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Eragon by Christopher Paolini


Kell

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One of the two books chosen for the September Reading Circle is Eragon by Christopher Paolini.

 

When Eragon finds a polished stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands...

 

Post your discussions here.

 

Happy reading! :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm not a great fantasy fan but this book really caught my imagination. It is nowhere near as complicated as Lord of The Rings as the book was written by a 15 year old boy and it is primarily for a younger audience. The story though, is a typical child-like fantasy and more than likely will capture the hidden child in every one. I understand that not everyone likes fantasy, but I do feel that if anything is going to convince you to read it, it will be this book.

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I'm not doing very well with the reading circle choices this month at all! After giving up on The Queen of Tambourine, I'm considering doing the same with Eragon. I've never really been into the Sword-&-Sorcery type of fantasy novels at all, & all this talk of dragons & elves is already turning me off big time. Add to that all the wierd names that are already cropping up & it's adding up to something I'm really not enjoying so far. I'll persevere a while longer, but if I don't get into it soon, I'm afraid I'll have to leave this one too.

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Nah, I'm afraid I've had enough of it already - I've spent all morning slogging through it & I'm just not getting into it at all. The very fact that the book even needs an explanation at the back for all the names is quite off-putting for me. I think I'll just have to step back from this month's reading circle. Ah well, I'll be back on for next month's RC. In the meantime, I have a colossal TBR list to make a dent in...

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Starting this one this evening. I can't wait. I really loved this book when I first bought it and I can't believe that was over two years ago. It was a whim buy in Waterstone's after I found nothing else I liked in Liverpool. The train journey home was the highlight of the day, with my spanking new book :)

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Well, I am about 60 pages in, and it's OK, I am enjoying it! I'm not reading it as quickly as I do other types of books though. I find my thoughts wandering, and have to read the page again! Does this happen to anyone else? Do you think it's the writing style or the subject matter? (I found the same with 'Emma')

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I find my thoughts wandering, and have to read the page again! Does this happen to anyone else?

 

I did find that the first time I read it I had to pay extra attention until I knew who the characters were and where they were from. After the first 100 pages it's plain sailing, he just has to get the history in so you know where he is taking the story. I found the map helpful too.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I'm glad you enjoyed it Linda, it's brilliant after you persevere through the initial 'laying of the land', once you know the history you can run with the story. I love the characters in the book too, Saphira is loveable in her own way and you have the 'pantomime' bad guys who you just want to boo when they appear :D

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  • 1 month later...

Well I did finish Eragon! Quite a while ago actually, now perservering with Frankenstein, certainly you lot have got me reading outside my 'box'! I enjoyed Eragon immensely, even more so towards the end. Kind of a mixture of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings! Just lent it to my 17 year old son, who read it on holiday and he loved it! Perhaps we can go together to see the film.

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I am glad you enjoyed it, very well worth persevering with. If you are interested the next part of the book is called Eldest and should be available in paperback soon. Unfortunately the final part of this trilogy hasn't been written yet as Christopher has been busy with the film but I know I am looking forward to it very very much.

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  • 1 month later...

I've finished reading Eragon today having had it on my TBR pile since it was chosen for the reading circle. I loved it. It is one of my 5* reads for this year. I must say I was a little cynical as a) it's American (sorry! but I hate Americanisations in the text!) and :blush: it was originally published in a rather neoptism way (parents published it). I'm so glad it proved me wrong! I now can't wait to see the movie and to read Eldest.

 

ETA - Having read through the discussions above, I agree that the map and pronunciation guide were really enlightening. I agree with Kell that the fact it NEEDED a guide is a bit frustrating, but in comparison to other fantasy that doesn't offer that was much better, none of the "P---- said" feeling each time I read names!

 

Overall - one of the best things Paolini did was the scene setting and descriptive passages. I'm not entirely sure what an Urghal looks like (big foot?!), but as someone has said that Paolini has been really involved with the film - I hope it cpatures their likeness and can put me out of my misery!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
Great film, book is still 100% better though.

We went to see this on Saturday. I made the mistake of reading a review just before we went, so I began to wonder what I was letting myself in for (the review slated it!), but as I had managed to convince my other half to take me out decided there was no way I was changing my mind!

 

I didn't find the film anywhere near as bad as I was fearing - I actually quite enjoyed it, but I agree with many of the review comments (and the IMDB discussions that I have read) - they missed out so much, including some important characters (Solembum, the entire dwarf population, Katrina, and Murtag was a very minor character). They could easily have made it 30 minutes longer and included so much more. Even my OH (who hasn't read the book) felt it was rushed and some of the plot didn't link together very well. I can't see how they can possibly do the second book into a film now, either.

 

That said, it was a good fun film, Saphira was as gorgeous as I hoped! Eragon was a little too blond and blue-eyed for me, but Jeremy Irons as Brom was perfect!

 

I'd recommend it, but don't hope for it to be too much like the book, and I agree with Kat that the book is much better.

 

Oh - and I finished reading Eldest today. I hope he hurries up and gets the third one written now as I want to see how this all turns out! Book 2 is much more about character development, and giving Eragon's cousin Roran a story (it could have been called Roran I suppose!). I wouldn't say it was quite as good as Eragon but still well worth a read.

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