Rating:  Summary: Eragon Review: An excellent book! Great for fantasy lovers. Christopher Paolini did a great job on binding the book together with his words.
Rating:  Summary: Review of Eragon Review: The book Eragon by Christopher Paolini is about a boy named Eragon. In the book, Eragon finds a stone in the forest. He then finds out that the stone is actually a dragon egg. When it hatches, he realizes that he cannot stay in his town. Servants of the empire, which is ruled by a very evil king, come looking for him. With the help of his dragon and the village storyteller named Brom, he goes on to face many evil foes. I personally think that this is a fantastic book. I simply just love books with adventure, dragons, and all the other fantasy stuff. This book is very suspenseful and kept me reading for 3 hours at a time. I like that it has maps of the land were it takes place. This worked in The Lord of the Rings, and people have tried it since, but this is the most successful one I've ever seen since The Lord of the Rings.
Rating:  Summary: I don't usually read fantasy/science fiction -- but, Review: I made an exception for this book. I can't remember how I stumbled across "Eragon", but I was at loose ends after the third film of the Lord of the Rings series (and I've read the Tolkien books too many times to count) and I found myself craving more flights of fancy and fantasy. I was taken by the fact that a 15 year old prodigy had begun such an ambitious endeavor, for author Christopher Paolini is planning to write a trilogy about his young hero, Eragon, who goes from poor farm boy to a young master, growing in power, of magic. This first book is subtitled: "The Inheritance". Paolini's family first self-published 10,000 copies, and Floridian Carl Hiassen helped to sell the fantasy to Knopf, which later released a first national printing of over 100,000 copies. Paolini embraces the standard fantasy world of humans, dwarves and elves (no hobbits, here!), and adds the existence of dragons, nearly extinct, as creatures of power. Elves, and sometimes humans, are selected by hatchling dragons to become Dragon Riders, companions of dragons who can communicate with them and others by telepathy. Riders have magical powers, but the use of magic drains them of much energy. The evil forces of the land are somewhat more creative. Sluggish, warring monsters (Tolkiens' Orcs?), the Urgals, abound, but are no threat until they are organized for the king by the evil Ra'Zac (creatures of the King that are not human, covered in cloaks, and strongest at night) and the terrifying Durka, who is a Shade (a spirit in human form, with crimson hair and maroon eyes) all of whom are working for the king, and trying to locate Eragon and his dragon. Set in the fantasy world of Alagaesia, Eragon's land is ruled by Galbatorix, who once was a Rider himself. The adult dragons have all perished, and Galbatorix has been dispossessed of one of three dragon eggs by a group dedicated to ending his cruel rule, the Varden. This egg is conveyed to Eragon, and the dragon hatches in his care. Much of the facts of the land are uncovered as the book moves along, and Eragon is slowly filled in on the history of how he got to be who he is. His mother, Selena, has been missing from his life since he was a child, and the book ends without disclosing the mystery of what happened to her and just who his father was. Alagaesia is bordered by Du Weldenvarden, a deep forest, home to the Elves. It appears that this will be the setting for much of book 2. The country south of the forest is a vast desert that Eragon and his traveling companions must cross to reach safety (the Hadarac). Paolini is particularly clever in devising how the small band of travelers with Eragon gets water while crossing. He's also created rich city and village profiles in the kingdom, as Eragon tries to locate the Ra'Zac, to revenge killings in Eragon's home. South of the desert are the Boer mountains, home to the dwarves, who are assisting the Varden; the climax of the novel takes place in these mountains. Paolini has peppered his cast with strong characters who will assist Eragon in fulfilling his role. Brom, a wise soothsayer, with mysterious origins, becomes Eragon's mentor. Murtagh, a fearless fighter, accompanies Eragon across the desert to the Boer mountains; his history, when uncovered, is somewhat shocking. Arya is the elven woman that fills Eragon's nightmares, and must be rescued by the travelers from a prison, where she has been cruelly tortured at the hands of Durka. Ajihad is the strong leader of the Varden and Hrothgar the King of the dwarves, both of whom risk their followers to assist the young Rider. Two of the most interesting characters are Angela, an herbalist and her werecat, Solembum, both of whom are much more than they seem. Eragon encounters them more than once in this novel. Above all, Saphira, the dragon that Eragon hatches and accepts for his own, weaves a magical air into the story, and her relationship to the homeless boy, and their telepathic communion and communication, form the strong story background that sets "Eragon" apart from much of what has been written in the genre in the past. Paolini's a rich storyteller, with short chapters, and action-packed scenes. He doesn't forget to give his hero a conscience, nor does he fail to set the tone for the second book in the series, "The Eldest". I very much enjoyed the read, and hope he's close to finishing the second in the trilogy.
Rating:  Summary: Couldn't Put It Down Review: When my grandma gave Eragon to me two weeks ago , I thought it was going to be boring. Boy, was I ever wrong! I think Christopher Poalini did awesome for a fifteen-seventeen year old! I finished it twelve days ago, but I still find myself thinking about it. I can't belive he was only seventeen! I'm trying to get my friends to read it, but they are too stuborn. Eragon was so good I coudn't put it down to do my homework. [That is NOT like me!!!] I never went outside to play or anything that I couldn't do with the book. If you pick up this book, you will not put it down until you have read all 509 pages. I like the way he put the glossery in the back. I also referred to the map several times as I read. It may be long, but I would not change a single word. I have not read any of the books the author supposedly copied, but I loved this book! I won't critisize Eragon or the author until I can write a better book. Forget all the bad reveiws, this is an awesome book!
Rating:  Summary: Wow Review: I recieved this book for Christmas after hearing a lot about it's 19 year old author. I originally thought wow, a nineteen yearold writing fantasy awesome, but then I started reading it. WOW this is a piece of crap. I'm going to assume that Chris has read a lot of fantasy, and because of this has been influenced by the books that he has read to the point that he is lacking any original thoughts at all. The only reason I'm giving this book two stars is because he is 19 and he needs props for getting a book published (even if his family oned the publishing company) when he is so young.
Rating:  Summary: Don't buy into the gimmick. Review: Literature isn't chess, there are no young prodigies able to step in and change everything, because good writing only comes from life experience and years upon years of not only practice, but reading and understanding other peoples' work. It's been said "Good authors borrow; great authors steal," but this is ridiculous. If Pupil A writes a paper for class, and Pupil B copies it verbatim but erases inane details and replaces them with his own names, what would the Professor do? Toss Pupil B out of class for cheating. While I've no doubt this young author has a passion and maybe even talent for writing, "Eragon" borders on plagarism and should not be rewarded for it. It is OK to learn from Tolkien, Jordan and Goodkind; it is NOT Ok to blatantly mirror them. The drive of this book isn't the book itself, but the gimmick that it was written by a teenager. That's disturbingly sad, and I hope intelligent readers of fantasy won't be fooled by this ploy. Meanwhile dozens of GREAT writers, whose aren't lucky enough to have parents who are publishers, aren't getting any recognition or deserved respect. This gimmick might get the kid a day on the Oprah show, but this book won't be remembered at all in 20 years. I don't mean him any ill will, but I hope he spends the coming years furthering his education, reading a wide variety of genres, and working on actual style and tone. If he lets his ego get too high from this cheap publicity stunt, when the dragon's wings are inevitably clipped he's going to have a long way to fall.
Rating:  Summary: Solid Review: It had a few errors, and the plot was not entirely origanal, but it flowed very smoothly. I have read better, but not an author's first. Plus, to write such a book at 15 years old is a great feat. Not to mention graduating from high school at 15. I hope that he gets better, but this is good enough as well. All in all, this book will be enjoyable except to the people who pay too much attention to the quality. This is more of a can't put it down book then a unique artsy book.
Rating:  Summary: An entertaining read Review: Is it the same world that others made up? Yes, that's true. There's little originality in Eragon's universe. Is the prose below the level of Tolkien? Obviously. It is on par with Robert Jordan, which I think is decent enough, as Eragon is merely another fantasy novel and not an epic work. Is the plot completely and utterly predictable? It is so predictable that the complete plotline of the entire trilogy is spelled out in a fortune-telling early on. But is it entertaining? Yes! If you can settle for the penultimate.. if you can enjoy a book for its vividness and adventure, even if it wasn't written by an Oxford scholar... then you will love Eragon. It is not /Lord of the Rings/-- it is /Harry Potter/.
Rating:  Summary: An epic fantasy of our generation Review: Christopher Paolini- a new author who has written an amazing fantasy novel, followed by two others, Eldest, and the other unknown, that will make probably one of the greatest epic trilogies of our generation. Paolini, started this novel at fifteen and finished it when he was nearly nineteen years of age. May I say, this story, Eragon, was remarkable. The characters were likeable and I sincerely found it tragic when certain events happened to Brom, Carvahall's Storyteller. It took we two and a half weeks to read, it was worth it, though, and difficult to set down. It starts in the Spine, where young Eragon is hunting deer for his family. Failing, he heads off to leave, but finds himself standing in front of a blue stone. Intrigued he picks it up, and takes it home to Carvahall. He tries to trade it for food, but is rejected by Sloan. So, he dissapointedly goes home. Sounds awaken him from sleep. He rises uneasily and looks around. The stone is shaking. Well, that is because it is not a stone, but an egg, and from it has just hatched a dragon. Eragon's dragon. This dragon, who he names Saphira, sends him off on a remarkable journey, he is now a rider. From this journey comes despair, heartache, friendship, and great gifts and opportunities. I enjoyed this story so much. I liked Eragon, Brom, Saphira, Murtagh, and ecspecially Arya, along with all the other characters. The writing style was great, and I can barely wait for the next one. How long must i wait? Probably three or four years. I recommend this book to dedicated fantasy readers, but also if you love the Lord of the Rings movies like i do. Thanks Christopher, but remember, we're waiting.
Rating:  Summary: Great Book Review: Being at Number 1 Seller for three weeks now merely shows off how great Eragon really is. Eragon, written by 19-year-old Christopher Paolini, is really great. It was perfectly written, with a mix of styles from other classic fantasy books, like the Lord of The Rings. Eragon tells the story of a young boy, called Eragon, who finds a mysterious stone. The unusual stone turns out to be a long lost dragon egg. Eragon travels far, with the help of an old storyteller, and throughout their journeys they unravel many mysteries and uncover the past of the dragons and their dragon riders. Paolini has gone far enough as to create his own dragon "language". At the end of the book Paolini cuts you off right in the middle of a climactic scene, by donating a page just for " This is the end of book one". Eragon is the first of a trilogy, and his second book, The Eldest, is planning to come out in 2005. The Eldest is going to continue Eragon's story with even more fascinating moments. Although pretty lengthy, at 505 pages, Eragon was worth every single word. 10 stars.
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