Paolini, Christopher. Eragon. 2003. Knopf Books for Young Readers. New York.

Genre: Fantasy

Themes: Dragons, Battles/Fighting, Elves, Magic

Age / Grade Appropriateness: Upper Elementary, Middle School, High School

Awards: New York Times Best Seller List (121 weeks), NENE award, 2004 Book Sense Book of the Year

Censorship Issues: There was violence in this book, but nothing that would be scary or offensive. The language was appropriate for the age group. There are no issues that I would have concerns about or censor.

Plot Summary:
Eragon, a 15 year old boy named after the first Dragon Rider, finds a strange blue stone while in the mountains near his home. He thought that finding the stone was just good luck, as he was a poor farm boy. The stone then hatched and a dragon emerged from it. Dragons were believed to be extinct and this was the first one in many, many years. Eragon names the dragon Saphira and keeps her a secret and raises her privately. One day, two Ra’zac come looking for the stone, and Eragon and Saphira go to the forest to hide. Eragon’s uncle is killed, it changes Eragon and he gets a vengeance against the Ra’zac. He becomes a Dragon Rider and goes on a journey. He is determined to defeat the Ra’zac. Eragon meets Bram who becomes his mentor. Bram gets hurt and right before he died, he told Eragon that he was once a Dragon Rider and his dragon was murdered by Gaslbatrix. Eragon was captured and was imprisoned with a mysterious female elf, who he had previously had dreams about. Saphira rescues both ragon and the elf, but during this, they awaken Shade, a horrible creature. They begin their trek to Varden and have many mishaps and battles along the way, with an army of Urgals chasing them. They get to Varden and prepare for the Urgals arrival and a battle. The Urgals almost win the battle, until Eragon defeats the Shade. Shade is in great pain and horribly disfigured. As this battle ends, Eragon is going to study with the other elves.

Critique: does it fit the bill of a YA book, also my opinion of the book
The narrative aspect and the likable hero in Eragon, a wonderfully written story, are just part of the reason that it is classified as a young adult book. Although the author was very young when he began writing this book, it is still very well-written. Some parts of the story do not seem very original, they seem to be a lot alike Tolkien’s books and parts of Star Wars, but they are still appealing and do not seem boring or exactly the same. Readers seem to become part of this book and immersed in the imaginary world. It is action packed and the writing is lavish with great detail. This book definitely leave readers eager for the next book in the trilogy. There are numerous names of characters and places to remember while reading, which can be quite confusing at times; according to one site on the internet, there are 65 names of people, horses, and dragons. There are also phrases in the ancient language and things that the dwarfs and Urgalls say that are all a little confusing. There are maps and glossaries that help and by the end of the story, the reader really seems to understand.

Curriculum Uses:
This book would be a great choice for librarians or teachers to recommend to students when they are looking for a new series to start or if they are looking for something new to read. This series would evoke so much imagination and creativity in students, they would get entranced in it and love it.
This book would also be a great choice for an English or Literature teacher to use as encouragement for students to write. The author of this book began at age sixteen, the age of many highschool students. This would be a great experience for students to realize that an amazing book was written by someone their same age.

Boy finds dragon egg, dragon hatches, boy goes on grand adventure. Actually, boy spends most of book fleeing for his life, when suddenly a random Big Battle is tacked on the end to add some sort of climax, with a convenient deus ex machina to tie things up and make way for the sequel. It's not that it's poorly written, just utterly generic. Now, if I didn't like fantasy stereotypes I wouldn't read fantasy, but I was even able to pick out specific universes from which much of the stuff was cribbed (McCaffrey's Pern, Tolkien's Middle Earth, etc.). All in all, pretty forgettable. A young newcomer to fantasy might enjoy this, but a fans of the genre will find nothing new here. ( )

Amazing story considering the youth of the author - hope the movie doesn't ruin this kids career! ( )

This book is extremely derivitive. Paolini may be a good writer in about 10 years time. ( )

Eragon a young farm boy on teh virge of man hood is scouting in the Spine a forest. He must locate food for his family. He notches a arrow onto his bow pointing it at his prey, a small deer with a limp that has fallen behind the herd. Suddenly the ground near the deer explodes in brilliant light. The deer takes off running. I liked Eragon because it mixes adventure, suspence, and action where a farm boy must save a kingdom. ( )

I was going to leave a review and my opinion of this book after finishing it but find I cannot remember a thing about it. Although not badly written, it is very cliched, lacks interesting characters and where, to my mind, nothing of substance ever happens.
It was almost as bad as a dry technical manual for being a soporific. ( )

Aug09:

Just gotta keep reminding myself this was written by a teenager.

Characters: Okay, they are fun. But really black and white. Saphira is probably the most human among them which is funny to say. The bad guys just aren't visceral enough for me. Brom may be the closest thing to "grey" among them and that is not saying much.

Plot: Yea, it's trite. "Young boy discovers powers etc. etc." There is a little originality with the dragons. But then Magic goes back to standard. (At least it has a price that is realistic.) Overall, don't expect much.

Style: High fantasy. But it's done "well enough". Really though, that's tough to do with such a worn out genre. I do still want to know what happens next and will read more. What more can I ask for? Somehow it overcomes Eragon's own goody-two-shoes nature. ( )

Eragon by Christopher Paolini is a chilling and enchanting book about a young boy and his dangerous adventure of bravery and mystery. The story starts off with a young farm boy named Eragon, hunting for dinner. While hunting he finds a strange blue stone...or so he thought. As the story goes on Eragon starts to grow up and transform into a brave young man. Through out the book strange things start to happen and secrets are reviled. Paolini gives very vivid detailed descriptions, about his characters and settings. Eragon is an adventurous action-filled book that always keeps you wandering what's going to happen next. ( )

this book is about a boy who finds a strange stone in a mountain range while he is trying to find food for his family.
I found this book interesting because of the characters and because of how everything fit together in the end. this book is highly detailed and held my attention throughout the whole book. i think that the author did an excellent job with the idea for this story. this was one of my faverite books that i've read. ( )

Eragon didn’t know his name was also the name of a previous Dragon Rider. He didn’t know the big blue rock was really a dragon egg. All he knew at the start of the story was that the sudden appearance of this “rock” scared away the animal he was about to shoot to feed his family. He takes the rock home hoping to sell it for money to provide food, but shortly finds out he is the chosen Rider when Saphira hatches. Eragon has to learn many things on the run as he and Saphira try to reach others who are fighting the corrupt king (a fallen Rider). Saphira is currently the only hatched dragon, but the corrupt king has two more eggs (which will only hatch for the right person – Saphira was in her egg since the destruction of the previous riders and eggs YEARS ago). Eragon is the first of three (soon to be more) books about the land of Eragon and Saphira. Like Gordan Korman, this author started as a child (age 15). The book is good, and the fact that it was written by a teen may also appeal to students to show them they can do it too. ( )

Amazing book. Really picks up in Eldest and Brisingr. ( )

Not going to win a nobel prize but a gripping story well told. And to think he was only 19 when he wrote it. ( )

I am torn in my opinion of Christopher Paolini and Eragon. I respect him as a person and he is a good author, but I wouldn't go so far as to say he is an excellent writer. Question for you: If you had a dragon as a pet (dragons are rare, just in case you were wondering, even in this novel), would you ride it and spend your time getting to know her and develop a strong relationship, or would you walk and talk with an old man and have your dragon search for incoming danger from up above? I sure as hell wouldn't choose option B. I understand that Eragon, in the novel, was supposed to be learning patience and not to act immaturely, but seriously, there is a huge lack of action throughout a lot of this novel. Other than that, Saphira is an instantly lovable character, and everything else is cool. ( )

This was a cute book. It was fun and entertaining. And as long as you expect nothing more than that from this book, it will satisfy you.

It is not great literature; but that's ok, because not all books need to be. It is not terribly complex or profound; but once again, I doubt that was ever the point. It's cute. Like saturday morning cartoons. Like a lazy kitten.

I also think that the criticisms of this book as "derivative" are unfair in many ways. The Lord of the Rings was GREAT fantasy. It completely blew the genre out of the water and has defined it, and will continue to define it for decades to come. Coming down hard on Eragon for having some things in common with Lord of the Rings but not being "as good" is like coming down hard on a highschool basketball player for having "some things in common" with Michael Jordan but not being as good. It's just not fair.

There is nothing wrong with re-using elements of another's world. All fiction does it. There is a lot of GOOD, entertaining fiction out there that is a pastiche of previously thought-up worlds. And it's still plenty good fun.

So take it for what it is. It's a romp. It's a frolick. It's almost a folk tale: it takes place in a world so familiar you feel comfortable with it, and you know the young hero will win in the end.

If that's the type of story you are looking for, you will be very happy with this book. ( )

Eragon is a simple farm boy. He finds a blue stone in the forest and takes it home to trade the butcher for meat. The butcher refuses to accept it when he learns where Eragon found it. Eragon takes the stone home which he later finds out isn't a stone but a dragon egg, complete with baby dragon. This is where Eragon's life takes a drastic urn and he begins a new life full of magic, danger and a hidden destiny.
I have had this book on my shelves at school since it first came out. I am sorry I waited so long to read it. I enjoyed it bu as with all fantasy I had trouble remember things due to the special language that a fantasy author creates for the book. I followed the book with the movie and like it better only for the visual aspect. However I had to watch the movie twice to understand it fully. Now that I have read it I will read the others in the series and encourage my students to do the same. ( )

The adventure of a boy and his dragon in a dangerous kingdom that seeks to possess them both. this book is a fun adventure filled with epic battles, lengthy quests, and interesting characters. The young Paolini weaves a story filled with excitement. ( )

Wow, holy Gary-Stu. I'd heard both good and bad things about this book. And both were true. The plot is really unoriginal, the main character is a painfully obvious Gary-Stu and nothing really surprising happens. Yet I enjoyed reading it. I don't think I am going to hunt down the next book, but if I stumble across it I might just read it anyway. I can see how kids who haven't read some of the places the plot was obviously ripped-off from could really get into this book. In a couple years I might suggest it to my daughter if she wants a big, long fantasy novel to keep her busy on a trip. ( )

Look, I love dragons. I love YA literature and fantasy. I love Novik, Cooper, Tolkein, Lewis; I love McCaffrey, Pullman, Rowling, and even Meyer. I couldn't take Eragon.

I did finish it, hoping to the last it would improve. I searched through the pages for that one thing that would make me continue. I looked for a vivid voice, an intriguing idea, an original world, a character I could love, a plot that wouldn't let go. I turned up nothing. Bupkus.

It's amazing that he wrote this at age 15 - but you know what Horace said; keep your manuscript ten years. I won't bore you by reciting the sources Paolini draws on, but I don't even really hold that against him. Originality isn't everything, nor is good writing (even David Eddings got some readable books on the corpse of Tolkein), but I shouldn't be groaning out loud as every exhausted adventure cliche in the genre is hauled out between new hard covers. ( )

Standard fantasy fare, except that while most fantasy authors lift their plots only vaguely from a previous author, Eragon is simply the first Star Wars film with castles. Princess flees, tries to keep precious item out of emperor's hands. Boy finds item. Bad guys burn down his farm and kill his uncle, whom he lives with. Old mysterious man turns out to be part of a secret order of knights to which boy's (now evil) father belonged. Gives boy father's sword and takes him (eventually) to princess. Dies tragically. Boy learns how to fly X-Wing, er, dragon and goes to take on his father and the evil emperor, &c., &c.

The worst part is that the author, by his own accounts, sees himself as a mix between Seamus Heaney and Tolkien, but has a control of the language more akin to your average Star Trek serial author. There are some days that I wish my parents owned a publishing company, too. However, if such a boon would require me to become so totally oblivious about my craft, I would have to decline. Yeah, I know he was 18, but so was Byron when he wrote "Hours Of Idleness". ( )

Although Paolini does not write an original epic fantasy, his story is fun and exciting to read. He knows how to pace a story so that the reader can't wait to find out what is going to happen next. I did have a hard time getting hooked into the story up until around the 7th chapter but from then on, I had a hard time putting the book down. ( )

This is just one of those great stories that was good enough to read a second time. ( )

I've heard all the hype of this book and decided to check it out. Not bad. I had heard that it copies ideas from a lot of other books, but I haven't read those books, so it was new to me. My only complaint was that it was really long. ( )

All the hype about this book is really only deserved because of its author: Writing such a book at the age of 15, you really got to hand it to Christopher Paolini! A classic fantasy tale in Tolkien style it is, complete with typical strange languages and lots of adventure. The critics denounced its "B-movie-writing" which is rarely true and its cliched thinking, which is rather correct... But it's a really good read! ( )

There’s no doubt that this is a fun story, and it’s impressive to see such an undertaking not only written by a 17-year-old Paolini, but fought for and published by one and the same. Often it’s not writing a good book that’s difficult, but getting it published, especially for someone so young. However, the fact still remains that nearly every fantasy element employed has been pulled from other fantasy novels. Even the idea of Riders and dragons being able to communicate with each other has been around since MacCaffrey started weaving the tales of Pern, and possibly even before then.So, it then comes down to the text itself, and even though it got many rave reviews, I believe it could have been more than it was. Agreed, it’s a story that creates anticipation and constant fluid page turning, but it doesn’t carry the weight of a novel that requires or garners another read. The great, long-lasting fantasy and science fiction books, even in the genre of young adult, will be the ones that employ all of the classic literary devices and generate more than just an edge-of-your-seat read. Ultimately, it’s still an entertaining read, excellent for the rainy day or the ride on the train, and more than likely you’re not going to consider it a waste of time.-Lindsey Miller, www.lindseyslibrary.com ( )

A good book for people who enjoy action and adventure!!! ( )