Book Review: Eragon

This book has been out for a long time and I read it about a year ago. But I didn’t have a blog to post a review on.

Author: Cristopher Paolini

Language: English

Series: Inheritance Cycle

Pages: 509

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Cover Artist: John Jude Palencar

Main Protagonist: Eragon [human]

Saphira [dragon]

Genre: Young Adult

Fantasy

Christopher Paolini debuts with Eragon, a book written and targeted mainly at teenagers. And oh, what a stunning debut it is. Paolini was only 20 years old when he wrote this book, and I must say he has made extensive use of words from the English language.

The Plot

It’s kinda similar to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. There’s this kid, called Eragon (surprise, surprise!) who lives in a country called Alagaёsia, in a village called Palancar Valley (oddly enough, the cover artist’s name is Palencar, which bears a striking resemblence to Palancar). The entire story is set in Alagaёsia. Eragon discovers a bright blue “stone” which he later discovers to be a dragon egg, and hatches exclusively for him. He is a poor orphan (reminds me of Harry Potter) living with his uncle Garrow and cousin Roran, when he stumbles upon the egg in the forest called The Spine. With the dragon, he becomes a dragon rider – someone with extraordinary powers of magic and immortality. Eragon, aided by the elderly and knowledgable Brom (reminds me of Dumbledore), has to set out and destroy the evil tyrant king of Alagaёsia – Galbatorix. Eragon has to travel miles from Carvahall in Palancar Valley, after creatures known as the Ra’zac killed his uncle, to Urû’baen – which is the throne of Galbatorix and the capital of Alagaёsia.

Of course, like any tyrant king, he cannot be easily destroyed, has vast skills and knowledge of magic, is very evil blah blah blah.

The Feel

Now here is where Eragon excels. Paolini’s exquisite writing style and use of powerful words helps readers to actually understand Eragon’s feelings towards his uncle, his family, the Ra’zac, and for his dragon, Saphira. You actually begin to feel the pain (like I did) and feel pity for Eragon, who shoulders such a massive responsibility as such a tender age. He is the only Dragon Rider in the entire land (other than Galbatorix) and Saphira his only dragon (other than Shruikan, Galbatorix’s dragon) and is the only hope to defeat Galbatorix, something like the chosen one in Harry Potter.

The coolest thing about the book is magic, which can only be performed using difficult words from the “ancient language” and with utmost concentration. Different spells absorb different amounts of energy and may even kill a person if he depletes his energy. The book also provides you with translation of words from the ancient language to English.

All in all, Eragon is a good read, but it’s a little childish. But that’s probably ‘coz Eragon was a kid. And also the book was unnecessarily long and excessively detailed, which is sometimes frustrating to read. But the climax is great and

Rating: 3/5 [Good]