Customer Reviews

Eldest

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

"Eldest", second book in Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance" triology, picks up where "Eragon" ended, and allows us to know what is going to happen with Eragon, Saphira and their friends, and what they will need to do in order to survive the wrath of king Galbatorix. If you haven't read the first book in the series, please do so before tackling this one. You can understand what happens in "Eldest" without having read "Eragon", but I think you will not enjoy what happens half as much.

Now, my opinion regarding "Eldest". Truth to be told, I loved the first book in the series, but I liked this one even more. From my point of view, Paolini manages to make Eragon's world more believable, without letting the magic go. That doesn't mean that this book is perfect, or that it doesn't have some scenes that are somewhat slow. All the same, I think it deserves 5 stars because it is the kind of book you cannot stop reading once you start, the kind of book that makes you wish you could read the final book of the triology instead of having to wait for it.

What is new in "Eldest", then? Well, Eragon has to travel to Ellesmera (the land of the Elves), in order to continue his training as a dragon raider. Along the way he will meet some new friends and foes, and discover new information about people he already knew. Also, the author introduces an alternative point of view in the story, that of Roran, Eragon's cousin. Roran and Eragon are far from each other, and must to face different challenges and enemies, but they have something in common: some chapters of "Eldest" will be about Eragon's adventures, and others about what is happening to Roran and his followers. As if that were not enough, we will discover two more dragon riders, and learn about what happened to Murtagh and Eragon's mother.

Of course, that are just some of the things you will find in "Eldest". The more important reason to read it is the opportunity to immerse you once again in the adventures of Eragon and Saphira, and become a dragon rider yourself, if only for a few hours. Highly recommended !

Belen Alcat

PS: To Christopher Paulini --> Please hurry up with the last book in this triology, I really want to know what happens next :)

Being such a young writer, Christopher Paolini has blended and crafted a wonderful and definitive fantasy world for his "Inheritance" trilogy. Every detail of the story is vibrant and alive. Eldest, the second installment of the trilogy, is a better written book then the first as it more fully fleshes out this fantasy world. Paolini's maturity as a writer is showing more and more from one book to the next. And as Eldest excellently sets the stage for the next book, I can't wait to see his new found writer's maturity in full bloom. Thumbs up! Another book I've enjoyed recently is the "The Goonies meets The Invaders from Mars" scifi adventure "GAAK" by Darryl Hughes. It's like Spielberg's best stuff.

I know many who have criticized this series of books for being simplistic, but I would disagree. While this book may not be quite as complicated as other fantasy novels the characters are given a level of authenticity and realism which makes them believable. Also, the system of magic used within this series is excellent and very well executed.

The rest of the series is an accomplishment as well and, though teenagers can begin these books early, they are by no means simple and should entertain adults as well despite the critics and old-school thoughts regarding fantasy novels.

Eldest, is a fantastic book written by Christopher Paolini. This book is full of fantasy. The book contains magic, elves, dragons, dwarfs and other mystical creatures. They are fighting a war against King Galbatorix. Eragon, a strong, smart, competitive, dragon rider, and enormous, strong, fire breathing, dragon Saphira are training in Ellesmera. There is trouble in another part of Alagaesia. Roran is Eragon’s brother, he’s smart, and strong, is fighting another war in Carvahall.

Eldest is a very good story. I like it because I like dragon stories, books with magic and books with mystical characters. I like long books and Eldest is about six-hundred pages. Eldest is the type of book that if you start reading that if you read ten pages it will take at least fifteen minutes and you won’t stop reading the book. I would suggest that you should be at least ten years old. You should only read Eldest if you have read Eragon first because Eldest is the sequel to Eragon of the Inheritance trilogy. If you have read Harry Potter you might like Eldest. You will also like Eldest if you like survival books.

Both Eldest and Eragon (Book 1) are a worthwhile read that will keep you entertained. I will admit that the first novel was a bit slow to start but Eldest, on the other hand, was much more fast-paced. The second installment is a much better read than the first. The major negative about this novel is that the plot twists are easy to predict, especially the one at the end of Eldest. Even though these are not the most thought provoking, or exciting novels out there, they are an enjoyable read when you're looking for something a bit more fun. I personally will be looking forward to the third book in the series.

Paolini has improved a lot. "Eldest" is suspenseful, gripping and imaginative, although I do see some influence of The Lord of the Rings. On the other hand, in this kind of a story it is hard not to be influenced by Tolkien's genius...

With the help of elves of Ellesmera, Eragon expands his skills and knowledge to become more of a true Dragon Rider, and a force to be reckoned with by the King Galbatorix and his evil Empire. Plots abound - we are taken back to Carvahall, where Eragon's cousin, Roran, is taking on his own fight against the Empire... Both cousins go through all kind of twisted events; danger and adventure are pervasive throughout the pages...

Contrary to the first part of the trilogy, the story of Eldest is not focused exclusively on Eragon, as Roran gets a big part of it. Paolini lets the characters grow and develop. They are not "either black or white" any more -- they are more human-like now, with their virtues and shortcomings. As before the end of Dragon Riders era, betrayal becomes a big issue again... There is also some love and other emotional events on the horizon...

Eldest is truly engrossing, filled with a lot of action and adventure. Although some questions raised in Eragon are now answered, some new arise. The second book of the trilogy brings second dragon to the world. Will the third dragon hatch in the last volume? - These questions and uncertainties make me look forward to the third book of the Inheritance series. With the rate of improvement that Paolini showed this time, I expect great things to come... This is a MUST READ volume. For a little younger audience I highly recommend "Why Some Cats are Rascals"

The only reason I ever picked up the Inheritance trilogy was due to a fuss in my school over a student who had plagiarized the beginning for a creative writing assignment. As I had read said assignment, I assumed that Eragon would be interesting, certainly better than what had been stolen. I was wrong. No matter, it was decent for a first novel, and while I can't say I am thrilled to see it coming out as a movie, it is admirable for such a young author.

A second novel, on the other hand, deserves to be looked at in a harsher light, especially considering that he is working with a major publishing company. Said major publishing company should also have realized how many aspiring writers would be infuriated by Paolini's closing dedications, but perhaps nothing that arrogant has ever been included in a dedication before. I certainly haven't seen it, if there is a prior example.

The elvish society is the bland culmination of what is commonly agreed upon to be elvish. They live in hollowed out trees that they must both heat and protect with magic, since the heat should have killed these trees long ago. They don't eat meat, but have lavish feasts without any visible sign of agricultural support. The festival was reminiscent of a faerie tale with none of the inherent magic, and its "culmination" left a sour taste in my mouth. Moreover, Eragon's lessons give the impression that he read the an IB Theory of Knowledge textbook and tried to cram the concepts within in between his praise for veganism.

The second plotline with Roran was moderately better, although his sheer idiocy makes me wonder if Stereotypically Evil Jealous Father (tm) didn't have the right idea about [event deleted due to spoilers.] The morals he displays in transporting the villagers are dubious, which I might have enjoyed except for the fact that Paolini obviously expects us to nod along and say, "Well yes, but he's Good."

I gave one star for Arya's remarkable common sense in rejecting Eragon. Sadly, I doubt that I will be able to give a star for that reason in the next novel, which I will be reading out of sheer morbid curiosity. The other star is for the interesting life cycle of the Nazgul-esque creatures which are currently hunting Roran.

Best of luck to Mr. Paolini as he finishes the final book, which will hopefully be worthy of the glowing reviews given for unknown reasons to Eldest and Eragon.

This book, while an improvement on the first, was still far from worth the money to buy it. The book lacks originality, and the characters seem stale. The same goes for the dialog. The only strength I found in reading this book is that it is entertaining. Still, I notice far too many similarities between other books to be mere coincidence.

When the very first line of a book is as nonsensical as "The songs of the dead are the lamentations of the living," you know you're in trouble.

So it's pretty obvious from the start that Christopher Paolini's second novel "Eldest" is going to be a disaster. But the biggest weakness of Paolini's book is not his stilted dialogue or numerous cliches, or even the slow-moving pompous slog of the seemingly endless elf training -- it's his cardboard cutout of a self-insert hero, Eragon.

"Eldest" picks up immediately after the end of "Eragon," with Eragon badly wounded, Murtagh missing, and the leader of the Varden murdered. But despite the rebels' turmoil, Eragon is told that he has to accompany Arya back to the elven city Ellesmera, to train as a proper Dragon-rider. When he arrives, Eragon finds that his new master is an ancient, crippled elf named Oromis, who has a lot to teach him before he inevitably expires.

Yup, Oromis has vast stores of knowledge to impart. And sadly, we have to see every step of it -- including yoga, ant-watching and hilariously homoerotic bath scenes.

Unbeknownst to Eragon, his hometown of Carvahall is being ruined by a band of Galbatorix's soldiers, and his newly-engaged cousin Roran may be their only hope. And our hero's truncated training leads to strange new changes in his body and mind, as he prepares for a devastating new battle against Galbatorix -- and a horrifying new discovery about Murtagh. Yes, you can probably see it coming.

Lofty elves, kings-in-waiting, humble farm boys, ghastly goblinesque creatures, mystical women, special swords, evil tyrants who are evil because they just are, wise mentors, and telepathic dragons in a variety of colors. Christopher Paolini never met a fantasy cliche that he didn't like. And rather than growing as a writer since his bestselling debut, Paolini seems to have regressed.

In particular, he starts writing like every schoolboy who ever wanted to be Tolkien -- his prose becomes bloated, sluggish and painfully smug, with dialogue that becomes more painfully wretched with each chapter ("I walk between the candle and the dark"). The story is wrenched out into three different storylines, two of which deal with the Varden's lace-making and Roran's engagement woes. Neither is terribly interesting, and the battle at the finale feels as though Paolini slapped it on to give it a suitably slam-bang ending.

Worst of all, the book's bulk is devoted mostly to Eragon's uneventful dragon-riding training with Oromis, which consists mostly doing yoga and watching insects, and occasionally whapping each other with swords. Yes, it's every bit as boring as it sounds. And the hilariously homoerotic moments with Eragon and Oromis only liven it up a little.

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 even has the gall to whine to a dying elf about how his life is ruined because he has a back scar. And his abrupt transformation into an ultra-handsome half-elf late in the book does not make him any more impressive.

In short, he's a glaring self-insert, with all the dimension of a cardboard standee. Sadly the other characters aren't much better: Roran comes across as mentally unstable and the elf queen is too immature and whiny. Oromis has a certain fascination, but he's used mainly to glorify eragon. And the love interest Arya is glorified only for her looks -- which is all she has, since this book establishes her as snotty, cold-blooded and a smug anti-religious bigot.

Christopher Paolini had some promising ideas, but a ghastly hero and overblown writing turn those ideas into the painfully bloated carcass of "Eldest." Lightweight fantasy at best, but a painful salad of cliched preaching at worst.

Contrary to the first part of the trilogy, the story of Eldest is not focused exclusively on Eragon, as Roran gets a big part of it. Paolini lets the characters grow and develop. They are not "either black or white" any more -- they are more human-like now, with their virtues and shortcomings. As before the end of Dragon Riders era, betrayal becomes a big issue again... There is also some love and other emotional events on the horizon...

Another book for young audience that I enjoyed tremendously was "Why Some Cats are Rascals" (Actually a series of three books)

Eldest is filled with a lot of action and adventure. Although some questions raised in Eragon are now answered, some new arise. The second book of the trilogy brings second dragon to the world. Will the third dragon hatch in the last volume? - These questions and uncertainties make me look forward to the third book of the Inheritance series. With the rate of improvement that Paolini showed this time, I expect great things to come...