Eldest (2005)

Eldest is the second book in Paolini’s internationally bestselling series. It measures in at a massive 700 pages, and will likely have you banging your head against the wall before you’re halfway through.

We pick up right where we left off in Star Wa—I mean, Eragon. Having barely survived his skirmish with the Empire, our hero and his dragon, Saphira, are ready to follow in the footsteps of Luke Skywalker.

Like in Star Wars, Eragon is preparing to depart for Ellesmera, the land of the Elves, so that he can complete his training. UNLIKE in Star Wars, the plot in this book goes absolutely nowhere until the final 150 pages. This monstrosity of a book will leave you wondering what on earth you did in a past life to deserve such unwavering torture.

Don’t get me wrong…the book starts off strong, but like all good things it is too good to last. We’re left reeling from a great tragedy in the very first chapter of the book, during which one of the characters we’ve come to know and love is seemingly written off. Aside from dealing with this, Eragon must struggle with a cursed scar on his back that he obtained during his duel with the dreaded Durza in book 1.

Shortly after the epic tragedy in the beginning, we get to amuse ourselves as the Varden (rebels) select a new leader. In theory this sounds dull, but it’s actually well thought-out, clever, and entertaining. At this point I found myself thinking, ‘Way to go, Paolini!’. Sadly, after the Varden select Nasuada (A feisty young woman) to lead them, things take a turn for the worse, and for the most part it’s all downhill from here.

For the first time, we leave Eragon’s side, and are taken to his cousin Roran, who got left behind when Eragon fled his home after the murder of his uncle. Roran gets to prance through the book, doing the exact same things that Eragon did in book 1 (without the dragon).

Because Eragon has become such a threat, the Empire is attempting to capture Roran in order to make him cooperate. This would normally be very entertaining, if we hadn’t seen it all before. Evade the Empire, fight for your life, struggle to reach the Varden…and repeat. The only difference this time around is that instead of a vicious dragon, Roran has his entire village accompanying him. Personally, I think Paolini designed them to get in the way and not impact the story in any way. On the bright side, we still get to switch back to Eragon frequently and…

…Oh god, make it stop!

For over 150 pages we witness Eragon floating down a river and suffering ‘attacks’ from his back with Arya (Elf), Saphira (dragon), and Orik (Dwarf) by his side as he attempts to reach Ellesmera…and that’s it. They spend the entire first quarter of the book talking, traveling, and (in Eragon’s case), rolling around in agony. Him and me both.

About 250 pages in, just when we’re getting sick of Eragon’s and Roran’s crap, we reach a point where something finally happens! Eragon finally reaches the Elves, and meets his teacher, Oromis, who is a Dragon Rider…

Wait, what? That’s not right! The Riders are extinct!

Apparently not. Oromis survived the downfall of the Riders and is now here to teach Eragon how to become a warrior capable of fighting the Empire. The initial excitement over Oromis’ appearance soon vanishes behind the great big steaming pile of poo that is his character.

Instead of telling you what Oromis is like, I’m going to tell you to watch Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back, and study Yoda very carefully. Worsen his greatness by about 1,000, and you get Oromis. Oromis tries, and fails, to be exactly like Yoda.

Now we’re left with 200+ pages of Roran’s struggles and Eragon’s retarded lessons. Basically, he sits on a stump and tries to reach out and ‘feel’ what’s going on around him with his mind. Sounds a hell of a lot like the Force to me.

During his stay with the Elves, Eragon’s back is finally healed via the ancient magic of the dragons. What’s more: they give Eragon the strength, agility, and appearance of an Elf. Joy! Our character just became bi-racial.

The only reason that Eldest does not receive a zero is thanks to the fact that he manages to wrap up an absolutely terrible book with one of the best non-Harry Potter endings I have ever seen.

When duty calls Eragon leaves Master Yod—I mean, Oromois, with the promise of returning later to complete his training. Eragon returns to the Varden, and in yet another epic battle against the Empire, we are once again able to see Paolini’s true potential. In this battle, characters return from the dead, old relatives are found, new relatives are made, and we’re introduced to a new Dragon Rider. The battle had several great plot twists, and it left me wondering why the rest of the book wasn’t that good.

Overall, Eldest is a large pile of crap with a pretty ribbon on top. The beginning and ending are memorable, but everything in the middle is vomit-worthy. It’s obvious, again, from the ending, that Paolini has loads of potential, but the big question is when he is going to start using it. I found my answers in book 3, which is easily his best work yet. Eldest gets 3 botched relationships with Arya, out of ten.

Eldest (2005): 3/10

Eragon (2003)

Christopher Paolini’s first book was brought to my attention by my cousin, who gave me just enough details to pique my curiosity. Upon my first reading, I found him to be a remarkable writer for his age. The material was engaging, thrilling, and entertaining…and yet, something was off.

Throughout the entire reading, I noticed there was something familiar about this that I just couldn’t put my finger on. Infuriated, I did a little research, and found that Paolini’s idea of a first book consists of borrowing a lot of ideas from other people.

As an aspiring writer, I will not, under any circumstances, put down another author. I would be lying if I said that a few of the plot elements in my first novel didn’t get inspired from someplace else. While I won’t insult Christopher Paolini, that doesn’t necessarily mean I have to be so gentle with his book.

Eragon is the first book in the Inheritance Cycle, and in this book we follow the path of Eragon, who is but a simple farm-boy who strives to become a warrior after his uncle is killed and his home is burned to the ground….Wait a minute! Why is this familiar?

Oh, that’s right. Most of us are pretty familiar with a similar story that follows the path of our one and only Luke Skywalker. That’s right folks. Paolini’s first book is almost completely identical to that of Star Wars IV: A New Hope.

As soon as I learned this unhappy fact, I immediately read through the book again. It was as entertaining as it had been the first time, and yet, all the elements of Star Wars were there…but there’s more! Paolini also borrows heavily from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy! But enough with my rambling.

As a book, Eragon is actually pretty good, especially when you realize it was written by a fifteen year old. Eragon is the main character throughout the entire series, and we’re expected to fall in love with him from the moment he finds a mysterious blue stone while hunting in a dangerous mountain range known as the Spine.

Unfortunately, Eragon is very hard to like for the first half of the book. In the first few chapters we see that all Eragon seems to do is ask questions and annoy the hell out of other people. Once his blue stone turns out to be a dragon egg, Eragon vows to raise the beast in his nearby forest and become one of the legendary Dragon Riders. Wait a second, this is familiar too!

Eragon’s world of Alagaesia is ruled by the evil King Galbatorix, who controls the Empire, along with much of the land. After the Empire took over, the Elves and Dwarves went into hiding, and were never expected to be heard from again. Before Galbatorix’s rule, the legendary Dragon Riders controlled the land, enforcing the laws and helping people out with everyday problems.

King Galbatorix was one such Rider, until he tipped over the edge of insanity and killed everyone he had ever known. After the fall of the Riders, only 3 dragon eggs remained, and all were under the control of Galbatorix. For unknown reasons, one of these eggs was smuggled out from under his oversized nose, and when the escape attempt went awry, a mysterious Elf used magic to teleport the egg to a random place.

And who should find this egg but Eragon, the simple farmer without a care in the world? The book starts out with a relatively original plot, but that ends as soon as we finish with the story that tells us of the fall of the Dragon Riders. After this the book becomes riddled with dozens of cliché's and borrowed material from other successful authors.

In the world of Alagaesia, dragons are more than stupid beasts that serve as a mount. They can speak with other humans using their minds, and tend to be much more intelligent than we are. In theory, this is great, but that idea was used in a very successful series back in the ‘60s. For those of you who don’t know, it was the Dragon Riders of Pern series, and it essentially paved the way for all future fantasy books. After holding up one of Anne Mccaffrey’s Pern books, and Paolini’s Eragon, I noticed that even their maps on the inside pages were similar. The mountains and oceans were in the same places, but the names had been conveniently changed.

Getting past the fact that Paolini got his career started by borrowing from Star Wars, LOTR, and the Pern series, the book itself is a very entertaining read. After the death of his Uncle, Eragon goes out to seek revenge upon the ones that killed him, but all he has for guidance is a strange sword, and an old man. Hello, Star Wars. This leads to us enduring 100 pages of Eragon asking question, after question, after question. Most of his questions are rude and thoughtless, and you quickly begin to feel sorry for the old man (we’ll just call him Brom, like in the book.)

As Eragon travels he learns how to use magic, and watches as his beloved sapphire dragon, Saphira, turns into a fierce fighting machine. As we read on, we’re treated to another 100 pages of Eragon, Brom, and Saphira tracking his uncle’s killer. Fun!

At long-last we catch up to the killers only to have them get their asses kicked when they realize they’re in over their heads. What’s more: Brom, who will likely be your favorite character, bites the big one. Given the relationship to Star Wars, this isn’t totally unexpected.

While it is very sad to see Brom go, this also becomes the turning point for the book. Brom is replaced by Murtagh, a teenager around Eragon’s age with a mysterious past and bad attitude. Now that Eragon is devoid of a mentor he must learn to make decisions for himself, and I’m pleased to say that he does so very quickly.

As things begin to worsen, the plot finally begins to unfold, and the result is a book that is highly enjoyable. Eragon, Murtagh, and Saphira spend the second half of the book on the run, and constantly fighting for their lives. As their lives are threatened, Murtagh’s past is revealed, and we begin to learn just how many secrets old Brom really had!

Unfortunately even the best half of the book has its dark points. After about 150 pages of greatness, we get to watch Eragon rescue a princess, though we don’t know she’s a princess until book 2. Surprise! She also happens to be an Elf. Now, borrowing the Elf race is one thing, but Paolini didn’t even bother to make some changes to it. These Elves are an exact replica of the Elves in LOTR.

Almost right off the bat we come to realize that Eragon has a highly pathetic love interest in her perversely unconscious body. The Elf (Arya), spends approximately 200 pages unconscious, and yet even while Eragon heals her with magic we get to watch him blush and admire her figure. Hasn’t this guy ever heard of privacy?

At the end of a book that has many ups and downs, Eragon finally joins up with the rebels (known as the Varden), and faces off against the Empire. Eragon’s journey ends in an action-packed showdown with Durza, who is a Shade (finally, an original concept). After being seriously wounded, he is contacted by a man claiming to be the Cripple who is Whole. Eragon is ordered to seek him out in the land of the Elves, and the book ends on a very abrupt note.

Being as young as he is, I think that Paolini has great potential, and the quality of his books is steadily increasing. However, this particular book, while very entertaining, is not a good way to start his reputation. Critics everywhere have pointed out the things he has taken from other authors, and I’m among those that believe he should have waited to write this book when he was a bit older. Paolini has remarkable talent, and it tends to show in his book, but only if you can sift through the pages of redundant information and borrowed material first. I know that I’ll be watching him with great interest as I attempt to get my own writing career off the ground.

Eragon (2003) 6.5/10