Eragon

by Christopher Paolini

Reviewed by Lawrence D.P. Miller

With Eragon, the first book of the Inheritance trilogy, Christopher Paolini joins the ranks of authors such as Guy Gavriel Kay and Stephen Brust in reviving the lost art of the 500-page fantasy novel. The title character, a 15-year-old boy, begins the book as 15-year-old boys typically do in Young Adult fantasy novels, which is to say he learns a bit about his otherwise hazy family history, he stokes his desire to leave the podunk town he lives in, and he meets some interesting new friends. In fact, many of the elements throughout the book will be familiar to readers of fantasy; at times, this comes across as derivative. Much more frequently, however, Paolini presents such story elements as his own version of traditional archetypes, cozy and comforting rather than formulaic or tired.

Set against a backdrop that grows from Eragon's tiny home town to encompass the entire continent and several powerful nations, the novel's scope remains intensely personal. Eragon's early wanderlust ebbs and swells as he becomes a bit of a reluctant hero, pulled at from all sides, and not knowing whom to trust. Each relatively brief chapter advances his story, revealing to him answers to earlier questions or introducing him to new challenges to overcome; the effect makes it hard to put Eragon down. Paolini's gentle yet evocative prose magnifies this effect.

Though intended for the Young Adult reader, Eragon should entertain grown-ups as well. Eragon's personal challenges are generally complex enough, without being needlessly complicated, for the story to remain interesting. Constantly faced with moral dilemmas of every sort, Eragon's individual struggle to find himself and his role in the world around him is particularly engaging.

Eragon's storyline, the book's only real weakness, consists of a series of encounters that just sort of "happen", rather than being the logical consequence of earlier choices. As a result, some of Eragon's decisions feel a bit hurried at times, as if Paolini purposely reduced the complexity of his original story for the Young Adult audience. In one example, Eragon attempts to track down a pair of enemies in an investigation worthy of Law & Order, but the conclusion feels truncated and the result seems unsupported by the facts. That is the exception rather than the rule, as the book is generally effective building on the library of traditional fantasy elements it chooses.

Parents should note that while the book contains no objectionable language, it does contain some scenes of fairly graphic violence. Though Eragon confirms the existence of sex and sexual attraction, it does not include any sexually explicit material. The vocabulary should not be inappropriately challenging for readers of other Young Adult fiction.

Eragon
Christopher Paolini
Knopf Books
ISBN 0-375826-68-8
Hardcover, 544 pages
August 2004