Rating: 
Summary: Good penmanship, but ultimately a pale imitation of Tolkien
Review: The author has tried to mesmerize us with queer sounding names, innumerable characters and a convoluted story. The word Eragon for example- just replace the d of dragon wth the next letter and hey presto! You get a serviceable name! The story goes about in fits and starts, and many questions remain unanswered- how did Brom hide the sign of the rider on his palm, how did Angela reach the dwarves' city, and how could Eragon kill the Shade inspite of being overmatched? The character of Eragon is very weak- he needs a lot of help from whoever his companions are- Murtagh, Brom, Arya, Angela, Saphira.... The book feels suspiciously like a Tolkien novel, without the magnificent language. Still, inspite of all these, the author has done a decent job. After all, he was only 19 when he finished the book. The command over language and his skill in handling such a large number of characters are impressive. I read the book in two days flat- it was engrossing all right! I hope he will improve in the sequel (Eldest), which, I believe, will be published next year.
Rating:
Summary: Eragon .... a new view of old stuff
Review: This book is really good! Readers will find themselves entwined in Eragon's wonderful tale. And I have to give the the author 5 stars for typos... I didn't see a single one in his book. Unfourtanely that seems to be the only thing his editor can do. Some of the transitions are very rough. And his adjectives seem to be clumpy instead of subtley slipped in. The storyline however was pretty good, although it could be improved. But throughout the book it never really occurs to the reader whether Eragon will survive. Of course he will. And also the writer did not throw big problems at Eragon. Eragon has minor problems of which he never can really solve on his own and therefore gets out of them without exercising his own power. The end dramatic scene is a little hasty and could be much better. Overall the book is good/ok but when you finish it will seem like you have known some of the characters before. And that is because you have. Anyone who has read Lord of the Rings will see the obvious connections within the book Eragon, (they are not even subtle). Here are some of the mysterious simularities between the two.Eragon-Hmm... doesn't it sound mysteriously like Aragorn. And guess what? Eragon is in love with an elf like ... Arwen except her name is Arya.
Urgals/Kulls-Urgals, Orcs what is the difference. both are short thicklegged evil black creatures. Kulls, Uruk-Hai wow! Both are taller stronger versions than the Urgals, Orcs.
Dwarves- Short, wear chain mail, miners, long beards, axes,retreated into caves after the evil king took over need I go on?
Elves- Fair, tall, wonderful with bows and swords, came on ships to the Empire, joined humans against the evil people for one last glorious defeat before retreating, ride horses, wise, strong... I think you get the point.
The Dark Gate- The black gate of Mordor... really.
The Thirteen Forsworn- Whoa! These guys are almost exactly like the nine riders. Joined the evil guy for power, were terrorifying, used to be good Riders ...and wait a sec didn't the nine riders used to be good kings. Just too weird!
There is more too. But overall I give the book three stars because it is actually good and I know it is hard to come up with new ideas.
Rating: 
Summary: spectacular
Review: very good. original, but obvoiusly influenced by other great pieces of fiction. up there with lord of the rings
Rating:
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
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.
Rating:
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!
Rating: 
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.
|
