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Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2) By Christopher Paolini ( Knopf Books for Young Readers )
Release Date: 2005-08-23
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List Price: $21.00
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Product Description
Darkness falls…despair abounds…evil reigns…
Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn’t know whom he can trust.
Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle–one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.
Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life. . . .
Praise for Eragon:
“Unusual, powerful . . . fresh and fluid. An impressive start to a writing career that’s sure to flourish.” –Booklist, Starred
“Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic with his precocious debut.” –People
“The new ‘It’ book of children’s lit.” –U.S. News & World Report
“An auspicious beginning to both career and series.” –Publishers Weekly
A #1 New York Times Bestseller
A #1 Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A USA Today Bestseller
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
A Book Sense Book of the Year
A #1 Book Sense Selection
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Amazon.com
Surpassing its popular prequel Eragon, this second volume in the Inheritance trilogy shows growing maturity and skill on the part of its very young author, who was only seventeen when the first volume was published in 2003. The story is solidly in the tradition (some might say derivative) of the classic heroic quest fantasy, with the predictable cast of dwarves, elves, and dragons--but also including some imaginatively creepy creatures of evil. The land of Alagaesia is suffering under the Empire of the wicked Galbatorix, and Eragon and his dragon Saphira, last of the Riders, are the only hope. But Eragon is young and has much to learn, and so he is sent off to the elven forest city of Ellesmera, where he and Saphira are tutored in magic, battle skills, and the ancient language by the wise former Rider Oromis and his elderly dragon Glaedr. Meanwhile, back at Carvahall, Eragon's home, his cousin Roran is the target of a siege by the hideous Ra'zac, and he must lead the villagers on a desperate escape over the mountains. The two narratives move toward a massive battle with the forces of Galbatorix, where Eragon learns a shocking secret about his parentage and commits himself to saving his people. The sheer size of the novel, as well as its many characters, places with difficult names, and its use of imaginary languages make this a challenging read, even for experienced fantasy readers. It is essential to have the plot threads of the first volume well in mind before beginning--the publisher has provided not only a map, but a helpful synopsis of the first book and a much-needed Language Guide. But no obstacles will deter the many fans of Eragon from diving headfirst into this highly-awaited fantasy. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell
Meet Author Christopher Paolini
 Christopher Paolini’s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at age 15.
"Writing is the heart and soul of my being. It is the means through which I bring my stories to life. There is nothing like putting words on a page and knowing that they will summon certain emotions and reactions from the reader. In my writing, I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between Tolkien at his best and Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf." --Christopher Paolini Paolini talks more about the series, and about what inspires him in this video clip.
Watch the video (high bandwith)
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The Eragon/Eldest Boxed Set
Want to learn more about the series? Check out our review of Eragon: Here's a great big fantasy that you can pull over your head like a comfy old sweater and disappear into for a whole weekend. Christopher Paolini began Eragon when he was just 15, and the book shows the influence of Tolkien, of course, but also Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, and perhaps even Wagner in its traditional quest structure and the generally agreed-upon nature of dwarves, elves, dragons, and heroic warfare with magic swords. Read more
Order your copy of the boxed set today
Learn the Lingo
 Our quickie pronunciation guide will help you get to know some of the names and places in the Inheritance series.
| Ajihad | AH-zhi-hod | The Leader of the Varden | | Argetlam | ARE-jet-lahm | Elven word to describe Dragon Riders meaning "silver hand" | | Arya | AR-ee-uh | A powerful elf who is both beautiful and a master swordswoman | | Eragon | EHR-uh-gahn | A Dragon Rider from Carvahall | | Ra-zac | RAA-zack | Evil creatures | | Saphira | suh-FEAR-uh | Eragon’s dragon | | *Art copyright © 2004 John Jude Palencar |
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 OH! Dear God! WHY?!
Oh why? This was a massacre of popular stories OTHER PEOPLE WROTE! I fully expected Morzan to come back from the dead Kenobi-style and announce to the world, "Eragon, I am your father." and Eragon to anguish over it for the rest of the book. OH WAIT! That last part actually HAPPENED! Garion was also overdue for an appearance, coming in to say, "Why did you steal the cool mark on my hand that I have to keep hidden?" And for added fun, why not throw in a cute little scene where Arya's scent WAFTS toward Eragon, and she smells suspiciously like pine needles and another spicy scent. Oh wait, I think he did that too! Somebody read too many of his mom's romance novels when he was younger! This was a horrible book. If you value your sanity, IQ level, or anything else, DON'T read this. I regret actually borrowing this book from the library, and genuinely feel sorry that they spent money on this piece of cliched, predictable drivel.
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 Been done before, and better
I was one of the many who picked up on the fact that the first book was basically the plot of Star Wars transplanted into Middle Earth. I naively thought that this could not possibly continue into the second book. How very wrong I was.
First though, while being predictable is its main problem, its first and most obvious problem is that it's just too long. Now, I don't have a problem with long books. I've read plenty of six or seven hundred page books in a few days. But this one has the added problem of not being terribly interesting. I literally checked this book out and started to read it four different times before I finally made it all the way through. The characters were never drawn out enough for me to care about them.
The plot is basic enough. Simple farmboy suddenly has amazing destiny. In this installment, Eragon goes to see Yoda, sorry I mean... oh wait, I can't remember his real name, to recieve training and guidance. Meanwhile his cousing Roran fights the Ra'zac when they try to capture Carvahall and then kidnap his fiancee Katrina. There's a big battle at the end, but we don't see much of it because we're too busy watching Eragon have an Epiphany about his father.
Sound familiar? That's because it's all been done before. The entire time I was reading this book I felt as if I'd already read it. And that made it predictable. And the shocker twist ending? Well, anyone who's seen Star Wars could have seen that one coming. In the end this book is okay, it just doesn't compare to the stories it tries to mimic. It isn't as masterful and epic as Lord of the Rings, or as engaging as Harry Potter, or as original and fun as Star Wars. If you've already read/seen all those, then, yeah, this might be a good read for you. But if you haven't... well, I suggest you go do that before investing your time in this series.
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Slow and Annoying Spinoffs
Honestly, it was a disappointment. The first book was pretty alright. But this one was more of a rushed work with stolen plotlines from lord of the rings, star wars, etc. It was slow moving with many pointless chapters that did little to progress the story. Character developments were little. Arya became more annoying and has no tolerance for different beliefs. Eragon became more pathetic and emotionally weak. The elves and dwarves were spinoffs of Tolkien's works. The best part was the end when Murtagh, the only decent character was brought back. A book that you may read once and will never want to look at it again.
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Trying to get through it all
I've picked up my Audio CDs several times for a long trip, and each time, I find myself putting something else in. With Eragon, I didn't seem to have this problem. However, with Eldest, I get bored at parts, and just drift off into other thoughts. It really doesn't keep you wrapped into it.
I wish I could say more about it, but at this point, I'm hoping this is just one of those books in a series that has to be done to tie other books down the road together.
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 Not as good as Eragon
The follow up to Eragon is not quite as good as the original. I liked Eragon more because of the development of Saphira. Now that she's grown up and the relationship between her and her rider has plateaued, the other elements aren't as interesting. Plus, the ending is downright unbelievable and unrealistic given the situation leading up to it.
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Addiction
