Aug09:

GAH! The first book wasn't too terribly bad. Full of cliche and clean cut good vs bag. This one was all over the damn place. Paolini still invents a very fun world, but so much of it is filled with crap.

Pros:
The world they live in. The races are fleshed out, even if the elves and dwarves are boring Tolkein derivatives. At least they have beliefs.
The action scenes are entertaining to read.

Cons:
The magic system is completely hosed. "It costs you energy" Okay, we've got logic. "You can't fight another magician because you'll both die". Whatever. Did you see this happen EVER in the series?
The romance just isn't. I suppose it's as good as a teenager can write.
"Luke I am Your Father" isn't an agreeable plot device these days.

Characters: Mostly crap. I did like the leader of the Varden. That's pretty much it. Roran was waaaay too predictable. Oh wait, Bridgit was cool if they'd given her more space. Hell, why didn't he develop a sad love triangle between Roran and Bridgit while they were looking for the other chick I'll never know. That would have been thought provoking at least.

Plot: Yea, he phoned this one in for the most part. It's all just as you'd expect it to be.

Style: He's losing me here some too. It's still "high fantasy", but I'm starting to feel some disconnect with the characters. They're just too flat. ( )

This is the second book of the series and overall I liked it. In particular I liked Eragon’s brother’s story that played out the most. Eragon’s was a bit slow and detailed. Not that its not important just that I really liked the brother’s journey a ton better. ( )

Snore. I was bored from beginning to end with the second installation of the Inheritance series. Eragon spends most of this novel continuing his training with the elves and pining away after Arya who is not at all interested in him. The prose is repetitive and dull and Eragon becomes more annoying as the story moves forward. He doesn’t seem to learn anything or just when you think he’s wised up a bit he goes and makes the same mistake over and over again. Even the big "revelations" that take place throughout the book aren't surprises at all as they were foreshadowed repeatedly throughout the first book. So even they couldn’t provide any kind of highlight.

I hate to be so negative when it comes to a book. Usually I can find something I like but I’m afraid this is an exception. I rather enjoyed “Eragon” (the first in the series) and was able to overlook some of the story's weaknesses because of Paolini's age and inexperience. But I really expected there to be some growth in book two and it just wasn't there.

I was surprised and disappointed to learn that the once three-part series was being extended to four. I would have checked out the third book to see if there were any improvements if I knew it was the last in the series. But knowing it's going to be dragged out even further makes me uninterested in continuing. ( )

Eldest opens with Eragon looking upon the battlefield of Tronjheim. It has been three days since the battle has been won, three days since Eragon killed the Shade Durza. But the mood is bleak; there is no rejoicing over the victory. The stronghold of the dwarves and the Varden Farthen Dur is littered with bodies. The battle is over for now, but every one knows that King Galbatorix has not been completely defeated.

And Eragon himself is scarred. Though he managed to kill Durza and is now known as Shadeslayer, Durza's sword has left a battle injury. The only hope for resisting the Empire of Galbatorix, wonders how a cripple like him will survive the conflicts ahead.

Then in a surprise attack, a group of Urgals murder Ajihad, the leader of the Varden and take the Twins and Eragon's friend, Murtagh prisoner. The Varden's Council of Elders wants to nominate a leader who'll be a decision maker. They want Eragon to throw his weight behind them and swear allegiance to the Council. The dwarves too would like to have a say in the matter and want Eragon to support their choice. Arya, the ambassador of the elves, keeps her own counsel. Eragon is caught in these uneasy circumstances a time of power games and strategizing.
During this adventure his own brother fights his own adventure, facing problems, which eragon has started.

In the book I saw a feeling of brotherhood and how people work hard for others. I personally think this book is marvelous and if you like adventure series this is your type. I would rate this 5 stars and it would be 8+ as it contains some violence and hard words to pronounce for younger readers.
Manpreet ( )

If anyone here hasn't read Diana Wynne Jone's "The Tough Guide to Fantasyland", may I suggest it as a rippingly funny antidote to Paolinism?

Paolini's stuff is just so much mulch. The only fun I've had from it is playing "spot the reference" - and that wore thin after the first hundred pages of the first book. Reading the second and third books felt like gawking at a nasty traffic accident.

If, instead of homeschooling by indulgent parents, Paolini had had someone like my best English teacher, who would have pointed out in short order that what he was writing was jejune, derivative and unworthy hackwork, and that unless he intended to become the Barbara Cartland of fantasy writing, he'd better find some dignity, discipline and originality - well, he might perhaps have made a writer of himself. ( )

I was quite disappointed in this second part of the Inheritance cycle (which will now be expanded to four books instead of three, probably so you can hold them in one hand). It is way too long and some passages of Eragon's training with animals are perfectly boring. Towards the end it gets better and lets you hope for the third part to be better again... ( )

Although this book involves more characters at a deeper level, I feel like it’s a decline from the first. Now that the pacing has slowed, and the page turning elements are not as prevalent, the story doesn’t carry as well throughout, especially with such a long text. I feel that there could have been plenty of editing done to make it tighter and shorter while telling the same story.I was hoping that Paolini’s writing would mature as he got older, but it’s still missing much of what makes a story really evergreen, causing more than one read and generational staying power. I do like that he’s taken us to a place in the story where he can educate us about the magic of the world in more depth, but elves, dwarves, dragons and magic are nothing new in this genre, so even that’s not enough to keep me really interested. There are points where things pick up, but not enough to carry the whole work.-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

Eldest rambles along where it shouldn't, but it's interesting to see someone other than Eragon actually doing something. i'm also having mixed feelings about being able to predict just about everything big that happens- it's nice to be right, but there aren't many surprises left. ( )

After Eragon, I had high hopes for the Inheritance series. But Eldest is almost...lazily written. It is dull, slow-moving, diluted with unnecessary details, anticlimactic. Definitely a disappointment. ( )

This sequel to "Eragon" carries readers deeper into the turmoil and friction rising in the plot of the Inheritance Trilogy. Once again, Christopher pulls readers into the pages, leaving us begging for more. ( )

Only half of this book was interesting.

This is the second novel in a series by a very young author. I wasn't impressed at first that the author had matured much since the first novel, but about halfway through I think I could sense a change. The story is good: this is definitely not a Lord of the Rings copycat (although if I recall correctly the first book may have been). At first it felt like the author was trying too hard. It's ok if he said something, he doesn't always need to aver, assert or pronounce it. He uses "big" words sometimes where they just felt out of place. But halfway through it got better. New characters were added who were very interesting. I liked the way the story was told alternating between Eragon and Roran's points of view. I didn't see the ending coming and it's a doozy. You don't find out why this novel is titled "Eldest" until 40 pages from the end. When you get to the end the story is definitely not finished. This is a good book--not fantastic, but definitely good. I'll be reading the third book soon. ( )

http://dragonchasers.com/2009/03/15/e... ( )

I love this book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am going to re-read it soon once I read through my huge library pile~~~ ( )

Great story though a little long winded. It is such a unique premise and so impressive that he wrote this when he was 15. ( )

http://keriansthoughts.blogspot.com/2... ( )

It is amazing to me that this series is so good, and were written by such a young man. Says a lot for home-schooling. All are good, but I like volumes 1 & 3 more than volume 2. ( )

WOW....ANOTHER GREAT READ FROM A TALENTED AUTHOR! CAN'T WAIT TILL THE NEXT BOOK COMES OUT ( )

I thought this was a very interesting book because something was always going on. I liked how the story is told from different people who all come together in the end to defeat the evil king, Galbatorix. The hidden love story also captured my attention.

--Jocelyn B ( )

Excellent! Exciting and well written with great concepts, and very hard to set down. Eldest continues the tale of Eragon, a young dragon rider, and Saphira, his partner. The two of them train with the elves, so they can one day overthrow the evil emperor Galbatorix, a former dragon rider, and free Alagäesia from his tyrannical clutches. Complete with heartbreakng history, epic battles, and a shocking plot twist, Eldest is an amazing fantasy novel that i recommend to everyone.
--Trent J. ( )

The story was not quite as fabulous as Eragon though still better than most; the descriptions remain tremendous. ( )

Good continuation of the Inheritance Trilogy ( )

sequel to Eragon. Eragon and Saphira finish their training in preparation for war against King Galbatorix. ( )

Not much better than Eragon. ( )

Read out of obligation, man I felt bad for and because of Paolini for this one. There was nothing here that even kept me remotely interested. ( )