Rating:  Summary: A good book- but not at all refreshing! Review: For a 15 year old writer, I am impressed by his writing abilities, but not so impressed with the story he chose to write about. When writing a book you can't just throw in "new revaltions". You have to put in something "new". Just plain new. Eragon, is NOT an example of "new". It is combined with many other books including The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Chronicles of Narnia... need I go on? So, if your looking for a book different and refreshing, this is not the one. However, if you're looking for a good fantasy book, this is recomended.
Rating:  Summary: A fabulous fantasy Review: I recieved this book for Christmas this year, and ignored it for several days until the boredom of winter break overcame me. I could hardly put this book down at night. Eragorn and Saphira's adventures with Brom and Murthag captivate your soul better than any many of the fantasies out there. Think of it as simmilar to the Lord of the Rings, except written in a simpler language. When reading LOTR you get caught up in the unknown words, and characters and names of places you can spend hours on one page, with Eragorn however, its a perfect mix of several characters, interesting names and places and also excitement. Eragon is a combination of: The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Star Wars in some of the events that occur, mainly simmilarities to a "Yoda-like" character. Its an amazing book, and I can not wait for the second of the trilogy to be released! A MUST read!!! :-)
Rating:  Summary: Awesome Review: This is a very good book. Yes it has a lack of originality, but I still think it has a good plot and the same feel of all other good fantasty books. I have not read many fantasy books, but I very much enjoyed this book. It was exciting and very interesting I recommend reading this book.
Rating:  Summary: Awsome Book!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Review: This book is so good that I drive my friends crazy to read it. I just finshed it and I love it! With dragon, elfs, and all that out magical stuff that is within this neat book.
Rating:  Summary: Finally! Review: It's been awhile since i read a book this good. I read some ok ones, but this is an awsome one! I love how you get warped into the story when you start reading it, and i want to say, that there isn't another book i have seen that combines dragons and magic so well. But i am only 8, and i still have a lot more time to read! All in all, this was a great book. I can't wait for the next one!
Rating:  Summary: Good penmanship, but ultimately a pale imitation of Tolkien Review: The author has tried to mesmerize us with queer sounding names, innumerable characters and a convoluted story. The word Eragon for example- just replace the d of dragon wth the next letter and hey presto! You get a serviceable name! The story goes about in fits and starts, and many questions remain unanswered- how did Brom hide the sign of the rider on his palm, how did Angela reach the dwarves' city, and how could Eragon kill the Shade inspite of being overmatched? The character of Eragon is very weak- he needs a lot of help from whoever his companions are- Murtagh, Brom, Arya, Angela, Saphira.... The book feels suspiciously like a Tolkien novel, without the magnificent language. Still, inspite of all these, the author has done a decent job. After all, he was only 19 when he finished the book. The command over language and his skill in handling such a large number of characters are impressive. I read the book in two days flat- it was engrossing all right! I hope he will improve in the sequel (Eldest), which, I believe, will be published next year.
Rating:  Summary: Eragon .... a new view of old stuff Review: This book is really good! Readers will find themselves entwined in Eragon's wonderful tale. And I have to give the the author 5 stars for typos... I didn't see a single one in his book. Unfourtanely that seems to be the only thing his editor can do. Some of the transitions are very rough. And his adjectives seem to be clumpy instead of subtley slipped in. The storyline however was pretty good, although it could be improved. But throughout the book it never really occurs to the reader whether Eragon will survive. Of course he will. And also the writer did not throw big problems at Eragon. Eragon has minor problems of which he never can really solve on his own and therefore gets out of them without exercising his own power. The end dramatic scene is a little hasty and could be much better. Overall the book is good/ok but when you finish it will seem like you have known some of the characters before. And that is because you have. Anyone who has read Lord of the Rings will see the obvious connections within the book Eragon, (they are not even subtle). Here are some of the mysterious simularities between the two. Eragon-Hmm... doesn't it sound mysteriously like Aragorn. And guess what? Eragon is in love with an elf like ... Arwen except her name is Arya. Urgals/Kulls-Urgals, Orcs what is the difference. both are short thicklegged evil black creatures. Kulls, Uruk-Hai wow! Both are taller stronger versions than the Urgals, Orcs. Dwarves- Short, wear chain mail, miners, long beards, axes,retreated into caves after the evil king took over need I go on? Elves- Fair, tall, wonderful with bows and swords, came on ships to the Empire, joined humans against the evil people for one last glorious defeat before retreating, ride horses, wise, strong... I think you get the point. The Dark Gate- The black gate of Mordor... really. The Thirteen Forsworn- Whoa! These guys are almost exactly like the nine riders. Joined the evil guy for power, were terrorifying, used to be good Riders ...and wait a sec didn't the nine riders used to be good kings. Just too weird! There is more too. But overall I give the book three stars because it is actually good and I know it is hard to come up with new ideas.
Rating:  Summary: spectacular Review: very good. original, but obvoiusly influenced by other great pieces of fiction. up there with lord of the rings
Rating:  Summary: A Cure for Poison Ivy Review: 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.
Rating:  Summary: The gift Review: Eragon was under our tree as a gift. I curled up with my son and read it out loud. He was entranced and would scarcely let me put the book down. We finished all 507 pages this morning. What an extraordinary book. My kid would not let me put it down. I confess to being sucked into the adventures of Eragon and Saphira. The young author is a gifted storyteller. Court Lemke
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