Monday, January 12, 2015

Eldest

By Christopher Paolini

Darkness falls…despair abounds…evil reigns…
Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspiring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn’t know whom he can trust.
Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle—one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.
Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life…

This has been on my list of books to read since the movie Eragon came out nearly 10 years ago. It took a little time for me to get into the story, but I found myself so annoyed with Eragon’s side of the story that if it weren’t for Roran’s story, I never would have finished it. Eragon’s side is so clichéd and over-fantastical that I was rolling my eyes at every turn and gagging at Eragon’s weird obsessive crush on Arya. The ease with which Eragon is able to overcome the challenges in front of him made me cringe. Let’s throw magic at the problem and make everything all better! Sheesh. But then there is Roran’s story of how he becomes a freaking awesome character. Roran should be the protagonist. He’s the boss. He leads the people and saves lives, he comes out on top in a horrible situation. I loved reading his part of the story, in fact I’d tell you to read this just for his side of things. I can suffer through Eragon’s stupidity for Roran’s leadership and passion.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5- but only because of Roran

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