" Eragon " and " Eldest " (Inheritance Cycle) [Import] [Hardcover]

Christopher Paolini (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 1232 pages
• Publisher: Corgi Childrens (November 2, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0552556416
• ISBN-13: 978-0552556415
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 3.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (189 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Christopher Paolini was born on November 17, 1983 in Southern California. He has lived most of his life in Paradise Valley, Montana with his parents and younger sister, Angela. As a child, he often wrote short stories and poems, made frequent trips to the library, and read widely. The idea of Eragon began as the daydreams of a teen. Christopher's love for the magic of stories led him to craft a novel that he would enjoy reading. The project began as a hobby, a personal challenge; he never intended it to be published. All the characters in Eragon are from Christopher's imagination except Angela the herbalist, who is loosely based on his sister. Christopher was fifteen when he wrote the first draft of Eragon. He took a second year to revise the book and then gave it to his parents to read. The family decided to self-publish the book and spent a third year preparing the manuscript for publication: copyediting, proofreading, designing a cover, typesetting the manuscript, and creating marketing materials. During this time Christopher drew the map for Eragon, as well as the dragon eye for the book cover (that now appears inside the Knopf hardcover edition). The manuscript was sent to press and the first books arrived in November 2001. The Paolini family spent the next year promoting the book at libraries, bookstores, and schools in 2002 and early 2003. In summer 2002, author Carl Hiaasen, whose stepson read a copy of the self-published book while on vacation in Montana, brought Eragon to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, which is part of Random House. Knopf published Eragon in August 2003. Eldest, which continues the adventures of Eragon and the dragon Saphira was published in August 2005, and in December 2006, Fox 2000 released their movie adaptation of Eragon in theaters around the world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written book makes great use of archetypes, December 26, 2006

By 

M. Vandover (Montgomery Village, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eragon / Eldest (Inheritance, Books 1 & 2) (Hardcover)

There are alot of people out there who speak disparingly of these books because the characters seem to be ripped off of other books/movies. However, if you look at those books/movies, you will realize that liek Eragon and Eldest, the characters are archetypal characters.

You have Eragon the innocent who becomes involved in something of which they understand little or nothing. Examples: (Recent) Luke Skywalker, Garion, Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Pippin Took, Merry Brandybuck, Bilbo Baggins, (Older) Lancelot, Paris of Troy, etc.

You have Brom and Oromis the wise and strong mentor. Examples: Merlin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Belgarath, Polgara, Gandalf, etc.

You have Durza and Galbatorix the evil wizards/masterminds. Examples: Morgana Le Fay, the Emperor, Sauron, Morgoth/Melkor, Torak, Zandramas, Saruman, etc.

You have Arya the brave princess and love interest of the innocent hero. Examples: Ce'Nedra, Guinevere, Leia, etc.

And the list goes on and on. All of fantasy relies are these archetypal characters to help the story move on. When Christopher Paolini used these characters, he was not blatantly copying off of Lucas, Tolkien, etc. Rather, he was using the long, time-honored method of fantasy writing. So, stop your complaining and enjoy the story.

If you don't believe me go read teh Rivan Codex (http://www.amazon.com/Rivan-Codex-Ancient-BELGARIAD-MALLOREON/dp/0345435869/sr=8-1/qid=1167165505/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/105-7313686-7154035?ie=UTF8&s=books)

and see what David Eddings has to say.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I LIKE THEM ALL, INCLUDING AUDIO BOOKS, August 30, 2008

By 

De Witt Morgan ""an 'elder' reviewer" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inheritance Cycle Omnibus: Eragon and Eldest (The Inheritance Cycle) (Paperback)

My goodness, such passionate reviews. Let me add my own passion to the mix. I am an OLD dude, and I have been reading since I was a little tad. I read everything I can get my hands on, or, if I have nothing, even the back of cereal boxes will do. I have to read! I LOVE this series! I have been reading fantasy, and science fiction, Cowboys and Indians, adventure of all kinds, for all of my life.

One must remember that Christopher was 16-17 years old when he began this series, so his imagination was able to soar. Yes, there is a relationship to the "Dragon Riders of Pern." Yes, there is a relationship to Tolkin, but so what? If you are writing stories of "Smokey the Bear," there will be similarities to other bear stories, So how would one write a story without having it "sort of" relate to some other story?

In Eragon, Saphira becomes a very lovable part of the story. She is intelligent, sometimes funny, always wise, and a wonderful conscience of Eragon. The dragons of Pern, were none of these, but were none the less, loveable.

The series is VERY enjoyable, and I can hardly wait for the release of Bersingr, and the good news is that the story has grown so epic, that a forth book is now necessary.

So my friends, just read, or listen, and enjoy the story as written. Don't try to relate it to other books, enjoy it for what it is, an epic journey into the world of magic, dragons, elves, dwarfs, and other mystical creatures. Time well spent. Try it on audio too, the readings add a LOT to the story with the variety of voices. I listen in my truck, it makes the drive seem way too short.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent First Trilogy, October 18, 2006

By 

David Christiansen "Author of TechDarkSide.com" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eragon / Eldest (Inheritance, Books 1 & 2) (Hardcover)

The first two books in his "Inheritance" trilogy, Eragon is the story of a young man who finds a dragon's egg, which hatches shortly thereafter. Eragon and the dragon, Saphira, form a very close relationship and embark on an epic battle against evil.

There is one really remarkable quality of this book: Christopher Paolini wrote Eragon when he was just fifteen years old. He and his parents self-published it and promoted it themselves until it was picked up by a major publisher. Now it is a best-selling series and is being turned into a film.

Eragon is an entertaining tale, as is Eldest. Both books are easy to read, and the main characters are likeable and engaging. Unfortunately, the plot develops slowly and has similarities to Star Wars that are hard to ignore. The language is sometimes overly flowery to the point it becomes annoying and the actions of the characters sometimes don't make any sense, at least not to me. There were a couple of times when I just couldn't understand why Eragon and his comrades do what they do, because there seemed to be simpler solutions to their problems that they completely ignore.

That said, all of these faults are easy to forgive and don't really detract much from the entertainment value. The Inheritance trilogy will never be The Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter, but it is still good reading. When the third installment makes it to the bookstore, I'll be one of the millions of people to read it.