Rating: 
Summary: excellent effort
Review: Having written fiction since I was 7 (that's 80 years ago), I am impressed by what this young man has achieved. It's not great literature, nor even particularly original, but it's an excellent start. I couldn't have done as well at his age; and I'm a dam' good writer.
Rating: 
Summary: from a Lord of the Rings fan
Review: I'm about half way through the book, and so far I think it is a total rip-off from Lord of the Rings. He took so much from it, I mean, think about it. Eragon, Aragorn. Tall, strong, dark eyebrowed, bow and arrow-clad, horse-riding male elves, and the same but beautiful, dark haired female elves. He based a language on Old Norse, as did Tolkien. The whole Lord of the Rings essence is in the book, but it's lacking his incredible originality. It is really well written, though, given that he was only 15, but still, I can't figure out how it got through the editor (if he had one). But still, it WAS a good book. I'm still more apt to criticizism though, and I'm haveing a bit of a hard time finding good things to say about the book, but I think that it's worth reading, just don't expect any great work of art.
Rating: 
Summary: impressive for a 17-yr-old, clearly written by a 17-yr-old
Review: What you almost always hear first about this book is "wow, it was written by a 17-yr-old". And the author is fully deserving of the respect and admiration he gets--it is indeed an impressive book for a 17-year-old to have written. What he probably should not have gotten was a publishing contract, since while it is impressive for a 17-yr-old, it is less than impressive for a published work of fiction.
If an adult had written and published this, I would have been disgusted (as I was with the Sword of Shannara) with the clear calculation that had gone into the work: "ok, I'll take a lot of Tolkien, a lot of McCaffery, a good amount of Leguin, some Dragonlance, some Star Wars, etc. It will be a can't miss book." Since it's the product not of an adult but of a teenager, it comes across much more positively--as a work of fiction by someone who has read lots and absorbed lots of fantasy and simply didn't have the experience (or the good editor) to take out all of his favorite parts of other works. How can I dislike or be too critical of someone who so obviously loved some of my own favorite authors, loved them so much that they simply took over his book through I'm guessing no fault of his own.
And that in a nutshell is the problem with Eragon. The story is cliched, formulaic and barely passable as are the characters and the language is simply what you would expect from a somewhat precocious teen fan of adult fantasy. If you have any experience in the field of fantasy at all, reading Eragon will feel like a visit to Las Vegas (though not so tacky)--sure you can see New York and Paris and Italy, but they are mere shadows of the real thing. So McCaffery's telepathic link between dragon and rider is here, but not the powerful emotionality of her (especially earlier) works. LeGuin's idea of one true name and one true language forming the backbone of magic is here, but not her masterful sense of order and balance and restraint, not to mention the sparse beauty of her language. And of course, the graceful, bow-carrying elves, the gruff and secretive mentor with magical powers, the withdrawn dwarves, etc. all show up in their correct place and time. As a high school English teacher, the story and characters are exactly what I would expect to see if I picked up one of my fantasy fan's personal notebooks off of their desks and began reading. Even the people and place names are far too imitative (as opposed to inspired by). To be perfectly honest, it was so much like my students' writings I had to struggle to continue past the first ten pages.
Does that mean nobody could enjoy this book? A quick look at the reviews clearly shows that many have (most of them young I'm sure). If you have read Tolkien, McCaffery, LeGuin, Jordan, Lewis, Pullman, Donaldson, etc., then I'd strongly suggest skipping Eragon. You'll not only be heavily disappointed by the weaknesses in plot, character development, and language, but you'll probably be annoyed at how often your favorite authors appear in borrowed and poorer clothing. If you have little experience in fantasy and so won't be bothered by the obviously derivative nature of this book, you'll probably enjoy it but there are far better works to begin a lifetime of fantasy reading with and even if you start with Eragon, I hope you quickly move onto them, beginning with the above list and adding for younger readers people like Lloyd Alexander, E. Nesbit, Robin McKinley, and many, many others. I'd like to see what this young author comes up with in another five-ten years, but for now he's still retelling the stories he liked himself, rather than writing down his own.
Rating:
Summary: Yes its cliche but GIVE IT A BREAK
Review: Sure, all you english know it alls can go off and tell us about how cliche the book is. You're completely right! The book is a total cliche, but not every single piece of literature must be bursting with new well thought out philosophical ideas and exciting new story lines. The kid wrote it when he was 15. 15! In my opinion that is an amazing thing to accomplish. You can't expect a Tolkien level book from a 15 year old kid who hasn't even been alive as long as most well known authors have been writing. Sure there are tons of ripped off names and ideas (i.e. Tronjheim. Ever heard of Trondheim, Norway?) but that does not make this a bad book! I personally like just sitting down to read an entertaining story, and this did just that. All you cynics need to calm down and appreciate the story for what it was written for. I doubt the author set out to change the world of Fantasty writing when he began this, and the book should be judged accordingly. In my opinion: not a waste of my time.
Rating:
Summary: great effort!
Review: Young Mr. Paolini has a bright future as a writer should he decide to take some formal instruction. While he is obviously blessed with a fertile imagination his prose are weak and descriptions need work. I am more surprised at a publisher such as Knopf for editing the work in this fashion and question whether this was a marketing experiment geared at young readers. Nonetheless, it should not be compared to the writing prowess of authors such as Rowlings or Dhal. It is just another episode of a Hercules-like adventure. A lot of fun, but I dare to see him study at college, then read him when he has a greater command of writing. Goodluck.
Rating: 
Summary: Its good, really good
Review: I finished Eragon on Veteran's Day. We had off of school! Yeah! It is one of the best I have read in a long time! I am a big Robert Stanek fan and Eragon is just as good. I would give this book 5 stars any day. I personally didn't like Harry Potter but I would recommend it to Harry Potter fans and anyone who enjoys a good read. I would also recommend the books by Robert Stanek.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining
Review: Christopher Paolini, I believe, has a bright future. His first book, "Eragon", is probably the best opening book written since "Magician" by Feist, offering really lovable characters, vast and still unexplored world, a classic struggle between Good and Evil, well-described battle scenes, challenging magic system and leaving the reader hungry for the next one.
Well done, Chris.
Rating: 
Summary: All or Nothing
Review: It's odd that the reviews of this book all seem to be either glowing praise with 5 stars, or complete disappointment (1 star).I'm about half way through this book, and let me tell you, absolutely nothing interesting has happened yet. Paolini's writing is full of promise, but in this book it is clumsy and boring. Character interaction feels forced, and there is no chemistry. The worst part is the pacing. This book is a terribly slow read. I cannot imagine the story needing to continue over a part II and part III. I will read the remainder of this book to see if it improves. But at this point, I have to admit, the positive reviews puzzle me. This book is not what those reviews promised it would be.
Rating:
Summary: New fans of Saphira, Eragon and C. Paolini
Review: I bought this book for my 13 year old son. He has devoured all the Tolkien, Rowling and McCaffrey, Pullman etc at our disposal. As usual, I read it too, what fun! The characters are well rounded and the pace is wonderful. If we were reminded of Middle Earth at times - all the better, as we felt we "knew" the landscape already. This is a wonderful story, we are looking forward to the sequel.
Quite an accomplishment for such a young author. An inspiration to other young writers.
Rating:
Summary: I think I'll like Eragon better than Harry Potter......
Review: What happens when you want to read something full of magic, but absolutely dislike Harry Potter books? Eragon is the solution. Being it full of magical tales to tell, Eragon, a poor farm boy finds a polished blue stone when hunting in dangerous woods and thinks it might be valuable. When he finds it hatches, it almost destroys his life a few months later. His uncle, the only person who looks after him is killed by the mysterious people who are looking for the egg. He goes on an adventure with a storyteller named Brom to hunt down the evil, but Eragon finds out a lot more than he wished too.. Pros
-Action, and suspense to every chapter
-The authors type of writing inspires
- MAY TEACH YOU A LESSON IN LIFE....
-A teenager wrote the book, HOW FABULOUS Cons
-The author explains too much of the gory scenes I give the book 5 stars because it is inspiring, action and suspense is included in every chapter, and a teenager wrote it. Most of all though, it is because it may teach you a lesson in life.
This book is definetly better than Potter, because it is something different, and life doesn't always turn out well. Plus, what would an adult know about a teenagers life. I'm still trying to figure that out.
I am waiting for the sequel, Eldest Inheritance II which comes out sometime in 2004. The reason, BECAUSE THE BOOK IS GOOD!
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