Eragon and Eldest were some of the greatest books I have ever read. They have action, adventure, and lots of other cool stuff. Eragon begins with a young man out hunting in the mountains. He then stumbles upon a giant blue rock and takes it home. It turns out that out of that rock (which is an egg) hatches a dragon.

In Eldest Eragon (the young boy) begins his real training to become a draon rider. ( )

Though the writing style of the first book (Eragon) could be better the storyline is excellent. The characters are realistic, and they easily win over the emotions of the reader. Even better, this series is one of the few young adult novels with a male main character. The book has some great descriptions, but this can make certain scenes a little slow. Still, I enjoyed the book, and I would recommend it to teens. ( )

I'd heard so much about this series, the next great fantasy epic and so on and so forth, that when the omnibus of the first two books was on sale, I figured I'd check it out. And I'd take all of the hype with a grain of salt.

Even so, I was extremely disappointed. Paolini rambles on and on to the point that I think he fancies himself the next JRR Tolkien. Except Tolkien was original, and his passion for detail completely sucked me in to his books, rather than boring me.

Aside from the obvious derivation from Middle Earth, the story is pretty derivative of other fantasy and SF - even Star Wars and the Karate Kid. Shortly after Murtaugh was introduced in the first book I predicted to myself what revelations there would eventually be about himself and Eragon. And I was right, even though I had to wait until almost the end of the second book to confirm it.

I finished because I hate not finishing a book, but I wouldn't recommend it. ( )

http://www.amazon.com/review/R263MQ6R... ( )

Before I even start reviewing the book, I'd like to give a brief background of the writer, Christopher Paolini. Raised in Montana, Christopher was home schooled and wrote the book when he was just seventeen years old. His parents are the owners of a small publishing house and they were the ones who helped promote his books. Despite the popularity of his novels, Christopher has received a lot of criticisms from his work.

Eragon is the first of three books, which Paolini named as the Inheritance Trilogy. The book chronicles the tale of a young boy (named Eragon), as he stumbles upon a dragon egg. The egg hatches and the boy quickly bonds with the dragon. The two undergo a journey wherein they discover their role as the last Dragon Rider, playing a decisive part in the coming war against evil.

While reading through Eragon, I cannot help but be reminded of other fantasy and science fiction stories. Paolini's story contains familiar elements from the works of Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula Le Guin, and even George Lucas. It's pretty clear that these writers influenced the way Paolini shaped his world. Some readers find his story as clichéd and formulaic. But personally, I found the story to be entertaining and interesting. Both Eragon and Saphira start off as young, innocent children. They spent the first part of the novel hiding and running from their captors. The two of them were forced to quickly grow up and assume the role of a Dragon Rider.

Paolini did borrow ideas from other writers, but he managed to create his own unique story. Despite the novel being classified as a book for young adults, this is not your typical fantasy novel. Eragon contains the names of more than sixty people, horses and dragons, as well as places and magical incantations. Like Tolkien, Paolini took the effort to create a language for each of the major races (elves, dwarves, and Urgalls), as well as an ancient tongue used for casting spells.

After reading both Eragon and its succeeding book (Eldest), I am looking forward to the last installment of the Inheritance Trilogy. Paolini managed to create a familiar yet compelling story about a boy and a dragon. Despite all the criticisms against Paolini, I am reserving my judgement. There is still a third book to be released and a lot of things could still happen. ( )