Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6 EAN: 9780966621334 ISBN: 0966621336 Label: Paolini International Publishing Manufacturer: Paolini International Publishing Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 472 Publication Date: 2002-06 Publisher: Paolini International Publishing Reading Level: Young Adult Studio: Paolini International Publishing Sales Rank: 1139991
Product Description: Gifted only with an ancient red sword, the brilliant-blue dragon Saphira, and advice from the old storyteller Brom, the young man Eragon is entangled in an intricate tapestry of destiny, magic, ancient glory, and love. His saga carries readers through a fantastical land filled with beauty and brooding danger as he flees the tyrannical king, Galbatorix. A mysterious elven woman haunts Eragon’s dreams, while an ancient legacy and an unexpected inheritance shape his destiny.
Amazon.com Review: Here's a great big fantasy that you can pull over your head like a comfy old sweater and disappear into for a whole weekend. Christopher Paolini began Eragon when he was just 15, and the book shows the influence of Tolkien, of course, but also Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, and perhaps even Wagner in its traditional quest structure and the generally agreed-upon nature of dwarves, elves, dragons, and heroic warfare with magic swords.
Eragon, a young farm boy, finds a marvelous blue stone in a mystical mountain place. Before he can trade it for food to get his family through the hard winter, it hatches a beautiful sapphire-blue dragon, a race thought to be extinct. Eragon bonds with the dragon, and when his family is killed by the marauding Ra'zac, he discovers that he is the last of the Dragon Riders, fated to play a decisive part in the coming war between the human but hidden Varden, dwarves, elves, the diabolical Shades and their neanderthal Urgalls, all pitted against and allied with each other and the evil King Galbatorix. Eragon and his dragon Saphira set out to find their role, growing in magic power and understanding of the complex political situation as they endure perilous travels and sudden battles, dire wounds, capture and escape.
In spite of the engrossing action, this is not a book for the casual fantasy reader. There are 65 names of people, horses, and dragons to be remembered and lots of pseudo-Celtic places, magic words, and phrases in the Ancient Language as well as the speech of the dwarfs and the Urgalls. But the maps and glossaries help, and by the end, readers will be utterly dedicated and eager for the next book, Eldest. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell
Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: - Well written fantasy
Paolini has a fabulous story in the Inheritance series, and Eragon is largely devoted to setting up questions that are to follow the reader through the later books. While Eragon does drag in a few places, ... Read More
Rating: - A wonderful book to hear
I enjoyed listening to this book as I worked. The writing is descriptive and allows you to lose yourself in the story. After watching the movie, I recommend listening to these unabridged cds. The reader ... Read More
Rating: - entertaining
It is a good book to sit down and read as a family. My 6 year old boy got a little bored if we read it for longer than 15 min. But my 8 year old girl didn't want me to stop.
Rating: - One of the Best Reads Since Dracula
I was recommended this book by a friend who had read it. I saw the movie first (I don't recommend that one) and wanted to know what the story was really like. I bought this one and consumed it in five days. ... Read More
Rating: - Wordy, Poorly Written and Mired in Cliches
Eragon's story is basically a Star Wars narrative set in a Tolkien fantasy world, while ripping off other fantasy elements from other works (and I'm only a very casual fantasy reader).
- Well written fantasy
- A wonderful book to hear
- Wordy, Poorly Written and Mired in Cliches