Rating: 
Summary: Eragon
Review: Although I can see some similarities with other author's books, it doesn't bug me at all. As a fourteen year old who loves to write, and hopes to publish a book while still in highschool- Chrisopher Paolini is a complete role-model. He has done what I *dream* to do one day.
And you have to admit, it is nearly impossible to come up with a true, original idea. I also love his writing style- I keep refering back to his book for adjectives that I can never think of while writing myself.
While severe (adult) editors may dislike the book, I recommend it to people of my own age who love reading. Keep in mind that he is not the only writer who has used the ideas of elves, dragons and named swords... It's all fantasy!
Rating: 
Summary: Greatly, Reluctantly Disappointed
Review: I first heard of this book while watching the Today show. The promising interview (and Mr. Paolini's terrific artwork) convinced me that I had to read this book. So I was thrilled when my husband surprised me with a copy. Sadly, I soon realized that ERAGON (which had been described as "better than Harry Potter" by a young reader referred to in the interview) was nothing more than a cobbling together of stories by more talented writers. How I can justify the incongruity between the praise in the interview and my poor reading experience? Perhaps this book would be pleasing to someone who's time spent with the fantasy genre consisted of the Harry Potter stories excusively. But for anyone who's come within ten yards of David Edding's BELGARIAD series, or Anne McCaffry's DRAGONRIDER series, or a dozen other well-known stories, ERAGON is a sad and frustrating copy. For an intelligent tale of magic and self-discovery, start with Edding's PAWN OF PROPHECY. His characters are compelling and three-dimensional. The occasional humor is a delightful counterbalance to the action. Unlike Eragon and his companions, you actually care what happens to young Garion and company. If the concept of dragonriders is appealing to you, check out McCaffry's DRAGONFLIGHT. Here you get fully-fleshed dragon-dragonrider relationships, not to mention a complex, believable social structure. Besides Paolini's obvious borrowing from these and other authors, I found the extensive list of made-up words highly annoying. With few exceptions, they were poorly crafted, unnatural-sounding, and failed to add interest to the story. If only Paolini had read Vonda McIntyre's "Pitfalls of Writing SF and Fantasy" (see her website), particularly "Pitfall #7: Neologisms, or, Calling a Rabbit a Smeerp, or, This Essay Almost Made My Spell-Checker Toss Its Cookies". To paraphrase Ms. McIntyre, unless you have a particular talent for inventing words, made-up words sound made-up. Despite the effort it took to finish this book, I wish Mr. Paolini well. With more experience and original ideas, this young writer has the potential to create an enjoyable story.
Rating:
Summary: Star Wars meets LOTR
Review: Star Wars with no technology and Tolkien with no wisdom. What could be better? Add some of McCaffrey's dragonriders and David Eddings special marks. . .if Paolini is 'new guard' and those original writers are 'old guard', why does the 'new guard' have to use the plots and ideas of the 'old guard'? Seems like the new guard would belong to the ones with the original ideas, past, present, and future.
Fantasy readers are, by and large, pretty intelligent. We can put up with a lot of crossover from the authors we read, so long as there is an original twist. We can't be told that a book like Eragon is original and new, because we know better. Even the names are Tolkien's with some letters rearranged. Or should I say Tolkein.
Rating: 
Summary: Eragon
Review: Eragon is a pure fantasy tale of adventure, a bildungsroman. All the necessary pieces for the story are in Eragon. Mr. Paolini has a solid grasp of storytelling. His skill kept me up too many nights, engrossed. I am a high school English teacher, with an MFA in Creative Writing. I am famililar with Mr. Paolini's path to Knopf from being published by his parents publishing company. After I read the Knopf Eragon, published this year, I obtained one of the paperback Eragon from Interlibrary Loan. I was fascinated to compare the two versions. Mr. Paolini said on a radio show I heard, that the Knopf Eragon has 20,000 less words than the original paperback edition from his family publishing company. To tell the truth, I enjoyed reading both versions. Knopf's was tighter and faster in pacing. The original had more descriptions of places, events, and Eragon's interior thoughts. Eragon has a high page count, over 500 pages. Editing a manuscript of that size is a daunting task. I am a part-time freelance editor; the quality of the Knopf edit (what we classify as a light edit) is superb. What impresses me also is the quality of the editing that the Paolini family did for the original book. Mr. Paolini's Eragon poses a challenge to the followers of Tolkien, McCaffrey, Brooks, Eddings, Williams, and Lewis, the old guard of fantasy. Eragon is high quality fantasy fiction. It's excellent in story and execution. What scares the old guard is that this young man has thrown the guantlet down: here is a first book that hits its mark. Writers and authors of decades more experience than this young man are understandably unnerved. I can imagine the professional jealousy, bitterness, and ulcers Mr. Paolini's success is causing. I eagerly await Mr. Paolini's next installment of the Inheritance Trilogy. An inspiring young author and one to watch.
Rating:
Summary: Eragon
Review: I recomend this book for anyone that loves fantasy books or just likes to read.I can't wait for Eldest.
Rating:
Summary: Lord of the Rings Ripoff
Review: I've never taken the time to write a review, but this book was a real disappointment. This is a weak "Lord of the Rings" rip-off. The writing is like being hit over the head repeatedly... no subtlety. The character development is roughly, "Eragon realized he wasn't a farm boy, but a mighty dragon rider with a responsibility to all the little children." Or, "Eragon felt really, really bad that his mentor died." Paolini is so wrapped up in writing an epic that he forgets, or is unable, to make his characters real. They're one-dimensional and weak. Paolini seems to hope the plot can drive the book, supported by the details of the world he's "creating." The problem is that he's not creating anything, just stealing from the Lord of the Rings. His world of humans, elfs, and dwarfs is a weak contrast to the Rings series and other books. What drove me over the edge to write this is that Paolini is arrogant enough to write this as a multi-part series. The ending is lame, with a big voice that says, "Come find me...." It's amazing that he expects this book would draw us back. Bottom line: don't waste your money on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Never trust an editor
Review: This is a great fantasy story. While it does obviously trod upon the well-worn fantasy themes of Tolkien and others, that is not altogether a bad thing. Epic fantasy is a narrow niche to work in as a writer, and there is no better path in which to travel than in that of the master's. Here is some advice for ENJOYING a fantasy story:
Don't overthink the book. Don't try to critique it's flaws and inconsistancies. For heaven's sake don't blame the author for using Tolkien's themes and ideas, as Tolkien is the DNA of Fantasy itself, without whom the genre would not exist. Just enjoy the story and allow yourself to be taken to another world.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing.
Review: I had bought this book after hearing all the reviews that praised the young author for his work, and I sat down, eager to read what Mr. Paolini had written.
As soon as I got to the end of the first page, I inadvertantly cringed. There, the descriptions of the characters/species introduced seemed painfully familiar - I'd just re-read the splendid works of J.R.R. Tolkien in preparation for the release of Return of the King, and seeing characters that seemed almost exactly like Tolkien's characters in another story didn't impress upon me as a fantastic way to start the book. But I decided that I could just chalk it down to the fact that Mr. Paolini has simply been largely influenced by Tolkien. So I continued through the book, but by the time I'd made it to the tenth page, I still hadn't been as enthralled by the book as I have by other young authors (most notably by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, whose works have also been acclaimed, whose latest - Hawksong - I would recommend. If you read the rest of her books, you will see the progression her writing has made throughout the years.). I struggled with Mr. Paolini's writing (which is very rare, as I've been a voracious reader from a young age, and from the classics to more contemporary works, I can absorb anything, as long as it's well written and engaging), which for some reason struck me as stiff and artificial. Regardless, I will try to finish this book, and from several interviews I've read about Mr. Paolini, he seems to be a very intelligent young man who I just think needs to find the words and let it flow. I'm hoping his next story in this trilogy, Eldest, will display a growth in his writing style, as when he wrote Eragon, he was 15 and might've been too focused on being proper. I hope to see better works from him - he might be a promising writer.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay but immature writing
Review: The bottom line is that this book was written by a fifteen-year-old and has the immature style that is to be expected from someone so young. The book has potential, but there are all those niggling details to take care of. I see that it was published by his parent's publishing company, which explains a lot. I don't think a major publishing house would have touched it without major editing. It is way to early to be comparing this kid to Tolkien, Eddings, or Jordan, but I think Paolini has promise and I look forward to what he will be writing in the future as his style matures.
Rating:
Summary: Eragon
Review: Yes, Eragon reads along the line of McCaffrey, Tolkien and is yet another in the JK Rowling line of magical reads. But keep in mind, two facts underlying this fete. Paolini is a teenager. He is being compared to the masters of this genre! I could devour 100 such books, with reader's gusto!. I found comfort in familiar characters manipulated with skill through this new land. The vocabulary is fabulous, and the kid appeal is amazing. I have a student who choose to come to his reading session, rather than go to a class party. I have had students comment that they wish that they could have this book at home, so they could read it at night. What more could a teacher ask for?
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