Eragon

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Fiction/Fantasy/Young Adult/503 Pages

A smooth stone suddenly appears in front of Eragon while he is out hunting. Eragon takes the stone home, where he soon discovers it's not a stone, but a dragon egg which hatches. A bond forms between boy and dragon and, with the help of the local Storyteller, Eragon learns he has been marked as a Dragon Rider.

Eragon doesn't know it, but unfriendly forces are searching for the egg. They attack Eragon's home, killing his father. Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, set off in pursuit of the murderers, intent on revenge. Along the way, he learns more of his destiny, and how his life is interwoven with those of people he hasn't even met.

His journey eventually ends in a rebel stronghold, and a great battle with an army of Urgals.

Review

This isn't a genre I normally read; I generally find fantasy formulaic. And I have to confess I probably wouldn't have read this book if they hadn't started advertising the movie, and we didn't have it in our bookcase. I usually see the movie first, and if I enjoy it, will try and find the book to read so I can fill in the details the film didn't cover. I saw Fellowship Of The Ring before before reading the Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

With Eragon, however, I decided to read before viewing. Looking at the stills from the movie in the recently released edition, it looks to have been a good decision. They have someone playing the part of the evil king, Gabaltorix, but in the book he doesn't make an appearance; he's just an unseen menace constantly lurking below the horizon. The threat of his promised arrival makes for more tension in the tale, and the reader looks forward to the time when he and Eragon finally meet face to face in the final confrontation. However, the reader has to wait. Until the second book, Eldest, or the third (yet to be named) one can only speculate.

I do feel there are definite echoes of Lord Of The Rings, particularly where the elves and dwarves are concerned. The author has even gone to the lengths of creating a language and including a glossary of terms and a guide to pronunciation. I think it's safe to assume that Tolkien has had a great influence. That being said, the story is more than original enough to be recognised as its own entity.

Christopher Paolini was only fifteen when he wrote Eragon, and that also sometimes shows in his writing. Some of the battle descriptions are quite graphic, but what fifteen-year-old boy doesn't want to know all the gory details? There is also a naivety to the characters, but as the story is about a boy coming of age, penned by a boy coming of age, it's a natural progression. Just like the story.

Look forward to reading Eldest.

My Rating: