Who is eragon

Ancient sword? The weird apostrophe-ridden names save the protagonists, of course? A quest? Hot chick Damsel in distress? And it goes on and on and on Wait, you say, maybe Paolini was deliberately paying homage to the traditions of the fantasy genre.

I suppose that could explain some of it. I think that the writing is immature and betrays the author's young age and lack of experience. Throughout the novel, Paolini clumsily brings our attention to anything that he considers important to the story with constant reminders and brick-sized hints.

Foreshadowing should be subtle, but I don't think he quite grasps that concept. The descriptions are trying too hard to be Tolkien-like, but fail at this miserably. His attempts at creating accents and dialects are pathetic. There were quite a few instances when I had to shake my head muttering, "I don't think this word means what you think it does". The prose is stilted and quite irritating while trying to be overly pretentious. The characters are flat and devoid of any believable personality, with shallow and simplistic motivations that only exist to move the plot forward.

The interactions between them are far-fetched and forced. The protagonist Paolini's version of Luke Skywalker , absolutely marvelous at so many cool things with minimal training every child's dream is there for the reader to self-insert into the story. The deux-ex-machina bits replace so many actual solutions in this story that no amount of eyerolling would suffice. And the plot holes - the story is so full of those there's barely any plot left at all.

As for the worldbuilding - well, he stuffs it with every imaginable fantasy trope, as I mentioned before. And yet at the end nothing is memorable. I should have reorganized my sock drawer instead. Why did I read it if I hated it, you ask? Simple answer - I was bored and this was the only book within reach. I would NOT recommend it to those who are familiar with the fantasy genre. Actually, scratch that - I would not recommend it to anyone. Two or three years ago, everywhere I went there was some display attempting to sell me Eragon , by Christopher Paolini.

It was obviously a bad book without opening the cover: the back cover carries a quote from the book, and an endorsement by Anne McCaffrey, and I'm pretty sure I could get that woman to supply a blurb for a double mint wrapper to the effect of "I couldn't put it down!

An author Which would actually be an interesting book, sadly, not this one. I know this, because that quote is the first sentence of the book, and what the author means is "Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent giving warning of the coming of persons who would set in motion events that would change the world. Better the eighty percent of the pit of voles, but still, undeserving of being published. I do not blame Paolini for writing a bad book.

People write, and sometimes, they write badly. But I do blame the editor, and his publishing house. This book is crap, and it should have been obvious to anyone who read it. The main character's most interesting bit of characterization and only vestige of personality is that he collects rocks, and this is only mentioned in one paragraph. He's a transparent sue. Everyone acts as if they have just acquired their motivations and history on a 3x5 card before walking on for their scene. The plot is a clumsy clunker that is foreshadowed on page He has never known his father, and his mother refused to answer questions about him!

Do you think this will turn up again later? His name is Eragon. Like dragon, but with an E. An old man pops in to tell what in a better novel would be suspiciously appropriate myths and folktales every time Eragon needs to know what is going on. Descriptive sections are often incomprehensible, as for example, "His hand was numb, his fingers paralysed. Alarmed, he watched as the middle of his palm shimmered and formed a diffuse white oval. Our hero makes decisions that make no sense, simply because they are necessary to move the plot forward.

Obstacles like hiding a dragon from those living in your house are hand waved away in two paragraphs. Things that oughtn't be obstacles, like buying groceries, are, just to build sympathy with the protagonist by inserting baseless discrimination.

Why publish this!? Were they incapable of finding something more deserving? Was this book even edited? Is he someone's nephew? Publishing this book is an insult to readers and a disservice to writers everywhere, including Mr. It's like telling someone they look great when they have spinach in their teeth. Sep 04, Faith rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: Anyone Shelves: alreadyread. I had never heard of Christopher Paolini before, and was walking through Barnes and Noble when I saw this book on the end display.

What caught my eye was the dragon on the front cover I love dragons, and my "artistic eye" was captivated by the artwork.

Anyone who is a Lord of the Rings would truly have an appreciation for this book. I was hooked from the moment I picked up this book and began reading. The story begins with a young farm boy, named Eragon, from a small village. While hunting in the wilderness in search of food for their family, Eragon comes across a rare stone which is later revealed to be a dragon egg. He takes it home with him and to his suprise the egg hatches and out comes Saphira.

The two are instantly connected as a Dragon and Rider making them inseparable. Once Saphira is big enough to fly they set out to seek revenge for the death of Eragon's uncle who was murdered. This is just the begining of their journey throughout the land battling mysterious, evil forces.

A very good book to cuddle up with on a cool fall day or during the winter when you need a good adventure to bring you out of being stuck in your house. View all 69 comments. Feb 21, Katerina rated it it was amazing Shelves: fae , fantasy , favorites. Before we get started -Please, please do not judge a book by its movie. I've re-read it 5 times since I didn't own many books back then so after I took advantage of my neighbor's and my cousin's library,I kept re-reading my poor collection and every time I loved it just the same,because it was the book that introduced me to the world of fantasy.

The story When I got this beauty in my hands,I thought that Eragon was the dragon laugh Before we get started -Please, please do not judge a book by its movie. The story When I got this beauty in my hands,I thought that Eragon was the dragon laugh all you want,I deserve it. But it turns out Eragon is the teenage boy who finds the dragon named Saphira and together they are the only ones who can fight the powerful and corrupted tyrant Galbatorix.

With an old storyteller as his mentor,Eragon travels in Alagaesia,finds dwarves and elves and rebels and embraces his heritage and his responsibility as the last Dragonrider,the protector of the weak and the only hope of an oppressed people.

The real courage is in living and suffering for what you believe. Thoughts I know there is a great amount of readers who found this book boring and slow paced and nothing special. Maybe if I read it for the first time as an adult I would agree,maybe I wouldn't. But as things turned out,this is the first book that took me away in uncharted lands,it was my Brom to the fantasy world. I know by heart the ancient language,I still use the dwarven curses and it is very satisfactory ,I still look at it with great affection and love.

Eragon could be immature but it is expected from a teenager,and there were so many interesting and vivid characters,like Brom and Murtagh and Arya and Roran and Orik. The world building is fascinating,and there are epic battles and ancient swords and deaths and magic and prophecies. It is a wonderful journey to embrace one's destiny and purpose. They make me laugh and cry and find meaning in life. I can't guarantee that you will like this book,but you should give it a chance to bewitch you and make you a Dragonrider!

View all 54 comments. Shelves: self-published-and-indie. Age of the readers and how well acquainted they are with the high fantasy genre seriously need to be considered here. The majority of love and dislike usually depends on when did you read the book for the first time? Anyone who has read or watched Lord of the Rings or Star Wars pretty much has read this book, Eragon almost a straight copy of these franchises with different names and terminologies.

However, as someone who has experienced the high number of tropes in this book out of all medium, it was hard for me to enjoy the book. This is something I will always praise Paolini for. View all 72 comments. May 07, Michelle Webber rated it did not like it Recommends it for: 8 year olds.

Shelves: worst-books. When I was fourteen, I admired Christopher Paolini out of jealously: publishing a book at the age fifteen, and having it hit the New York Times Bestseller list?

Basically unheard of. But in retrospect, over a decade later, I have nothing but empathy for the guy. He was a child when he got published, and his clumsy writing reflects that exactly: the work of a somewhat precocious fifteen year old with a thesaurus glued to his palm and a love for fantasy. He got swept up in popularity and an outpouring of love for his first book largely based on the fact that he wrote it at such a young age.

But as a result, he never quite had the opportunity to grow organically as a writer beyond that fifteen-year-old boy who struck authorial gold thanks to parents with serious ties to the publishing world, and a ton of luck.

This is clear by the way he flounders to find a voice for the rest of his series; his writing becomes less focused, duller, and possibly even more overwrought and overworked.

His characters do seem to grow and change over the course of four novels, but that is truly a low bar to set in terms of expectation. Paolini hasn't been able to break away from the world of Alagaesia; like JK Rowling, who too has fallen from many a fan's graces and continues to Tweet her way into obscurity, Paolini doesn't seem to have any stories left to tell.

Maybe the world he "created" is a comfort to him, and something he wants to mine for his own personal enjoyment--or maybe because it was a massive cash cow he milked for years and years, and that's all he knows.

Regardless, it's sad to see such stagnancy from someone who might have held some talent as a young person, but whose growth was curtailed due to in my opinion premature fame. Right so. I'll just say it: I hate Paolini's work. To my very core. Even though he blatantly took ideas from pioneers in their respective fields, that isn't what bothers me the most.

When I was fourteen, I admired him out of mere jealously. I was absolutely green with envy that he could publish a book at age fifteen and receive any kind of acclaim. But in retrospect and nearly vomiting as I attempted to get through a chapter of Eldest , which I failed at miserably , I realized that I had no reason to envy Paolini at all.

He doesn't know how to write. String together a vague semblance of a story? But at the end of the day, the description is purple, the dialogue is stilted, and the character development is next to non-existent.

For starters, has anyone noticed that he is obsessed with stating distances? Something like, "Two feet away stood three troops of fifty, in rows of five, making ten people per row" is a sentence uncannily close to one I read in the actual book itself. This kind of information is superfluous and distracting, taking away from important aspects of a novel such as character development--which, by the way, he integrates next to none of.

Who is Eragon? I seem to have forgotten everything about him, other than the fact that he is creepily obsessed with a woman who has no interest in him, he acquires fighting skills incredibly fast read: Mary Sue red-flag , and only reprehensible villains disagree with him.

Basically, he's perfect, and he only gets even more amazing at everything he does. Where is the fun in a character like that? I do, however, remember Murtagh Probably because he's the only one who changes at all as a character throughout the book, other than the occasional insight into Eragon's personal airplane--I mean, pet dragon--I mean, companion, Saphira. Even her characterization is sacrificed because she's used as a plot device by Paolini rather than fleshed out as an actual character.

None of the characters are memorable and the main character is my least favorite character of them all! How are we supposed to root for the main character when he is nothing but an arrogant snot, constantly reaffirming a holier-than-thou attitude to everyone around him? The plot is a cliche hero's journey that has been done before, and better , might I add. Where's the appeal in that? Answer: there is none. What left is there to hold in high regard?

His world building skills? I don't know why he decided that his world of Alagaesia had to have EVERY single climate condition imaginable, but doing so made his world seem juvenile, fake, and forced. Not to mention boring judging by the awful over-description of said world. With regards to the language he "created"? He mostly ripped from old Norse words. He's admitted to it himself. Look, anyone can string a bunch of letters together and call it a language.

But Paolini hasn't a single clue when it comes to linguistics. And hey, I'll admit that I don't either. But I also don't try to create my own languages--that I more or less steal--and claim that I created all by myself. All in all, sure, it's fantastic that he published a book at such a young age, but are we as a society lowering the bar that much as to celebrate mediocrity? The man is now twenty-eight years old and his successive books Eldest , Brisingr and finally, Inheritance are decidedly much worse than his first book on every front.

That he wrote when he was fifteen. This is a huge problem in my eyes. Someone so unwilling to grow or change like any other writer should have their title of "writer" stripped from them. It's insulting. Jan 23, Ben Alderson rated it it was amazing. Why have you not read this sooner. This beast has been sat on your TBR pile for years.

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Learn more. However, he learned from Oromis that he had cursed Elva instead of blessing her due to a mistake in his wording having accidentally said "may you be a shield from misfortune", thus dooming her to constantly suffer from the hurts of others. He resolved to remove the curse, although such a feat could prove tricky. Eragon's training also focused on his fighting skills.

He developed an intense rivalry with an elf named Vanir and their mutual dislike came to a head during one of their sparring sessions. Eragon was defeated multiple times, often suffering bouts of pain from the scar on his back left by Durza. During his lessons with magic and expanding his consciousness, he evolved his perception of life and became a vegetarian like the elves.

Eragon composed a poem to present at the Blood-Oath Celebration , a traditional Elvish ceremony taking place every hundred years to commemorate the pact between the Elves and the Dragons. During the festivities, as a gift from the dragon race, Eragon was completely healed of every wound. Also, he was physically transformed, acquiring the features and abilities of an elf. Only after this transformation was he able to beat Vanir in a duel and earn his respect.

Because of his new prowess, Eragon was able to cast much more powerful magic. He still needed to obtain better balance and grace. Upon scrying Nasuada, he found that Galbatorix was mustering his army to attack the Varden in Surda. The Broddring Empire was over , strong, greatly outnumbering the Varden.

Angela, who was still with the Varden, weakened some of their numbers by poisoning the soldiers' food. From the start of the battle, the Broddring Empire pushed the Varden back. Thankfully, the dwarves appeared not far into the battle, turning the tide for the Varden. Nasuada had also formed an uneasy treaty with some Kull, who also aided in the battle against the Broddring Empire. Unexpectedly, another Rider appeared with a red dragon , and killed Hrothgar with a bolt of energy.

Wearied by the battle, Eragon was outmatched and driven onto the ground with Saphira. He and his opponent then faced off with swords. Near the end of their duel, Eragon recognized the other Rider's manner of fighting.

Eragon managed to pull off his opponent's helm, revealing Murtagh, who he thought was dead. He also revealed that Galbatorix knew his and Thorn's true names , so he was able to totally enslave him. His orders from Galbatorix were to try to capture Eragon and Saphira because she was the last female dragon in existence. Galbatorix needed her to fulfill his vision of rebuilding the order of the Riders under his rule.

Murtagh decided to have mercy on them because of his and Eragon's past, but he claimed Zar'roc as his own, as well as stated in the Ancient Language: Eragon was Morzan's son and Murtagh's younger brother. Haunted by this turn of events, Eragon shared this secret with Roran who had moved all the people of Carvahall down to Surda to join the Varden , Nasuada and Arya. He then agreed to aid Roran in rescuing his fiance Katrina from the lair of the Ra'zac.

Eragon and Roran fought and killed one of the Ra'zac while Saphira battled the Lethrblaka , the Ra'zac's parents and steeds. While Roran rescued Katrina, Eragon discovered Sloan in a nearby cell and stayed behind to rescue him and also to kill the last Ra'zac. But before he did, the Ra'zac tried to make a deal with Eragon: to have his race remembered for all the terror they inspired in exchange for telling him a secret about Galbatorix: he was close to discovering the "true name" but the Ra'zac refused to reveal more.

Eragon accidentally discovered Sloan's true name by pondering his life and motivations for his choices. Invoking Sloan's true name, he forced the butcher to swear in the ancient language never to see Katrina again. During his journey back to the Varden, Eragon was desperately hungry and decided to eat meat and discovered how much he loved it still. Also, he encountered Angela's former master, Tenga. He later met up with Arya, who had come in search of Eragon after he sent Saphira, Roran and Katrina back to the Varden without him and developed a stronger relationship with her.

When Eragon returned to the Varden, he happily agreed to marry Roran and Katrina. Before the ceremony began, Thorn and Murtagh came with a battalion of soldiers who were immune to pain, due to magic, and could only die if beheaded or stabbed in the heart.

The rematch began with Eragon and Murtagh fighting in the sky. With this assistance, Eragon was able to fight Murtagh and Thorn to a stalemate. No longer having the energy to fight on, the red pair retreated and promised to come back stronger. With Murtagh and the soldiers gone, Eragon was able to marry Katrina and Roran. His wedding gift to them was a pair of golden rings that enabled them to sense the others' presence and safety, as well as Eragon's horse given to him by Brom, Snowfire.

Nasuada sent Eragon to Tronjheim to oversee - and possibly influence in favor of the Varden and speed up - the coronation of the new dwarf king, while Saphira would stay to keep the Varden thinking he was still among them. He was accompanied by Nar Garzhvog , the war chief of the Kull. Garzhvog traveled with Eragon only so far, but did not accompany him to any Dwarven cities, though Eragon took the opportunity to learn some of the Urgal cultures. Eragon was welcomed by Orik and met his wife, Hvedra.

Shortly before the clan meeting, Orik promised that if he could not secure the crown himself, he would back another dwarf who was in favor of aiding the Varden. Vermund, however, would remain banished until his death.

These events worked in favor of Orik, who secured enough votes to be crowned king and readied his warriors to march to assist the Varden. Saphira was immediately sent to reunite with him, and they oversaw Orik's coronation, as well as use their combined magic to restore the Isidar Mithrim as their gift.

Eragon learned from Oromis that Brom was his true father, thereby making Murtagh was his half-brother. While he reacted furiously to the news at first, angry that Oromis, Glaedr, as well as Saphira had kept the information from him all this time, thus weighing him down with the belief that he was the son of Morzan, Eragon eventually forgave them. Saphira even showed him a memory of Brom speaking to him as his father.

Although enticed by the idea of creating the weapon that would kill Galbatorix, she told him it was impossible because of her oath and also because she did not have the proper material, brightsteel , required to make a Rider's sword.

Remembering Solembum's prophecy , Eragon and Saphira went to the Menoa tree to search for the star-metal. Eragon attempted to contact the tree and ask if there was any under its roots. The tree seemed asleep, so Eragon gave it some of his energy as a gift, as to wake it up. When it was clear that all his attempts were futile, Saphira grew impatient and attacked the tree in order to wake her up and answer their questions.

The tree rose, catching Eragon and Saphira in its hold, retaliating against them. Eragon was finally able to strike a mysterious deal with the Menoa Tree and she uncovered the brightsteel from under her roots. The finished hand-and-a-half sword was an iridescent blue, just as the scales on the hollow of Saphira's throat. Eragon named it " Brisingr ". The weapon's blade burst into flames every time he said its name in the Ancient Language. The Varden stormed through the streets of the city but took prisoners wherever possible.

Once they reached the tower, they discovered three spellcasters who were creating a Shade. They hacked through the magician's wards one by one, but were too late. The man they were summoning the spirits into became an extremely powerful Shade named Varaug. However, aided by a mental onslaught from Eragon, Arya thrust her sword into his heart, killing him. Meanwhile, through Glaedr's heart of hearts, Eragon was able to see the fates of Oromis and Glaedr.

Galbatorix possessed Murtagh and murdered Oromis, allowing Thorn to kill Glaedr. Eragon and Saphira next led the Varden troops to Belatona. However, part of the castle fell on top of Roran and Eragon ran in to rescue him. After finding his cousin still alive, they, along with Arya, captured Lord Bradburn. Shortly after the battle, Elain 's difficult pregnancy came to an end and she went into labor.

With Arya aiding the women of Carvahall, Elain gave birth to a baby girl, but everyone was distraught when the baby was born with a cleft lip.

With the women not trusting her ways, Arya gave Eragon the responsibility of healing the child. Using the elves' method of singing spells, he used a cradle song from his own childhood and healed the infant until her face was normal. After giving the infant a blessing, Eragon presented her to an extremely grateful Horst.

As the Varden extended their quest to Dras-Leona, Eragon strove to master his swordsmanship. After a bout with the elf Wyrden , Eragon began practicing with Arya. She, however, proved to be too much for him, as she understood Eragon's emotions and movements and used them to her advantage. Eventually, Glaedr broke out of his misery and resumed tutoring Eragon, both with the blade and his mind.

He passed on a way for Eragon to out predict his opponent: by learning to see what he was looking at. Things only escalated at Dras-Leona with Murtagh and Thorn appearing as the protectors of the city. However, Jeod discovered a secret tunnel leading into the city. Eragon was elected to lead the expedition to use this tunnel to reach the gates so the Varden could enter. With Arya, Wyrden, Angela, and Solembum as part of his group, Eragon followed the tunnel, which led to caverns and tunnels underneath the chapel.

There, Eragon witnessed the death of Wyrden via a trap laid out, and soon he and Arya were captured and separated from Angela and Solembum. Eragon and Arya were gagged and chained within the chapel, where the priests informed them that they would become food for two Ra'zac that were about to hatch from eggs.

Before the hatched Ra'zac could attack, Angela and Solembum appeared and rescued them both and killed the Ra'zac hatchlings. In the process of recovering their weapons and killing the priests, Eragon was dismayed to find that they had lost the Belt of Beloth the Wise. At the main gate of the city, Eragon and Arya found it barricaded with rubble and guarded by a hundred soldiers. Knowing he could not fight them all, Eragon used the energy stored in Aren to open up the way for the Varden to enter and capture the city, forcing Murtagh and Thorn to retreat once again.

After the Varden's victory and burying Wyrden, Eragon chastised Elva for her refusal in helping the Varden and made her promise not to let her anger keep her from aiding the Varden again. Murtagh captured Nasuada and despite his and Arya's best efforts, Eragon failed to stop them from escaping.

As per Nasuada's request, her being gone left Eragon the new leader of the Varden. He then remembered the final part of Solembum's prophecy and after prodding the werecat, a magically repressed memory told him to have Eragon look in the copy of Domia abr Wyrda Jeod gave him and discovered that the Rock of Kuthian was located on Vroengard, the ancestral home of the Riders. Eragon and Saphira also discovered that, while the both of them could remember the names of the Rock and the Vault of Souls, a deep magic erased the memories of anyone else who knew of the names.

After proving this to Glaedr and Arya, they both felt this was too important to ignore if it might increase Eragon's chances of defeating Galbatorix. Though it took some convincing with some of their allies, especially King Orrin, Eragon persuaded them all that this secret mission had to be undertaken.

With the elven spellcasters creating fake images of them for appearance's sake, Eragon and Saphira set out for Vroengard with Glaedr to guide them. Near Teirm, rather than taking a longer and safer route, Saphira chose to take them all through a storm to get to the island. After finally breaking through, Eragon discovered from high up in the sky that the earth was round. The trio finally made it to Vroengard and discovered much history from the ruined buildings of the city to the bones of many dragons.

Eragon eventually found the Rock of Kuthian and although Glaedr, Saphira and himself all tried their names in various ways, no doorway appeared.

Glaedr concluded that they would have to use their true names to open the door. Though he would help them solve their names in their limited time, Glaedr had Eragon and Saphira reflect on themselves to discover their names. Saphira was first to find hers, so Eragon went on a retreat to a ruined building to think clearly. In doing so, the story gives a different perspective on both Urgals and dragons. The idea of doing a dragon in the old sense, as the force of nature and all-consuming vengeful creature that comes down out of the north, is very archetypal and strangely enough something I had never written before.

I really wanted to! Of course, we always see ourselves differently from other people see us. In so many fantasy novels we have the big scary monsters who show up and kill people and disappear into the wilderness, but the question is: How do they see themselves?

Do they have the capacity to change? Since the book has come out, one of the most gratifying and interesting things for me has been seeing the reactions of people who grew up with them.