Product Description

Fifteen-year-old Eragon believes that he is merely a poor farm boy—until his destiny as a Dragon Rider is revealed. Gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire.

“An authentic work of great talent.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic with his precocious debut.”—People

“Unusual, powerful, fresh, and fluid.”—Booklist, Starred

“An auspicious beginning to both career and series.”—Publishers Weekly

A New York Times Bestseller

A USA Today Bestseller

A Wall Street Journal Bestseller

A Book Sense Bestseller


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #128425 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-24
• Released on: 2006-10-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 768 pages

Amazon.com Review
Here's a great big fantasy that you can pull over your head like a comfy old sweater and disappear into for a whole weekend. Christopher Paolini began Eragon when he was just 15, and the book shows the influence of Tolkien, of course, but also Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, and perhaps even Wagner in its traditional quest structure and the generally agreed-upon nature of dwarves, elves, dragons, and heroic warfare with magic swords.

Eragon, a young farm boy, finds a marvelous blue stone in a mystical mountain place. Before he can trade it for food to get his family through the hard winter, it hatches a beautiful sapphire-blue dragon, a race thought to be extinct. Eragon bonds with the dragon, and when his family is killed by the marauding Ra'zac, he discovers that he is the last of the Dragon Riders, fated to play a decisive part in the coming war between the human but hidden Varden, dwarves, elves, the diabolical Shades and their neanderthal Urgalls, all pitted against and allied with each other and the evil King Galbatorix. Eragon and his dragon Saphira set out to find their role, growing in magic power and understanding of the complex political situation as they endure perilous travels and sudden battles, dire wounds, capture and escape.

In spite of the engrossing action, this is not a book for the casual fantasy reader. There are 65 names of people, horses, and dragons to be remembered and lots of pseudo-Celtic places, magic words, and phrases in the Ancient Language as well as the speech of the dwarfs and the Urgalls. But the maps and glossaries help, and by the end, readers will be utterly dedicated and eager for the next book, Eldest. (Ages 10 to 14) --Patty Campbell

From Publishers Weekly
While exploring the forest, 15-year-old Eragon discovers an odd blue gemstone—a dragon egg, fated to hatch in his care. According to PW, "The author takes the near-archetypes of fantasy fiction and makes them fresh and enjoyable, chiefly through a crisp narrative and a likable hero." Ages 12-up. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up-Eragon, 15, is hunting for wild game when he witnesses a mysterious explosion. At the center of the blast radius he finds a polished blue stone marked with white veins. Brom, the village storyteller, has shown interest in it, so it is to him that Eragon turns when it starts squeaking, then wobbling, and then hatches into a majestic sapphire blue dragon. His decision to keep and raise Saphira starts him on an epic journey of Tolkienesque proportions that is only partially told in the 500 pages of this book. Eragon learns that the Empire's cruel and oppressive king will stop at nothing to get Eragon and Saphira to serve him. Training and traveling with Brom, the teen and dragon learn to work together in war and peace, using a combination of traditional fighting arts and magic. They encounter massive humanoid warriors with savage intentions and are befriended by Murtagh, a human warrior with mysterious ties to the Varden and the Empire. Eventually, they seek refuge with dwarves who harbor the Varden, who exist to free the Empire. Eragon does not approach the depth, uniqueness, or mastery of J. R. R. Tolkien's works, and sometimes the magic solutions are just too convenient for getting out of difficult situations. However, the empathetic characters and interesting plot twists will appeal to the legions of readers who have been captivated by the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and are looking for more books like it.
Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Better than the Movie
I happen to be a reader that saw the movie before I was aware there was a book. I then read the second book Eldest first which I enjoyed a great deal and recently read Eragon (Book 1). The movie was alright but I don't think it does the book justice. The movie is like a short condensed to fault version with a different ending. All in all, I say Eragon was a good and interesting book.

Painfully Bad Writing
While it's fine that it was written by a kid, the writing is painfully bad. If you want to read good writing rather than a gimmick, try another book.

MUCH better than the MOVIE version ...
OK, so we all get it that Christopher Paolini (CP) incorporated a lot of other works of fiction into his. That being said, let's move on ...

I watched the movie version [on HBO multiple times] of this book for almost a year before reading the book. I originally thought the book would follow the movie with a few small exceptions [like how they did the Harry Potter series vs. their books]. Oh, how I was WRONG!! The book is NOTHING LIKE THE MOVIE!!

(NOTE: I honestly don't know HOW the movie producers are going to bring the second book [Eldest] to life on the screen since it doesn't follow ANY of the plot points of the first book.)

The book weaves a rich history into a thoughtful story. Yes, there are similarities to other stories (and, yes I HAVE read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings), however, I feel that CP did a really good job on tailoring this tale to the direction he wanted to maneuver us toward.

I say it's better than watching prime time TV at this point. If you don't want to buy the books, then just borrow them from your library and enjoy them for what they are - good, clean, fun reading!