"Eldest" by Christopher Paolini

Book Details:

Title- Eldest (Inheritance Cycle #2)

Author- Christopher Paolini

Published- 2005: Alfred A. Knopf

ISBN- 0-375-82670-X

Pages- 668 pages

Genre- Young Adult - Fantasy

Rating- 4 of 5

 

My Review:

Young Paolini's second installment of the Inheritance Cycle exceeds expectations, following the success of Eragon. One of the most widely read young adult fantasy series, the Inheritance Cycle follows farm boy-turned-Dragon Rider, Eragon and his dragon Saphira to all ends of their world of Alagaesia to avenge the death of Eragon's uncle, Garrow, to destroy the evil King Galbatorix, and to restore peace and prosperity to all races in the land. Along the way, many allies, as well as enemies, are made, weaving a memorable storyline with a complex web of memorable characters.

Eldest begins and ends in the wake of battle, with Eragon and Saphira's grand adventures and personal growth filling the pages in between. We also follow the struggles of Eragon's hometown of Carvahall through the eyes of his cousin Roran, another strong personality fighting for the greater good, among his own personal reasons.

I did find this book to be slow-moving and often difficult to keep my attention on, as many long journeys and battles take place, as is almost mandatory for the fantasy genre. Yet I also found myself unable to put it down for long, desperate to discover the many plot twists and secrets along the way.

My personal opinion is that one cannot be a fan of the fantasy genre, adults and young adults alike, and pass up the chance to briefly live in the world of Alagaesia through the four Eragon novels. While some parts are slow-moving and tedious, I encourage every reader to continue on, as every scene is significant in some way, to the series as a while. If nothing else, the characters and races represented show great thought and imagination and make the series definitely deserving og the hype that followed its publication. Readers, and all fans of the fantasy genre, do yourselves a favor and pick up the Inheritance Cycle- you won't be disappointed.