Eragon Eldest (Inheritance, #1-2) by Christopher Paolini

Eragon Eldest (Inheritance, #1-2) Reviews

• 
  Siobhan

  I feel as though this series is one whereby only the generation it was brought into enjoyed it.
  
  I will admit these are not my favourite dragon stories, but as I’ve always had a love for dragon stories I’m one of those people who enjoyed the books somewhat. That being said, the first book was probably the only one that I really enjoyed.
  
  As a whole if you love a good dragon story they’re worth a read if you’re willing to go in with a mind free of negative reviews otherwise you’ll be picking up on things you’d probably be able to overlook otherwise.
• 
  Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile

  Check out my reviews on the main page of each individual book!
• 
  Vicky

  I loved it. I have already started Brisinger and the 4th book will be headed my way as soon as it is released Tuesday. Had to add this one the the favorites shelf and hopefully the other two will find their way there as well.
• 
  Paul Matthis

  All those words, and not one original idea among them.
• 
  Meg

  I had a really hard time with how bad the writing was in the first novel - Ben and I were reading this aloud while driving, and I kept interrupting with exclamations of dismay. (Really, how many times can something be described as 'liquid silver'? And how many chapters do you need to end with someone being hit on the back of the heading and blacking out?)
  Given the lack of resolution at the end of the first book, however, and given that I had the second right there in my hands, I continued on. Paolini's writing does improve, thankfully. And there were some satisfying climaxes at the end, though with enough left hanging that I could see eventually reading the third, once it comes out. Though I probably won't be rushing to do so.
• 
  constellationoftomes

  Eragon and Eldest is slow-paced, predictable, repetitive and extremely descriptive, but it's these aspects that make for a relaxing, calming and enjoyable audiobook experience. 
  
  Eragon is one of the OG Gary-Stu's. I don't mind the Farmboy-Becomes-The-Chosen-One trope, as long as the character is compelling and there's no deus ex machina happenings, but Eragon is just alright. While I do like some of the secondary characters, such as Saphira, Arya, Angela, Nasuada and Murtagh (whose appearance at the end of Eldest could be the origin of a potentially amazing anti-hero), I didn't get attached to any of them. 
  
  My favourite part is obviously the dragons. I love books with dragons, but it's so difficult to find amazing ones. The bond between Eragon and Saphira is fantastic and heartwarming and Saphira is so EPIC. 
  
  While this book has a traditional fantasy world, it's still rich and extensive. The world becomes more expansive in Eldest as Eragon travels to different places and it is interesting to see how the different races live and interact. 
  
  The plot progression has ups-and-downs. There are parts where the plot is action-packed and fast-paced and other parts that are slow and bogged down - usually having too many descriptive passages and not enough happenings. 
  
  A world that's predictable and formulaic, one where you know exactly what to expect, but still a great audiobook experience. I'm so glad that I reread Eragon and Eldest via audiobook because I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much otherwise. 
• 
  Liz

  Eragon:
  
  I found this treasure during my junior year of high school, recommended by a fellow classmate in science class. I picked it up,intrigued by the idea of an epic adventure, and was not disappointed in the least. I remember diving into its pages on the bus after school, completely lost in the world Paolini created. Having never been a real fan of the LOTR book series (though i loved the movies) I was wary of any novel of the same genre, but this book left me enraptured and eagerly anticipating what would happen next. Eragon's emotions to the things that happen are incredibly relate-able and you find yourself rooting for him (and his awesome dragon, who by the way is incredibly intelligent and witty) very early on. All in all, it is on my favorite's list for a reason and I never get tired of reading it over and over again.
  
  Eldest:
  
  I had forgotten how much I like this book. Eragon's story intrigued me from the beginning and I wanted to see where it led. It begins right where the first left off, in the dwarf capital in the midst of an ambush. After sustaineing considerable losses, Eragon and Saphira travel to Ellesmera, t home of the elves to continue their training in both the fighting arts and magic. Meanwhile, the book also focuses on the happenings of Eragon's cousin and the trials he faces. The ending caught me by surprise and left me with a thousand questions and no answers...at least until I read the the third book. Overall it was another exciting adventure from the pen of Christopher Paolini.
• 
  Colin CG

  alright, here goes my first review ever, bear with me if it's terrible! These books, Eragon and Eldest, are decent books for being written by a 15 year old, but they do have flaws. As a die hard Lord of the Rings fan, this series seems to take a lot from LOTR. I actually have a theory that the Eragon series takes place many years after the LOTR trilogy, but we won't get into the details of that now. The reading is easy, and flows nicely, Paolini does a good job of keeping the reader involved. The last book in the series, Brisinger, is due out September 28 2008, so we'll have to see how the story ends. as it stands now,This is my prediction, it looks like it will climax with the destruction of the ruthless enemy king and Eragon will be raised up on the new throne and married to the elf of his dreams, sort of a Hollywood ending. Of course there will be a twist, which i predict will be the dragon, Saphiera, kicking the bucket. well thats all i have as far as random ramblings, thanks for reading.
• 
  Miriam

  cannot believe it has taken me two years to get around to reading the second book in the Inheritance Cycle. The book begins with Eragon and Saphria traveling to Ellesmera to complete their dragon rider training amongst the elves. But while they try to fit decades of training in to mere weeks and months, we learn about Eragon 's cousin Roran as he attempts to protect the mountain community from the Empire. While I found the book enjoyable to read but is pales in comparison to other fantasy novels. Having said that the book was an easy read, and a great sequel to the first book.
  
  "Life is both pain and pleasure. If this is the price you must for the hours you enjoy, is it too much?"
  
  By far my favourite characters are Arya and Saphria, they are more than happy to put Eragon in his place, which needs to happen often enough for it to create two brilliant - dare I say - sassy characters. Well sort of. I am not sure whether I will bother with the next books as it was not compelling enough to make me want to read it over other books on my reading list.
• 
  Jody

  I started reading this because I won it at the
  Breaking Dawn release party and it happened to be upstairs while I was searching for something to read.
  Someone told me this book (these books) wasn't very well written so I hadn't been going out of my way... Anyway, it was definitely clunky in the beginning, felt a little thesaurusy, if you know what I mean, and a few of the ideas in the story got off to a rocky beginning (all the sudden something the main character could do something that really didn't make sense, nor was it explained very well) but I do give him credit where credit is due - there's no way I could write like this now, let alone at 15. I feel like his writing definitely improved dramatically over time and even though he borrows storyline aspects from a lot of older works I liked the story pretty well.
• 
  Kassandra

  I loved Eragon from the start. It flowed and had a great pace to it. It was fun and different from anything I'd read in a while. I really liked it so I was excited to read Eldest when it came out. Eldest was a disappointment. It was almost as if the author had one idea when he started (was supposed to be part of a trilogy) and then realized he could sell more books by stretching things out to four books and kind of patched the second book together sloppily. It was not as fast-paced as Eragon and I tended to lose interest as the book wore on. In fact, I probably won't even bother reading the last two books in the series. The author should have stuck with his original plan for a trilogy rather than struggle to make it into a quadrology or whatever it is called. So four stars to Eragon but two to Eldest.
• 
  Sara

  A little long and wordy, but I liked them. I guess my only complaint is that at times you can really tell they were written by a teenager, but still I was impressed. There is no way I would have been able to write books like these when I was seventeen.
• 
  Lisa

  Finished the Eragon section 02-06-10
  Can't wait to find out what happens next!!! Very upset with myself for letting the size of the 2 books together in one volume keep me from reading this for so long. So far, could be one of my favorite!!!
  
  
  Started reading Eldest 12-109-11
• 
  Anna

  I finished Eragon, and I had really liked it, so I began to read Inheritance, but I didn’t finish it. I thought it was because it had been a bad book, but I had honestly gforgotten why, so I recently started re-reading and I just finished it, and I actually really liked it.
• 
  Nina

  My favourite books so far, though I know I have much more to read. I can't wait for the third one, and I've already read these both twice, but I like Eragon quite a lot more.
• 
  America

  Not much original work in these two novels.
• 
  Roy Kim

  i learned that dragons can breathe fire
• 
  Amy Rugg

  I read some reviews saying this book is a copy of lotr. That is an extreme exaggeration. There are elements(such as the presence of elves and dwarves) and moments(such as one moment during the main battle) that surely reminded me of lotr. But this book holds its own by far. There are very unique elements to this book, one major one being a connection to your own dragon. I enjoyed the style of writing, there were some very picturesque scenes that still stand in my mind. I didn't enjoy the book as much as my husband, who has read the series many times, but i looked forward to reading more every night. It was a bit long, which he enjoyed more than I. The story surprised me at times, i felt like things were explained and made sense. I felt like the story was very well thought out. I had a few character gripes, a few of the main characters had a similar bold and reckless streak that got on my nerves, seeing as they could of got people killed. Some parts of war and character choices were a little too harsh and real for me, i do like fantasy as a way to escape reality... But i'm sure I will come back to the series to finish it to see what happens.
• 
  FaithT

  I loved this book. Paolini created an entire world full of mythical beings who have actual character unlike other books. He has given a new perspective to dragons and has made a plot line that is easy to follow and can quickly excite you. I can understand why this might not be some people's preferred type of reading but if your willing to see this series to the end please do. The characters develop at lot more throughout the last two books and you get to see a whole new side of things. And if you have to criticise every little thing you won't enjoy the books as much as I did.
• 
  Molly Proudfoot

  i read this as a young teenager and plan to re-read to give a more knowledgeable in-depth review, I enjoyed the premise of this book and fell in love with Saphira and Eragon, and the world.
  
  However, one thing that I will always remember were the boring and unnecessary Dwarf Politics that too many chapters are focused on, I liked the concept of the dwarf city in the mountains, but as a teenager more interested in the adventure and action, made me roll my eyes. I felt like they were there just as fillers and felt they were mostly unnecessary .
• 
  McClellan Robinson

  A generic fantasy that is painful clear it was written, by a teenage boy. It does remain interesting enough that it can be a fun read, but is endlessly frustrating in places. Mostly in its portrayals of women.
• 
  Quang

  My favorite fiction story