Friday, July 29, 2016

What's a New Dragon Rider to do?

Eragon is happy living on a farm with his uncle and cousin, though he would’ve loved to have known his mom and dad. When he finds a unique blue stone in “the spine” one day he takes it, hoping it will be of value and his family can sell it for money. Eragon has trouble finding a buyer, but one night unexpected sounds start coming from the stone. When a dragon hatches, Eragon’s life will never be the same. Right from the start he and his dragon, who he names Saphira, have a special connection. That’s always the way it’s been with Dragon Riders. There are few Dragon Riders left, and the ones that are around are forced to work for the Empire. Terrible things happen and Eragon must quickly decide what to do. As he tries to escape, a man he's known all is life, Brom, offers to come with him and teach him ancient ways. But their path is dangerous, filled with people and creatures who may or may not be able to be trusted. Eragon’s small farm world expands as he sets out to learn more about the place that he's lived all his life. Will Eragon and Saphira be able to survive? Can Brom teach Eragon all he needs to know? Is it possible for them to get away from so many beings that want to capture and kill them? How will Eragon ever know what he should do with his new Dragon Rider power? Jump aboard this fantasy and soar into a world where anything is possible.

Eragon by Christopher Paolini has been around for over ten years. Ever since I first heard of it I've been curious about the story because it was written by a teenager and the book's journey to publication fascinated me. I listened to the audio and the narrator, Gerard Doyle, did a fabulous job using a variety of voices and inflections. I feel like I know the characters in the book and I connected with them- especially the main characters. I cheered on Eragon when things went well, and I was frustrated when I felt he was doing the wrong thing. I tried to judge the characters he was encountering to see if I would trust them or not too. Being a Dragon Rider sounds fascinating, but it definitely would be scary to have people trying to capture you because of your power. This is a book that involves a new world, ancient languages, magic, and creatures of all kinds. For those reasons I would recommend this book to kids in fifth grade and up or anyone who enjoys fantasy*. I just found out there are four books in the series. I do look forward to finding out what happens, but it may take me a while to make it through all those books!

Has anyone else read Eragon? Or have you read another book by Christopher Paolini? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy Reading!
~L

*After writing my review I heard from a blogging friend that future books in the series are better suited to older readers. As I had only read the first book in the series, I wasn't aware of some things that come up in later books. For that reason it may be more appropriate to recommend this book to kids in middle school and up. 

33 comments:

  1. Hi Lizzie - I think L must be you?! What a great post - and to read Paolini's rise to fame is fascinating ... I did it via Wiki ... I hadn't heard of the book, nor Christopher ...

    Cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary- Isn't Christopher's rise to fame amazing? Such a fascinating story! Glad you did your research (but I know you and research, so I am not surprised). :) You are right! L is Lizzy!
      ~L

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  2. I have a deep love of dragons and have long 'meant' to read this book. Thank you for nudging it further up my list.

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    1. EC- If you love dragons then I think you will really enjoy this one! :) ~L

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  3. A book that has been on my wish list for ages now. Perhaps I'll disregard my self imposed book buying ban and buy myself a copy.

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    1. Tracy- I can totally relate to the book buying ban. I really enjoyed this one! :) ~L

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  4. I met the author of Eragon back in Billings, Montana right after he had self published Eragon before it got picked up by a big publisher. He was so young at the time, barely 16 years old. He would go around and promote the book at bookstores or libraries. We happened to catch his presentation at the library. He would dress for the time period and tell an enchanting tell of Eragon as he drew a picture of Eragon.

    My daughter read the book but I never did. She did enjoy it :)

    betty

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    1. Betty- I LOVE your story! How awesome that you got to meet Christopher when he was first started off. It sounds like he worked really hard to get his book out there and I would be thrilled to see his presentation. Thanks for sharing! :)
      ~Jess

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  5. I think is just the sort of book I should read to my human dad. I pawmise my comment wont dragon and on and on...

    Pawsitive wishes,

    Penny :)

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    1. Penny- You are too cute for cute! I bet your human would love for you to read this one to him. :) ~L

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  6. I actually translated it for the readers in my country :) But, having later parts in mind, I'd never give it to kids... too much violence, blood and even SM in some scenes :)

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    1. Dezmond- Well that is good to know! I have only read the first one- but now that I know what is coming that will help me to make better decisions about who I tell to read it! Sounds like it is better for YA and adults then. :)
      ~L

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  7. I haven't read it, but I've heard a lot about it...I never investigated further to see what it was about, though, so I was glad to read about it here!

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    1. Stephanie- Glad to give you information about it! :) ~L

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  8. I haven't read it but I did see a movie by the same name.

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    1. Mary- I haven't seen the movie- but I did hear it was turned into a movie. :) ~L

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  9. I am amazed that this was published ten years ago! It was definitely an interesting phenomenon. I haven't read it, but it's on my list :)

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    1. Meradeth- It was on my list for a long time! I am glad I finally got to it. :) ~L

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  10. I read it, but that was probably when it first came out. I'll have to pull it off the shelf and take another look. I know my kids would enjoy it if they haven't read it already.

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    1. Lee- Awesome to hear you read this one when it first came out! It's a great story. :) ~L

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  11. I've watched the movie many times but haven't read the story. I need to. It blows me away that a teenager wrote it.

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    1. Sandra- I was amazed that it was written by a teenager too. I haven't seen the movie yet- but I plan to soon. :) ~L

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  12. I haven't read this book but I do love dragons... I think it sounds like a book Valentina would love xox

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    1. Launna- If you love dragons then I think you will enjoy Eragon. I bet Valentina will like it too. :) ~L

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  13. My brother read this and said he likes it better than the movies.

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  14. Hmm, I can't remember if I read this one. I think I did but it was years ago.

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    1. Kelly- It has been out for a long time- so there is a good chance you read it. :) ~L

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  15. I read the first three books in the series once when I was a child, and reread the three of them again as a teenager! I just need to get to the last book now. It's amazing that a teenager managed to write such a wonderfully in detail and meaningful novel. It will forever be one of my favourite fantasy novels.

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    1. Olivia-Savannah- Awesome to hear that you enjoyed this series so much. I look forward to checking out the rest of the books. I am still in awe that they were written by a teenager. He did a great job world building! :) ~L

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  16. Heidi- I can understand! Each book is quite long. If you have the chance to listen to them on audio that might be a good way to finish the series. :) ~L

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  17. I haven't read this series, but dragons sound intriguing. They seem to be quite popular these days.

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    1. Beverly- Dragons are definitely in the air! :) ~L

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