A new adventure hatches in the first book of the Inheritance Cycle, perfect for fans of Lord of the Rings! This New York Times bestselling series has sold over 35 million copies and is an international fantasy sensation. When fifteen-year-old Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon … brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.
Overnight his simple life is shattered, and, gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire.
Features interlocking art that reveals an image across the spines of all four books! And don’t miss the most recent book set in Eragon’s world, The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm: Tales from Alagaësia!
“Christopher Paolini is a true rarity.” —The Washington Post
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In as few words as possible: this is the perfect book for ages 13 & up, dipping their toes into the world of adult fantasy novels.
Though this book has a fairly average adventure plot, Paolini masterfully makes it his own with tons of worldbuilding (the non-boring kind). “Eragon” is a page-turner that can be enjoyed by all ages. You’ll get hooked!
If you want to get a bit technical: I felt there were a few issues with the pacing of the book and character development in Eragon. To be able to correct these issues takes raw practice but seeing as Paolini was only 16 at the time of writing, it was definitely a good effort. Nevertheless, these issues don’t hinder reader’s enjoyment.
While the story was heavily influenced by Tolkien, it had enough original ideas to make it not feel like a retread. Recommended for dragon lovers.
4.5/5 stars
This was the first audio book I ever listened to, so it has a soft spot in my heart. Unlike many of the audio books I have listened to, I bought the book and actually read this one. This book got me into dragons.
Character Development: 5 stars
Story Line: 5 stars.
Readability: 3.5 stars.
Writing style: 5 stars.
My enjoyment: 4 stars.
Average Star Score: 4.5 stars.
What I Liked
-Eragon was not your normal male main character. He was just a boy from a town who found an egg.
-Dragons. I love dragons with a passion.
-Very unique names throughout the entire book.
-Poalini has a very unique writing style that makes the book even better.
What I Did Not Like
-It was a little hard to follow at times.
-A lot of very slow parts.
This book is great for anyone 10-110 years old. I am in love with this book (no surprise there). Next time you go to the library, make sure to pick this book up.
Great world building, lots of action.
This has always been one of my favorites! I have read it over and over again.
Eragon is a really good series. I am a young reader that reads at a young adult level and I really enjoyed this book and series. I love how it starts at Eragon’s lowly life and ends at a super powerful dragon rider! I would absolutely recommend this book and series
Eragon is a YA epic fantasy novel featuring a boy and his dragon. It’s a familiar story, so no major new ground is broken here. Eragon as a character is not overly compelling. He’s a bit whiny at times, and things come a bit too easy for him, and some of his fighting skills are more advanced than they should be given his age of fifteen. Where I thought the novel was strong was in the world building. There was a fairly complex and well-developed governmental structure, whose power comes from the emperor who is also a powerful wizard. There was also a strong mythos with the dragon riders of old, who along with their dragons possess great power. They had all been wiped out, that is until Eragon’s discovery of the dragon egg and the hatching of Saphira.
Under the mentorship of an old dragon rider, Eragon goes on the customary journey that is almost a requirement in epic fiction, trying to escape from the clutches of the empire while simultaneously trying to hunt down agents of the Empire who are simultaneously trying to hunt him down, setting up a game of cat and mouse. Being a dragon rider he now finds himself in the middle of a struggle between the Empire and a rival faction of humans, elves, and dwarves. This all sets up for a major battle at the end of the novel.
The story was written at a good pace. There was both action and intrigue. There were certain things I didn’t like about this novel, but on balance the good outweighed the bad, and I will continue to read more in this series.
Carl Alves – author of Beyond the Shadow
This was such a favorite when I was younger — my book club and I decided to take a trip down memory lane this month and re-read our old favorite, and I had so much fun rediscovering what was probably one of the first epic fantasies I was truly obsessed with.
Amazing book. Wonderful plot. It was a bit slow, but that’s fine.
It’s pretty much Star Wars: A New Hope. I went back and reread this book with the added benefit of years and literary experience, and it is a trope-filled disaster with so many issues. Eragon quickly becomes the quintessential Mary Sue, while the magic system becomes too convoluted for its own good.
It’s classic YA from a time before YA (especially fantasy YA) flooded the market. My only other exposure to the genre was maybe Redwall and Lord of the Rings. Eragon was something different. Is it a good series? Objectively, it is not. But it was a formative series for me and a lot of other young readers when it came out, and if it was a gateway to the genre for people then it wasn’t all bad. I give it 2 stars for trying.
It was a little dark for my taste (but as I always say reading books is like eating chocolate (I’m one of those people who don’t have a preference and can go anywhere from dark milk to white chocolate)) anyway it was a simply GENIUS book, and it just keeps gettin betta
Ok, so the movie version was bad, but the book is freaking fabulous! (Although maybe a little slow in the beginning.) A young teen, a telepathic dragon/best friend, magic, swords, what’s not to love?
I remember this book quite fondly from my youth, but after reading it as an adult I realize how many issues it really has. The book was written by a teenager and it shows. I enjoyed it as a teenager, but since then I’ve read much better fiction that showed how to properly show off the genre.
Eragon is an epic fantasy! I was amazed by the author’s creativity. I was immediately immersed into a world of dragons, elves, humans and creatures. It’s quite the page-turner!
Recommend to those who enjoy clean, fast-paced fantasy to young and adult alike.
I borrowed a copy from my local library. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
Absolutely the best Dragon story ever written. Especially when this set of 4 volumes was written by a teen. Christopher Paolini is a very intelligent writer. His characters are wonderful and some are downright scary. I have read the series twice and I have found new things about the story . I am sure I will read the series again!
Great worldbuilding, interesting backstory and Saphira!
Dragons, dwarves, magic, danger – this book has it all.
For me, Saphira the dragon is the reason to read this book.
thoroughly enjoyed
I really enjoyed this book.
This book was so great! I couldn’t stop reading the whole series!
Second time reading this. It surely does hold up. The characters are mostly likeable. The descriptions of the lands allow the reader to “see” everything very clearly.
I love Saphira. I think she is used to add a bit of levity when it’s needed. I can see definite influence of Tolkien, that is in no way a bad thing.
This girl loves her Tolkien.