Eragon

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: Wow only 18! I would have given five stars if the phrase "tear you to pieces" didnt appear every 10 pages. A very astonishing accomplishment for a young writer.

Note: This book isnt for those who arent accustomed to weird names for things like towns and swords beacause apparently everything in the book has a name with either and accent or an apostrophe in it.

Rating:
Summary: Those who can do.........those who can't criticize!!!
Review: I always find it so interesting that we live in this world of over rated critics. It is far easier for someone to criticize someone else's work than to be able to sit down and write a good book of their own. If the people who have criticized this book have this much knowledge of good writing (doubtful) then why haven't they taken the time to sit down and write a book themselves In this day of tough and competitive book publishing, do these ciritcs really thing that Knopf publishing is going to stick its neck out in publishing a book that isn't going to be successful? I commend Christopher Paolini for using his talents and staying the course. He is a credit to our teenagers in as much as most of them cannot even write a decent sentence let alone a book. And I am quite sure that many of the critics of his work have teenagers that fall in this category of being barely able to spell their own names, let alone have any imagination. Until they have tried to write a book I find they have little room to critizie. These critics would do far better in seeing that our education system is able to turn out more teen agers like Chirstopher Paolinin then tearing this young man's work apart. This is why my title says, "Those who can do, those who can't, criticize.

Rating:
Summary: Classically readable--- made me want more
Review: I realize that this book isn't perfect-- it is very obvious that he uses a lot of ideas from Tolkien (love the comment "I expected to see a hobbit" from one grumpy reviewer) and McCaffrey of the Dragons of Pern series. However, he adds just enough fresh ideas and a new storyline to a classic formula for fantasy fiction to be really, really good. His descriptive text and adult's awareness of what it is to come of age make it a really good read.

I like that he gives credit at the end to the people who read over his text and copyedited, smoothed, changed and helped with his story. Another grumpy reviewer even gave him credit for having no typographical errors. :)

This book reads quickly, gives appropriate hints where needed about relationships between people and situations, and then wraps up the details nicely when it's called for. I cannot wait for "The Eldest". Thanks for such an awesome book.

By the way, except for Tolkien, some of McCaffrey's books, and the Harry Potter series, I usually cannot stand fantasy fiction because it drags on and on and on and assumes that you know everything there is about generations of people-- or worse, tells you about generations of people who are utterly irrelevent to the story. This book is different because it focuses on the story and blends in the past to make it work.

Rating:
Summary: Eragon does not drag
Review: In the beginning I was bothered by Paolini's style and clumsy explanations, but as I got further the story grew and I paid less attention to inconsequentials. I am looking forward to the next installment.

Rating:
Summary: A book truly meant for its target market
Review: I made a mistake when attempting to read this book, and that mistake was failing to pay attention to its target market. Unfortunately, following on the heels of the highly readable Harry Potter series which is targeted at young adults, I was sure reading this book would not hurt. Unfortunately this book is targeted for young adults, but unlike Harry Potter, it should ONLY be read by young adults.

I am a fan of several hardcore fantasy writers including George R MArtin, Terry Goodkind, Terry Brooks, Robert Jordan, and even "fluffy" writers like Piers Anthony - and many more I cannot even think of on the spot. I can guarantee that if you have ever read adult fantasy novels such as those by the aforementioned authors, you WILL NOT enjoy this book.

This book was written by a teenager and it shows. The language is alternatively simple and overdone. It does not read well. I find the simple phrasing and overdone verbosity to be annoying and boring. After gracing my eyes with the graceful phrasings of George R MArtin there is simply no way this poor book can compare.

I don't feel the need to delve into what others have said about the plot - it's all been done before. There is nothing new or exciting to this story - UNLESS you haven't read other fantasy.

I ALWAYS finish my books. But this one, I simply cannot. With my strong background in fantasy, it is just too simple and boring. My poor mother, who purchased this book for me, cannot understand. She says to me, "But Lisa said it's better than Harry Potter!" Unfortunately, Lisa is her nine-year-old neighbor who has never read a fantasy book OTHER than Harry Potter.

My recommendations in short: If you have never read another fantasy book, you will probably enjoy this book. If you have read ANY books by authors such as those I mentioned, STAY AWAY. You will not be pleased you spent the money. This book belongs with its young adult target market, where it is sure to be enjoyed, or with light readers who have never picked up a fantasy novel.

Rating:
Summary: This book is an innovative fantasy.
Review: As a nonfiction writer, when reading fiction, I want innovative fantasy and this book delivers just that.
I have not read a book that harbors the reader as much as this one since J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter novels.
If you enjoy reading books that will encase you completely with cogent characters and an efficacious story, read Eragon.

Rating:
Summary: This Book Is Good, But Not The Best
Review: This Book Does Use Other Stories For This One, But Combines Them So That It Makes It Good. Also, This Book Is A Very Good Start To Any Writing Career.

God Bless,
Peace Out,
Read This Book,
Ready For The Sequal,
The Thing.

Rating:
Summary: Eragon
Review: According to the critics I am too easily entertained. However, I want an escape from reality at times, and this book took me on a fine adventure! I am looking forward to the rest of the trilogy. And I want my own dragon! Good luck to a fine young author ...

Rating:
Summary: A Great Quest -- a review by Alec, age 10
Review: Join Eragon, a young Rider, on a great quest for revenge against the Empire. When his uncle is mysteriously killed, and he finds a dragon egg, he knows something is different about him. He leaves his home to pursue his uncle's murderers, but will he survive?

I think this book is one of the best I've read, mostly because of the action, but also because of the rich storyline filled with many new monsters and evils. Hats off to Christopher Paolini, the young writer of this fabulous novel. This is a great book for any reader, the Harry Potter fans that can't wait for the next book, and the Lord of the Rings fans that want a next book. It has the magic of Harry Potter and the action of Lord of the Rings.

Rating:
Summary: Not for people over 15
Review: I bought this book as a christmas present for a woman who loves children's books, and fantasy books in particular. Unfortunately while Eragon might be compelling to a teenager, it's almost unbearable to people with more of a nuanced perspective to the world. Think of it as a story for people who still like the taste of artificial grape flavoring.

First, the story as a whole has no arc. Or rather, it borrows several arcs that have been used before, and merely concatenates them together. It starts out as a story about coming into unexpected responsibility, learning skills, etc. There's a limpid revenge theme that starts up and falters a few times. Then the reader is thrown into a love interest that was forshadowed in a most heavy-handed manner, and which is described in such embarassingly adolescent language that I winced (as did another reviewer). Eventually the story turns into a race against time, except that they refuse to take advantage of their winged dragon, who can fly vast distances very quickly.

There are annoying little inconsistencies. For example, in the beginning of the book they seem to cover about an inch of map in a week. At the end, they're covering the same distance in a day.

At one point, about 100 pages in, I felt as if the writing had developed an iron-lung style rythm. I didn't analyze it enough to find out what exactly was going on, but I think it was a span of several pages filled with sentences that all followed identical grammatical structures. It was a very unpleasant sensation to read through; kind of like a sing-song poem where the lines all rhyme and have the same number of syllables.

At the end of the book, Eragon hasn't actually achieved anything, except to memorize the lessons that were handed to him on a silver platter by suspiciously knowledgeable and conveniently-placed characters. He has nothing to be proud of -- I had the distinct feeling that I had just read about a rich boy collecting all the opportunities and advantages that a rich boy should expect. This feeling wasn't helped by the fact that this book was originally published by Paolini's parents' publishing house -- I get the distinct feeling that if the author hadn't been bankrolled by his family, this story never would have seen the public.

There are some promising parts to the writing, however. The description of baby Saphira was endearing. The description of the dwarf stronghold was beautiful. Replacing the idea of "good guys vs bad guys" with a power struggle between equally self-interested groups was promising, although it wasn't carried out very well (it's clear that one group really is supposed to be better than the other). I look forward to the author gaining more experience with storytelling, character development, and life struggles in general. Maybe someday I'll be able to recommend one of his books.