kanaanhardaway 's review for:

Eldest by Christopher Paolini

4.0

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It has been interesting reading this series again for the first time since I have read Lord of the Rings, Wheel of Time, and Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn. Again, the strength lays with Paolini describing a fantasy world, a world that does feel stereotypically traditional epic fantasy. In particular, one chapter describing a journeying into Du Weldenvarden was written beautifully. Then the Elves make life seem so grand and simple, but truly to the point of caricatures. I really like Eldest, despite how it clunkily (new word) and conveniently moves the plot. Characters in Eldest walk a line between being incredibly real and being immune to worldly factors. Maybe because Paolini is so into his world, he does sometimes overestimate how impactful scenes are. This read-through I still enjoyed the meat of the book, but the end did have me feeling a little like hmm.