Eragon Author:Christopher Paolini Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy?until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save?or destroy?the Empire. — ?An authenti... more »c work of great talent.??The New York Times Book Review
?Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic with his precocious debut.??People
?Unusual, powerful, fresh, and fluid.??Booklist, Starred
?An auspicious beginning to both career and series.??Publishers Weekly
This book was a fun read, though a lot of the story elements are familiar from other, older and very popular works of this genre. Possibly more suitable for adolescent readers who are more likely to find these ideas fresh.
When Earagon finds a plished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. Little does he know it is a dragon egg and he will become the last of the dragon riders, destined to save the world. Filled with fantasy and imagination this is a very enjoyable book.
This is a great story! I've read all the books in the series and I enjoy listening to them on Audio. It has a great story line and well developed characters. If you like fantasy and can read, this series is wonderful!
Without the added press of the author being 17, I cannot see how this book was ever published. The writing is childish (as in, elementary school), the characters generally unlikeable, and the story unoriginal in every respect. That said, I did finish the book and read the next one to find out what happened.
Not a bad read, if you don't mind going over VERY familiar territory AND if you weren't raised on Star Wars [the originals mind you] and Lord of the Rings.
Well written, good pace, just not original. And that isn't necessarily a mark against this book for the group it was aimed at, the YA. Get them hooked and then on to bigger and better things :-)
I didn't hate it, and the story IS unique enough to stand alone. If the rest of the books made their way into my hands, I would probably read them too, but I'm not going to actively seek them out or add them to my TBR. But, if they show up on my library's feature shelf or something, or hit the $1 shelf at Half-Price, sure.
My daughter has read this book and this is her review (shes in 6th grade):
I absolutely love this book! I am on the 3rd book and love that one too. This is not a challenging book for me. I was so surprised to find out about Brom! Brom has so many secrets and there's so many different fantasy creatures in this book! The Ra'zac, Urgals, Shades, Dragons, Dwarves, and Elves are all cool fantasy creatures. I love fantasy books and now I have three of my friends reading the book. I especially love how the book has swords, spears, and arrows, but not guns. I give this book five stars because it deserves it.
A fun, fun read. Never thought I would read it until an elderly volunteer in a thrift store saw me holding the book. That is really good, he said, my grandson recommended it so I read it. I bought Eragon and decided to read it for this challenge. Paolini was 15 when he began writing the book and it was published nationally when he was 17. It's the story about a boy who finds a dragon egg. (He thinks it's just an unusual stone.) Of course, everyone knows that dragons choose who they will bond with don't they? So Eragon becomes linked to Saphira, the dragon, and the boy's life changes entirely. There is an evil king who had destroyed the dragonriders so his life is threatened by his very existence. There is adventure, excitement, and a good story that flows well. Paolini writes well and, yes, you can tell a young person write the book. My favorite clue was when the hero refers to mushrooms as toadstools. Nevertheless, I plan to read the rest of the series. Two members of my family are alreading reading the final book in the series which came out in November. I am certain to get a critique when they finish it.
Enjoyed the story very much! That being said it could have easily been edited down by 100+ pages. At times lots of story detail was provided but little information was actually gathered. Found the use of the ancient language gratitious at times. This won't stop me from reading the series as Sephira (the dragon) is an interesting character that I look forward to seeing further developed.
Delightful captivating read. I picked up ELDEST, the sequel to ERAGON, @ local thrift store & was intrigued by authors young age. When I realized it was a sequel decided to order ERAGON from PBS to start from beginning.
Am a grandma & don't usually read sci-fi/fantasy, but wanted to sample before passing on to my granddaughter. Finished ERAGON in just few days & have now started on ELDEST while characters are still fresh.
Main criticism for early readers is abundance of "gore" & "slaughter", but realize it is part of reality of ancient times. Young adults should be able realize it if "fantasy".
As a Fantasy Writer myself, I began this book with low expectations. About 4 chapters in to this epic, I realized that a 16 year old author was indeed capable of scribing a novel worthy of a spot on the shelf with the likes of Feist, Jordan & Martin.
This is a fantastic adventure story. The writing is very descriptive, and the characters are very well thought out. Christopher Paolini started writing the book when he was 15, which makes the result even more remarkable.
