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Summary: A Cure for Poison Ivy
Review: For someone having just arrived at this site and reading the first review posted under the neatly segregated "customer reviews" section, I was appalled. If I had not read the book, I would not be interested in doing so. As luck would have it, however, I DID read the book first, and I was coming here looking for informaion on the sequel. First of all: I don't believe that this is a canned story. Although many of the elements were similar (if not identical) to such fantasy worlds as Middle Earth or stories such as Star Wars, most stories are built up from other people's ideas before they take on a life of their own. As another nineteen year old writer, who began my first novel at the same time that Mr. Paolini did, my world has evolved from a deviation of Middle Earth and Dungeons and Dragons, but then unique things begin to appear such as how magic works, the disposition of dragons, and the immensely detailed descriptions of halls from a long forgotten race. There were elements in the story of Eragon that were so unique I was bowled over with imagery, such as the immense size of the mountains and the richly detailed characters. One of the things that really struck me about this story was how real the characters were; it was not like a typical hero or epic story in which you know that nothing can happen to the main characters and people don't die. Sorry if this spoils anything, but people actually die in Eragon, people that in a more "typical" epic would have made it out without a scratch. And not only is the hero's "destiny" not clear to the characters, it is also beyond the reader. I don't think that Eragon will be the next benevolent reader, nor do I think he will remain with the Varden, but that's only the speculation of an excited reader who is looking for more of the story. In short, I adore this book and would reccomend it to anyone who enjoys fantasy or just good storytelling. My nine year old sister has enjoyed it as much as my fourty six year old mother! It is an excellent first enstallment in the hopefully long career of Christopher Paolini.
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Summary: The gift
Review: Eragon was under our tree as a gift. I curled up with my son and read it out loud. He was entranced and would scarcely let me put the book down. We finished all 507 pages this morning. What an extraordinary book. My kid would not let me put it down. I confess to being sucked into the adventures of Eragon and Saphira. The young author is a gifted storyteller. Court Lemke
Rating:
Summary: amazing
Review: This book was amazing. in the begining it was a little like lord of the rings but then it was nothing like it. anyone who says this book stinks are crazy. this was the best book i ever read.
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Summary: Christopher Poalini hits a home run-Reveiw by Bobby
Review: The book Eragon was maybe similar to the work of J.R.R Tolkin and the like, but Eragon's many dark secrets of mythical elves and elite dragon riders kept me guessing and hoping for mysteries to be revealed. A corrupt king, a diabolical "shade", bands of bloodthirsty "Ugrals" (not my first choice of names), along with elves, humans, and dwarves combine to make a wonderful story. My only complaint was that it wasnt as well written as it could have been. When Eragon finds a strange flawless blue stone, he thinks he could get some money for it. Before he sells it, it hatches into a young dragon. The race was beleived to be extinct. The dragon grows faster and faster, and soon he doesnt know what to do with it. When the kings servants destroy his home and kill his uncle looking for the egg, Eragon along with his dragon Saphira, and a storyteller with a mystereous past, go after them to avenge the death of Ergagon's uncle. This adventure leads to many more, and soon he realizes he is the only surviving Dragon Rider, with a very unique destiny.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazingly overrated
Review: As I read this, I was constantly shocked by the complete lack of originality of the book. It is one thing to be influenced by great fantasy writers, quite another to unabashedly lift ideas from them, as Paolini does. Many of the people praising him do so because they are caught up in the hype of his being a 15-year-old writer. I suggest they read Anne McCaffrey's books to see what a whopping amount of her dragon lore he has borrowed. For the source of his treatment of elves and dwarves, look no further than JRR Tolkien. Bottom line - disappointing for someone who is familiar with his sources, and is evaluating the book on its merits as a work of fantasy, not as 'a-work-of-fantasy-written-by-a-fifteen-year-old'. It might be 'original' for someone who is not.
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Summary: A Fantastic inlusion in the Library of any Fiction Reader!!!
Review: As a lover of fantasy and science fiction novels, I completely enjoyed this book. I consider the book slightly below my "reading level" (so to speak), but I am a 14 year old who loves Dean R Koontz, Frank Herbert, George R. R. Martin and many other books considered to be written by "adult" novelists(I have met 2 people in my entire life around my age that read similar books as me). After finishing Lightning (a book by Dean R Koontz that I recomend greatly), I picked up this book and litterally couldn't put it down. I stayed up till two o'clock in the morning every day for a week reading this book. The book grabs you (sorry to use the same phrase that has conformed to book reviews over the past few decades) by shoving you strait into the action of Algaesia (can't remember how to spell it) and immersing you into Eragon's adventure. After the adventure begins, one cannot stop reading. This book is full of the same wonder that made both Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and The Dark is Rising Sequence the beautiful books they are: a believable world that has surprises around every corner of the path. The only problem I had with the book was the "Question and Answer sections" between Eragon and a certain character of the book (don't want to give away any twists :-), but this is completely minor. I would recomend this book to anyone and everyone... the endless adventures of Eragon await!
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Summary: Very familiar, but fun nonetheless.
Review: I probably wouldn't have bought this book for myself, but when I got it for Christmas and had some free time on my hands, I figured, "What the heck". Right out of the gate, you can see where Mr Paolini's influences lie. All the standard elements are in place and ready for action. People with strange names, creatures with strange names, places with strange names. Extraneous apostrophes cavort with their umlaut buddies in all sorts of unexpected places. The good guys are attractive and the bad guys are ugly. Very black and white stuff. It's the superficial elements of Tolkien, Pratchett, Zelazny, McCaffrey and a host of others, all crammed into a single volume. I kept reading anyway.
Before long I was rewarded with character development, a deepening plot, and a very readable writing style. So readable, in fact, that by 5:00 the next morning I was eagerly awaiting the next installment. When it hits the stores, I WILL buy it for myself.
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Summary: Star Wars meets Lord of the Rings
Review: Raised as a humble farmer, Eragon discovers a strange jewel--which turns out to be a dragon egg. Dragon riders once protected the land and ensured justice, but now, except for the evil King, the dragon riders are destroyed. The King's spies learn of the dragon's birth and destroy Eragon's uncle in an effort to find him and the dragon. If they can turn Eragon to the dark side, the King will be unstoppable. Fortunately, Eragon escapes and, with the help of an old bard, Eragon learns magic, swordfighting, and dragon tactics. Still, the King's power is too strong to confront alone. After a narrow escape, Eragon finds a beautiful elf-woman held captive by the King's shade. Together with a stranger who saves him, Eragon, the dragon, and the unconscious elf make their way to a rebel fortress deep in the dwarvish mountains. Yet the King has created evil alliances and his Urgal (Orc) subjects invade the Dwarf kingdom where all of Eragon's magic and power avail him little against the powerful shade. In the movie business, high-concept projects are frequently described as a combination of two well-known films. Eragon is definitely Starwars meets the Lord of the Rings. Set in a Middle-Earth world of elves, dwarves, orcs, and dragons, we have the familiar adventures of Luke Skywalker--the loss of his uncle, his aging warrior-bard teacher, the somewhat disreputable buddy, and the beautiful princess. Pretty good stuff. I'm torn in this review. On the one hand, it's an incredible feat for a fifteen-year-old author like Christopher Paolini to complete an entire novel, let alone an epic five-hundred pager. For the most part, Paolini's writing is competent, only occasionally drawing the reader out of the story. And the story is an exciting adventure as Eragon is thrown from adventure to adventure. On the other hand, Eragon doesn't really grow as a character. Sure he learns magic and swordfighting, but he's still the same whiny kid at the end of the story that he was at the beginning. Paolini is an author to watch. He's got talent and a fine sense of story. With a bit more experience in the world and some serious effort on character development, he may become a major author. ERAGON only hints at this promise, but it's a pleasant hint.
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Summary: Perfectly mundane and horrendously copied
Review: One day, I was innocently winding my way through the racks of books in Barnes & Noble when a certain book - rather, the book's jacket - caught my eye. I blinked and went forward, certain that it had to be joke. The words 'Eragon' were scrawled across the hefty blue book, and I motioned my friend over to look. We glanced at each other and cracked up laughing. What sort of poor imitation was this? Well, a few weeks later, at the very beginning of my Christmas vacation, I once more found myself at Barnes & Noble with a cappuchino and a bored expression. And, once more, my eyes found that book - Eragon. I blinked and picked it up. Certainly, although it had ripped off Lord of the Rings terribly, (I could tell that from merely looking at the map and the cover) it couldn't be that bad. Whoa. I was /wrong/. As I started reading, the book didn't capture my attention at all - not like His Dark Materials and the Daughter of the Forest had. I forced myself through the first hundred or so pages, telling myself that it had to get better. I find no reason to point out the way Paolini has stolen from Tolkien, McCaffrey, Eddings, and numerous others, mainly because they're pointed out in many reviews before mine. Read those reviews, and you'll see. I could guess perfectly what was going to happen before it did; and that's exactly what I did. The character's were unoriginal, cliche, and poorly drawn, and lacked depth. The storyline was stale and overused: almost everything rang of something McCaffery,Eddings, or Tolkien had created. The Spine, the dwarven city, the dragons... I was appalled. Certainly he could have attempted to put some originalty into his work! All he had to do to make Eragon decent was to put some twists on the much-used storyline; but he didn't even manage to do that. I am so amazed by the fact that something so unoriginal and mundane could even reach the bookshelves. Even the writing was poor; he tried far too hard to be elegant and grand, and it came off poorly. I ended up skipping to the back of the book after a while, growing too bored. The 'Elven beauty' in this book disgusted me. Is it too hard to ask for a heroine who isn't captured, tortured, and then saved by her prince charming? Of course, she couldn't /die/. Oh, no. That would mean Eragon's quest would be completely pointless! Or, god forbid, she couldn't escape herself, or not be *enchanted* by our benevolent fifteen year old hero. That's simply too much to ask. I could rant on, and on, and on. But I'm wasting time, and my very own breath. Take my advice - don't pick up Eragon. It's purely and utterly hype.
Rating:
Summary: I Love this Book!
Review: Wow! This was a great book. I anticipate the rest of the trilogy. I'm a fan of Pern and when Anne McCaffery had rave reviews of Eragon, I had to buy it. I have not been disappointed. I highly recommend this book and intend to have my 9 year old son read it starting this weekend! I am normally a very slow reader but I was finished with this tome in less than 4 days, something of a record for me! My congratulations to Mr. Paolini! I can hardly wait for more!
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