Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1)
by Christopher Paolini
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Book Summary Information
Author: Christopher PaoliniEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-04-26
ISBN: 0375826696
Number of pages: 528
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Book Reviews of Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1)
Book Review: So imitative it's almost plagiarism--but I must admit it's pretty darn entertaining plagiarism...
Summary: 2 Stars
The plotline of Christopher Paolini's ERAGON is one that many fantasy readers will find familiar: It's largely a coming-of-age tale about a young warrior who faces formidable enemies on his quest to rid the world of evil. Yes, this hero on a quest for good is a format that has been used by all the master creators of fantastical fiction: Tolkien, McCaffrey, LeGuin, even George Lucas. Paolini's version of this age-old story tells of the adventures of Eragon, a poor farmboy in the land of Alagaesia. While in the mountain woods hunting for food to sustain his family through the coming winter, Eragon stumbles upon a strange blue-marbled egg. Before he has the opportunity to hock it for food, the egg hatches, birthing a glittering sapphire-blue dragon--a race of creatures thought to be extinct in the land. Eragon grows close to the dragon, whom he names Saphira--he can actually converse with her in his mind--but before he can reveal her to his family, he finds himself being hunted by the mysterious and dangerous Ra'zac, who are desperate to retrieve the egg for King Galbatorix, the power-hungry ruler of Alagaesia. The Ra'zac burn Eragon's home and harm his family, prompting Eragon to set off on their trail with Brom, the village storyteller who has his own powerful secrets. As their journey progresses, Eragon learns more about his mysterious abilities--in addition to his eerie mental connection to Saphira, he also has the power to perform magic--and grows to accept his destiny as the last Dragon Rider in Alagaesia, a mere boy whose "wyrd" (a word meaning "fate" in Paolini's ancient language) is to defeat the Empire King Galbatorix is set on maintaining, and, in so doing, restore peace to the land of Alagaesia.
We've all heard the saying, "Imitation is the surest form of flattery." Clearly, this is a statement fantasy writer Ann McCaffrey believes in, as she extensively praises Paolini's novel on the back cover of ERAGON. What she doesn't mention is that Eragon's mental communication with Saphira, the telepathic link that is so important a part of dragon and rider's relationship, is an idea lifted directly from her own novels. And McCaffrey isn't the only author Paolini imitates: Tolkien is also very present in ERAGON's pages and is clearly a big influence on the story; however, it would take me too long to cite examples of how this is so, as they are so numerous in ERAGON and will be so obvious to you when and if you read the novel for yourself. But perhaps the plot Paolini most largely imitates is that of George Lucas's STAR WARS. At its most elemental level, ERAGON really is nothing more than the story of one boy who discovers that he is the last of his kind and, after completing extensive training, discovers that his destiny is to do battle with the Empire to restore peace to his land. Luke Skywalker, anyone? Paolini was only 15 years old when he began writing ERAGON and makes no secret that his love of fantasy was what inspired him to tell his own tale; but still, it is a bit disturbing to see all those characters I myself loved so much as a child--and, in fact, still do love--thinly veiled and poorly developed in the pages of a novel in which they so clearly do not belong. The bottom line is, Paolini has produced a pretty darn entertaining novel--as one would expect when it's basically just recycled material from other authors...
...Albeit recycled in poor prose. As previous reviewers have mentioned, it is apparent that ERAGON was written by a teenager. The book is incredibly uneven; the beginning moves slowly, while the ending is overladen with action. It is obvious that Paolini made extensive use of the thesaurus feature in Word while he was writing the novel, as very elementary prose is punctuated every once in a while by incredibly advanced vocabulary. The English major in me also noticed a disturbingly significant amount of misplaced modifiers in the text, which I'm surprised an editor didn't catch. But, in the midst of all this mediocre writing, I did find one beautiful passage that indicates to me that young Paolini has much potential and may someday be a very good writer, if he stops with the imitation: "The sea is emotion incarnate. It loves, hates, and weeps. It defies all attempts to capture it with words and rejects all shackles. No matter what you say about it, there is always that which you can't." And that, my friends, is about as good as the prose gets in ERAGON.
Okay, I'll stop being a snob for a minute and admit that there is no way I could have written a 500-page novel at the age of 15, so Paolini does get a certain amount of my respect. Nor could I have created my own language or my own fantasy world. ERAGON is, in all actuality, a very entertaining novel; the Battle of Helm's Deep--uh, I mean Tronjheim--is appropriately exciting, and is one of the better parts of the novel. ERAGON just lacks the atmosphere that the fantasy greats so ingeniously, and so consistently, create. Alagaesia is not Middle Earth, nor is it "a galaxy far, far away." Paolini's writing is still too immature to attain the level of greatness he sought by being so imitative of his favorite authors. I'm sure he'll get there eventually, but he must work on developing his own voice instead of relying on the voices of others.
So what will happen next with Eragon, our young Jedi--er--I mean--Dragon Rider? Will he succumb to the Dark Side and join the Empire, or will he save his land from certain doom and destruction by completing his training and defeating Darth--er--King Galbatorix? Stay tuned to the next volume in the Inheritance trilogy, ELDEST, to find out! (I know I will; I was guiltily entertained by Paolini's plagiarism and am very interested to see what Eragon's next adventure will be.)
Summary of Eragon (Inheritance, Book 1)
Now in paperback! Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy?until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save?or destroy?the Empire.A New York Times Bestseller
A USA Today Bestseller
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
A Book Sense Bestseller
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
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