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 authentic work of great talent.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic wit... (show more)
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 authentic 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
A New York Times Bestseller
A USA Today Bestseller
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
A Book Sense Bestseller (show less)
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Ok, so for a book written by a 16 year old it very good. I was intrigued by the characters though I thought there could have been more. I think th... (show more)
Ok, so for a book written by a 16 year old it very good. I was intrigued by the characters though I thought there could have been more. I think that Paolini had done his research into types of fantasy and that his style is indicative of Tolkien though one could see that he has read many types of fantasy. His narrative style is simple but with time will develop into a more complex yet still readable style.
I was impressed with his ability to set a stage. Having been to Montana several times while living in the Northwest I can see where his inspiration came from.
His characters were both believable and surreal though as I said needed a bit more. At times I felt they were cut and paste and that the growth the experienced was not realistic. However, Saphira was a refreshing change. Giving his dragon the ability to communicate and a personality of her own made her an exciting and believable character unlike a dragon had really been before. I am looking forward to the next book to see how he develops the characters further. (show less)
The fantasy (or more accurately, purple prose) epic Eragon was written by a homeschooled 15-year-old boy, and GEEZ does it ever show. I'm not sure ... (show more)
The fantasy (or more accurately, purple prose) epic Eragon was written by a homeschooled 15-year-old boy, and GEEZ does it ever show. I'm not sure how Paolini's first few brainstorming sessions before writing this asinine pile of refuse went, but I'm willing to bet it went something like this: "Hmm... if I incorporate strong thematic elements from the Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and Pern, surely noone will notice how shamelessly derivative and horribly uninteresting a book I'm slamming out!" At least that's as near as I can surmise after having read this. In short, Luke Skywalker finds himself trapped inexplicably in Middle Earth, where he must harness the ancient wisdom of Anne McCaffrey and a horribly mutated Obi-Wan Kenobi to defeat the evil Emperor Palpatine and his Nazgul and take his rightful place alongside Arwen as the king of Gondor. Along the way, he meets Han Solo, Faramir, and Lessa, and begins to discover the awesome power of the Force with the aide of his snarky, telepathic dragon Samwise Gamgee. From here on in it gets even worse, so I'm just going to stop right here and try to control the burning sensation in my brain. The dialogue is horrible, the characters are invariably annoying and full of dissociated teenage angst, the world and all its mechanations are effectively plagiarized, and Paolini's untrained writing style can only be described as "double-plus ungood". May the Force be with you, Elessar, and... oh, forget it. (show less)
A mediocre fantasy novel that is noteworthy for two reasons:
1) It was written and self-published by a fifteen-year-old, and
2) It was nowhere near as bad as the film.
_Eragon_ follows the formula of heroic fantasy initiated by Tolkein:
a. Young nobody discovers that he has a marvelous destiny
b. Young nobody is forced to flee his home
c. Young nobody discovers hidden reservoirs of strength/ability/magic/powers that distinguish him as superior to everyone else
d. Young nobody becom... (show more)
A mediocre fantasy novel that is noteworthy for two reasons:
1) It was written and self-published by a fifteen-year-old, and
2) It was nowhere near as bad as the film.
_Eragon_ follows the formula of heroic fantasy initiated by Tolkein:
a. Young nobody discovers that he has a marvelous destiny
b. Young nobody is forced to flee his home
c. Young nobody discovers hidden reservoirs of strength/ability/magic/powers that distinguish him as superior to everyone else
d. Young nobody becomes Puissant Valiant Hero through a series of encounters where the outcome is never in doubt for the reader.
e. PVH goes up against the ultimate evil...and wins!
Seriously, it makes me want to dust off my copy of _Bored of the Rings_ or read some other pretty good parody of this formula. This particular instance of the formula - _Eragon_ - is a bit more toward the adolescent wish-fulfillment end of the spectrum than the average, as the protagonist develops his powers and abilities completely without any associated emotional maturity. Eragon continues to be a whiny brat constantly rebelling, questioning and complaining - heroic fantasy with a 12-year-old access character as the protagonist. Eragon doesn't really act in the story; he always reacts to events around him, which gives a sense of helplessness to the character: we can too easily see the author's strings controlling everyone in the story.
For all the amateurish craft, the story isn't too bad, enough so that I may someday return to the sequel to see what happens to the characters. But that would only be after I finish reading everything else on my shelf. (show less)
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To be truthful, this book is horrifically cliché both in terms of plot and writing style. The story is interesting, but it is a patchwork of plots familiar from different writers. What I value about this series is it gives us the chance to see the developing writing style of a contemporary teen writer, which is an amazing thing for me to experience.
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It would be a neat book for 7-9 year old kids if it was condensed into about 30 pages,which it easily could be ,then add some good artwork.
Facebook-gebruiker 12 days agoPlagiarism
Honestly, and I'm not being dramatic here, this is the worst book I have ever read. In the words of one acidic critic: "Eragon is good and original. Unfortunately, the parts that are good aren't original and the parts that are original aren't good.". I don't know who said that, but they were spot on. This book is simply a cut and paste of all of the author's favorite classic fantasy aspects, badly put together without insight or any depth of imagination. To call it two dimensional is too kind. Perhaps the fact that Paulini's parents own a publishing company has something to do with the fact that this work of inept plagiarism made it on to our shelves. However I have no idea how to explain its puzzling success.
Anyone else not convinced?
What do you think about the Inheritace Trilogy adding another book?
I was furious when i reached the end of Brisingr to find out that he added another book.
I lvoe the series, so I will continue to read on, but i was pretty ticked... anyone else feel that way too?
Which do you think is better - the book or the movie?
Eragon is a pretty incredible movie... and book! I would almost always say book versions are better than movies, but this time, I'm torn.
Which do you think was better?
Tim O'Shaughnessy about 1 year agoERAGON
I LOVE THIS BOOKS BUT THE MOVIE IS FOUL TRICK.AND I WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK.:)
Anonymous User about 1 year agoThis book has been added to these lists:
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