Rating: 
Summary: Twenty seconds longer
Review: I tried reading this book. I love good fantasy. I love good anything. But about 50 pages in, I just couldn't take it anymore. There's a reason Eragon's so long, and it has nothing to do with the story. This poor boy (Paolini) is addicted to modifiers, the best evidence we have of a lazy writer. Instead of thinking 20 seconds longer and finding the perfect verb or noun, he took the lazy way out and just hung lots of adverbs and adjectives on his words. Bleah. He could have done better, but now, with his success, why should he? You all have given him too much encouragement, so because he figures sloppy writing is good enough, you'll never get the writing you deserve from him. What a pity.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down
Review: I loved this book and would highly recommend it. Not only was it entertaining, but it was also well written. I was amazed by the author's talent, and I am eagerly awaiting the second book. There were definite similarities to other sci-fi/fantasy books that I have read. Although the story was original, I definitely picked up on the influence of Tolkein and Ursula K. Le Guin. However, I've found that books that are important to me influence the way I think and the way I write. One learns to write partly through reading both good and bad books, and it seems to me that Paolini learned well from the master storytellers that have clearly influenced his work. Hopefully he'll be entertaining us for years to come.
Rating: 
Summary: Just plain bad
Review: Wow. I like pulp fantasy as much as the next die-hard fantasy lover (think Goodkind, Brooks, etc.). This book doesn't even stand up to those admittedly mediocre books. It's just bad. I can't tell you how horribly dissapointed I was with this book. It was just.....bad. I was really hoping this would be the amazing read all those zealots with a flame burning in their eye said it was. Turns out they were like any other fanatics....blinded by the lies they had fallen sway to. Hint to parnets: don't censor your kids--if they find this book and like it, that's a good thing (anything that gets kids reading is a good thing in my book). If they haven't run across it yet, try to get them interested in a higher quality author's fantasy books for young people--think Harry Potter, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Alexander's Prydian books, etc. We can at least show our kids the road around the deceptively alluring swamps of non-talent that this book represents, even if we can't force them to avoid them completely.
Rating: 
Summary: Eragon
Review: I read Eragon after reading The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches books by Robert Stanek so it was quite a change from an epic storyline with lots of subtext to the simpler story line of Eragon. While everyone is talking about The Kingdoms and the Elves of the Reaches books, Eragon is the better story and let me tell you why. Eragon is a simple story of a boy versus the world. He starts out a simple farm boy and is soon a hero of the land. Eragon is written by 15-year-old wunderkid Christopher Paolini. It is his first book and the story will only get better as it goes on. This makes book 1 in the inheritance a stunning success.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING:ADDICTIVE STORY
Review: The book rocks all the way! And the characters are so similar to the ones in the HP series-- I equal Eragon with Harry, Murtagh with Ron,Brom with Dumbledore, Arya with Hermione, and so on. The story takes place in medieval times, when the conflict is between the king and the Varden or "Wardens". Eragon finds Saphira's egg in the forests of the Spine, and unknowningly gets caught up into the war between the two bitter enemies , and as a result he will be forced to flee Alagesia so he can lead a better life.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Beauty
Review: I was drawn to this book by it's cover. Then I read a few reviews on Amazon and purchased it.
I was interested to read a book written by one so young. I was skeptical at first, comparing the prose to more experienced writers. By chapter three, I was hooked. I found this to be one of the most beautiful stories I have read. I found the writing everthing I enjoy in novels. The scenery is well described, the character development is well done. The mystery surrounding each character is beautifully revealed throughout the book. I could not wait to get home from work to get back to it each day. I love Saphira and can not wait for the second book to visit with my new favorite characters. I would not compare this book to any other. It is one in it's own and I look forward to more from this young author.
I am in my fifties and would recommend this book for young and young at heart. In fact I will buy another for my grand son for his birthday. Who says You can't judge a book by it's cover?
Rating:
Summary: Almost Amazing
Review: The story of Eragon has all the makings of being one of the best fantasy books I have ever read. It only falls a little short during the few passages and plot lines that seem forced and don't allow you to get completely sucked into the book. Overall its worth reading.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: I read this books some months ago. It is simply great. It has lots of action and the right amount of the dialogue. The flaws in this book is that Christopher seemed to put all of his ideals of what he wanted in the trilogy into this one book and that makes me wonder will there be anything new in the next book. Also the fact that some clues about what could happen in the next book are banged on our head many times. The writing is very smooth,the characters are very cool, and it has a nice modern feel to it. Murtagh is the coolest. If you wish that JK Rowling had Harry get into more magical duels, then read this book. If you hated the fact that it was torture to get through LotR, then read this book. If you like Star Wars (Which is the main influence on this book in my beliefs), then read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Familiar, yes. But what's all this comparison to LOTR?
Review: I gave Eragon only 4 stars because it IS rather familiar. You have your standard young person of humble station getting a big fat destiny landing in his lap, and running off into the unknown with a mystierious aged tutor and pursued by terrible enemies. But it is still a very enjoyable read and I stayed up until 3am to finish it. There's a lot to like about Eragon, especially the portrayal of magic (which differs somewhat from most other works I've read). But what's all this talk about it being like LOTR? Eliminate the similarities you find in nearly ALL fantasy, and the two are really quite different. And the stories are very different as well. A fun read. Keeps you up at night. Want more. That's all you need to know.
Rating:
Summary: It's like LOTR, but it's also VERY much like Star Wars
Review: I agree with other Amazon reviewers who say that Eragon is a lot like Lord of the Rings. However, it also bothered me that it is a LOT like Star Wars! This is what I mean: Eragon (Luke) is a young farm boy who lives with his poor Uncle Garrow (Owen). He doesn't know anything about his past, but finds out that his mother chose to leave him at the farm. And there are hints that Galbatorix, (Anakin/Vader) who was a benevolent Dragon Rider (Jedi Knight) who became evil and took down the whole order of peace, is actually Eragon's father. Now that Eragon has a dragon, (similar to Luke obtaining the Death Star plans from Artoo) he is a threat to Galbatorix's Empire (Yes, it's actually called the Empire, just as in Star Wars) and will be hunted down. Brom (Obi-wan), who is considered a kind of crazy old story teller (just as Uncle Owen calls Obi-wan a crazy old man) decides to help Eragon on his quest. Brom was apparently an influential Dragon Rider himself, but is now in hiding from the Empire. (Just like Obi-wan). Eragon's farm is torched for what he knows, and his uncle is killed. (Just like Star Wars!) Brom and Eragon start traveling, and Brom teaches Eragon about his apparently inherent ability with magic (the Force). Along the way, Brom ends up sacrificing himself (like Obi-wan's death), and Eragon meets a gruff, mercenary type guy named Murtagh (Han Solo). Eragon gets captured, finds out an Elven princess is imprisoned as well, and he and Murtagh pull off a perfect replica of Han and Luke rescuing Princess Leia from the Death Star, complete with Murtagh disguised as one of the guards. These are just the parallels I found with Star Wars; there are many more pertaining to Lord of the Rings which other reviewers have already mentioned. My point? It's okay to have a few similarities with other popular works, but there is a point at which you are simply copying. People who believe that Paolini has some kind of divine fantasy inspiration are simply not looking at Eragon objectively. Christopher Paolini, whether doing it intentionally or not, has created a mismash of elements from other works, and is passing it off as something that should strike us all as wildly original. I have a degree in creative writing, and while this does not make me an expert, I could see something in Paolini's writing that ANY student of creative writing will learn in their very first writing course: people who are beginners will invariably copy from other works they have enjoyed, either intentionally or subconsciously. When you become a more mature writer, regardless of whether you began writing at age 15 or 75, you learn to develop your own style and orginality. I don't see orginality of expression or plot in Mr. Paolini's work, not in the smallest measure. Don't get me wrong; the quality of his prose is okay for someone who apparently started Eragon when he was 15. But, in my opinion, it's NOT nearly the quality you'd expect from someone who now has national acclaim, and has been on David Letterman and CNN. His age has gotten him this press, not the quality of anything he's done. It makes me sad that there are so many writers out there who have great talent, but because they did not promote their books like Paolini has (with, ahem, his parents initially publishing it for him) they will never receive widespread recognition. (...).
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