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adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
A classic that I absolutely loved as a teen. As an adult? Nostalgic and good for what it is. And it’s a young adult, tropey, fantasy novel written by a 15-year old. Paolini was a smart and verbose kid, and that shows, but he was also inexperienced and unpolished, and that shows. So long as you understand that and acknowledge that there wasn’t anything really groundbreaking here, it’s a fun story and one I would definitely recommend for teens and maybe for adults who want to understand what was a cultural phenomenon back in my day.
The thing I disliked most about the writing was that Paolini really enjoyed over describing certain things. At one point, he’s describing a map and islands that I don’t believe are ever brought up again in any of the books. He just seemed like a kid thrilled to share his world building.
It was also a slow start, which was impressive given the prologue and first chapter. They seem like they’re going to hit the ground running but then we have to harvest our turnips and have dinner at Horst’s house, or something or other.
I enjoyed a few of the side characters pretty well, Brom being my favorite (although for an old master, he seemed to not contribute much in actual fights). In fact, that reminds me, people sure got knocked out a lot. Joed was fun, Horst is a stand up guy, Angela is interesting. I honestly don’t care about Eragon one way or the other. He can be childish sometimes but he is a child, so it’s not like I hold it against him. Character has to learn and grow.
Pacing had some fits and starts but overall, like I said, a fun journey. Learn lots of neat stuff, do some espionage, fight some monsters, ride a dragon. Altogether decent.
The thing I disliked most about the writing was that Paolini really enjoyed over describing certain things. At one point, he’s describing a map and islands that I don’t believe are ever brought up again in any of the books. He just seemed like a kid thrilled to share his world building.
It was also a slow start, which was impressive given the prologue and first chapter. They seem like they’re going to hit the ground running but then we have to harvest our turnips and have dinner at Horst’s house, or something or other.
I enjoyed a few of the side characters pretty well, Brom being my favorite (although for an old master, he seemed to not contribute much in actual fights). In fact, that reminds me, people sure got knocked out a lot. Joed was fun, Horst is a stand up guy, Angela is interesting. I honestly don’t care about Eragon one way or the other. He can be childish sometimes but he is a child, so it’s not like I hold it against him. Character has to learn and grow.
Pacing had some fits and starts but overall, like I said, a fun journey. Learn lots of neat stuff, do some espionage, fight some monsters, ride a dragon. Altogether decent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, Torture, Fire/Fire injury