Talking to Myself

Before I even start reviewing the book, I'd like to give a brief background of the writer, Christopher Paolini. Raised in Montana, Christopher was home schooled and wrote the book when he was just seventeen years old. His parents are the owners of a small publishing house and they were the ones who helped promote his books. Despite the popularity of his novels, Christopher has received a lot of criticisms from his work.

Eragon is the first of three books, which Paolini named as the Inheritance Trilogy. The book chronicles the tale of a young boy (named Eragon), as he stumbles upon a dragon egg. The egg hatches and the boy quickly bonds with the dragon. The two undergo a journey wherein they discover their role as the last Dragon Rider, playing a decisive part in the coming war against evil.

While reading through Eragon, I cannot help but be reminded of other fantasy and science fiction stories. Paolini's story contains familiar elements from the works of Tolkien, Anne McCaffrey, Ursula Le Guin, and even George Lucas. It's pretty clear that these writers influenced the way Paolini shaped his world. Some readers find his story as clichéd and formulaic. But personally, I found the story to be entertaining and interesting. Both Eragon and Saphira start off as young, innocent children. They spent the first part of the novel hiding and running from their captors. The two of them were forced to quickly grow up and assume the role of a Dragon Rider.

Paolini did borrow ideas from other writers, but he managed to create his own unique story. Despite the novel being classified as a book for young adults, this is not your typical fantasy novel. Eragon contains the names of more than sixty people, horses and dragons, as well as places and magical incantations. Like Tolkien, Paolini took the effort to create a language for each of the major races (elves, dwarves, and Urgalls), as well as an ancient tongue used for casting spells.

After reading both Eragon and its succeeding book (Eldest), I am looking forward to the last installment of the Inheritance Trilogy. Paolini managed to create a familiar yet compelling story about a boy and a dragon. Despite all the criticisms against Paolini, I am reserving my judgement. There is still a third book to be released and a lot of things could still happen.