Christopher Paolini

I have to admit it--I really wanted to hate Christopher Paolini's Eragon. C’mon, who can blame me? Paolini is an eighteen-year-old kid from Nowheresville, Montana who produced a best-selling children's book that he started when he was fifteen! FIFTEEN! When I was fifteen I was worrying about being asked to the spring dance, not writing my epic trilogy. Obviously a big mistake on my part.

Eragon is not a spectacularly well-written book, but I enjoyed watching Paolini grow and settle into his writing style. There is the occasional use of big impressive words when a simpler word would have conveyed the meaning much better, but he works it out as the book progresses. What kept drawing me back into this book were the characters, in particular Saphira, Eragon's dragon companion. Eragon isn't truly great fantasy, but this book is definitely worth the price of the paperback edition.

Note: Eragon is another book that’s frequently compared to Harry Potter, but this is much more of a Lord of the Rings-style book.


Aftertaste:
See above re: thesaurus abuse.

Availability:
Everywhere.

Other Recommendations:
Anything by David and Leigh Eddings

The Blue Sword and The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley

The Dark is Rising Sequence, by Susan Cooper

Website:
http://www.alagaesia.com/ -