| Title | : | Eragon, Eldest Brisingr (Inheritance, #1-3) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0375846158 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780375846151 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 1952 |
| Publication | : | First published September 20, 2008 |
Eragon, Eldest Brisingr (Inheritance, #1-3) Reviews
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When I read that Inheritance was coming out I decided to reread the series and found, on this second read through, that, while I still like them, I was not nearly so impressed as I had been the first time. Perhaps I took more time the first time around, or perhaps I have just been reading too much Robert Jordan in the mean time, but I feel like the books move way too fast in terms of character making. We spend so much time debating proper course of action etc., but not a whole lot happens in the first couple of books, and yet it is in these books that the reputations of Eragon and his cousin (in particular) are made. The switch from Eragon being viewed as a boy to be manipulated to a man of renown takes place during a single battle when he defeats a shade. While the author does attempt to impress upon readership the awesomeness of this feat, it just doesn't work for me for some reason. Roran's own rise in the estimation of his fellow villagers also feels forced. They look at him as something apart just a little too soon. Especially seeing as the whole village was involved in the fighting, one would think that they would all be seeing one another in a new light, but not particularly focusing that attention on Roran. Perhaps that would have shifted after Katrina is taken, but that only seems to heighten it. Again, I just needed it to take a little more time to allow the shift to be a more subtle and, in my opinion, a more natural shift. Having said that, and as I have been typing this review, I feel that the author does justify these characters' reputations by the end of the third book and they really are amazingly engaging characters. I am still astounded that an author so young executed these. They continue to get better as the series progresses. Like any good series, it adds depth as it proceeds and compels you with the force of its characters and draw of its world.
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this serries was by far my favourite of all times and I want the popularity and love for these books to spread like wild fire.
Christopher Paolini is a genious....
Throut his books in this series he managed to make me feel everything from exuberance to dread to hate, despise, joy, love, wonder....etc. every emotion you can imagin this authour brought fully into play with this series.
If you choose to read this series I suggest that:
you start with Eragon the FIRST book
keep on reading even when you think that everyone will perish
never loose faith in these characters
take your time becasue when those last pages turn you will want to yell and screem because this is one of those sets of novels that come arround rarely and drive you to search desperatly for another set that will be half as great. -
Eragon was a regular boy living in a town called Carvahall, in a mysterious land named Alagaësia. Eragon lived on a farm with his Uncle Garrow, and his brother, Roran. One day, when Eragon is hunting in the spine, he finds a mysterious blue colored stone which he hopes to appraise at market for a high value. Instead, the stone cracks, and out comes a baby dragon. Eragon touches the dragon, and instantly they become bonded together. Eragon names the dragon Saphira. Consequently, Eragon is dragged into a war of epic proportion between the empire of an evil dragon rider named Galbatorix, and the freedom fighters. In time, he will come to fight for freedom and train as a dragon rider, battling the forces of evil all over the land.
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Wonderful series with dragons, villains, kingdoms at risk. Everything you love in fantasy. Well written and exciting.
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This is most definitely the very best book series I have ever read (and I've read a lot of books). As soon as I started reading the first book, the series shot up to my top favorite book, and no book has ever come close to competing with this series. Paolini, although younger than most authors, paints a perfect picture of whatever is going on at that time in the story. In fact, these books are what inspired me to begin the first book I plan to get published one day. Although my book's plot has nothing to do with these books, I often go back and read a few pages or chapters of these books whenever I have writer's block. (I come up with my best ideas while reading other people's books, even though those ideas never have anything to do with what I am reading.) I am currently counting down the days till the fourth book comes out and cannot wait to set my eyes on the first page. To sum it all up, if I could give this book anything higher than five stars, I would without a second thought. I suggest this book to pretty much anyone!
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Eldest is a great book, but if you want to read it you have to read Eragon first. Eldest is the sequel to the book Eragon and is a great book if you’re into dragons and science fiction. The third book to the sequel comes out in September. I loved this book and I think you will too.
The main character of the book is Eragon. He is a young farm boy that finds a dragon egg and realizes that his duty is to defeat the king of his kingdom and make sure that his kingdom and all the villages are back to normal. In the last book he defeated the king and in this book the king comes back and tries to control the kingdom again.
[image error] -
I think that it is amazing that this kid was so young when he started writing these...and his vocabulary is far beyond mine. In my never ending search for boy young adult books I would highly recommend this but beware of reading level.
I was so upset that Brisingr wasn't the end like it was supposed to. My mom was going to have this sent to me and then I was supposed to bring it to her when we went to England...well it came to their flat in England...I had so much anticipation in finishing the saga so I busted my hump to read it all before we came home and it really crushed me to not have it wrapped up but to know I will have to wait even longer to finish Eargon's story. -
Perfect books to read about a fantasy world. You become enthralled in the characters and begin to know what their reactions will before you even read the next page. I would definitely recommend this book series.
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I think it is better than LOTR, I guess because of the simplicity of expression
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This series had so much potential and that was one of the reasons for why I started reading it this summer. The problem was that by the middle of book three all the excitement and potential was gone. I’m admitting that I never finished the books and probably never will.
Book 1, Eragon was the best of the three, with finding Saphira, fleeing for their lives and learning about dragon riders from Brom. The leader of the Varden was a good man, and his daughter had potential. Arya, the elves and the dwarves were exiting. There were some obvious flaws that ruined the book for me. The worst was how easy it was for Eragon to learn sword fighting and reading. These shortcuts felt like cheating and was the most annoying parts of book 1. But overall a good book with a plot that moved the story forward.
However, in book 2 when Eragon and Arya arrive in Du Weldenvarden where he starts training was the most outdrawn, boring part of the books so far. And the authors repetition of how quick he learned to read, why he shouldn't eat meat, and Eragons feelings for Arya gets old fast. Adding the teenage angst and this part takes up far too much space. If this is supposed to be Aragorn and Arwen from Tolkien’s world it is a poor imitation.
The most exicting part of book 2, and the only thing that kept me going, was Roran’s storyline. It was interesting and had a sense of purpose that Eragon’s story in this book lacked. Even the elves seem like egotistical and narrowminded beings whose only concern is themselves, with no interest for anyone or anything else.
And like book 1, we find a huge shortcut, where Eragon heals and become practically an elf overnight, something it takes decades for other riders to become. All this so he can be fighting fit again after becoming a cripple in book 1. Overall book 2 was boring and long, with no story that moved the plot forward other than Roran, and that was practically book 1 all over again but without a dragon.
This leads to book 3. I only read about halfway through and then I figured enough was enough. Nasuada has now become a leader who is willing to do anything for her cause, even condemn a child to a life of suffering and pain, without empathy or willingness to try differently. She reminds me of Alma Coin, President of the 13th district in Hunger Games, and we all know how that went. Even Arya’s reaction to when Eragon chose to save someone’s life rather than execute the person is off and frankly terrible, where she calls him weak and not fit to be a rider, simply because he could not kill an innocent man in cold blood. However after taking with Eragon several times she starts questioning herself, and this seems out of character for her. Is her conviction so weak that shortly after talking to Eragon she questions herself? Has she changed so much in two books? Or is this a way for the author to try and change their relationship? And the conversation that Eragon has with Nasuada and King Orrin after the incident is weird and stilted, and the topic itself is like the other topics that the author makes about Eragon’s crush on Arya, his distaste for meat, him learning to read and fight. They are unnecessary. We do not need to get spoon fed every little detail like this, we can remember things on our own (at this point I decided to give up).
Sometimes the author decides to use “old English” to perhaps make the dialogue more authentic. It doesn’t. By the end, the only person I still liked was Angela, she seems to be the only one with a brain of the entire bunch. Even Roran, hunting the beasts that kidnapped his darling Katharina, believes he can demand Nasuada to do what he wants, something he gets away with, and is another thing I have trouble understanding. I haven’t mentions Saphira simply because she is there but she doesn’t do much. She and Eragon think to each other, and she has her uses, which is mostly as a horse to get from A to B, but for a creature that is majestic and has ancient wisdom she rarely shows it. Mostly she flies around at night to stay under the radar and is frankly as disappointing as all the others.
There is much more I could say, but figured this was enough. To decide if I was going to continue I ended up goint to Wikipedia. Obviously, I decided not to because the author keeps taking these shortcuts all the way to the end, and frankly its disappointing. At this point I didn’t like the characters, the plot was not interesting anymore, much of the writing was bad or filled with shortcuts to probably fill the plot holes, and it wasn’t worth the time to finish the last one and a half books.
Some things like Arya and Eragon I could have figured out by continue to read, but when I add that to all the other problems the story contains I didn't think continuing reading it was worth it. The best thing to do is move on to something hopefully better and leave The Inheritance Cycle behind. -
I'm just getting started on these, but it's been good so far. I've got all three on audio if anyone's interested in borrowing.
The detail about trading and medieval life was really fascinating and the main story line itself has been good so far.
It's been much better than the movie, but aren't the books always better than the movies?
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Update: Just finished the third book. Wow, this is an AMAZING story. It is truly an epic tale and to be honest I really didn't want it to end. It was that good. I know this will upset some people, but I would put this on the level of the Lord of the Rings as far as epic fantasy goes. The details he gives about every aspect of what is going on really makes you feel like you are there. I've studied some about japanese swordmaking and his description of making a sword is exacting, every little detail is included in the process. You really feel like you're there doing the work. I would recommend these books to anyone.
Now I can get started pining and wishing the next book in the series was released already. Just awesome writing. Great books. -
These books have a great storyline and plot. The pacing is slow and I felt like I had to drudge through a lot of unnecessary descriptions. The author is young and is notorious for taking a long time to write his books. Now I have to wait for the fourth one. When I began reading these, I was under the impression it was a trilogy. When I was close to the end of the third book I asked my daughter how the author was going to wrap everything up in just a few more chapters. That is when she informed me there would be a fourth book. NOOOO! I hate that. But, I'm hooked. I look forward to the last book. I love the wisdom of the different dragon characters in the books. If you like Lord of the Rings, you will like these, although a step down from them.
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If you like dragons and elves and dwarves and magic -- good v evil then you should like the first three books of paolini's inheritance cycle. I'm not sure where I've been in the fantasy world but ordered all three as I knew I would be spending a lot of time reading. I became entranced with the story and the characters. Dragon a young country boy who finds an egg which changes his life. The egg contains a dragon, saphira, who has chosen him to join the ancient and they think extinct group called the dragon slayers...off they go on a series of adventures and misadventures as they discover their true destiny...when book three ends I couldn't wait for book four. I LOVE Saphira...
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I've read Eragon and Eldest. They are very derivative, but as someone said in another context, "We stand on the shoulders of giants." I did enjoy Eldest more because Paolini delves deeper in his description of elven culture than I think Tolkien did, and the elves are my favorite of the inhabitants of the worlds in both series. I have alsways found it difficult to read anything in imitation of Tolkien, because so few come up to his level. I tried the Sword of Shannara series by Terry Brooks, but I just couldn't get into it. Paolini's world is believable and held my rapt attention.
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I love this series but I thought it was a trilogy so imagine my disappointment when I got to the end of Brisingr only to know I have to wait several more years for the last book! I can't believe the kid was 19 when he started writing, he is an incredible writer and this is a true hero becoming story that is just great. Now back to waiting for the fourth...
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Awesome! I just reread them!!
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Great read
I thought this was a great book. It was really imaginative and unpredictable. I'll definitely be reading book number four! -
I loved these books as a kid. As an adult, they don't really hold up too well, but that doesn't take away from the enjoyment I got out of them.
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the other night i dreamed i made out with christopher paolini. he's 18 now right?
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Meine Meinung
Als erstes war ich noch recht begeistert von dem Buch (
Eragon - Das Vermächtnis der Drachenreiter). Ich war auch noch jung und unerfahren und hatte längst nicht so hohe Ansprüche an ein Buch wie heute. Irgendwie war es schon recht spannend und es ging um Drachen und orkähnliche Wesen, Elfen und Krieger und - hey - der Autor war erst 15 Jahre alt gewesen, als er mit dem Buch begonnen hatte. Das imponierte mir und brachte mich unter anderem dazu, auch eigene kleine Geschichten zu schreiben.
Also begann ich, schwer begeistert, mit dem Lesen. Ich kam anfangs auch gut voran, die Kampfszenen waren spannend und actionreich und die Lehrstunden des unerfahrenen Jungen Eragon waren interessant. Doch dann, irgendwann ab der Hälfte () hörte ich erstmal auf zu Lesen? Warum? Weil die Geschichte bis dahin schon fast zu lang war und langatmig wurde. Auf den vielen Seiten war irgendwie viel passiert und gleichzeitig auch wieder nichts. Ständig musste Eragon fliehen und sich irgendwo verstecken, ständig musste man mit ihm mittlerweile uninteressante Lernstunden durchleiden und die Szenen in den Städten waren für mich mehr als einschläfernd.
Meine Schwester las dann das Buch und war ziemlich schnell auch damit durch und empfahl mir, der Geschichte nochmal eine Chance zu geben. Also setzte ich mich nochmal hin und fing wieder an zu lesen. Und genau ab da, wo ich aufgehört hatte, fing es an, spannend zu werden. Die zweite Hälfte hatte ich dann binnen kürzester Zeit durch und empfahl das Buch dann gleich mal meinen beiden besten Freundinnen weiter - wir waren damals in einer ausgesprochenen Fantasy-Phase und rümpften über allem die Nasen, was mit Drachen zu tun hatte, weil es in unseren Augen nur der reinste Eragon-Abklatsch war und nichts an dieses tolle Buch ranreichen würde :D
Also warteten wir ungeduldig auf den nächsten Band, womit sich der gute Herr Paolini, bei Veröffentlichung des ersten Bandes schon 21 Jahre alt, ordentlich Zeit ließ. Zwei Jahre mussten wir ausharren, bis es dann endlich weiter ging. Voller Begeisterung gab ich die 24,95€ für das Buch aus und begann zu lesen. Anfangs war ich auch noch begeistert, aber bei dem Lesen bekam das ganze Buch einen bitteren Beigeschmack: es war langweilig. Stink langweilig. Zwar las ich das Buch in einem Rutsch durch, aber ärgerte mich beim Lesen die ganze Zeit. Zunächst fiel mir da erstmal auf, wie schlecht doch der Schreibstil von Christopher Paolini war. Er schweifte in endlose Beschreibungen von langweiligen Tätigkeiten ab (wie zum Beispiel die Pflanzen- und Tierwelt mit dem Geist erfassen) und beschrieb über Seiten die unwichtigsten kleinen Kleinigkeiten. Dennoch wollte ich ja immer noch wissen, wie es in dem Kampf um Galbatorix weiter geht und blieb daher mehr oder weniger eifrig am Ball, wobei ich echt schwer mit mancher Antipathie zu kämpfen hatte. Zum einen mag ich Nasuada, die Anführerin der Varden, überhaupt nicht. Sie war kalt und erbarmungslos und kommandierte alle auf unerträglich überhebliche Art und Weise herum. Dann kann ich, jetzt kommt's, Saphira, den tollen Drachen von Eragon, überhaupt nicht leiden. Sie und er immer mit ihren "ich hab dich lieb, Kleiner" und "du bist so toll" und dergleichen ging mir gehörig auf die Nerven. Und tut mir leid, was ist die bitte für ein Drache, die gewisse Lasten nicht tragen kann, aber andere, die nach ihr geschlüpft sind, sind binnen kürzester Zeit beinahe stärker als sie?
Und auch Eragon wurde immer mehr zur Randfigur, was auch am meisten daran lag, dass sein Cousin Roran, im ersten Band noch eine relativ unwichtige Nebenfigur, zur zweiten Hauptfigur mutierte und Eragon den Rang streitig machte. Viele kritisierten dies, aber ich muss sagen, dass die Kapitel um Roran in meinen Augen eindeutig spannender waren und mich mehr fesselten, als die um den eigentlichen "Helden". Dennoch ärgerte ich mich auch bei Roran um die unrealistische physische und psychische Weiterentwicklung, die er durchmachte. Aber wenigstens passierte dort immer was. Bei Eragon hieß es immer nur Lernen, Lernen, Lernen. Besonders nervte es mich, als er ein Kaninchen mit seiner Magie tötete und dann das Fleisch wieder erbrach, weil er zuvor den Geist des Tieres gespürt hatte und fortan zum Vegetarier wurde. Sowieso wurde Eragon mir eine Spur zu heilig und weise, was man möglicherweise auf seine Verwandlung zum Fast-Elfen schieben könnte, aber in meinen Augen unrealistisch blieb.
Die Schlacht am Ende war aber schon ziemlich spannend, weil Eragon und Roran das erste Mal seit Ewigkeiten aufeinander trafen und das erste Mal von ihrer jeweiligen Weiterentwicklung erfuhren. Aber ich regte mich dennoch total auf, dass Eragon und Saphira im Kampf gegen Murthag und Dorn (?) so viel schwächer waren, obwohl sie schon viel länger (und Saphira älter) ein Team waren.
Nach diesem Band beschloss ich, den letzten Band nur noch zu kaufen und zu lesen, damit ich endlich wüsste, wie es ausgeht.
Ja, und dann, nach weiteren drei Jahren Warten, kam der dritte Band endlich raus. Mit der Schocknachricht: Es würde einen vierten Band geben. Angeblich, weil der Herr Paolini noch so viele Ideen hätte, die er alle nicht in einen Band hätte unterbringen können. Bitte? Die ersten beiden Bände hatten eindeutig gezeigt, dass der Autor einfach einen zu ausschweifenden Schreibstil hatte und hätte er einen anständigen (und weniger geldgeilen) Lektor gehabt, hätte man von jedem Band mindestens 100 bis 200 Seiten streichen und kürzen können. Also kam mir natürlich der Gedanke, wie auch vielen anderen, dass es möglicherweise eher um das liebe Geld ging als um die Tatsache, den Fans einen Gefallen zu tun und sie mit noch mehr langweiligen Büchern zu "beglücken".
Dennoch kaufte ich mir den Band mit der Absicht, ihm eine Chance zu geben. Das erste Kapitel fiel durch seine übertriebene Gewaltdarstellung auf. In anderen Büchern mag das in Ordnung sein, aber hier wirkte es irgenwie deplaziert. Die Szenen um die Befreiung Katrinas, Rorans Verlobte, waren aber wieder recht spannend, wobei ich von dem plötzlichen und recht frühen Ende der Ra'zac sehr überrascht war. Katrina und Roran konnten auf Saphiras Rücken zurück zu den Varden fliegen, doch Eragon musste sich um Katrinas geblendeten Vater kümmern, den sie ebenfalls bei den Ra'zac fanden. Und da diese recht weit oben auf einen Berg mit äußerst glatten Steilwänden hausten, hatte Eragon ein Problem ihn und den Mann da runter zu bringen. Und Eragon redete über eine halbe Seite lang laut mit sich selbst, was er machen könnte, um von den Berg zu können. Einerseits war ja Saphira weg und da sie immer noch so schwach war konnte sie nicht drei Menschen tragen, andererseits konnte Eragon keine Magie benutzen, da sie ihn möglicherweise verraten und die Anstrengung ihn getötet hätte. Ja, was macht man da nur? Aber, wie Eragon richtig feststellte, brachten ihn Selbstgespräche auch nicht weiter. Nachdem er dies alles in lauter wörtlicher Rede von sich gegeben hatte und dann am Ende noch das mit den Selbstgesprächen meinte, musste ich vor Wut das Buch erstmal zuschlagen und konnte es eine Woche nicht weiter lesen, so sauer war ich, dass dieser Autor so schlecht schreibt. Dann las ich weiter, aber es wurde nicht wirklich besser. Ständig führte Eragon mit sich, Saphira, der Elfenkönigin und Nasuada seitenlange politische und langweilige und dämliche, ergebnislose Unterhaltungen und man fragte sich die ganze Zeit: Will da jemand Seiten voll kriegen?
Sowieso verkam Eragon zu einem Laufburschen, der ständig von einem Ort zum anderen rennen (Betonung liegt auf rennen, nicht fliegen, denn Saphira und er waren oft getrennt) und Nachrichten überbringen musste, aber als Drachenreiter, als derjenige, der bekanntlich über das Schicksal der Welt bestimmt, durfte er zu nichts und niemandem seine eigene Meinung kundtun. Roran, der ehemals einfache Bauernjunge, wurde mittlerweile zum unschlagbaren Supersoldaten, der in einer Schlacht 183 Soldaten mit einem Hammer erschlagen konnte. Auch Eragon streckte gerne hier und dort den ein oder anderen (unschuldigen) Menschen nieder, aber Fleisch kann er ja nicht mehr essen, weil ja auch Tiere Gedanken haben - ja ne, ist klar!
Ich habe das Buch nicht mehr zu Ende gelesen und habe das auch nicht vor.
Fazit
Ich ärgere mich die ganze Zeit, fast 75€ in diese Bücher und diesen Autor investiert zu haben. Ich könnte noch Stundenlang so weiter machen, aber dann wäre ich morgen noch nicht fertig. Meine Freunde wissen mittlerweile auch, dass sie mich auf diese Bücher nicht ansprechen, da sie wissen, dass ich dann einen Anfall kriege und erstmal eine halbe Stunde über diese Bücher schimpfe. Ich weiß auch, dass dieser Text sehr polemisch ist und ich weiß auch, dass es genug Leute gibt, die diese Bücher unbeschreiblich gut finden und ich akzeptiere das auch, aber dies hier ist nun mal meine Meinung und wollte sie jetzt auch mal niederschreiben.
Sollte Christopher Paolini jemals wieder ein Buch schreiben, weiß ich jedenfalls wer es nicht kaufen wird: Ich!
Daher sage ich abschließend 1 von 5 Sternen ! -
I give it a four because any fantasy epoch is bound to be judged next to Tolkien, and in my book the Inheritance Cycle hits a lot of great notes, but trips up on it's own feet every once in awhile as well.
I've heard the Listening library version three times now, Book 4 included (not available here), and the story outright rocks throughout the first two entries. Eragon's circumstances, and challenges are harrowing, but realistic. Along with him, Paollini sets up a great supporting cast, including old, wizened figures, monarchs, elf lords/ ladies, dwarves, and other creatures even stranger and more outlandish than your typical fare.
The story has it's downsides. The series can take on a very self-indulgent appearance towards the end of the third book, as well as the following 4th tale, INHERITANCE. There are scenes here which could have been summed up with a few lines or paragraphs, but are inevitably teased out to maximum length. I try to overlook the luff for as long as possible, but I still find myself eye-rolling and the last "Greatest Thing Ever" Eragon witnessed with his own two eyes, knowing that he'll see something just as magnificent a few chapters later, ad infinitum. The ending is good, but far less tight when compared to the pacing of the first two entries.
