Eldest: The Inheritance Cycle, Book 2

As the second installment of the Inheritance Cycle it is a great book, although it is a story meant to enhance the world building of Eragon so that the last 2 books are able to speed up and give the readers a real thrill and entertaining plot points. The story can also be a bit tedious at times, but the payoff for them is great. Overall great book.On a separate note, I also found the physical quality of the book to be satisfactory as it stood up to my constant opening and closing, along with some nights it being left open in my bed having been rolled over as I fell asleep reading it.

What a wonderful book to the second series in Eragon! Great continuation on world building. The character plot especially is interesting and increases in this book.

This was a given as a gift and was enjoyed by the young reader

What I look for, when I pick up a fantasy fiction based on elves, dwarves and humans, is how the author has striven to reinvent the races, their relationships, the magic and creatures of the realm, but all within some established conventions and rules (ie: dwarves live in mountains, elves forests, etc). What particularly interests me is how an author breaks barriers in formulating the governing rules of magic, how it is discovered, learned, and the system of laws the creatures of the realm must follow in order to harnest and manipulate this magic. It is this governing system behind the use of magic, reinvented by the author that either draws me or repels me to a fiction.Of this, Paolini has done a fantastic work. What might have appeared boring and dragging to certain impatient readers of Eragon's training with the elves, to me were the most delightful passages of the book. This book tells me that the author has a theory in his mind, a fresh idea of how magic SHOULD be, how it SHOULD be explained, to on one hand fit the rules and conventions we've come to be familiar with, and on the other hand offer a better, a more revelational, perhaps you can even say a scientific explanation to magic, one that makes people go "oh.. that makes sense" that they're crying to share with the rest of the fantasy lovers of the world.To slowly nurture his theory on magic into existence, to share it with us by imbuing it within the story of a hero inside a spellbinding world full of skillfully illustrated settings and characters, is Paolini's greatest triumph. I would agree, that the individual subplots may be a little cliche (only when treated individually, not together), and that some elven names sound strikingly familiar (which I've actually come to appreciate as it allowed me to quickly envision what those names represented), but they have been skillfully woven together to an original story, backed by breathtaking setting, characterization, and most importantly such an original, beautiful and convincing reinvention of the governing laws of magic, psychic bonds, and the philosophies that accompany them. So far, Paolini's creation earns 5 stars from me, it has been a more enjoyable, and more personal read than Lord of the Rings. I will now eagerly turn to the third book.

Very good story with all the elements needed, love, adventure, betrayal, battle, loss, joy, hardship and intrigue. Looking forward to the next one. The

How far would you go to save the one(s) you love?Author Christopher Paolini utilizes book two in his Inheritance trilogy to focus on the many facets of that emotion through Eragon, his dragon, Saphira, and his cousin, Roran.Eragon matures greatly under more rigid instruction from Oromis - a Dragon Rider - and also struggles with his strong feelings for Arya, the daughter of an Elven queen, that are not reciprocated because the love is destined to never happen. But Eragon cannot simply let his emotions die.Saphira - Eragon's dragon - is also tutored to become wiser & stronger by the dragon Glaedr. Saphira thought she would never meet another dragon and her destiny was to be the final survivor. Saphira's love for Glaedr is also rejected seemingly due to what the future holds for her.With Roran, it is a case of betrayal, as the father of his bride-to-be - Katrina - assists the evil Ra'zac & Imperial soldiers in kidnapping her so the wedding he does not approve of will not take place. Roran is left with his village in ruins and thrusted into a leadership role that balances the survival of his friends & neighbors to his plans of rescuing Katrina.Also woven into the story are the emotions associated with hate, revenge & death and the controveries surrounding leadership during stressful times. While the section concerning Eragon's continuing education seems much too long, Paolini may be playing a game with the reader; the feelings stated by Eragon - like those of the reader - are those of eagnerness & anticipation, which are tempered by his frustrations & errors.There are also scenes that seem too familiar from the first book. Again, Paolini may be attempting to convey how the character's perceptions have changed with the maturation process, even in settings that were seemingly well-known.Though it can be (successfully) argued that Eldest would have had a tighter story through better editing, Paolini has done an admirable job in building up the main characters and setting the stage to bring everything to an excellent conclusion in the final book of the trilogy.

I thought Eragon was an exciting read but when I finished reading Eldest I was just left without words.The unfortunate thing about the books in the Inheritance cycle or any other series is that they do take a lot of influence from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But any fantasy book that has orcs, elves or gnomes will automatically be compared to Lord of the ringsIn Eldest, you follow the stories of two people, Eragon Shadeslayer and rider of Saphira, and Roran Garrowsen, Eragon's cousin. Eragon goes to Ellesmera the land of the elves to train his magic and swordsmanship. Along the way there is plenty of danger, magic, fights, sarcasm, and of course, adventure. Far away, Roran must defend Carvahall from Ra'Zac and orcs.Christopher Poalini's writing style has changed a little in comparison to Eragon. His writing has become noticeably more mature and darker, depicting scenes of evil more powerfull than before. Just when you think nothing new can happen Paolini introduces a new plot to the book, The Roran-Eragon switch, with some chapters of "Eldest" will be about Eragon's adventures and others about what is happening to Roran and his followers. We also discover two more dragon riders, and learn about what happened to Murtagh and Eragon's mother.

I love this book! A really unexpected twist in the middle, although any true fan should have seen it coming. Finding out about 'the cripple who is whole' believe me it's so cool. if you enjoyed Eragon, you'll love this one, it's longer too which means even more excitement to get your teeth into.Point to note, it's not all from Eragon's point of view, in which it differs from the first, don't be disappointed if that's what you were expecting, these sections provide an insight into other goings on in Allegasia. I was surprised by the choice, but upon reflection I think it works, and gives the reader a better understanding of the world and the actions of those in it. Please don't let it discourage you.

Another perfect book for my collection. I love reading and spend a lot of time reading and a fair amount in books. People say get a kindle. I love the feel and smell of a proper book. You can’t beat it

Continuing from Eragon, Paolini tells the story of Eragons quest to the elves and his lessons there, whilst also following his cousin as he takes his village out of the empire for safety.Great ending battle, yet felt a little lame until then. Christopher Paolini has used the elves as a media to portray his very strong beliefs and has ruined alot of the books message, especially for younger people. And it comes out very strongly and unopposed.Perhaps you need to get it to keep up with the story, but besides that it isn't the best book he has written.Story 3/5 (Eragons cousin has the best story here)Imagination 2/5Value for money 4/5Overall 3/5

Read this after really enjoying the first. This book also did not disappoint, I really enjoyed. My only criticism is the author would benefit from a better editor. At around 670 pages I thought it was too long, large sections where a lot of not very much was happening. Still on the rest it was really enjoyable, I just feel he is a little a waffly.