Rating: 
Summary: Two and a half stars: The confusing truth.
Review: I'm 11 yrs old, and the first time I read this book, I was mildly impressed. It sounds like the author had talent, and people really did think the story was awesome, but if he just edited and critisized himself, Eragon could be a lot better. However, its true, there were too many copies from McCaffery and Tolkein and so many others it could hardly be called original.Really, though, Eragon was pretty good. It flowed unevenly, but not to the point where you couldn't understand it. Characterization, however, was awful. Eragon behaved nothing like the 15 yr old person I expected him to be. Some chapters he was arrogant, others humble, and sometimes painfully cheesy(like where he complements Murtagh on his skill with a sword. CHEESY!). And Eragon was just plain unlikeable. Brom was plain stupid. I hated him. He seemed to feel every sort of emotion in one chapter, then became the Gandalf-like teacher who was boringly patient. Arya was pitiful. She's unconsious the time where we could have gotten to know her, then she's nearly arrogant when she beats Eragon. That was the only time I actually was on the side of Eragon. Saphira was funny, witty, and sassy. I liked the dragon; somehow, this is the only character I find cool. Murtagh is boring, not being given enough speaking parts. Angela and her werecat were interesting, but not cool. There was also a girl near the end who was a good lead character, I forgot her name. She and Arya should have switched and the girl get more pages. There were a lot of ripped-off names, which you can find in various reviews. Isenmere, Isengard? That's a bit too much imitation. And is it Eragon-Aragorn, or Eragon-Dragon? Plus, the orc/urgal relationship might have been a fluke, but it went against the author. Arya is a bit like Arwen, but I think that was just a similar name. Now the important stuff: the writing style. There were bumps that I think an editor couldn't have smoothed out, and I think Paolini should have re-written those parts. It didn't flow. As it says in the Elements of Style (by William Strunk and E.B. White), write in nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs. The author could've benefitted greatly if he'd only work on his voice and style. There are some great tips for any writer( including me) in there. Eragon went to sleep and got knocked out WAY too many times for it to be satisfying. And traveling by foot when a dragon could've been faster over a dangerous desert to get rid of Galbatorix sooner? Silly mistake. Shouldn't the editor have said something? Or was there an editor? At some places, it didn't sound like it. And the many adjectives and adverbs could have been okay if they were slipped in more subtly. All in all, if you like a story with a basic plotline, read Eragon. If you want characterization, don't read it. As for me, I'm in debate. The author has some talent, but it doesn't show much. I'll wait to find out what happens to Saphira, Angela, and that girl until I know if the author got better.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Adictive
Review: I read this book in a day and a halph. It is a very adictive book so I couldn't put it down. The story in this book was magnificent and kept you thirsting for more. I just wish Eldest the next book in this series would come out sooner than August 2005 because he did leave you hanging a lot. P.S. WAS THIS REALLY WRITTEN BY A 15 YEAR OLD! Doesn't that just really make you sick.
Rating: 
Summary: Star Wars meets lord of the Rings??
Review: Borrowing themes from fantasy classics like Tolkien and Science Fiction classics like Star Wars - Eragon was a very enjoyable read. Not impressively original or unique, but very well put together. This is not to say that Paolini fails to impress: he has taken some of the best elements of myths we all love and weaved them into a work that is his own. I very much enjoyed the book, and will definatly follow up with the second volume of the yet-to-be-materialized trilogy. Give us more Christopher - the world needs more fantasy!
Rating: 
Summary: To all you kids and other 5 star reviewers
Review: This is to all of you kids out there and other 5 star reviewers for this book. I realize at this early stage in your life this book may amaze you. Nothing wrong with that. I aks only that you come back to this book in a few years after you have (hopefully) explored some of the real works of fantasy literature. I won't even compare this book to LOTR--that's like comparing apples to oranges (one written by a brilliant linguist for adults--no--I'm not talking about the Hobbit--the other written by an ambitious kid with more family connections than talent). Hold this up to Lloyd alexander's Prydian books, or Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series for example--after all this is at heart a kids book. I think in a few years you 5 star reviewers may feel a bit embaressed by all of your gushing praise for what is really just a sub-par rip off of a wide variety of books. Sure--everyone is influenced by boosk the've reasd in the past. There is a big difference however between being influenced and blatanlty ripping off whole story lines and plot devices verbatim (and no Christopher--it doesn't make it "OK" that you simply cahnged the names a bit). This book truly reminds me of stories I wrote in 5th grade. If that's what you are looking for, dive right in. Oh--and all you poor souls saying this is the best book ever? Well, first I understand your juvenile glee in finding a book you really enjoy. At the same time, I can only roll my eyes. I hope you'll grow up to realize the lunacy of that statement.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!!!!
Review: I would highly recommend this book, Eragon, by Christopher Paolini. It has detail, good action and has an amazing story. Eragon is a poor farm boy. He stumbles upon a blue rock in the Spine (a mountain range that has a lot of superstitions surrounding it). He thinks it may buy him meat for the year but it buys him way more. He goes to the meat store and offers the rock to Sloan, the butcher. Sloan refuses because he doesn't want anything from the Spine. Luckily, Horst buys him the meat.
Later the rock starts to crack and he discovers it is not a rock at all but an ancient dragon egg. He knows he has stumbled upon something great but it is also a problem because the dragon eats a lot of meat. He asks the storyteller, Brom, to tell him about the dragon stories while he is raising it. Brom tells the stories, but he already knows that Eragon has a dragon. Brom turns out to be able to weave magic and he teaches Eragon magic. They have many adventures and eventually they are headed towards the Varden. The Varden is a resistance against the evil king, Galbatorix. I liked it most when Eragon said,"Brisingr!" while he shot an arrow and he killed three urgals. He didn't even know what he did. What will happen to Eragon? Find out; read this book. This book is right for anyone.
Rating:
Summary: interesting enough, but not unique.
Review: For those who haven't read tolkien, this would be a thrilling adventure. But for those who have read the Lord of the Rings, you would find a lot of similarities in the two books, such as havingthe elves, dwarves and human races and the nature of each. Brom played almost the same role as Gandalf in the book, both having guided and taught the heros of the stories.
While the theme of the book is not very original, Paolini managed to write it from the interesting view of a 15 years old. There was a lot of fun in the book and definitely had more humour than Lord of the Rings.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Harry Potter?
Review: I have read and reread all of the Harry Potter books and then I found this book and the cover looked interesting. So I decided to read it and see if there was anything special to Eragon. I was mad when the book was finished and I can't wait for the 2nd book in the series. And was it better than Harry Potter? I think it was and not only that I think this book can compare to the Lord of the Rings series as well. This is without a doubt the best book I have ever read in my life. I can only hope that a movie will be made about it. And I will also hope it is not a movie with alot of parts missing in it...... anyways this book is flawless except that it ends way to soon.
Rating:
Summary: Booo...
Review: This book and its author bothers me for the following reasons: 1) Just because he wrote this when he 15 does NOT automatically make this a great book
2) For the record, it ISN'T a great book.
3) The story is derivative
4) Of Tolkien
5) And God knows how many other fantasy novels
6) It's sappy
7) It's unengaging
8) You can tell it was written by a 15-year-old
9) The Editing is horrible! (Who edited this? Oh right...HIS PARENTS)
10) Frankly, I think it's a waste of paper On the other hand, the title page art is lovely.
Rating:
Summary: Wow....
Review: This book was just amazing. I found that I couldn't even bring myself to put the book down. It sucks you in and keeps you there, a great book for all people. Worth every last minute...
Rating:
Summary: Good, But Not THE Best
Review: (...)Eragon is not the second "LotR". If you expect it to be and you read it, you'll be severly disappointed. In fact, when you read something, or watch a movie, don't expect anything of it, or else you'll be disappointed, because nothing is good enough when you expect something really good. Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. Anyway, Eragon is not a great book, but it's at least good. Sure, it has traces of LotR, the Earthsea books, and amazingly, Star Wars, but it is still a good book. Let's get this straight: ELVES existed in books before LotR was written, and so did DWARVES and DRAGONS. Also, I do not think Paolini meant for the name Eragon to be like Aragorn. He just switched the "D" in dragon, with an "E". I'm sure this is the case. Second, so what if it's a lot like Lord Of The Rings? I've read the LotR trilogy 2 times, yet I still liked this book. So, you LotR fanatics who never think anthing is good enough, try writing a book as good as, or better then LotR, or even Eragon. Half of you don't even know proper english. So, stop complaining and enjoy the book. Anyway, if you have the money, and the time to read this book, go ahead and read it. It's good, light, reading, that you should be able to enjoy, if you're not an idiot who thinks slightly unoriginal books, or even fanfiction are bad. Face it, people are influenced with what they see and read. At this day and age, people might copy people even without knowing it, since they might have been inluenced when they were young, and they forgot where they got it from. Try writing a fantasy story with dragons, and other mythical creatures without copying some writer. It's not possible.
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