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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Young and restless, Mar 4 2007
The younger the author, the more plaudits they receive. And young author Christopher Paolini got to the top of the heap with his bestselling debut "Eragon," and again with the sequel "Eldest." Are his fantasy novels really that good? Well... no.
Paolini has raw, unrefined talent and an undeniable flair for writing, but he's bogged down by every fantasy cliche in the book. While there are distinct aftertastes of Tolkien, McCaffrey and Lucas, his first novel is an earnest light read, but his second much less so.
"Eragon" is an impoverished lad living with his uncle in a secluded village, barely scraping by. That changes when he finds a strange blue stone in the woods. He tries to sell it, with no luck. Then it hatches into a baby dragon, Sephira. He raises her in secret until his farm is attacked and his uncle Garrow murdered by the evil minions of the ex-Dragonrider Galbatorix, who is now the evil king. Seeking revenge, Eragon gets the help of the old storyteller Brom, who is more than he seems.
In the follow-up, "Eldest," Eragon and Saphira are still finding their way. To learn what he must know to combat Galbatorix, Eragon will have to train in Ellesmera, among the Elves. Elsewhere, his cousin is still resisting their enemies, and leads the villagers on an escape. But soon Eragon will discover a shocking secret about his past, during a battle with Galbatorix.
"Eragon" got massive attention when it was first published, especially since the "Harry Potter" series is winding down. With that much hype, it would be almost impossible for "Eldest" to work quite as well, especially since Paolini overloads it with too many political problems and awkward romantic moments. He really should have left the token love interests out.
As a descriptive writer, Paolini shows distinct talent. He has a genuine flair for description of landscapes and places, right down to the raging storms and burned-out villages. His writing is still a bit raw, sometimes awkward, and the dialogue can border on pompous. But he has a solid ability to bring up what things look, smell, sound or feel like.
Unfortunately, the writing cannot hide the two books' biggest flaw: there's virtually nothing original here. "Eragon" and "Eldest" often read like patchworks of other books and ideas. Young, clueless hero raised in the sticks? Check. Wise old man who teaches the hero? Check. Ancient sword? Dragons? Wise and fair elves? Evil wizard? Stumpy, grumpy dwarves? Check. It gets rather annoying, even if one tries to shut out the thoughts of "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings."
Paolini does know his dragons; Saphira is an amusing, often funny character. And Paolini adds dragon-riding details (like what scales do to a rider's legs) that most authors don't manage to. Eragon himself is a pretty typical fantasy hero, rather angsty and immature. He's likable at times, but still is not yet compelling.
"Eragon" is a decent fantasy read, while "Eldest" suffers from a lack of forward momentum. Despite their flaws, they will hopefully lead to a more polished finale.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Now, what are you waiting for?, April 1 2007
Has someone ever given you a book you just can't find time to read? That happened to me with "Eragon" and "Eldest". I liked the story, as summed up in the cover, but a lot of the reviews I had previously read about the series were awful, mostly criticizing the style of its author, Christopher Paolini, or saying that these book were just an imitation of others, for example the books in the "Lord of the Rings" series.
I must confess that I let those spiteful comments get to me, and I always found something else to read before tackling the books included in this box set. That is, until I watched the movie, loosely based on the book of the same name written by Paolini. It wasn't spectacular, but it had something special that made you care for Eragon, a young man like many others that ends up discovering a dragon's egg, and changing his destiny and that of Alagaesia.
"Eragon", the film, was a good introduction to Paolini's world, a world of magic and dragons, elves and strange creatures. All the same, I wanted more, so I went straight to the source. I picked up the book that had been waiting patiently for me and started reading. I read it in a day, without stopping, enjoying the fact that Paolini's story was much, much better than what the film had allowed me to glimpse, and that I was on holidays and could allow myself the luxury of reading the whole book without having to stop and go to work :)
Of course, reading "Eragon" was not enough, and immediately after finishing it I started reading "Eldest". Truth to be told, I liked it just as much or more. "Eldest" picks up where "Eragon" ended, and allows us to know what is happens with Eragon, Saphira and their friends, and what they need to do in order to survive the wrath of king Galbatorix.
All in all, I can say that I loved "Eragon" and "Eldest", and that I strongly recommend it to others, specially those that (disregarding their age) have lots of imagination. On the practical side, buying this box set is a good idea because it is cheaper, and will save you some time you could spend reading. Now, what are you waiting for?
Belen Alcat
PS: To Christopher Paulini --> Please hurry up with the last book in this triology, I really want to know what happens next :)
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4.0 out of 5 stars
An entertaining read, Mar 1 2007
I did enjoy both of these books, even after being well-acquainted with Tolkien and a few other fantasy books such as David Eddings. Paolini has been criticized for being talent that is still in the raw, accomplishing every cliche out there and stealing ideas from popular works. But when you put that aside and just go along for the ride, it's a fun and easy read about a boy and his dragon who go up against the bad guys with all their magic-wielding comrades. It is kind of a Lord of the Rings/Starwars/Belgariad sort of mix, but hey, it's fun! And remember, it's for kids, and if I was a kid, I wouldn't have noticed any of the flaws that us adults do. I would recommend this for the easy-to-please adult fantasy reader, or any young reader over 10.
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