!! Maybe this is a sneak peek!!

Ahhhhh. I feel too lucky to have enjoyed such a cool tale.

The actual new art, the simple beauty of it all. It's special in a way I can't actually express. I sort of wish I read it earlier, but I also think the timing may be personally perfect.

I got through the short story so quickly, and so smoothly. I can't wait to jump into 'The Witch'! Apparently this is from Angela's perspective!!

Truly, I feel like I transported into a fun, cool place. Cooler than 95 percent of my life anyway. Life has been just wrecking me lately, and I am so grateful to feel some joy.