A review by katherineharnisch
Eragon by Christopher Paolini

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

 

I read this book when I was in middle school, and decided to re-read it before Murtagh comes out in a few months. It was a great read for the nostalgia! I forgot so many things that happened, it was almost like reading it for the first time. 

 

The plot of this book is great; there is never a dull moment. The world is also very engaging (it helps that the characters traverse a large span of the land over the course of the book). 

 

The characters in this book are great. I loved Brom, though the man kept so many secrets it was hard to not resent him sometimes like Eragon did. Saphira was a fascinating character as well, and balanced out Eragon’s rash impulses (when she was able to, at least). Murtagh is perhaps the most intriguing character of all, and I am very curious as to how his story will play out. I am also curious as to Arya’s history. It certainly sounds like we will explore that in the next book. 

 

Though I loved this book in middle school (and still enjoyed reading it now!), the writing did not feel very engaging to me. It was written as if Eragon was an old man and recounting his adventures to a scribe. This can be done really well, but it fell a little flat for me on this re-read. So many of the sentences were so basic and factual with no additional emotional or descriptive details. This isn’t to say there were no descriptive passages, because there definitely were! This is just to say the descriptiveness could have been more consistent throughout. 

 

The last thing I will say (and I felt this way when I read it at 15) is, what a feat for a fifteen-year-old to write such an extensive story! This may have been why I felt the writing lacked descriptive consistency — I certainly wasn’t writing with exceptional quality when I was fifteen — but the plot is particularly strong for an author so young. The character of Eragon was also done particularly well. All of his rash decisions do make sense for Eragon being so young, and I think the fact the author was writing from that age himself gives that a genuine touch that may have been lacking otherwise.  

 

If you read this as a teenager when it first came out, I highly recommend for the nostalgia! Looking forward to continuing Eragon’s journey in the rest of the series.