Eragon

Author: Christopher Paolini
Published: August 2003 (Knopf)
Category: YA Fantasy
Rating: 3/10

I was really looking forward to reading Eragon, but find that I was really disappointed. Oftentimes, I am sucked into a YA fantasy and am disappointed when the story ends in 208 pages. This is one of the reasons why I love Harry Potter; the writing is good and it lasts a loooong time. Eragon, on the other hand, was loooong and boooooring.

On his website, Paolini says, "For me, the time spent plotting out a novel is more important than the actual writing." His method is very apparent in his writing, what with the uninspiring dialogue and the plodding-along sort of exposition. It pains me, because I will ADMIT that the storyline has a lot of promise and it could have been tons better.

Yes, there were a lot of plot elements that seemed to come out of Lord of the Rings. For example, there were the a bunch of ringwraith-like creatures that even had flying steeds. The character of Murtagh, son of the Forsworn, reminds me of Aragorn in that reluctant/despised heir way. I even bet Murtagh is going to get involved with Nasuada, the daughter of the rebel leader. Oooo, forbidden love! And to get into the rebel base (hee hee, Star Wars), you had to go to this slab of stone next to a waterfall and say the magic words to go deep into the dwarf tunnels. Mines of Moria anyone?

The characters were lacking. Even Saphira the dragon, who should've been very interesting, was boring. Am I supposed to be in awe of her being a dragon and therefore overlook her staleness of personality? The most interesting characters were Angela the witch and her werecat, Solembum. It figures, as Angela was based off of Paolini's sister. That's how she was the character with the biggest sense of humor and seemed the most realistic. Everyone else seemed rather flat.

It is admirable that Eragon was written by a teenager, especially in today's world, where vocabulary and appreciation for books have declined with the rise of other entertainments. However, I think a lot of the book's popularity is due to the fact that its writer was so young when he wrote it, and not due to the quality of the writing.

I heard the movie isn't good either.