Eragon
by Christopher Paolini

KNOPF, 2002, 497 pp., $10.95
ISBN 0-375-82669-6

After a mysterious prologue in which a capture occurs, this story 
begins in the Spine, an 
ill-thought-of mountain range that sits to the west of Palancar Valley 
and Carvahall, where 
Eragon was hunting. When he was hunting deer, all of a sudden, an 
explosion in a clearing
 nearby changes his life forever. In the clearing stands a dark-blue 
polished stone. He
 picked it up and brought it back to try to trade it for some meat, for 
he hadn’t caught any. 
But when the enraged butcher, Sloan, turned it down, he returned to 
his uncle Garrow’s farm,
 where he lived with his cousin Roran.  Later, after several failed 
attempts to sell the 
stone to various traders, he tries to break it open, but is 
unsuccessful. Later that night,
 it hatches to reveal a blue dragon, which he later names Saphira. But 
Eragon and his dragon
 only cause trouble for their fellow villagers when two strangers, the 
Ra’zac, arrive and
 murder his uncle in their search for him and the dragon. He then 
leaves with Brom, an old 
storyteller, to avenge his uncle’s death and ensure the safety of his 
cousin’s life. But
 after they fail, causing another death in his life, he and Saphira 
realize that they must run to the protection of the Varden, secret society against the 
Galbatorix, an evil king 
that wants Eragon dead. But what will happen to this burdened teen?



This fantasy novel, the first of four books in the Inheritance series, 
is a story of
 adventure and battles that are centered on love and betrayal. The love 
includes friend love,
 partner love, and true love. He finds his true love in dreams that he 
can not make sense of. 
In betrayal, an enemy becomes wicked in mind and thought, and this 
betrayal is one that 
makes the Ra’zac find him.



With its unique storyline, Christopher Paolini writes this story about 
a teenage boy in a 
time of stress and changes that, even as a girl, I can relate to in 
great depth. He has to 
make choices that determine life and death of he and his dragon, and 
even family and
 friends. Everyone has to make choices, especially at my age, when you 
are figuring out who
 you are in life. This is another, smaller theme, but is a big 
part that I, and others 
of my age can relate to.



To 10 year-olds and older, male and female, Eragon is the perfect 
book. It has a bit of
 romance (but not horribly too much), a gallon of betrayal, and is 
filled to the brim with 
adventure and myth-like tales. This is the book you would read under 
the sheet at midnight 
with a flashlight, unable to put down and turn off the light. Even 
when you do finish it, it 
is hard to pick up any but the sequel to this thrilling cliffhanger.

~ reviewed by Anneliese