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Surpassing its popular prequel Eragon, this second volume in the Inheritance trilogy shows growing maturity and skill on the part of its very young author, who was only seventeen when the first volume was published in 2003. The story is solidly in the tradition (some might say derivative) of the classic heroic quest fantasy, with the predictable cast of dwarves, elves, and dragons--but also including some imaginatively creepy creatures of evil.
The land of Alagaesia is suffering under the Empire of the wicked Galbatorix, and Eragon and his dragon Saphira, last of the Riders, are the only hope. But Eragon is young and has much to learn, and so he is sent off to the elven forest city of Ellesmera, where he and Saphira are tutored in magic, battle skills, and the ancient language by the wise former Rider Oromis and his elderly dragon Glaedr. Meanwhile, back at Carvahall, Eragon's home, his cousin Roran is the target of a siege by the hideous Ra'zac, and he must lead the villagers on a desperate escape over the mountains. The two narratives move toward a massive battle with the forces of Galbatorix, where Eragon learns a shocking secret about his parentage and commits himself to saving his people.
The sheer size of the novel, as well as its many characters, places with difficult names, and its use of imaginary languages make this a challenging read, even for experienced fantasy readers. It is essential to have the plot threads of the first volume well in mind before beginning--the publisher has provided not only a map, but a helpful synopsis of the first book and a much-needed Language Guide. But no obstacles will deter the many fans of Eragon from diving headfirst into this highly-awaited fantasy. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell
Meet Author Christopher Paolini Christopher Paolini’s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at age 15.
"Writing is the heart and soul of my being. It is the means through which I bring my stories to life. There is nothing like putting words on a page and knowing that they will summon certain emotions and reactions from the reader. In my writing, I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between Tolkien at his best and Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf." --Christopher Paolini
Want to learn more about the series? Check out our review of Eragon: 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. Read more
I read "Eragon" in one sitting. I devourered it! I was looking forward to the 2nd book of the triolgy with excitement. However, when it was finally released it took me WEEKS to read "Eldest". I had to force myself through the long and tedious middle section.
Christopher got so bogged down in meaningless details about Eragon's "studies", that it became a chore to read the book during that period. And while it seemed the author just could not tell us enough about Eragons studies, Saphira would suddenly show up (after 30-40 pages) and know new things and we never got any real insight as to how her training was happening - with one GLARING exception!
With the clumsiness that can be felt best by a boy Christophers age, he put us through Eragons mis-steps in dealing with his attraction to the opposite sex when he made "his move" on Arya, which was not welcomed. Then, as if that was not enough agony - he put poor Saphira through the same awkward (and rebuffed) "moves" and in the process she almost killed her mentor!
(I am an adult and know this is mostly a children's book so I must review it in those terms - thus my own clumsiness with writing my review! ... "moves" indeed! *chuckle*)
That was pretty much the sum of what we learned about Saphira (yes I am exaggerating a tad, to get my point across) while we had to plod through page after boring page of Eragon's studies.
Roran's trials and adventure were better written and moved along at a brisker pace. Thank goodness for Roran - or the entire middle section of the book could be completely torn out and not missed!
Christopher finally got the story moving again (he had to at some point!) at the end so he could leave us with another cliffhanger - as these triolgies are meant to do.
I hope the author is able to regain his mental footing and make the third book as exciting and compelling as the first one was. Otherwise, I feel this trilogy will not be a "must read" for children yet unborn, as I had hoped it would be after reading the first book.
Even though this was a triumph for a person of Christophers age, where were the ADULTS that were meant to EDIT this book and make it more readable? I hope they show up for the third book!
378 of 589 people found the following review helpful:
Alas, Alagaesia! I did love thee, once . . ., May 7, 2006
Well, that's a bit melodramatic, but you get my drift.
"Eldest" is the second book of the "Inheritance" series, and is a sequel to "Eragon". In "Eragon," we meet the title character, a fifteen-year-old boy, being raised by his uncle in a rural area (but his name isn't "Luke"). Eragon happens to find a dragon's egg, and a beautiful, blue dragon hatches, and chooses him as her Rider (but this is not Pern). The egg had been magically hidden by a beautiful Elven princess, Arya (not Arwen), just before the servants of the evil king Galbatorix (not Sauron) catch her and imprison her. Eragon does his best to care for the young dragon, but the king's men come and burn down his home, and kill his uncle (whose name isn't "Owen"). Eragon leaves his home village, to draw the king's men away, with an old story-teller, Brom (not "Obi-Wan") who is really a dragon Rider in retirement (and never was a Jedi Knight). Eragon makes many friends, and ends up living in a stronghold of those who oppose the Empire, er, I mean the King.
Now, on to "Eldest," which starts off right after the huge battle that ended at the end of "Eragon," and during which Eragon defeated the evil Shade, but was also wounded most grievously. Eragon is recovering, and the Varden (think "rebel fleet" without spaceships) are trying to regroup, but one last attack by the Urgals (think Uruk'Hai, but bigger) leaves the king of the Varden dead. His daughter, who is named "Nasuada" instead of "Leia", takes command, Eragon tries to form alliances with all the factions, and then sets off to finish his training as a Dragonrider, with the elves. He is accompanied by Arwen and Gimli -- no! wait a minute! -- by Arya and Orik the dwarf. They travel through the dwarf kingdom, Eragon finds allies and enemies, they cross the desert, they enter Du Weldevarden (the great forest where the elves, led by Queen Islanzadi, instead of Galadriel, live), to meet his trainer/teacher.
Yada yada yada, blah, blah, blah. There was more, but nothing interesting, or anything even equally uninteresting, but only more uninteresting. Really.
Christopher Paolini's first book, "Eragon," was highly derivative and unoriginal, but I still liked it. I especially liked the one original character, the werecat Solembum.
In "Eldest," there is no originality, and there is very little action. As soon as I saw the book, I knew I was in trouble (or it was), as it is twice as big as its predecessor. "Eldest" is bloated, inflated, and laden with endless descriptions of characters, characters' dress, facial gestures, buildings, languages, customs, rituals, history, traditions, and other minutiae. Nothing happens.
Also, someone must have suggested to Mr. Paolini that he should beef up his vocabulary. His response appears to have been to ingest a thesaurus whole and, like some nauseated seagull, regurgitate indigestible words in a rather random fashion.
I'm not done! The characters have almost all been flattened by steamrollers, leaving totally one-dimensional cardboard cut-outs of archetypes and stock fantasy-epic-story generics. Only Roran, Eragon's love-struck but heroic cousin, comes off as a real person. No one else is likable, realistic, or interesting.
Well, now I might be done. I sold my copies of "Eragon" and "Eldest," with the money going to charity. In this way, those books will accomplish some good for someone. I hope that Eragon, Saphira the dragon, and their friends can go on without me. If they can't, too bad.
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Eldest, February 27, 2007 A Kid's Review Eldest is the second book in the Eragon series. Brom is already dead and so Eragon must go on his his own. Eragon goes to elven land and trains. Eragon becomes an Elf there. Eragon, Elva, Saphira, and Orik must overcome obstacles to beat the King's army, with the help of the Varden. Will Eragon win? Find out in this book. I think that this would be a great book to read , if you like magic, fantasy, and adventure. It has a marvelouus storyline and great detail that makes Alagaesia seem so real. It also is a great book to read during rainy days. I liked this book a lot and I think you will like it even more.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Long awaited Book II in the Eragon trilogy, February 25, 2007
The first book by Mr. Paolini, was an incredible read, and this sequel does not disappoint. It is filled with action and intrigue that will leave you on the edge of your chair. And of course there is the surprise ending cliff hanger..... which will not be revealed!
After reading the first book, I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I loved it, every page. But when you step back from the book, and look at the story line, you see bits and pieces that seem to have come from other commonplace books/stories/movies. I won't go into detail because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it.
I still love it enough to own it, and I highly recommend it if your looking for a book that will go down with J.K.Rowling and Jonathan Stroud, and fit right in with Tolkien.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
eldest rocks, February 24, 2007 A Kid's Review eldest is a great book i'm a 12year old and I got these books[eragon,eldest] as presents these are amazing. If you liked lord of the rings or harry potter this a must read
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Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2)
Eldest begins with the death of Ajihad, and the kidnapping and apparent deaths of Murtagh and the Twins. Subsequently, the Varden elect a new leader, Nasuada, and Eragon, in deference to Ajihad’s last wishes, swears fealty to her. Meanwhile, inCarvahall, ...
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Christopher Paolini’s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, 
Our quickie pronunciation guide will help you get to know some of the names and places in the Inheritance series.
based on 1248 reviews.
Where was the EDITOR for this book?, April 29, 2006
Alas, Alagaesia! I did love thee, once . . ., May 7, 2006
Eldest, February 27, 2007
