Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1) (The Inheritance Cycle) by Christopher Paolini
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Book Reviews of Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1) (The Inheritance Cycle)
Book Review: Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Summary: 5 Stars
When young farmer hunter Eragon (who, of course, grew up innocent of his heritage and destiny) finds a flawless, polished blue stone, he's at first unaware that it's a dragon's egg. It was in the charge of an Elven lady, who sent it towards safety, just before she was captured by a Shade.
There's an irascible old wizard, Brom, masquerading as the village storyteller, and an evil, all-powerful Emperor - once a Dragonrider, who long since turned to this world's Dark Side. Naturally, he's after the egg, and also anxious to suborn the one who can get it to hatch. There are increasing incursions by brutish (orc-like) Urgals, and a Rebel alliance fighting the Emperor, including humans, dwarves, elves, and perhaps a traitor or two.
The dragon egg chooses Eragon as its Rider, hatches, and they communicate telepathically. After Ra'zac (cowled dark riders) destroy Eragon's uncle's farm, he travels with Brom and his dragon Saphira in search of vengeance. Along the way, Brom trains him gradually in swordplay and in magic (are you surprised that he displays a talent for both?) and Saphira teaches him to be her Rider.
All in all, it's a bit like Star Wars meets Lord of the Rings, with shadings of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern. But that's ok, as the author builds his own world and story out of these familiar elements. I especially like the nagging, caring relationship that develops between boy and dragon, and I appreciate the young hero's values, and his concern about killing even the bad guys.
As the trio travel together, Eragon dreams of an Elven lady in need of rescue. He gains a prickly friend in Murtagh, who has a few secrets of his own. And eventually, in a race against time to save the lady, he reaches a marvellous rebel city-mountain, where he must carefully navigate tangled politics of man, dwarf and elf, while also dealing with the malevolence of the Twins.
There's an exciting battle in a crescendo of a conclusion. What next? We wonder along with Eragon who his father might be. Could it possibly be the evil Emperor? It will be great fun to find out.
Book Review: An Excellent Fantasy
Summary: 5 Stars
The book Eragon, by Christopher Paolini, is a great fantasy, one of the best I've ever read! It is exciting, tense, and it pulls you right in! The writing is great for any writer, especially one who is EIGHTEEN!
Yes, as was said in other reviews, this book does have a few resemblances to The Lords of the Rings, Harry Potter, and a few other good fantasies. However, I really don't think this makes this book a cheap copy. Only a few names, characters, and places are similar to The Lord of the Rings and others. The basic plot may be familiar, but you can't really call it a "copy", because it is the classic plot for a fantasy, so if Paolini copied, then so did Tolkien and many others. Is the exact wording and letters the same? No. And in my opinion, the actual words are what matter the most, not a few names. To be honest, when I first read Eragon, I didn't even notice any similarities, because I just read it like a regular book, and let myself wrapped up in it. I didn't sit there like a critical reviewer picking out every fault and similarity in the book.
Oh, and one more thing. I saw one or two reviews that said something like "When you kids who like Eragon grow up and read real fantasies, you'll feel pretty silly/ashamed of yourselves for liking this pathetic attempt". How do you know that just because someone is a kid, and if they disagree with your OPINION about Eragon, they haven't read many fantasies, and they are "just kids, they'll feel silly later when they realize how bad Eragon is". How do you know that? For your information, I'm still a kid, and I've read MANY fantasies, (I LOVE to read), and Eragon is the second best I've ever read (Harry Potter still is the best). And yes, I've read The Lord of the Rings, the one you like to talk about and refer to so much. And I have to say, Eragon is by far BETTER (in my opinion), than LOTR. Now I'm not saying that LOTR is a bad book- it's a great one. However, Eragon beats it by a mile.
So in conclusion, Eragon is an excellent book. I urge you to just give it a try. I can't wait until Eldest is published!
Book Review: A new mix of old ideas
Summary: 5 Stars
Many people attack Eragon... and perhaps, rightfully so... for its close ties to many other stories. So many plot elements, races, etc, can be intimately connected to past works of other authors.
But, in my mind, the importance of a book is not from whence the ideas came, but How they are used, and how the story evolves. Sure, the elves are beautiful, long lived, and wise, like in the Tolkien books... but I didn't personally like the Tolkien books, because the hypnotic wording style kept making me daydream instead of seeing the story. (Though I do recognize Tolkien's genius). Eragon, on the other hand, I loved.
Eragon is a Fun story. It is unique in its use of the ideas. Sure, Anne Mccaffery also had dragon riders... but the relationship between the dragons and riders in Eragon and the Pern series is so vastly different, they barely resemble one another.
Any who read this book, who have also read and enjoyed other fantasy novels, I have this, really, to say. If you want to enjoy the book, don't actively compare it to other books it may remind you of. Simply read Eragon as is.
Eragon is a beautifully crafted, unique story, and, over the course of the series, has the best character development I've ever seen. I give it 5 stars, because despite the clichéd elements, the heart of the story, the whole of the story, is unique and compelling.
Eragon really does require the whole series. It's one very, very long story. Throughout the series, you see both Eragon and the author grow and mature. It is a very interesting effect, because it feels like the Soul of the book grows with the main character. The writing style improves gradually, and for me, it makes the entire story feel more real.
All in all, if you are unable to judge something for its merit due to similarities it has to other stories, then Eragon is not for you. However, if you can enjoy a good story, with familiar races and premises, without condemning it for knowing where Christopher Paolini's inspirations lie, then a delightful world awaits you.
Book Review: A Cure for Poison Ivy
Summary: 5 Stars
For someone having just arrived at this site and reading the first review posted under the neatly segregated "customer reviews" section, I was appalled. If I had not read the book, I would not be interested in doing so. As luck would have it, however, I DID read the book first, and I was coming here looking for informaion on the sequel. First of all: I don't believe that this is a canned story. Although many of the elements were similar (if not identical) to such fantasy worlds as Middle Earth or stories such as Star Wars, most stories are built up from other people's ideas before they take on a life of their own. As another nineteen year old writer, who began my first novel at the same time that Mr. Paolini did, my world has evolved from a deviation of Middle Earth and Dungeons and Dragons, but then unique things begin to appear such as how magic works, the disposition of dragons, and the immensely detailed descriptions of halls from a long forgotten race. There were elements in the story of Eragon that were so unique I was bowled over with imagery, such as the immense size of the mountains and the richly detailed characters.
One of the things that really struck me about this story was how real the characters were; it was not like a typical hero or epic story in which you know that nothing can happen to the main characters and people don't die. Sorry if this spoils anything, but people actually die in Eragon, people that in a more "typical" epic would have made it out without a scratch. And not only is the hero's "destiny" not clear to the characters, it is also beyond the reader. I don't think that Eragon will be the next benevolent reader, nor do I think he will remain with the Varden, but that's only the speculation of an excited reader who is looking for more of the story.
In short, I adore this book and would reccomend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy or just good storytelling. My nine year old sister has enjoyed it as much as my fourty six year old mother! It is an excellent first enstallment in the hopefully long career of Christopher Paolini.
Book Review: a wonderful debut from a young author
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the debut novel from Christopher Paolini. Paolini graduated high school when he was 15 and started work on a novel. When he was 17, "Eragon" was published by Knopf and the book landed at the top of bestsellers lists across the country. This would be a good first novel for anyone, but as this is the debut novel from a teenager, I think we have just been put on notice that a major new talent has arrived. This was quite a good novel, and Paolini will only get better as he ages and refines his craft. This is, at its core, a simple and fairly typical fantasy story. A fifteen year old boy lives in an isolated village in the mountains. One day while exploring he comes across a blue gem. Selling this gem will help get enough money for his family to have enough to eat for some time, but nobody knows quite what it is worth and the regular traders do not want to fleece young Eragon. The stone turns out to not be a gem, but rather an egg, a dragon egg to be exact. When the dragon is born, Eragon decides to raise it, and learns that dragons are very intelligent and powerful creatures. There were once Dragon Riders in the land, but the evil King Galbatroix, a former Rider himself and with the help of rogue Riders, hunted down the Riders and slaughtered them. Now there are no Riders left. Galbatroix knows that the egg is out there and he is sending his forces out to reclaim the egg/ and the new Rider, Eragon.
"Eragon" is reminiscent of the fantasy of Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, Terry Brooks, and several other fantasy authors. It is similar, but Paolini tells his story well enough, and makes it interesting enough, that it doesn't really matter. Paolini was able to hold my interest well enough that I am looking forward to the second book in the "Inheritance" trilogy and I am glad that I finally got around to giving "Eragon" a try. It was a fun book to read, and was rather fast paced. I also understand that it is primarily marketed for the teenaged audience, but then again Harry Potter is supposed to be a children's story.