Review: Eragon by Christopher Paolini

[Alexandra Bayer]

In a land under the rule of a cruel and unjust king, a farmer boy, Eragon, finds a lovely and potentially valuable sapphire-blue stone. But when the stone begins to make noise in the middle of the night and then bursts open to reveal a dragon hatchling, Eragon knows he's in over his head. The dragon seems to bring bad luck with it, when his cousin moves to a far away land, and when his uncle, who was like a father to Eragon, is killed. Looking for revenge, Eragon races after the murderers, not knowing that his journey won't bring about just the satisfaction of getting back at those who wronged him, but will also teach him about magic, love, and trust. However, more than a few people will get hurt along the way.

The first thing I would like to mention is just how long it took me to finish this book! It is 754 pages. Normally, this wouldn't prove to be a challenge for me, but combined with the old-fashioned language and storyline, plus, simply, lack of time, it took me over three weeks to finish this novel. I wouldn't say it's because the story is boring; I would argue the opposite, in fact! It is a very detailed and compelling storyline; Christopher Paolini is an unarguably talented writer. This just isn't the style of book I would normally pick up.

Although this book was the first of the Inheritance trilogy, I found it could contain three books in itself and no one would argue. This novel seemed to stretch on infinitely. So much happened, so many places were visited and people met, that I had difficulty keeping up with what happened where and with who. The names of everything didn't help. Most were in the Ancient Language and were hard to pronounce. Many were similar, as well. I often confused people and places. I believe there was only one 'normal' name in the entire book: Angela, a witch. Also, Paolini had a habit of introducing someone by their name only once and then expecting the reader to remember who they were the next time they were mentioned, along with everyone else. I wish this book had been split up into separate novels, or that Christopher Paolini had just associated the names with the people a little more; I think it would have been much easier to keep up with.

As I mentioned before, I found the concepts and ideals in this novel to be quite intriguing. Magic that comes at a price, fate determined by birth, and many creatures living both in harmony and at war, intertwined together to create a masterful work of imaginings. Written by another's hand, Eragon would have undoubtedly turned out differently, and I'm not sure if that would be a good thing; I believe that Paolini wrote the story in such a way that changing it would make it not as good. Aside from what I would have enjoyed more if it had been altered, namely the sheer length and names, Eragon turned out beautifully. I found much of the writing reminded me of poetry.

This book had very good writing and a nice storyline, but it just wasn't my style. I would give this story three stars. It was very lengthy and wordy, which I found distracted me from the main storyline a bit. Overall, I would congratulate Christopher Paolini on being able to complete such a masterpiece, a feat many other authors have failed to do. I would recommend this story to anyone looking for medieval features, not-so-mythical dragons, and a good, long read.

[Erich_gray]

Great review. My step son and I finished the entire series and found it very enjoyable. I must agree, it is very detailed and long. Kind of reminds me of Steven Kings style of writing. (The Stand had 100,000 words edited before published). But you might say, being the first book from a new comer that did so well, I was amazed. And thumbs up to Paolini as he was 16 when he wrote the book and 19 when he finished the entire series has a lot to say about effort. Even though Paollini stated in an interview he may not stay in the fantasy genra, I do look forward to other works for him. I do give this book 5 stars.

Thanks for the review and great job.

Erich

[RheaGrey]

I enjoyed your review. And I enjoyed this series!

If you thought the names of people and places were confusing in this book, the Game Of Thrones series would really throw you for a loop. When I read Eragon, I took care to picture each character and each place as I thought they should look in my mind so that I didn't get them confused.

My main problem was all the traveling! They would travel East to such-and-such and North to this-place or that-place and it was hard to picture the map and where they were headed, and which place was by which place. Although...
I have to give the author credit for allowing a map of the region to be pictured near the beginning of the book. That helped immensely.

Otherwise it was a fantastic adventure. The length of the book didn't bother me because I didn't want that adventure to end!

[Kzin]

I must disagree. I tried to read the book, and I only got halfway through. It was the same as Star Wars, which itself was a copy of Japanese cinema. I take offense because there were a multitude of ideas and scenes that were lifted from other writers (I remember that scene with the bridge and how the old man robs the man's purse from another book I read when I was a child).

I think the media had a large role to play in selling this man as a "prodigy." A prodigy by definition must be under age 13. Paolini was 15 when he started writing this novel. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'm upset because Paolini stole his writing from other authors, and they weren'y even great ideas to begin with. I'm surprised no one took him to court.

Then again, my own writing at that age was about the same.

[RheaGrey]

I must disagree. I tried to read the book, and I only got halfway through. It was the same as Star Wars, which itself was a copy of Japanese cinema. I take offense because there were a multitude of ideas and scenes that were lifted from other writers (I remember that scene with the bridge and how the old man robs the man's purse from another book I read when I was a child).

I think the media had a large role to play in selling this man as a "prodigy." A prodigy by definition must be under age 13. Paolini was 15 when he started writing this novel. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'm upset because Paolini stole his writing from other authors, and they weren'y even great ideas to begin with. I'm surprised no one took him to court.

Then again, my own writing at that age was about the same.

I'm thinking that it's possible I was very unbiased and pure when I read the series and that's why I enjoyed it so much. I hadn't heard anything, good or bad, about Paolini. I just saw a book on a shelf with a dragon on it, and I was sold. Mind you, this was also before the movie came out so I didn't know if it was going to be a popular book or not at the time. I'm surprised that I didn't notice any 'stolen ideas' from other books or movies. (I've seen all the Star Wars movies and read many books.) If you can remember the book you read that you think that scene was copied from, you should let me know! Otherwise, I will definitely be doing some research myself because I enjoyed this series.

[Kzin]

I must disagree. I tried to read the book, and I only got halfway through. It was the same as Star Wars, which itself was a copy of Japanese cinema. I take offense because there were a multitude of ideas and scenes that were lifted from other writers (I remember that scene with the bridge and how the old man robs the man's purse from another book I read when I was a child).

I think the media had a large role to play in selling this man as a "prodigy." A prodigy by definition must be under age 13. Paolini was 15 when he started writing this novel. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'm upset because Paolini stole his writing from other authors, and they weren'y even great ideas to begin with. I'm surprised no one took him to court.

Then again, my own writing at that age was about the same.

I'm thinking that it's possible I was very unbiased and pure when I read the series and that's why I enjoyed it so much. I hadn't heard anything, good or bad, about Paolini. I just saw a book on a shelf with a dragon on it, and I was sold. Mind you, this was also before the movie came out so I didn't know if it was going to be a popular book or not at the time. I'm surprised that I didn't notice any 'stolen ideas' from other books or movies. (I've seen all the Star Wars movies and read many books.) If you can remember the book you read that you think that scene was copied from, you should let me know! Otherwise, I will definitely be doing some research myself because I enjoyed this series.

This link sums it up:

http://aydee.wordpress.com/2006/12/17/eragon/

Even before I heard anything about plagiarism accusations, I knew it was plagiarism. The media is all lies, trying to pass off a man as a prodigy when he started the book at age 15, and it was published when he was 17, and he had the advantage of rich parents and home school. However, Star Wars stole from Kurosawa (although Kurosawa was vastly superior), ergo this is probably some form of karma.

[HeneryKnox]

I read this book many years ago when it first came out and I remember I enjoyed it a lot. I grew up in Montana near where Paolini did and I could see the reflection of the state in parts of the books. This being his first book as a young author I think it was great however I still haven't gotten around to finishing the series. I hope Paolini continues to write and refine his skills.

[RheaGrey]

I must disagree. I tried to read the book, and I only got halfway through. It was the same as Star Wars, which itself was a copy of Japanese cinema. I take offense because there were a multitude of ideas and scenes that were lifted from other writers (I remember that scene with the bridge and how the old man robs the man's purse from another book I read when I was a child).

I think the media had a large role to play in selling this man as a "prodigy." A prodigy by definition must be under age 13. Paolini was 15 when he started writing this novel. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'm upset because Paolini stole his writing from other authors, and they weren'y even great ideas to begin with. I'm surprised no one took him to court.

Then again, my own writing at that age was about the same.

I'm thinking that it's possible I was very unbiased and pure when I read the series and that's why I enjoyed it so much. I hadn't heard anything, good or bad, about Paolini. I just saw a book on a shelf with a dragon on it, and I was sold. Mind you, this was also before the movie came out so I didn't know if it was going to be a popular book or not at the time. I'm surprised that I didn't notice any 'stolen ideas' from other books or movies. (I've seen all the Star Wars movies and read many books.) If you can remember the book you read that you think that scene was copied from, you should let me know! Otherwise, I will definitely be doing some research myself because I enjoyed this series.

This link sums it up:


Even before I heard anything about plagiarism accusations, I knew it was plagiarism. The media is all lies, trying to pass off a man as a prodigy when he started the book at age 15, and it was published when he was 17, and he had the advantage of rich parents and home school. However, Star Wars stole from Kurosawa (although Kurosawa was vastly superior), ergo this is probably some form of karma.

Thank you, this is very interesting food-for-thought.

I will still always love the Eragon series, but this definitely puts the author into a whole other light for me.

[Erich_gray]

I thnk the book is brilliantly written. Especially from a teen ager. Ok, so what if it has a little Star wars in it? It is very difficult to write a fantasy book today that is completely original. Almost all books I see on the book shelve or on Amazon draw a little from other authors. Paolini was 15 when he started writing the series. I am sure he had a lot of Star Wars in his mind at the time. As I am sure many SCI FI writers have a lot fo Star Trek in their minds when writing.

I once read an inteerview with Olsen Card that in order to write a complete fiction work one must set down and do a lot of brain storming. I mean, alot! If you look on the backs of many books nowdays you will see somethings like, "In the likes of Lord of the Rings", " Star wars fans must read", " ect, ect.

My thumbs go up to Paolini. His work was long, as I stated in an earlier work. But his detail to be able to write a setting so well thuoght of, and yes, I think his world was well thought out, I can forego the "Star Wars" feel.

Even though I am not a Dark Fantasy reader, I am curious of reading what he is working on next. And no, as he said, now that he has gained some experiance, he may not be writing fantasy next.

This is a good read. And my step son, who is a BIG Star Wars fan and a very voiceful book critic, loved this book and read it back to back twice.

Enjoy... Erich

[RheaGrey]

I thnk the book is brilliantly written. Especially from a teen ager. Ok, so what if it has a little Star wars in it? It is very difficult to write a fantasy book today that is completely original. Almost all books I see on the book shelve or on Amazon draw a little from other authors. Paolini was 15 when he started writing the series. I am sure he had a lot of Star Wars in his mind at the time. As I am sure many SCI FI writers have a lot fo Star Trek in their minds when writing.

I once read an inteerview with Olsen Card that in order to write a complete fiction work one must set down and do a lot of brain storming. I mean, alot! If you look on the backs of many books nowdays you will see somethings like, "In the likes of Lord of the Rings", " Star wars fans must read", " ect, ect.

My thumbs go up to Paolini. His work was long, as I stated in an earlier work. But his detail to be able to write a setting so well thuoght of, and yes, I think his world was well thought out, I can forego the "Star Wars" feel.

Even though I am not a Dark Fantasy reader, I am curious of reading what he is working on next. And no, as he said, now that he has gained some experiance, he may not be writing fantasy next.

This is a good read. And my step son, who is a BIG Star Wars fan and a very voiceful book critic, loved this book and read it back to back twice.

Enjoy... Erich

I agree with you Erich. Even though some ideas were drawn from Star Wars, I loved the overall adventure created by Paolini. Sure, bits and pieces were similar to other stories, but a lot of it wasn't. And the descriptions and feelings I got through the writing was definitely not plagiarism, but the skills of the young author shining through.

I agree, it wasn't a literary masterpiece, but for a young guy, I think he did great.

I myself have an old computer full of half-written stories based off of other stories that I enjoyed immensely that I had written at around age 14.

[Yangu_38]

Have tried this many times but cannot get stuck into it

[CMRingh]

I've heard about this series for years and finally got to it recently, audiobook style. I'm enlightened but troubled by the comments above, regarding pieces being reminiscent of other works. I think that there is a fine line between paying homage and conceptual plagiarism, especially within high fantasy. I, too, loved the structure of magic and its use in this universe. With Riders being stronger for their ability to link their energy with their dragon. I found that to be a clever and versatile device. I am not well versed enough in fantasy to notice glaring overlap from other works, but it is clear that Paolini has a great love and reverence for his predecessors. I hope we see more from him in the future, with ever growing originality.

[Londera]

This is one of the first series I read from a males point of view. I love fantasy and dragon lore and too found the different races of creatures and magical abilities intriguing.

[Ash and Stars]

I agree with you about the length of the book. I've been meaning to read Eragon for a few years but still haven't gotten around to it.

[Basya]

Many years ago, I ordered the series for my school library. After reading them, I posted reviews on my blog. Even though I was impressed that the author began writing when he was only 15, it was my opinion that it was a bit difficult to read. There were some plot elements I would have done differently but respected the author’s right to tell the story his way. After completing the series, I decided to take a look at the opening pages—and was amused by a younger and more naive Eragon.

Thank you for your review and a trip down Memory Lane.