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A review by writervid
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
2.0
Spoilers ahead for both this and future books.
Ooookay, here we go.
I'm a dragon girl. I loved these books as a kid. And now I'm being mean and honest to them on Goodreads. So let's go from the top!
VERY early on in the book, Ajihod is killed. This serves as an inciting incident in which Nasuada is given control of the Varden and Eragon has to navigate Varden politics. While this had the potential to be interesting, there is something so shoehorned in and unsatisfying about Ajihod's death. It felt like it was meant to happen in the final battle, but that would have taken away from Eragon's defeat of Durza. It also sets off an arc of severely lackluster events.
The basic idea of this book in the Eragon arc is the training montage, the first part of the "fun and games" section on the beat sheet. And I can definitely get behind training montages; I live for stories set in magical schools and learning about magic and just overall worldbuilding. However, this all comes with the fact that this training is supremely forgettable. How do I know that? I forgot it. I loved these books as a kid, but the fact that I had completely forgotten that Ellesmera and the dwarf city on the way that I already forgot the name of and Oromis says something. But that's not the main issue with it; the main issue lies, again, in Eragon as a character and how the universe seems centered around him. We see Eragon training in magic, which is cool, but his transformation occurs overnight due to magical dragon plot devices, leaving me extremely unsatisfied. It even cures his back (and the idea of a magical cure for this seems somewhat ableist: https://medium.com/@fayonyx/magical-cures-and-disability-as-an-obstacle-9ce7940e4fe3). Eragon is consumed with petty conflicts with Saphira and constantly telling Arya his feelings for her--even when she EXPRESSLY doesn't want him to. I honestly just dislike Eragon as a character at this point?
The most interesting part of this book is Roran. He is SUCH a complex and dynamic character, and following the struggles of Carvahall through his eyes was excellent. Unlike Eragon, I know who Roran is. I know he's a family oriented man, fiercely protective of his home, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal of a life with Katrina. Roran and Katrina are INCREDIBLY cute together--they're actually healthy ahaha--and I love that they serve as each other's driving forces throughout the book. I also could clearly see Roran hardening throughout the book. I wish we had gotten to see more of him; he's very fun to read.
Similarly, I wish we'd gotten to see more of Nasuada and Elva. Elva is very fascinating to me; I love that she is a mistake Eragon makes, and her power is extremely unique to this universe. She seems off and slightly creepy, and is a uniquely powerful plot device. I found her relationship with Nasuada to be an interesting look at power dynamics, especially as Nasuada struggles with maintaining the Varden in terms of funds (on that note--I feel like putting so much lace in the marke at a low price would do a lot of funky things to a supply/demand curve, but I forgot too much econ to say definitively. I also appreciated the idea of a traditionally feminine art being used in such a way). More of them! Paolini always delivers on his side characters.
Speaking of side characters...the twist at the end is undoubtedly one of my favorite moments I can remember, even if some of it is disputed later (and honestly...sticking with this version of events might have made a more interesting commentary on fate and free will, but I digress). That twist is the one part I have always remembered from this book. I will say I don't enjoy how Murtagh is such *powered up* all of a sudden, since Eragon HAS been training for months, but that's minor compared to Eragon's transformation.
All in all...slow. Forgettable. Ineffective. And yet nostalgia just makes me feel things, so I can't rate this as low as I might otherwise. Ah, well.
Ooookay, here we go.
I'm a dragon girl. I loved these books as a kid. And now I'm being mean and honest to them on Goodreads. So let's go from the top!
VERY early on in the book, Ajihod is killed. This serves as an inciting incident in which Nasuada is given control of the Varden and Eragon has to navigate Varden politics. While this had the potential to be interesting, there is something so shoehorned in and unsatisfying about Ajihod's death. It felt like it was meant to happen in the final battle, but that would have taken away from Eragon's defeat of Durza. It also sets off an arc of severely lackluster events.
The basic idea of this book in the Eragon arc is the training montage, the first part of the "fun and games" section on the beat sheet. And I can definitely get behind training montages; I live for stories set in magical schools and learning about magic and just overall worldbuilding. However, this all comes with the fact that this training is supremely forgettable. How do I know that? I forgot it. I loved these books as a kid, but the fact that I had completely forgotten that Ellesmera and the dwarf city on the way that I already forgot the name of and Oromis says something. But that's not the main issue with it; the main issue lies, again, in Eragon as a character and how the universe seems centered around him. We see Eragon training in magic, which is cool, but his transformation occurs overnight due to magical dragon plot devices, leaving me extremely unsatisfied. It even cures his back (and the idea of a magical cure for this seems somewhat ableist: https://medium.com/@fayonyx/magical-cures-and-disability-as-an-obstacle-9ce7940e4fe3). Eragon is consumed with petty conflicts with Saphira and constantly telling Arya his feelings for her--even when she EXPRESSLY doesn't want him to. I honestly just dislike Eragon as a character at this point?
The most interesting part of this book is Roran. He is SUCH a complex and dynamic character, and following the struggles of Carvahall through his eyes was excellent. Unlike Eragon, I know who Roran is. I know he's a family oriented man, fiercely protective of his home, willing to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal of a life with Katrina. Roran and Katrina are INCREDIBLY cute together--they're actually healthy ahaha--and I love that they serve as each other's driving forces throughout the book. I also could clearly see Roran hardening throughout the book. I wish we had gotten to see more of him; he's very fun to read.
Similarly, I wish we'd gotten to see more of Nasuada and Elva. Elva is very fascinating to me; I love that she is a mistake Eragon makes, and her power is extremely unique to this universe. She seems off and slightly creepy, and is a uniquely powerful plot device. I found her relationship with Nasuada to be an interesting look at power dynamics, especially as Nasuada struggles with maintaining the Varden in terms of funds (on that note--I feel like putting so much lace in the marke at a low price would do a lot of funky things to a supply/demand curve, but I forgot too much econ to say definitively. I also appreciated the idea of a traditionally feminine art being used in such a way). More of them! Paolini always delivers on his side characters.
Speaking of side characters...the twist at the end is undoubtedly one of my favorite moments I can remember, even if some of it is disputed later (and honestly...sticking with this version of events might have made a more interesting commentary on fate and free will, but I digress). That twist is the one part I have always remembered from this book. I will say I don't enjoy how Murtagh is such *powered up* all of a sudden, since Eragon HAS been training for months, but that's minor compared to Eragon's transformation.
All in all...slow. Forgettable. Ineffective. And yet nostalgia just makes me feel things, so I can't rate this as low as I might otherwise. Ah, well.