Book Review: Eragon (Inheritance #1), by Christopher Paolini

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Date Published: June 2002
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
# Of Pages/Listening Time: 500 pages/16 hours 20 minutes

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Synopsis: Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders?
When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands. . . .

My Rating:

 ★★★★★

.....For being impressive because a teenager wrote it

My Thoughts:

As a young adult, I thought this book was awesome, especially considering how young the author was when he first published.

As an adult adult, I feel this book is impressive (once again, especially considering the author's age), but it borrows a lot from other sci-fi/fantasy. It has almost the exact same plot as Star Wars: A New Hope (at the very least, a lot of the major elements), and it has a lot of creatures you would recognize from Lord Of The Rings. It's essentially an LOTR/Star Wars mash-up.

Despite what was borrowed from other sources, this is still a good and creative YA novel. Paolini followed in Tolkien's footsteps and created a very intricate world with a lot of history and multiple languages. The intricacy becomes even more apparent with each subsequent installment as well, to the point where it seems to stand alone without borrowing from anywhere.

Overall, the plot is well-paced, the characters are very likeable, and the world-building is very good. Plus, there are talking dragons, so you really can't go wrong there! It is perfectly suited for young adult fantasy fans, but adults will like it too. I definitely look forward to introducing this to my son when he's old enough to read this.