Rating: 
Summary: A great read!
Review: A great read! I truly enjoyed reading this It's a rarity these days to find an author capable of such good storytelling. The story is well written and very engaging, and despite the fact that it lost some momentum in the middle, I found myself eagerly turning pages to find out what would happen next. All in all, though this is not quite a perfect novel, it comes close.
Rating: 
Summary: Just good, not great -- 3 and a half stars
Review: I picked this book up at a Barnes and Noble bookstore (... uhh, is it taboo to dare mention B&N on amazon??? ... probably but too late now! ). It was under their "staff picks" section with the recommendation "forget Harry Potter, read THIS!!!" Well, I have read Harry Potter, and let me assure you, this is no Harry Potter! However, neither is it a completely worthless read, either. It is certainly grounded in Tolkien middle earth type settings. Elves, dwarves, etc. The dragon part is a new twist. The story goes something like this: Boy finds dragon egg, dragon hatches, boy is thrust into a serious adventure not of his choosing. It is a fairly rudimentary plot, with obviously raw writing, but there are still compelling parts to the story, and I would recommend it. Is it on the same level as stories such as the LOTR trilogy, or Ender's Game, or the Foundation series??? No. Does it have a template feel to it? Sort of. But it is still unique enough to carry itself as some light, enjoyable reading.
Rating: 
Summary: High praise for Eragon and its author
Review: Christopher Paolini's Eragon novel is a stellar accomplishment that stands out as rollicking story with all the elements that makes a book a classic for the ages. In our extended family, we have read Eragon with enthusiasm and joy at the tale. We are anxiously awaiting the next book. The Bad News Bears reviewers are entitled to their opinion, but Tolkien, McCaffrey, Jordan, and Brooks are not Gods, nor are their books entirely unique. Authors have liberally borrowed themes from history and mythology from other cultures. Mr. Paolini has created a new world that is real and self-sustaining. Eragon has that special magic, hence the response that we hear everywhere at our childrens' schools, bookstores, socials, Wal-Mart. "You have to read this book. This is a great new book. I love Eragon." Della Farnsworth
Rating:
Summary: Sorry to see it end - Preferred it to LOTR
Review: (By the way, I'm a 50+ woman, not part of the 10-14 age group to which this book is supposedly targeted). First of all, we just aren't going to get that many "new" ideas these days, since there have been about a billion sci-fi/fantasy books written since Tolkein's time. Everyone please get over it. I think it's more important to judge a book on its own merits. I will say that before the 1st LOTR movie, I listened to the 1st novel on tape. It took me almost 6 months to get through it (LOVED the movie though...). This tape made me look for excuses to drive somewhere so I could keep listening. I found the story to be enchanting, and I can't wait for the next one. I love the theme of a mind link between rider and dragon, and a good job was done of that here. I didn't notice any problems with the English language, but that could have been because the reader of this tape did such a wonderful job that I might have missed it. All in all, I enjoyed this book almost as much as the early Pern novels (high praise indeed), and much more than the later ones. Mr. Paolini and Mr. Doyle, hats off to both of you. Hurry, HURRY with the next installment!
Rating:
Summary: A good listen
Review: I had the pleasure of listening to this book in mp3 format.
This book has all sorts of aspects of other stories. As Eragon enters the prison cell of the elf, I recount the prison scene from Star Wars... "I Luke Skywalker, I came with Ben Kenobi, I am here to rescue you..".
The author is clearly influenced by Tolkien... Nasgul, Lonely mountain, the rohan and a myriad other familiar references riddle this story. The names could be a bit more original.. gets confusing when he is writing about Barad-Dur, I mean "Farthen Dur"...
But this is a fun story. Read it!
And more importantly, watch for this author in the future.... I think we can expect some great things from this young man... For he has the mark of the dragon and a special blessing.... =)
Rating: 
Summary: unconvincing
Review: Well, I would have liked to give the author a better rating, just because he young and all. But I have to at least want to finish a book in order to feel like giving it three stars. While reading Eragon, I kept feeling as if I was wading through the untried fantasies of an adolescent boy. Sorry, but I'm not enough of a voyeur to want to do that. I've read some very convincing fantasies, but this one didn't ever allow me to forget that I was reading. Little details were off -- things like when Eragon's legs are bleeding through his pants from sitting on dragon scales, but yet the pants never tore. . .that's one example of many. Details make a book, and careful attention to detail was missing here. Also, the characters didn't seem real. I've never been drawn to female characters who seemed to exist solely for the convenience of the male characters. The chemistry was lacking between people. I think this may be because the author, being a kid, never had to test his abstractions against reality. I don't hold that against him, because most kids haven't had to do that, and that's part of what makes them wonderful. But it did make me a little queasy to read Paolini's 'wise old' characters, who did not seem eotjer wise or old.
I got this book because it was selected for a book discussion group I go to. Even so, I didn't actually finish it, and neither did a lot of the other members. Well, it's the holiday season and people are busy. We're all in our twenties, so maybe that's it, although we all enjoyed Harry. We concluded that Eragon is just one of those inexplicable fads that come over the masses now and then. I'm not even sure why I feel compelled to write this review--maybe just a bit of resentment for having shelled out the bucks to buy the book.
I think that in another ten years, Paolini may be able to write something I'd want to read. But right now he's still finding his footing when it comes to writing. In a word: unconvincing.
Rating:
Summary: Not impressed.
Review: Ok, first of all i love fantasy, the Lord of the Rings trilogy is my favorite. However, i didnt really like that he used a lot of Tolkien's ideas. It's cool that he wrote and published a book at such a young age but i was not impressed with this book. I would recomend reading it but don't expect a great read.
Rating:
Summary: In defense of Eragon
Review: This is my third favorite book*, which I read after coming across a review in the Christian-Science Monitor, and I soon after ordered this book from the library, for I myself, like the author of this books, am an aspiring young (fantasy) author.
I wrote this review namely because I was saddened by the fact that the average review had so quickly dropped from 5 and a half stars to four.
Here's the story's plot summary:
A young boy with a strange mark upon him goes off to search for his heritage and/or avenge the death of his Uncle, and later finds himself with odd magical powers.
You've heard it before, you say?
You've seen it in a dozen films, and read it in four times as many books?
Well, of course, but I reccomend one should read it.
The story does borrow from a lot of things, but who's saying a derivative story can't be enjoyable?
This story is actually an improvement on LeGuin, Brooks and Jordan , namely because, unlike those others, who Mr. Paolini is accused of copying, Paolini can tell a good tale.
This story (unlike Brooks' shallow travelogues, LeGuin's philosophical drivel or Robert Jordan's lame writing style) focuses for the most part on characters and character development rather than droning on about what the ale tastes like or the shrubbery that can be found on this hill or that.
And Paolini never read Jordan or Brooks, though the influences of Tolkien, McCaffrey, LeGuin, Herbert, Peake, Lucas, Roddenberry, and possibly Pullman, are evident.
The only thing I had against this book was Paolini's prejudice against the mentally ill (one character, we learn early on, lost everything he had, went mad, usurped the throne, and was since then considered a villain. I must say I felt empathy, rather than contempt, for the villain, and hope the title character finds a way to understand the poor man.)
Overall, great book, with one minor flaw. ________________________
*First favorite is Pullman's Dark Materials, second is Williams's Dragonbone Chair.
Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: I bought this for my teenage son so he would have something to read over Thanksgiving. He enjoys fantasy so I thought he would love this book. No such luck. He started reading it. "The Lonely Mountain?" he said, kind of snickering. It didn't get any better than that. "Dad, I can't finish this book," he said. "Just give it to the library." I did, and consider it a donation. According to my son, he kept seeing things in Eragon that came from other fantasy books he has read. He didn't think much of that.
Rating:
Summary: too predictable
Review: this book couldn't hold my attention. i didn't really finish it, because i just didn't care enough. everything was too predictable, one thing after another. it's all been done. if you want to read fantasy that will hold your attention, read garth nix or philip pullman
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