Eragon

Rating:
Summary: Eragon
Review: <br />Eragon is a wonderful book about a boy named Eragon who discovers a dragon egg, and soon finds himself in a world of magic, wars, and adventure. He travels with his dragon to safety, while seeking revenge on the evil king, Galbatorix, for killing his uncle. With elves, dwarves, and warriors, Eragon and his friends help defeat the orcs sent by Galbatorix. <br />I highly recommend this book to anyone ages 9 and up.

Rating:
Summary: Two and a half stars: The confusing truth.
Review: I'm 11 yrs old, and the first time I read this book, I was mildly impressed. It sounds like the author had talent, and people really did think the story was awesome, but if he just edited and critisized himself, Eragon could be a lot better. However, its true, there were too many copies from McCaffery and Tolkein and so many others it could hardly be called original.

Really, though, Eragon was pretty good. It flowed unevenly, but not to the point where you couldn't understand it. Characterization, however, was awful. Eragon behaved nothing like the 15 yr old person I expected him to be. Some chapters he was arrogant, others humble, and sometimes painfully cheesy(like where he complements Murtagh on his skill with a sword. CHEESY!). And Eragon was just plain unlikeable. Brom was plain stupid. I hated him. He seemed to feel every sort of emotion in one chapter, then became the Gandalf-like teacher who was boringly patient. Arya was pitiful. She's unconsious the time where we could have gotten to know her, then she's nearly arrogant when she beats Eragon. That was the only time I actually was on the side of Eragon. Saphira was funny, witty, and sassy. I liked the dragon; somehow, this is the only character I find cool. Murtagh is boring, not being given enough speaking parts. Angela and her werecat were interesting, but not cool. There was also a girl near the end who was a good lead character, I forgot her name. She and Arya should have switched and the girl get more pages.

There were a lot of ripped-off names, which you can find in various reviews. Isenmere, Isengard? That's a bit too much imitation. And is it Eragon-Aragorn, or Eragon-Dragon? Plus, the orc/urgal relationship might have been a fluke, but it went against the author. Arya is a bit like Arwen, but I think that was just a similar name.

Now the important stuff: the writing style. There were bumps that I think an editor couldn't have smoothed out, and I think Paolini should have re-written those parts. It didn't flow. As it says in the Elements of Style (by William Strunk and E.B. White), write in nouns and verbs, not adjectives and adverbs. The author could've benefitted greatly if he'd only work on his voice and style. There are some great tips for any writer( including me) in there. Eragon went to sleep and got knocked out WAY too many times for it to be satisfying. And traveling by foot when a dragon could've been faster over a dangerous desert to get rid of Galbatorix sooner? Silly mistake. Shouldn't the editor have said something? Or was there an editor? At some places, it didn't sound like it. And the many adjectives and adverbs could have been okay if they were slipped in more subtly.

All in all, if you like a story with a basic plotline, read Eragon. If you want characterization, don't read it. As for me, I'm in debate. The author has some talent, but it doesn't show much. I'll wait to find out what happens to Saphira, Angela, and that girl until I know if the author got better.

Rating:
Summary: Really monotonous...
Review: They say one should ask questions if one does not know something and that one shall learn, but... Paolini might as well tell the entire story in an interview if he liked asking and answering questions so much... Eragon asks twenty questions and when someone has only answered one, he asks fifty more. For example, when Eragon is talking to Brom:<br /><br />"Dragons have no beginning, unless it lies with the creation of Algaesia itself... Their world was unchanging until the first elves sailed over the sea on their silver ships.'<br />'Where did the elves come from?' interrupted Eragon. 'And why are they called the fair folk? Do they really exist?"<br /><br />That gets really annoying and if Eragon was a real boy, I'd slapped him after the third question. It's probably just me... who knows.<br /><br />I'll brush away the fact that Paolini's story is derivative from other fantasy novels, but let's look at the view of a person whom has never read any fantasy novels and a close up on the writing.<br /><br />Descriptions are good, but too much of a good thing makes it bad. It's like he inserted descriptions of places and things randomly and messed up the flow of the story. The beginning chapters aren't very engrossing and I find myself getting easily distracted by things like a piece of lint floating through the air. When I read a well-written book, that sort of distraction does not happen.<br /><br />The dialogue... is a joke... It may seem harsh,I laugh at them not because they're funny, but sometimes they're so ridiculously corny, they're funny. It makes the characters seem so flat and and unable to relate to the readers.<br /><br />I really am too lazy to type anymore critisms, since you can read most of them from the other reviwers.<br /><br />Paolini is a very good writer... with practice. So an advice to you Paolini, go to college like you should of did, take some writing courses and then come back with something we can work with.