Search - Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1)

I heard this book was extremely popular so I bought it during one of my vacations. Needless to say, I was not very impressed. The characters failed to draw me in and the story is only so-so. I finished the book not even caring about what would happen in the sequel. Still, it's not absolutely terrible; it's just not all that great either.

This is a great book to read. If you liked Harry Potter then I believe that you will also like this.

I admit that “Eragon” strike a chord with me when I first came upon its summary on the newspaper during my last year of High School. I finally obtained a copy during my freshmen year of college (I actually printed it out of the College Computer Lab, all 200 pages of it). However, I put it aside after several chapters when I was sidetracked with something else. Recently I acquired a copy (the actual book) via Paperbackswap.com and it all came to me that the novel contains numerous of clinches that it should be sue for plagiarism.

Obviously Paolini was imitating Tolkien’s style when he attempted to create languages and elvish, however it obviously couldn’t compare to Tolkien’s Sindarin or Quenya. Upon reading other reviews from the web, I also noticed that Paolini copy large amount of “Starwars” too. The writing style is also dull and dry, with childish solutions to seems impossible tasks (such as rescuing Eragon from the prison of the Capital City).

Understandable, the author wrote most of the story while he was 15 and 16 (as the book proudly stated), however I failed to see how it gain so much fame and there is actually a large database for him. Aside from that, it seems that the fame had gone over the young author’s head, in a interview he said that he “strives to achieve Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf and Tolkien at his best” in his “Eragon” as quoted from Anthony Tardiff, owner of “Hard Sayings”, while he also statement “that one of the pleasures of reading Harry Potter is getting to see Rowling mature as a writer”. Such arrogance. Pity.

The book seem overly boring after I have read many other great novels, I actually skipped last 90 pages or so.

One of the reasons I think that 15 year olds shouldn't publish what they write. I ended up finishing the book only because I was having a perverse sort of fun naming where all his ideas came from. "Oh, hey, that's one from Earthsea!" "Oh man, look, Dragonriders of Pern." "...LoTR much?" Yeah. Not really very good at all, I wasn't in any way motivated to read the rest of the series. "Poor farmer boy discovers his magical destiny to save the world" is only good when everything else in the story didn't come from somewhere else, too.

This was a great story, and very formidable for such a young author. The book (ask usual) was soooo much better than the movie. A worthy, and entertaining read! (it'll make you want to follow the continuing story)

We loved this book. Cudos Christopher Paolini!

I loved this book. I could not put it down. Good story line

When Earagon finds a plished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. Little does he know it is a dragon egg and he will become the last of the dragon riders, destined to save the world. Filled with fantasy and imagination this is a very enjoyable book.

When I first read this book I thought it was pretty good. Then I stumbled upon a website (http://eragon-sporkings.wikispaces.com/) that made me realize how bad it really was.

Besides the rather (I admit) charmingly clichéd plot(a farm boy finds a dragon egg and realizes he's the last of the dragon riders), it "borrows" heavily from other books or series, and some parts just don't make any kind of sense. Eragon himself is also a very "mary sueish" character who seems to be able to do whatever whenever because it's what he NEEDS to do. The other characters--even Saphira!--seem to have minimal characterization at best and are basically just there to reflect Eragon's glory.

After I read someone else's criticisms of the book, I began to realize how often I'd gone "what?" or "but that doesn't make sense...well, okay, whatever" while I was reading it; in short, it's not worth the credit.

I have to say that I flat out hated this book. I admire Mr.Paolini for being able to write such a large book at a relatively young age, but I couldn't even make it twenty pages through the book. It's a good read if you like Harry Potter and need an okay intro to science fiction.

My biggest problem is that he should have been sued for plagarism. The concept of dragonriders, particularly the idea that the boy and dragon bond and are destined for each other is STRAIGHT out of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. The map, the names, the languages and too many other things to count are yanked right of Tolkien.

So...if you're even fairly well read in the genre, this book can irritate the heck out of you. If you've never read Tolkien or McCaffrey and need an okay intro into the genre (the writing is really only so-so), then Eragon is the book for you.

If Eragon is the first fantasy book you have ever read in your entire life, then you will probably enjoy it. Otherwise, you will find it to be a poorly rendered patchwork of various fantasy elements from other more well-known works, stitched together in a way that is neither cohesive or convincing. I think you'll probably be as disappointed in it as I was.

Eragon is the typical farmboy-turned-struggling-epic-hero who happens to come across the typical wise-old-hermit-turned-mentor who is able to mold Eragon into the shape of a slightly-less-struggling-epic-hero-who-rides-a-blue-dragon.

While I give Paolini credit for creating something like this at age 15, that doesn't make this book any better for what it really is: simple, cliche, predictable, and flat. I found Eragon's progress as a warrior to be too quick and easy to be really believable. Supporting characters are semi-likeable only because they are semi-developed. I found that I really wasn't pulling for anyone in particular. If I wasn't so stubborn about finishing books that I start, I probably would have given up on this one.

If you are in any way well-read in the fantasy genre, you will probably find this book to be little worth your time. But if you are looking to start reading fantasy for the first time (especially if you're 12) and want something of a kiddie pool warm-up in the genre, then this book might be an option. But if you decide to read it, just lower your expectations and expect very little. That way you won't be very disappointed.

I know people have mixed views on Christoper Paolini, but I liked this book, if you are looking for a great easy read that will keep you wanting more this is a book for you!

My best friend let me borrow it I loved it

If you are a fan of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings this is the book for you. This modern plot is much more approachable for today's young readers and is a truly magnificent story. This reader cannot wait until the final chapter of the trilogy is made available.

This is a really good book. I thought that it was a little intense for young readers, but I loved it.

The beginning of this book is very derivative, but persevere..it gets much better as it goes along. One of the many young adult books that adult readers will enjoy.

I enjoy Fantasy Fiction and it was a good read. The author has a very good imagination, captive, kept me interested. Him being a young author, was easily detected by the writing and his voice. I enjoyed it thouroughly, maybe I'll read the sequel. I felt it was more for young readers.

I really enjoyed this fantasy novel and was impressed by the young age of the author who developed such engaging characters.

The book about a young boy who finds a dragon egg and befriends the dragon on the first of many adventures is a great escape for a rainy afternoon.

An amazing read!!! I can't wait to read the next book in this series.