Teddy Noev, M.Ed.

I was very excited to read this book after watching Darin costar on Down to Earth. Very disappointed with his approach to awareness, and more specifically, the ride of being continuously reminded of why you should be “scared”, “frightened “, why you should “worry”, and his continuous messages of fear. Darin is big on protecting animals, against animal cruelty, yet most of the studies he quotes in his book are tested on rats. Most studies are inconclusive, and conclude “possible”, “potential” risks and “maybe harmful” outcomes. The author fails to mention specific names, nor are they listed in reference material. I’m not minimizing the risks for our health and wellbeing brought about by our current lifestyle. Awareness is one thing, yet continuously spreading fear and panic is another. We are where we are today because of the agricultural, industrial, and communications revolution. Most inventions made brought us conveniences and evolution. Possible hazards associated with them came up later. The wheel continues. Lastly, we’re not killing Earth and Mother Nature. Earth doesn’t need saving, as it very well knows how to “clean” itself from our irresponsible actions: earthquakes, floods, volcanoes, wildfires. We owe ourselves the due diligence of making life choices that enable us to continue living and enjoying health and vitality.

Another example of Paolini’s intelligence and creativity. There’s no arguing that. I still savor the wisdom the author leaves through the dialogue of his characters, although not as deep as his Inheritance characters’ wisdom. Open ending and the general theme of unity, love and peace. However, I’d have to say that for me personally this book was a disappointment, after reading The Inheritance series. So much darkness. So much evil. For a long time, I was looking for the balance between the Yang and Yin and hoping for some light to emerge. The dialogue seemed off and probably more appealing to a much younger audience. Very difficult book to read, especially those long italicized pages with Kira’s nightmares. I didn’t connect with the main character and her experiences. To understand some parts, I had to go back hundreds of pages and re-read the events that took place.