Rating: 
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.
Rating: 
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!
Rating:
Summary: Worth your While
Review: Eragon is one of the best fantasy novels that I have read in a long time. It keeps you on your toes and leaves you begging for more when its done. I believe that this book is good for young and old readers a like and that the second and thrid books in the trilogy will be just as entertianing. Christopher Paolini has achieved in writing one of the greastest fantasy novels of our time. I would highly reccommened this book to people of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: Fun and Entertaining. Can't wait for the next book!
Review: I should say up front that I gave this book 5 stars in part in reaction to the 1 star reviews which are simply overstating their cases. I can't say this is the best fantasy book I've read, but it was great fun. I can't go with the idea that there's nothing new. If a fantasy book doesn't have dragons, elves, and dwarves, I'm probably not going to be interested. Paolini's approach to the genre is a patient development of the characters while maintaining the pace and fun. If you have to criticize this book because perceived picky editorial snafus--well you're probably hopelessly mundane and thus you're probably not going to have fun with this book. However, if you like battles and swordfights and all that fun stuff--this book delivers the goods. I didn't learn about the backstory of this book until I was about half way through so I was even more impressed. I eagerly look forward to the next book along with, it appears, many other budding Paolini fans.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Book
Review: This book really isnt that bad. When I first picked it up and read the first few pages, I said to myself, Whoa, this book wont be good. But then after reading for a while, the book started to become great. It was so great that it took me only 4 days to read! If you liked the Lord of the Rings books, you'll definitely like this. So go out pick this book up, and read it. I'm sure you will be stuck in it for a while.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book for Young Readers
Review: After reading the long review that was overly critical I thought it necessary to give another point of view. Eragon is an enjoyable book of fantasy and coming of age. If you have a child of 10 or older they will like this book. Or if you are older and want something fun to read you will like it too. The book is heavily influenced by Tolkien and Ann McCaffrey, but the author does take the ideas and change them sufficiently to make them his own. The author has displayed the story in such a way that is does capture your imagination. If you are looking for completely original works with twists and turns you would never expect then why are you looking in the Young Adult section? Because that is what this book is for, young adults. And they, or the young at heart, will have fun with this story. If you are a parent with conservative views I do not believe that you will find the book objectionable. The main character is brave, good hearted, and honest. The author is talented and has a long career ahead. I look forward to reading his other books to see how his talent develops. By the way I am 28 years old and Eragon was a fun distraction while I have been traveling during a recent vacation.
Rating:
Summary: Aragorn!
Review: My mom seen this young author on the news and asked me if I knew what "Eragon" was... And, I thought she meant "Aragorn"! But, she didn't... So, I look on here to see his book and find out his age! I read the summary and it sounds like a good story! But, from the summary alone, I can see something Tolkienish about it! And, that's all I keep hearing about is Tolkien! And, this kid even wants to invent his own languages! But, Tolkien was a highly respected Scholar in the art of Language! This guy's a kid who loves Tolkien a little too much! Good thing Tolkien isn't still alive, this kid would be on TV saying, "I did not have sexual relations with this Author!" If the Character had a different name and the dragon too, since it reminds me of FF7's Sephiroth, and there were no languages involved, I would consider reading this book! But...How bout Nooo!?
Rating:
Summary: Excuse me.
Review: I read the first chapter of Christopher Paolini's newly published ERAGON and could not bring myself to read any more. Though Paolini may possess some writing talent, I would like to know if it's too difficult for him to come up with some new ideas of his own. The very name of the book should have been enough of a hint ("ERAGON" is eerily reminiscent of Tolkien's Aragorn). From what I hear, there is not a bit of originality in his work. Just because Tolkien was arguably the best fantasy writer doesn't mean that his ideas are up for grabs for his fans. It disgusted me how freely and shamelessly Paolini reproduced Tolkien's work. Please, Mr. Paolini, there is no doubt you have some talent--but please, if you truly admire Tolkien (as I have heard), respect his work. No doubt, once you think up something new, you'll write a better book.
Rating:
Summary: Great Now, More To Come
Review: Eragon-a great fantasy world and easy read. The potential for the future is even greater One of the main draws of fantasy for me is being drawn into a new and exciting world. Fantasy provides a forum for authors to deal with ideas, traditions, and imagination that no other genre can. And if there is a king of fantasy, it's Tolkien. Many dispute whether Paolini was trying to be Tolkien, or what Tolkien would think of this novel, which is completely irrelevent to Eragon the book. Paolini set out to write a traditional "hero's journey" and he did that. Yes, as a young and inexperienced some of the dialogue and character developement will be a bit clunky. But he started this at 15, 15! Of course he must start out drawing from previous writers ergo the "hero's journey". Even in this first book, the growth in writing skill and technical developement is immense! Eragon succesfully drew me in and created a new world with interesting characters. But I think the most important thing about Eragon is its potential. Paolini started out with the tried and true fantasy blue print, but I think he will grow even more as an author and provide years of quality fantasy.
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