Reviews tagging 'War'

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

35 reviews

savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

 Rating: 3.5/5 stars 
 
The sequel to ERAGON, continuing the story of Eragon and his dragon Sapphire. 
 
I’ve been struggling to get into this series since I was a teenager and honestly the second time around has not gone much better. I enjoyed the ending of this book, but felt like it took a VERY long time to get exciting or interesting. Eragon as a character also grates on me SO much—which may mean he’s a super realistic portrayal of a teenage boy, who can say. I also felt like some of the “lessons” and takeaways from the book were a bit heavy handed, though I appreciate that the series is generally geared towards a younger audience. 
 
That said, I enjoyed the audio production (even though the dragons’ voices do make me insane) and the logic lessons, and dragons are just always the coolest in any context. I’m determined to finish the series this time, so I’ll be starting BRISINGR soon! 
 
CW: Violence/war/injury/death; kidnapping

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hales_1243's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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jodean's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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sweetheart_ok's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The second book in the Eragon series does not disappoint. Eragon faces the task of becoming a true rider who will be able to face Galbotorix and hopefully save his world from ruin. He must travel across the realm, train hard, and face the scars left behind by his defeat of Durza. He encounters unexpected allies who offer truth regarding the rider legacy that will impact his destiny. He faces many of his past mistakes, and Angela's prediction of betrayal comes true. He will grow and face challenges that will test him in every way as he prepares to go to war. This book delivers on plot, character development, conflict, intrigue, and twists. I'm excited to jump into the next book. 

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abby_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

📖
It's been ages since I re-read this book. I had a good time reading this. It was better than I remembered. I loved the worldbuilding and lore. The characters were good, the relationships/bonds between characters were strong, the pacing was kept me interested, and the plot kept me engaged. 

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tascaraudo's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Read in German.

I love Nasuada, I love how she is Technically Protrayed as on the good side, but also treats people (Elva, Eragon, etc.) as tools for her own purposes. Very Boss of her, and I love the little parallel between her and Galbatorix because of that.

I last read this book as a child and did not find Roran's journey very interesting then. This time I made a more conscious effort to follow his story and enjoyed it. We love a man who goes absolutely bananas.

Really enjoyed the training montage Eragon goes through, it's probably my favorite part of the book. The satisfaction when he finally gets the upper hand in swordfighting is still just as fun as when I was a kid. 

Rereading the books gives me a much better understanding of Arya. She was attacked, her companions killed, imprisoned, tortured, almost died to poisoning, and once she survives all this just has to go back to work and also fend off 16-year-old Eragon from making moon eyes at her. I really feel for her. No moment or chance for her to work through what she's gone through, and while of course she doesn't share much of her feelings (especially not with Eragon) I can imagine how horrible the entire situation is. 

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coreyarch9's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Paolini sure likes to make us work for an action-packed payout! I tend to prefer plot-driven reads, so having a book that is slower and very heavy on the character development is fighting against my reading style.

That said, I enjoyed that Eldest showed us more of Roran and brought back some key characters from Eragon while introducing us to a new cast. The battle at the end was everything that I could want and I'm looking forward to continuing full steam ahead as I dive into a reread of the next book in the series.

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hedyharper's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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potion96's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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rheagoveas's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75


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