Eragon: Book I (The Inheritance Cycle 1)

This book was such a good book! I really like dragon rider books and had this in my library on my waiting list. I finally got to it and I'm so glad that I did. I love the pacing in this book, it keeps you interested. I also really like the individual personalities of the characters. I am not usually a fan of the battle parts of a book, I often find them drawn out and boring. But in this book I actually enjoyed reading them. I like the one person POV, I don't mind multiple POV'S at times, but some books have so many you can't hardly keep up with the different storylines. This book had a very straightforward storyline that made each chapter just want to make you read the next.I highly recommend this book, I can't wait to start the next one!

I'm a professor of literature and language. From all that I have read, even on the dust jacket of this first book in Paolini's series, nobody, including the author or the publsher, makes a secret of the fact that he was heavily influenced by Tolkien, Lucas, McCaffrey, and most likely other readers.In fact, good writers are always influenced to some degree by those whom they have read. That's usually how they end up becoming GOOD WRITERS.Now, take a look at this very sentence in the prologue. This is the first introduction we have to the writing style of Paolini:"Wind howled through the night, carrying a scent that would change the world."That is powerful. That has nothing to do with Tolkien or Lewis or anyone. That has to do with individual writing voice, and an extremely good one, at that.When you read this book, or re-read it - look at it with an eye of examining how the words are put together. It's masterful. I've seen numerous examples, published and unpublished, of authors old and young(er) who were quite obviously influenced by any number of writers. Unfortunately, those writers, and I use the term as a point of reference only, did not choose to, OR HAVE THE ABILITY TO, string together words in such a way that was masterful. Or, for that matter, in any way approaching logic or sense or really, just sort of thrown in together in a way that made me quickly get to my used bookstore to trade in the item as fast as I could get rid of it. I'm talking about published writers who couldn't string together simple sentences and throw in an adjective or two along the way, without getting twisted up and falling over their own ink. And I've seen experienced writers do that, too.Anybody can use their love of certain written works to come up with similar plot lines.Plagiarism, as I saw a couple of reviews in here glibly toss out (and I am certain that means that you, of course, never plagiarized any of your reports in high school or college, yes? of course it does :) - is when someone steals another's words and claims them as their own.Paolini doesn't do that. The dust jacket, all press that I've read about him and his book, the publishers, his parents - everything I've read that promotes his book acknowledges in a broad metaphorical flag-waving right up front, Hey, Paolini was influenced BY - and gives a short list. That's not plagiarism.Also, ideas are not copyrighted. Words are. Ideas are not. Gilgamesh had an epic journey of good and evil. It's been going on for thousands of years in the written world. If we are going to start pointing fingers at who copied whom, or who had the original idea, I'm afraid you're going to have to point a finger at Tolkien and Lewis and McCaffrey. No writer for centuries has been able to avoid being influenced, to some degree, by those who have gone before.It's why writing is considered to be immortal, in a sense. Your words live on.And the words - oh my, Paolini's words. Look at how they are put together. Look at the rich description. That's not plagiarized. That IS original. Look at how he puts together ideas and plots and describes emotions, characters, colors, scents, the change of seasons, the change of terrain - that is all original. The WAY in which he put together his words, is original to him. It's his personal writing voice. Everybody has a writing voice. Some voices ought to be quiet, frankly, because they are that bad. Some voices should be trumpeted.Paolini's should be trumpeted.Gosh, you picked up a book that clearly, upfronts notes that Paolini was influenced by Tolkien, then you sit there and smugly type "Hey, ooobbbbbviously he was influenced by Tolkien" - well, gosh. You're like, Einstein. Of course, that would mean you got the idea of being Einstein, from Einstein. :)Look at the words. Look at how they are put together. Look at how Paolini crafts - yes, he crafts, he's an artist in the most precise sense - the words.Can you do that?Because I'm not seeing it in the evidence of some of your reviews. Or perhaps it was an off-day.Look - really look - at how the words are put together. It is art. It is truly art.

So much action and storyline in these books. Easily could be on par with LOTR as a movie franchise if someone payed a good director to make it happen unlike the previous attempt that mosses all of the details and low budget cut the story into pieces. Great books!!!

I am re-reading this book in 2023 as an adult after having not picked it up in the past 15-18 years. Suffice to say I didn’t remember much about the story, if anything at all really. I remember loving it as a teen and I really wanted to re-read to see if I was just nostalgic or if it really was that good. I’m happy to say that Eragon definitely stands up to this test…although as an adult I do have some criticisms, that being said, the thought that work on this book began when Paolini was only 15 years old is astonishing to me. There are some writing choices that do give nod to his young age. I can’t say he had much in terms of subtlety or foreshadowing, with Eragon’s internal dialogue being a bit too on the nose sometimes and taking away some of the joy of discovery and intrigue. However this is just an all out good book, with great characters and a great story. It is trope-y for sure, but it does the tropes SO well while still having its unique setting. The world building that Paolini was able to accomplish is truly again, astonishing considering his age.I am confident now that I’m just gonna continue re-reading this series this year in anticipation of Murtagh.

This is the series that got me back into reading a couple years ago. I must have reread it several times since it came out. Paolini is a masterful creator of worlds, and his books never fail to hook me in. I was thrilled when Murtagh came out to continue this series, and you bet I immediately preordered when I heard about it.

Love it!

Inheritance series is so good. You will be hooked.

Amazing book. Great story. Finally I am able to fill my collection. However, the cover is not as presented here.

Este es uno de los mejores libros de fantasía que he leído. Lo recomiendo mucho, pronto iré comprando los otros 3 de la saga. Me encantó su sistema de magia y las ilustraciones de todo el continente que maneja la saga

My son is very happy with this book. Thanks. Perfect delivery. No pb.