Customer Reviews: Read 128 more reviews...
 A good read, if a little wooden at times ... October 11, 2008
For any fantasy/sci-fi fan, Eragon will contain a lot of familiar material. However, it is well written and has a fast-moving pace which makes up for its derivative nature. Although the story and characters are not new, it is an interesting (if not particularly thrilling) read.
On the down-side, the dialogue is very wooden and a lot of the description is long-winded and verbose. I suppose we can excuse Paolini, seeing as he was quite young when he wrote it.
Altogether, a good read (if you can stand the none-too-subtle echoes of Star Wars and LOTR).
 Eragon September 18, 2008
the Eragon books are brilliant if you havent seen the film wich ruins it making in my opinion a worse picture for the book. Still well worth the read of all the series!
better than harry potter September 4, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have read and re-read this book many times. Although many reviews say it has many similarities to LOTR and Star Wars....well obviously!! Think of it this way....if Paolini wrote that Dwarves were a graceful race, powerful in magiv and lived in trees, and that Elves were somewhat uncouth in comparison, mining in mountains for treasures....it wouldn't work. LOTR and other fantasies have instilled too much in every fantasy reader that for Paolini to create something completely different would be ludicrous. Yes, some characters have similar roles to those in Star Wars, but in every book, do you not need a hero? a powerful foe? a tutor to teach a new found gift (if applies) and a woman for the hero to fall for. I think there is one of those in pretty much most books.
Anyway, enough of that. I think the reason I liked this book so much was the concept of magic he used. I think it was a clever idea, because of the origins of it, the limitations that were set up upon the magic...and it hasnt left too many questions about magic in its wake.
It is an easy read and does not delve into too much detail and history as for example LOTR does, which means it retains the readability of Harry Potter, which many people love.
In my opinion, if you liked Harry Potter, you'll love this!!
A mistake i didn't regret August 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this book as a present but the recipient never got this copy cos they had already got it, so i keep it and thought i might as well read it. As it started i thought, this isn't my think but soon enough i was addicted and i loved it, the adventures eragon and saphira go through with brom, with the urgals, and the varden, meeting murtagh, its a fabulous book, that i thought was going to be one of the worse books i'd read
 Going dragon-riding July 29, 2008
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
Mix together equal parts "Star Wars" and J.R.R. Tolkien, then add a generous helping of Anne McCaffrey's dragon-riders and a few random shreds of Garth Nix for good measure.
Obviously originality is not Christopher Paolini's strong suit, and it shows in his fantasy debut "Eragon," which was penned in his tender teenage years. It swims in fantasy cliches and stilted dialogue, but there's a certain awkward charm in Paolini's fantasy world. The biggest problem is, simply put, Paolini's cardboard cutout of a self-insert hero, Eragon.
The titular character is lucky enough to stumble across a strange blue stone while hunting on the Spine. After failing to sell it, Eragon finds that it's actually a dragon egg, and the baby blue dragon inside selects him to hatch for and remain with forever. All the Dragon Riders were killed off by Evil King Galbatorix long ago, except for the weird old recluse Brom, who becomes Eragon's mentor.
And Luke, I am your father... wait, wrong story.
When Galbatorix's men destroy Eragon's home and family, Brom and Eragon flee to find the mysterious rebels known as the Varden. But Eragon's dreams are being haunted by the beautiful elf Arya, and the little band sets out to save her. Eragon and his dragon Saphira learn many things -- and make new allies -- the journey to the Varden brings them a terrible (and totally predictable) loss, and leads them to Eragon's first battle.
Lofty elves, humble farm boys, ghastly goblinesque creatures, mystical women, special swords, evil tyrants who are evil because they just are, evil minions, wise mentors, and telepathic dragons in a variety of colors. Christopher Paolini never met a fantasy cliche that he didn't like. And as a result, "Eragon" is dripping with Tolkien and Lucas-style trappings, right down to the hero's suspiciously Tolkienian name.
Paolini paints these typical sword-and-sorcery stories with rather stilted but promising prose. "Eragon" has some raw rookie potential, and you can detect Paolini's enthusiasm as he explores his invented fantasy land, much the way many other teenagers have done after reading high fantasy and yearning to explore their own made-up worlds. There's just not much that is new or unique about this story, although Paolini throws in some attempted humorous quirks like a weird fortune-teller.
The biggest problem with Paolini's writing is that Eragon is portrayed as a noble, brave, compassionate soul with a brilliant destiny ahead of him. Well, frankly he shows no nobility, bravery or compassion, and the many characters who gasp in admiration of him does not make him any more impressive. He's a glaring self-insert, with all the dimension of a cardboard standee, and about as sendearing.
The supporting characters are not much better -- Brom is too brief a character to make much of an impact, and he seems to exist mainly to get Our Hero up to snuff in information and ability. And the love interest Arya is glorified only for her otherworldly beauty... which is all she has. Eragon's adoration of her seems unfounded, because er personality is chilly at best, snotty and autocratic at worst.
Christopher Paolini's "Eragon" is pretty much what you'd expect of a teenage boy's fantasy novel -- plenty of Lucas and Tolkien echoes, and a style that hasn't yet gained a sense of humor about itself.
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