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What are readers saying about Eragon: Inheritance, Book I (Inheritance Trilogy (Hardcover))?
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-17 11:40:39.
(Language: English)
 
Oh, Eragon. They're made a movie about it. Everyone I talk to that's read it says it's amazing, but I never got into it. I kept trying to read it, thinking that there must be something amazing about it, but I'm only ever let down by it. I know the beginning was poorly written. I mean, *goes to search for the book on her highly disorganized bookshelf* (I still have to organize that thing *groans*) sentences are short and are generally of the same construction. Descriptions are more often than not,misleading, confusing and inaccurate. "'Get ready,' he whispered, his whole body vibrating." Rule number 1: people do not vibrate; vibrators vibrate. Even when you shiver, your whole body doesn't vibrate. I can quiver, it can shake, it can tremble, it can convulse if you're right on the edge of hypthermia. If you're excited and distracted you can totter, you can quaver, and throb and wobble and teeter. You can not vibrate. But in this instance, the "Shade" is excited! His body could be "thrumming" with anticipation. The shade should "almost be able to hear his blade sing though the air." Or possibly "hear the excitement pounding in tandem with the beat of his heart." Or maybe he could "smell the blood that would be spilled." Or maybe he could see the mystic lines of tension building in the clearing." Now maybe that might evoke some emotion in me. Maybe if he used some description to show what kind of creature this is, possibly describe the creature's imagination or the setting with the creature's words and thoughts, then I would be satisfied. All the shade is to me at this point is a bi-polar, excitable creature, that doesn't pose much of a threat. Make me fear this creature when I meet it."His build was slim but strong, like a rapier." Now, there are many things you could compare to the construction and physical characteristics of a rapier, but a Human's build is not one of them. The animate vs. inanimate object don't make it quite a valid comparison. I mean, a rapier isn't even bendy. Yes, comparing someone's body composition to a whip is valid because the comparison is based largely on the type of movement that is similar between the two objects. Unless this elf being described has a handle and is a thin, deadly sharp piece of unbendable metal, the comparison doesn't work. "A helm of extraordinary craftsmanship, wrought with amber and gold, rested on his head.".... What kind of moron would wear a helmet of amber and gold out on a dangerous mission? And this wasn't a metal that looked like gold, or was similar to gold. No. The text clearly states that this helmet was made of gold. Now let me point out some reasons why gold isn't one of the best ideas. 1) Big mallet. 2) Soft metal. 3) Smash. Is this clear enough? This kind of armor is okay for a ceremony, but these people are obviously not conducting a ceremony or ritual anything. These people are dashing through the woods trying to protect this dragon egg, and wouldn't you think that they'd wear some armor that would protect them? Personally, I'd swap the helmet for something that might be a little lighter, and maybe let me dodge out of the way of said mallet, instead of having this great, unwieldy mass of metal on my head that wouldn't do a thing to protect me. Well, maybe if the mallet had spikes my brain wouldn't be pierced, but that's a moot point if your skull is broken into pieces and shreds your brain instead. "She carried in her lap a pouch that she frequently looked at, as if to reassure herself that it was still there." "As if" to reassure herself? As if? Why not just say that she's reassuring herself? The "as if" implies doubt of her reasons for looking at it. Isn't Paolini the author? Isn't he speaking thus far as an omnicient storyteller? Why is he expressing doubt? If Paolini is expressing doubt, this means that he is an unreliable narrator. So if Paolini is an unreliable narrator, this calls into question the entire rest of the story. You don't play with your reader's trust. If you intend to be an unreliable narrator, there had better be good reason, and you had better stick with it. Paolini also jumps from a narrator voice that knows thoughts and drives of his characters when talking about the creatures, but is curiously absent of definite emotions in the elves. However, none of the story is told with the words of anyone but Paolini. It's just not believable. Why do we know that the Shade's body is 'vibrating,' yet we can only guess at why the elf keeps looking at the pouch? And why else would she look at it? Is it of such an exquisite design that her eyes are drawn to it and it's mystical powers? Probably not, but who would think that? I mean, you have this important elf woman riding on a horse with a pouch in her lap. The fact that Paolini mentioned something as specific as a pouch when not describing a person's general appearance is going to make us pay attention and think it's important. Overall, it's just a bad sentence. Unimaginative, poorly constructed, and kind of redundant. "Garjzla!" Gesundheit! The story may be wonderful, but I'm sorry, I just can't get past his writing style. It's distracting, while at the same time managing to completely not hold my interest. I'm not past page three, people. Paolini said he started writing this book when he was 15. All I have left to add is this: It shows. 
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-08-25 10:18:39.
(Language: English)
This series is tough to evaluate. It's not very original, but extremely well written. Mostly good morals, but its the tiny passages that make me hesitate to give this series a good review. One of the ways of performing magic is by summoning demons, a practice clearly rejected by the bible. While this doesn't play a large role in the books, aside from Durza who is a bad character (most magic is the harmless fantasy style found in Harry Potter and Narnia), it's expected of the characters and readers to just accept it as a harmless means of performing magic. The second book goes farther with Eragon's conversations with both the elves and dwarves. The dwarf belief in any higher power is treated foolishly by the elves for the simple reason that it can not be proven. Faulty logic at best and the author does not shove it down anyone's throat, nor say or imply that the elves are wholly right. Hopefully the third book will start to clear these doubts up....
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-09-15 11:21:40.
(Language: English)
The second one wasen't quite as good as the first, but I still loved reading them. Although nobody will ever match Tolken, this is certainly writen in the same style and reminds me of the conflicts of Middle Earth. Amazing that Paolini wrote the first one when he was only 15! Loved the first one, although I was very sad that not very much was resolved at the end of the first book. I have to say it was on par with Harry Potter (more similar to Lord of the Rings, but not as eloquent). I was always interested in what was coming next and I can\'t believe it was written by a 16 year old!! I can\'t wait for Eldest to be available at the library. I really liked Eragon, and although it reminded me of Lord of the Rings a lot, it has its own ideas in this weird fantasy world. While nobody will ever create a world like Tolken, Paolini does a good job of keeping things interesting with a new twist in a way that is slightly less complex.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-02-12 05:02:33.
(Language: English)
ok just so everyone knows... its no longer a triology. its a quartet. yep theres going to be 4.i loved the first 2 books! what can i say? i don't get into judging the book by HOW its written, i judge by WHAT was written and how everything happened in the book. being an aspiring writer myself (but thats not gonna happen for a long while) i was amazed that someone was able to create an entire new world with it's own people and cultures... at his age when older people have been writing that kind of stuff for a lot longer. i'm not saying he's better, i'm just saying that with the little amount of experience he has you have to consider him at LEAST an ok writer!anyway don't listen to me or any of the other reviewers on here until you've read the book yourself and have formed your own opinion. if nothing else it gives you something to talk about with people!
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-02-09 04:59:29.
(Language: English)
EragonA 15 year old boy, who lives with his uncle, finds a blue crystal that turns out to be a dragon’s egg. It hatches and he raises his dragon, he names Saphira, in secret. The second he touches the egg a mark forms on his hand, the mark of a rider. They go on a quest to avenge his uncle Garrow’s death from the evil King/rider Galbatorix’s henchmen, the Ra’zacs. He meets Brom a old rider, unbeknownst to him. Brom gives him a sword, Zar’roc. They leave on their quest, with Brom training him in the ways of a rider, who in time also become magicians.. Brom finally tells Eragon that he is an agent of Varden, a rebel group sworn to overthrow Galbatorix. In Teirm he meets a herbalist who tells Eragon’s fortune and a werecat named Solembum. Later, Brom is killed in a battle with Ra’zacs. Eragon builds a grave and Saphira turns it into a diamond vault. He meets up with Murtagh, while imprisoned by a evil shade, Durza, in the city of Gil’ead. He also see an elf, Arya, who is in a coma state. He has had dreams about her and takes her with him when Murtagh helps him escape They escape being perused by Urgals. They reach Varden , Murtagh going there with them against his better judgement. Murtagh is the son of Morzan whom Brom killed. Morzan was in league with Galbatorix who has two dragon eggs. Ayra was supposed to guard Saphira’s egg and sent it to the Spine by magic, while under attack and Eragon found it, causing this adventure. They take Arya to the healers in Varden. Varden is inside a mountain. Both humans and dwarves live here. Murtagh tells Eragon he is the son of Morzan, but he denounces his father’s evil deeds.Eragon meet with the dwarf king Hrothgar, and his daughter Ajihad. He finds Angela and Solembum are at Varden. They attacked by Urgals and importunely the kind is killed. Eragon fights the shade Durza killing him by piercing his heart with his sword Zar’roc, but not before he is hurt by the shade. Despite Angela’s healing help, while in a coma, he is left with a scar similar to Murtaghs. He is contacted in his mind by a Togira Ikonoka - the cripple who is whole. He is told to seek him where the elves live, in Ellesmere. At the end of this book one, Eragon decides he needs more training and decides to look for that he will find Togira Ikonoka. Before he has to confront his true enemy King Galbatorix.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-03-02 06:20:09.
(Language: English)
I found telling the story in the past tense limited the sense of action and Paolini's inexperience clearly comes across in the lack of any real action. He is good at describing what Eragon is feeling but falls flat when creating interesting dialogue bewteen the characters. He world is a Dungeons and Dragons second edition cliche where elves are isolated magic users and dwarves are dour underground dwellers and dragons despite being stronger, more intelligent and more powerful in magic are very happy to sell themselves into slavery to rather dull humans. I give him his due for writing the book as it is clear that he has worked hard on it but I can't help thining that if his parents had not own their own publishing firm that this book would never have seen print.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-06-23 05:11:16.
(Language: English)
Whoever read and liked this is probably not very well-read. If I didn't read often and didn't dig into the works of better authors with better writing styles and better concepts, I would probably like this. As it is, the writing here is horrendous. I bought the stupid book because a ton of people recommended it to me, and from the first line of the first chapter I thought I fell into terrible sci-fi fanfiction written by some 13 year old fanboy online. I don't get the hype. Firstly, the grammar is horrendous. Secondly, the kid has no writing style. I don't care if he's seventeen. Get a damn editor. Thirdly, the characters were so generic I could recite "the hero's journey" requirements from 10th grade English class to it in my head. For real, does no one have original ideas anymore?? How did this become a best seller? I don't care if you are going to rip off a story (or five) from existing fantasy novels or video games, as long as you do it WELL and convincingly, but there is no excuse for rubbish this badly written and put together to be published by a major publishing house and sell well. What was his agent thinking, letting this get published without heavy editing and rewrites? I don't care if Paolini was seventeen. Christ, I'd prefer a well written, impressive book with more interesting characters and better written, less predictable plot lines, all from a 20 year old with more drafts worked in, than to see a poorly turned out manuscript from a 17 year old that bored me to tears. Not an impressive effort at all. I refuse to finish reading this rubbish. There are better books on my to-read list.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-09-24 04:13:00.
(Language: English)
I had heard a lot of hype about Eragon and how Christopher Paolini was so young when he wrote it so I decided to pick it up and see what all the fuss was about. I can honestly say I used to be a sci-fi/fantasy fan so the fact that I really liked these books is no surprise. However, Paolini breaks away from this typical good vs. evil premise (though in a broad generalization it would be good vs. evil) and introduces the raw reality of how groups of people could potentially interact given the circumstances they're under. I would highly recommend this book to any sci-fi/fantasy fan because it is most certainly a different world with beautiful descriptions that can lead your imagination to places you've never been to before. I don't think it mimics LOTR, Star Wars, or any other sci-fi/fantasy book I've read. Maybe a little like Dragon At World's End by Christopher Rowley and that series, but it most certainly has its own flavor. Thumbs up.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-06 07:56:17.
(Language: English)
Ridiculous and laughable... That's all I have to say. If you want to read fantasy, why not just read all the books this kid has ripped off. The story's already been told, by much more talented authors. These books are insulting. He even ripps off a line from Blazing Saddles, for God's sake. Did he think people wouldn't notice? How dumb does he assume his readers are?! Okay, if you don't mind blatant literary rip off's of about ten other stories. I think the kid uses his thesaurus too much too. His word choices just seem dischordant at times. I just couldn't get beyond the feeling that this book was a blatant rip off of every fantasy novel ever written before it... It even had a line from Blazing Saddles in it, for God's sake.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-04-17 10:13:11.
(Language: English)
This book is like the kids' version of Terry Brooks' books. You know, when you're little and you want to write a story, what you write sounds exactly like what you read, because you don't know any better and think that all stories have to be exactly like what you read. Between Brooks' Shannara books, Eragon, and the Lord of the Rings, there are so many parallels leading from Lord of the Rings to the other two series that it's almost astonishing. I've got to say that I wouldn't have read this book at all if it hadn't been for one of my friends loaning it to me and insisting that I read it, because he thought it was really good. I couldn't stand the writing style [very obviously that of a fifteen year old with a couple high school English lit/comp classes under his belt], the plot irritated me [but to be fair, a lot of "kid going off on his own adventure"-type plots irritate me], and the characters, which for me can redeem a book to a certain extent, were insufferable and stereotypical. I did like the cover, though—bonus points for a strange-looking dragon, and "Paolini" is an awesome name. At least the map wasn't one of those that you could turn upside-down and it becomes Middle-Earth; I'll give him that, too. In spite of that, it's almost painful how much this kid wants to write like Tolkien, right down to the pronunciation guide in the back. It's a pity that this book was originally self-published [thanks, Mum! Welcome, Son!], because I'd be willing to bet that if it had gone through the editorial process a couple of times and had some rewrites, it could have been a decent book. To paraphrase the famous quote, those who can, write. Those who can't, write Eragon. 'Nuff said.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-27 07:25:03.
(Language: English)
Am I the only one who did not like this book, or the first one? Clearly not, since underneath the screaming media praise for Mr. Paolini, the critical reviewers are starting to take a closer look at his works. The first noticeable thing about this book is the lovely cover art. The details are beautiful, the color scheme is soothing, and even the feel of the book is pleasant. This better be a good 400-something pages, I hoped, because when you're imprisoned 100 pages can make a big difference. In terms of both books, they are equally beautiful. I did like this book, somewhat, and I still do, somewhat. But I do not love it, nor can I see myself ever sitting down to read it again. Flipping back and forth between the ridiculous "dictionary" in the back was tiresome, and I gave up any and all attempts to even pronounce the foolish words. Although it is a noble thing to "create" three languages, I would have more respect for Paolini if he crafted one well-developed, pronounceable, and believable language than three mediocre languages. Heck, Eoin Colfer made his own alphabet; it's not like this is an unrealistic idea. Furthermore, all the females (except one villager randomly mentioned once) in the first book had a name that ended in "a." I thought that was bizarre and uncreative. Yes, it's apparent that he's an avid fantasy reader, for the essential "heroic character path" is there, Paolini follows it like it was his bible. It's also apparent that he recycles common elements from other fantasy stories like "Lord of the Rings". In Eragon, I felt that many of characters were stale and lacking dimension. A well-written book crafts the feelings of the reader in a way that they are compelled to feel certain ways about the characters. I never worried that Eragon was going to die--even though in the back of the reader's mind they know this is not going to happen (or at least, it seems very unlikely) because it is a trilogy, and he has to live until the end. However, in other books I have found myself avidly turning pages, biting my nails in anticipation, wondering if the main character is going to die (even though I know in the back of my mind he won't); I never felt that way for any of the characters in Paolini's two books. However, on a positive note, my perception of Eragon has shifted between the start of the first book to the end of the second. I definitely can see how he has changed from child to adult, but his "adult" self is still immature and irrational. His pursuit of a relationship with Arya is laughable; his dialogue with her is ridiculous and unrealistic, and I never felt the attachment he had towards her was anything more than skin-deep. Yes, she was "beautiful," Paolini tells us. But what of her personality? I only gathered that she was often cold, and although the reader caught flickers of deeper dimensions to her personality, but they were brief and never expanded upon. When Eragon confronts Arya (countless times; there are numerous similar scenarios in Eldest, another reason why this second book was longer than it should have been), he says to her, "Arya, I'll do anything to win your hand. I would follow you to the ends of the earth. I would build a palace for you with nothing but my bare hands. I would--" Here is where Arya interrupts Eragon with something along the lines of "Give it up, and shut up." I cannot blame her--any guy who starts spewing such idiocies isn't honestly serious, and I cannot help but think that Eragon is nothing but a sexually starved teenage boy who has been living too long in the wilderness amongst elves who lack porno magazines. Doesn't he understand that "no" means "no"? Is he capable of knowing how to draw the line and what it means to be a stalker? Brom's character in the first book was also something of a joke. I swear he was holding back information about his past from Eragon because 1) it made him feel more important about himself, giving him an ubercoolmysteriousooweeeooo type of aura, and 2) Eragon's character is portrayed as being too stupid to figure this out on his own, and Brom knows this. I found it difficult not to laugh at Eragon's shock upon discovering Brom's past. I'm surprised that scar on his back wasn't in the shape of a giant "L." Paolini abuses adverb-use, and in the middle of the second book I was ready to tear my hair out at all the figurative language. For several chapters in a row he could not go one page without adding at least one simile, metaphor, or example of personification. I could easily open the book to a page and find an example right now. Figurative language can be a powerful tool in writing if wielded correctly, but when abused it loses its power and makes the writer sound immature. Furthermore, I can't stand it when it it's obvious that a writer abuses their thesaurus. Many times it sounded as though Paolini was throwing in words that "sounded" good, but he used them in the wrong context. In a sense, the action that was taken in order to make the writer appear smarter makes them look foolish. I can understand (to an extent) the hype involved with his first book because he was so young when it was published. But age is no excuse for poor writing, and reading excerpts of an interview with him (in which he says something along the lines of looking to achieve literary beauty that excels beyond Tolkien and Seamus Healey's translation of Beowulf [that was the version I read]), it sounds like he holds himself in too high of regard, but uses his age as an excuse. There's a point in time where a rookie stops being a rookie and becomes a writer, but Paolini doesn't seem to have crossed that threshold yet. Despite all this, I do not hate Paolini's trilogy thus far. I still harbor a faint hope that in his last book, his last chance, he will redeem himself and show the reader that he can improve and that he has crossed the line, becoming a true writer. I want him to develop his characters and make his story more complex, compelling, and original. If I want to read Tolkien, I'll open "Lord of the Rings", not Eragon. Let's hope the last book in Paolini's trilogy will show some drastic improvement.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-02 02:57:09.
(Language: English)
What words can I use to describe the monstrosity that is 'Eragon'? Let's start with derivative, unoriginal, badly-written, and cliched. The prose is purple, the metaphors make no sense, inconsistencies abound, and I have yet to see a character that cannot be neatly labelled under 'Generic Fantasy Stereotype #18239'. I'm sure you've heard it time and time again: "'Eragon' is LOTR + Star Wars + Pern + Earthsea + DnD + Any Fantasy Series In Recent Memory". Well, you heard right. The plot is a clearcut archetypal heroic journey, which excuses none of the lack of originality. If you find something in this series that is original and applied well, please let me know. No, vegan nudist hippie elves don't count. (Although technically that's in Eldest.) Now, I read fiction for the characters. Yes, the plot is an important part of any story, but I hold firm to the belief that it is the characters that drive the plot. So imagine my absolute disgust when I find that there is nary a single sympathetic character to be found in 'Eragon'. The hero himself? The term Gary-Stu was created for the likes of him. I'd like to know where the author got the idea that swordfighting can be taught in a matter of months. The requisite love interest then? (Let's not get into the fact that Our Hero falls in love without ever speaking to this young lady.) Eragon rescues her from certain doom, and she can't be arsed to give up even a half-hearted 'Thank you.' The dragon then? I mean, it's a dragon, it has to be cool! Sadly, Saphira is merely a tool of convenience, no matter what the author claims about the dragon-rider relationship. In the words of someone wiser than I, "Saphira is his robot puppy that can shoot missiles and transform into a car." So much for our main characters, huh? How about the villains? The first one we meet is the oh-so-scary Shade, Durza. He is given no motivations other than 'He's a Shade.' or 'He's working for the King.' Paolini also manages to botch up what I assume was an attempt at a redemption scene. After our scary villain kicks the proverbial bucket, we are treated to a long series of flashbacks explaining how 'Oh, he wasn't REALLY evil, it was the evil spirits!' The question it doesn't answer is: Why do I care? The new insight to the scary villain's character doesn't answer any questions the reader might have had, they do not reveal his motivations for earlier actions, and they do not serve to entertain. Our main villain? Never shows up on stage, and the only reason given for his supposedly evil actions is 'He's mad'. Way to pick on the mentally unstable, Paolini. On to the writing itself. I am willing to bet that the author is very fond of thesauruses. As any writing teacher worth their salt will tell you, please do not think that replacing one word with one pick at random from the thesaurus means that your vocabulary is sophisticated. In fact, don't think that the very meaning of your sentence will stay the same, or if the sentence will still make sense. I'm looking at you, 'cabuchons', 'bivouacked', and 'ablutions'. Don't even get me started on the numerous permutations of 'said'. Just look at this, look me straight in the eye, and tell me Paolini's editor was doing her job. "'Sorry,' apologized Brom." If you can do that, then I will take comfort in my knowledge that yes, people ARE that ignorant. You probably have a pretty good idea of how bad this book is by now, I should hope. If you aren't convinced, that's no skin off my back. But all the same, I'd recommend looking up Anti-Shur'tugal, where they critique 'Eragon' far better than I can. I'll conclude by saying that any further works of Christopher Paolini will not be finding their way onto my bookshelf.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-09-07 11:29:19.
(Language: English)
I hate Paolini's work. To my very core. I don't really think it's so much the "he stole from Tolkien/Lucas/Ghandi/God/my dog.." Even though he blatantly took ideas from masterminds, that isn't what bothers me. It's his writing style... When I was fourteen, I admired him out of mere jealously. I was absolutely green with envy that he could publish a book at age fifteen, and recieve any kind of high acclaim. But on retrospect (and nearly vomiting as I attempted to get through a chapter of Eldest, which I failed at miserably), I was done. On a sort of similar topic: have any of you realized that he is obsessed with stating distances? Something like, "Two feet away stood three troops of fifty, in rows of five, making ten people per row" is a possible sentence that wouldn't surprise me had I seen it in one of his books. He has zero character development (Who IS Eragon? I seemed to have forgotten what he even looks like, or any part of his personality). I DO remember Murtagh... a little. Probably because I pictured him as being hot (and he's played by Garret Hedlund in the movie, which I'll admit I did see because of the amazing CG dragons). Seriously though... the plot is a cliche hero's journey, with no flavor or haecceity thrown into the mix. The characters also are horrible. None of them are memorable and the main character is my least favorite character of them all. What left is there to hold in high regard? His world building skills? Nay, my friends. I don't know why he decided that his world of Alagaesia had to have EVERY single climate condition imagineable. It made his world seem fake, trite, and boring in my honest opinion. And the language he "created," I'd rather not get started. Anyway, not that I am one to talk, but Paolini really needs work in his writing skills. His book is receiving such high acclaim, and I am still trying to figure out why. Sure, it's great that he published a book at such a young age, but are we as a society lowering the bar that much as to celebrate mediocrity? Well, I think my job is done here. If you would like to see more of what I have said, there is an entire website focused on the Inheritance Trilogy (with many criticisms). http://www.anti-shurtugal.com/ Fun times at Anti-shurtugal.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-14 07:27:17.
(Language: English)
I found this book...to be pretty much the same as Lord of the Rings and Dragon Riders of Pern. The names were unoriginal and the words all seemed to come out of my vocabulary books for school. The beginning truly seemed written by a fifteen year old. It was dull and predictable. Eragon learned things too quickly, he became too powerful too fast. Really... it didn't seem like he did anything wrong at all. The deaths caused were... sub consequential. It wasn't his fault at all, it would have happened anyway without the boy. Sometimes you need to make up your own characters without making things so utterly like Tolkien's world. He doesn't need to love the beautiful girl! I respected Tolkien from staying away from such...petty relationships in what I wasn't expecting to have a love story thread. I truly wish that Eragon doesn't live longer than other people, I don't think the world can take him being alive longer. I have read this one, and Eldest... and I will read Inheritance (I believe that's what it will be called) when it comes out. But I will not like it at all. I know it, but I have gotten this far and I Must know what I am going to cirtize. I am thinking Christopher should have worked harder to write a more... unique book. If anyone wrote a book called Shlarry Blotter, with 'warlocks' who developed magical powers at young ages and had a school in America and used car antennas for the source of their magic and went to school for four years in a secluded high school for these strange people, everyone would jump all over it. that is pretty much what has happened with this book, but the books it clearly mimics have been around long enough to fade from memory, and those who have read them know not to even bother with this lame excuse for a fantasy novel.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-06-21 04:05:17.
(Language: English)
Even though I'm a bit too old for this book, and I realize that, I still read it because a friend of mine was (and is) really in to dragons and thus loved the movie. I love the magic system in this book, focusing on a language of magic. I like the character development as it doesn't seem too far-fetched (keeping in mind that this is primarily a young-adult/teen type book.) I am sad to see where Paolini took these ideas into the next book (too much angst for my tastes) but I am interested to see how it resolves so I'll have to read Brisngr sometime. As a sidenote, the movie sort of follow the book, but it cuts out a few main scenes and also rewrites the ending.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-08-10 01:02:46.
(Language: English)
I was definitely not impressed. After reading it, I can barely remember the plot-- it's virtually indistinguishable from all the other fantasy novels I've read. In the fantasy/scifi genre, it's true that many ideas and plots are retread because most of them have already been written, but to so blatantly copy pieces of fantasy/scifi classics, glue them together, and call it a new novel... Well, needless to say, I was not happy. Typically, even if the ideas are not original, good authors make the presentation and execution of the ideas, the characterization, and/or the writing style fresh and original, which is what makes for a good book. Unfortunately, Eragon is rather generic, not particularly creative, and his 15/16 year old age shows in his writing, which is not quite developed-- bland and cliche-ridden, with overly simplistic "character development." I realize that this is not a bad effort for a 15/16-year-old, but since when should age matter in whether or not the book is well-written? Should we publish a paragraph by a 2-year-old and say, "OMG, this is so amazing FOR A 2-YEAR-OLD?" Paolini's writing has to stand up next to that of his fellow fantasy writers, and if you have to allow for his age, then isn't that an indication that something is off? What with all the good fantasy out there these days, Paolini is going to have to mature a little more before his writing can compete. If it's demonstrated to me that his sequels are better written, then perhaps I'll pick it up. Or, if he rewrites Eragon when he's older so that it becomes a much more distinctive book with stronger writing, I'll be happy to get back into it. For now, I'm done with this series.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-06-28 07:54:19.
(Language: English)
A long time ago in a fantasy world far, far away, a young boy living with his uncle on a farm dreams The Big Dream of adventure and excitement. When his uncle is tragically murdered by the lackies of Darth Vader - I mean, King Galbatorix - this young boy must escape with the help of an old Jedi - I mean, wizard, who will teach him the ways of the Force - I mean magic, definitely magic. This young boy has got to find the Rebel Alliance, the Varden, as the forces of the Empire closes in. That's never been done before, right? Eragon is not good fantasy. There is no innovation. The story is clearly structured after Star Wars, the cultures and languages are clearly taken from Lord of the Rings, and the magic system is stolen right out of Ursula le Guin's "Wizard of Earthsea" saga, the structure is based off of a wooden interpretation of the Hero's Journey, and his character and world names sound like sneezes (Durza, Murtagh, Galbatorix, etc.) Eragon is not good literature. Paolini's prose is clunky. He doesn't understand pacing at all, and he introduces irrelevant or unnatural details at odd points, like an aside about the nature of the magic system in the middle of an attack. All of his characters talk exactly the same, they have the social skills of ten-year-olds, and Brom's "wisdom" is clearly the pseudo-wisdom of a fifteen year old, and very often his descriptions are confusing or ambiguous. Why am I hitting so hard on Paolini? He's only fifteen, isn't he? Well, actually, no. He was nineteen when the book was professionally published, and it should have been totally rewritten. He was 21 or 22 when he wrote the second book. His writing should have improved, but if anything it has gotten worse. Another reason I am being so critical is that Paolini may have been 19, but he entered the real world of public discourse and so I'm going to treat his book like I would any other book and evaluate it based upon its artistic merit, literary value, and so on. A third reason is that Paolini is a success not because his book is good. It isn't. It really, honest to God, truly, utterly sucks. But it was written by a fifteen-year-old. The only reason it is making any money is because a fifteen year old had the commitment to write a book and get it published (which was a fluke, actually, and not based on any talent). It was a success because it feeds the desires of other angsty fifteen-year-olds who want to make it big by nineteen. I know I did. But you know what? I'm glad I didn't make it big by nineteen. Looking back, my work sucked more than Paolini's. There *is* such a thing as maturity, and it can only come with age. Nineteen is too young to be a New York Times bestselling published novelist, and Paolini is going to regret it later in life. A fourth reason is that Eragon is becoming an inspiration for kids as young as seven. This is disturbing because people aspire to aim for their inspirations, and instead of aiming for literature that is actually good, like Dracula, the Princes and the Goblin, Narnia, Lord of the Rings, the Odyssey, or, heck, even Harry Potter, these kids standards are being set by the likes of Eragon. Which means that these kids books are going to be *derivative* of Eragon, something that is itself *already* derivative. A fifth reason is that Paolini is an arrogant young man. He has publicly compared his own work to that of Tolkien, something which is entirely laughable, he claims he has created entire languages for the books, but these languages have no consistent grammatical structure and when spoken aloud sound like the speaker is having a seizure, and he talks like he knows everything there is to know about mythology, fantasy, and writing. I have no doubt that Paolini could grow up to be a good writer, but not if he thinks he has now learned everything there is to learn about writing. This book, however, by any objective literary standard there is, is simply terrible and I doubt very much if in fifty years they will be remembered as anything more than "those books that fifteen-year-old wrote." If that.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-01-29 10:11:33.
(Language: English)
Voila comme je l'avais dit apres avoir visionne le film j'ai lu le premier tome de cette trilogie et bien que j'ai vraiment aime le film, aussi difficile que cela puisse paraitre le film n'etait vraiment rien a compare au livre qui est tout simplement enlevant et nous transporte dans un univers vraiment palpitant ! Un monde que l'on apprend vraiment a mieux connaitre, enormement plus detaille que le film et où l'on decouvre chaque personnage bien plus en profondeur et apprend a les aimer et se surprend a avoir hâte de lire la suite, le genre de livre que j'ai eu de la misere a refermer a la fin de chaque pause car je n'avais guere de temps pour lire a part au travail... Bien que j'ai bien aime le film, je dois dire que je prefere de loin les choix qui sont fait dans le livre pour la plupart des scenes: les details de la ville naine et de la bataille finale sont vraiment tres interessant; d'ailleurs la bataille finale n'est vraiment pas la meme, tres differente mais vraiment plus prenante, tout comme de voir que la dragonne evolue au fil des pages et qu'Eragon doit apprendre tranquillement a maitriser son pouvoir vis a vis de la magie, bien sûr dans un livre on a plus de place pour raconter une histoire, c'est sans doute pourquoi la lecture m'emporte si facilement... Vivement demain donc pour que je continue la suite des aventures de ce jeune dragonnier "Wiol pömnuria ilian !" (Pour mon bonheur !)
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-09-28 08:20:25.
(Language: English)
I only read this book because it was given to me as a gift and I would have felt bad for the person who actually spent money on this and gave it to me if I hadn't read it to the end (it was the hardcover version, too, so it was even more expensive than a paperback). If it wasn't for that, I probably would have never finished it. This book needs a serious overhaul. Heck, it should have been scrapped as soon as it hit the editor's desk. The plot is terribly unoriginal. I know that there are lots of fantasy novels out there and they all borrow themes and ideas but at least they do something new with it. Eragon has absolutely nothing new, no new twists to old ideas or anything. It's as if Paolini just cut and pasted ideas from various other stories into his own, put them into a blender, and then renamed everything to make it his own. And then there are the characters. I love characters of good stories because of their complexity and overal interesting-ness. However, I found the characters of Eragon to be largely flat and stiff, as well as highly predictable (remember the cut and paste idea?). I wasn't interested in them at all, though the only exception was Murtagh. I absolutely hated Eragon (the main character!) and Arya. And don't even get me started on the writing!! Lots of people rave about how it was written by a teenager. Well, truth is, you can tell. The writing is childish and simplistic, and when it isn't, you can tell it's just Paolini trying to be overly fancy and Tolkien-like. It just doesn't work. So overall, a nice attempt at a real novel by some teen, but when compared to all the other great fantasy novels out there, it doesn't stand a chance. It's overrated and overhyped. Unless someone can show me that the rest of the trilogy is 500% better, I won't be finishing this trilogy.
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A Reader posted a review at 2009-05-18 06:11:06.
(Language: English)
A truly amazing story for all! If you are a fan of adventure stories, fantasy stories, mysteries or even just a good 'ol tale between interesting characters, this book has it all. For once an author finally sets a book of rules to the use of magic that can make any reader stop and go "okay, that makes sense." Or at least that was the first thing I got excited about when I began reading this story. Here our mages cannot just juggle flame with no effort, talent and strength DON'T come from good breeding, chance or a powerful curse. No, here the mages have to be STRONG to survive the handling of magic in it's truest form. For magic can kill anyone not physically or mentally fit enough to wield it. Add to the rules a loophole which makes precious few mages become renowned worldwide. The melding of dragon magic. In this realm dragons are not tamed or captured, here they remain eggs until they find a person of their choosing to be born too. So not just anyone can have a dragon, you have to have all the quality's that particular dragon likes. But even if you are a farm kid and only trained in the arts of magic for a short time, you can still rise to be one of the greatest of all dragonlords. Eregon is a story I'd recommend to anyone with a flare for imagery and likes to sit with a book that's even keel when it comes to light and dark.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-10-31 09:39:53.
(Language: English)
This book has all of the archetypes of a great story - good versus evil, a journey of discovery, a hero, a mentor, a life changing decision - it's all there. It is the story of Eragon, a young boy who has grown up in his uncle's house with his two cousins in a small town on the edge of the kingdom. While on a hunting trip in the mountains, a strange blue stone magically appears in a clearing. Curious, he takes it home with him. It isn't a stone though, it is a dragon egg. And dragons haven't been seen for generations, not since the last of the dragon riders were killed by Galbatorix, once a powerful dragon rider himself, and now the evil ruler of the Empire. Eragon discovers his own magical powers within as he begins to unravel his destiny. He discovers true friendships and loyalties in unusual places on a road that will hopefully lead to peace and freedom for all in Alagaësia.
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A Reader posted a review at 2008-05-30 07:14:53.
(Language: English)
eragon/eldest is another one of the works in the long list of adventure/fantasy genre in the recent times. the protagonist of the story is a regular stereotype hero ( as they usually are). an orphan whose parents r a mystery and raised by a brash albeit kind and worldwise uncle. also in this family of his is a cousin whom he considers closer than a brother. making a long story short he finds a mysterious stone which turns out to be a dragon egg and hence makes him the first in a generation of the long lost dragon riders. as expected our hero is the beacon of hope for a war ravaged land which consists of not only humans but dwarves and elves too.(here i might add the story bears an uncanny resemblance to star wars).though not quite in the league of rowling's harry potter it still is a reader's delight especially for those who enjoy the adventure/fantasy genre.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-09-18 08:07:28.
(Language: English)
eh very amateur writing, i think. he overcompensated for his young age with overly complex vocabulary and it just comes off pretentious. its basically a poor ripoff of LOTR (cmon, ERAGON the rider and ARYA the elf princess?? jeeze!) and all other classic fantasies. i don't get why this guy gets such praise. i could've written a better story when i was 12 lol. i couldnt even finish the 2nd one, it was so slow. and there was hardly any character development, and the characters that are more developed than the others (eragon and arya mainly) are extremely unlikeable. the only cool thing about the book was saphira, just bc shes a dragon. why they made a movie (which sucked) out of these books (which couldve been worse but couldve been a LOT better) is beyond me. if this guy wouldnt have taken himself so seriously and wouldve had a few more original ideas in his head (or at least original NAMES) then i wouldve liked it a lot more.
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A Reader posted a review at 2007-07-19 10:40:32.
(Language: English)
If this book is'nt the most derivative work of fiction ever writen, it's certainly a runner up. I created a list of books that he stole things from and which things, as well as his influences, for a customized project right after I read this book. when, later he came to quail ridge books to do a signing, I mentioned all the books that I could remember as well as a few I thought up from memories of the book, I was right on all counts but one, plus he to told me I missed 1, the worm ourobourous. I had been searching for it awhile at the time, as it is out of print, when I later found it, my first thought was that paolini had/has delusions of grandeur. It is written in such a way that it would be impossible for a sub par writer to pull much of substance from that and string it together in any way without coming out with a string of nonsensical gibberish. I guess that one who is relatively inexperienced in reading speculative fiction might find this book amazing, due to the breadth and scope of his theivery, but on the whole it it is a monstrous mishmash of poor writing; terrible, flat, characters; and a mediocre plot that might actually come close to par for a first novel. Eragon is Paolini's new frankenstein, this time with no good intentions, saving graces, or redeeming qualites. Eragon got rejected from every publishing house Paolini sent it to, before one publisher's son read the self-published version, which he had purchased at a local bookstore, he liked it alot, and his father decided to publish. the good thing it does is tell us that BOOKpublication in the feild is possible for someone my age.the book may be an insult to everything it tries to imitate, a placeholder at best, but given paolini's age and inexperience, coupled with the probability that he never expected his book to become a bestseller, means that we can..SHOULD refrain from judging the author too harshly, and allow him, when both he and his writing mature, and he comes to his senses, to be judged afresh...allow him to let this work slink back out of print. Was it Anderson, who once said "I'm glad I don't have my first novel trotted out whenever I am introduced"?
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A Reader posted a review at 2011-01-22 07:43:55.
(Language: English)
This is a fun read, but one shouldn't expect to read a brand new brilliant fantasy when reading it. While I won't go into how heavily this book borrows from other fantasies, I will go into some of its other flaws. That's not to say that because it has flaws it isn't worth reading, however. It proves to be good mind candy and a great way to settle down on a rainy day. Eragon is a poor farm boy who's out hunting when he finds a dragon egg. Not sure of what it is at first, he attempts to sell it. Being unable to sell it he keeps it and is very surprised when out hatches a dragon. He keeps her in secret as the empire would destroy him and his family if they knew they possessed a dragon. But somehow, they find out and Eragon narrowly escapes with Brown (a mysterious bard in the town)and Saphira (the dragon). He swears revenge on his Uncle's killers and he, Brom, and Saphira (although they meet other friends along the way)take off across the country in pursuit of them. But there are more dangers than that and he finds himself wondering if the Varden (a rebel group) can assist him and Saphira with their revenge. The characters are ok. There are a wide variety of characters, but what I find a problem with is authenticity. Eragon is supposed to be a poor uneducated, illiterate farm boy, yet he speaks like one with higher learning, possibly surpassing normal noble speech as well. The way he speaks just doesn't ring true for his character. The writing is VERY descriptive and flowery. This isn't always a bad thing, but it does bog the story down a bit and as mentioned before, makes the character's speech hard to take. The dialogues in the book are also very stilted and unnatural. Otherwise, the story as a whole is pretty unoffensive and appropriate for younger readers despite having battle scenes. I read this series for fun, not because I'm searching for some amazing piece of fantasy. And that's the way I think this book should have to be taken otherwise you could drive yourself nuts reading it. Eragon Copyright 2002 730 pages Review by M. Reynard 2011
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