Reviewed by Jubilee Anderson
GENRE: YA Dragon Fantasy
RATING: ⭐⭐⭐
COMP TITLE: Lord of the Rings
One boy…
One dragon…
A world of adventure.
When Eragon finds a polished blue 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.
Writing
There are debates as to whether Eragon is extremely cliched or excitingly fresh. I don’t think it’s accurate to say either. Each author has a set of things he is good at, and things he needs some work on.
On Metaphors…
Paolini excels in crafting vivid metaphors to describe things. I felt like the page came alive through these metaphors, and it helped me learn a lot about the characters. Here are some examples of vivid language I gleaned from the text:
“Exposed like an unrolled map”
“An impressive array of knives swung from his belt.”
“His black beard was roiled and knotted like his jaw muscles.”
On Plot…
There were definitely a few cliches in the plot, and yes, many ideas were borrowed from the Lord of the Rings. Eragon’s arc follows the “chosen one” arc. Elves are obviously tall, beautiful, and more skilled than humans at everything. Eragon’s mentor says something very similar to Gandalf in an intense action scene.
“Run, you fool!”
This being Paolini’s first novel, I can understand why his book was cliched. When you first start out, it’s hard not to copy what you’ve seen in other books.
However, one thing I noticed was that Paolini did take Eragon’s “chosen one” arc a step further. As Eragon takes on his role, he learns responsibility. A mentor of Eragon instructs him in his role of leadership by telling him thus:
“You must be kind and wise to all, for they put their trust in you. Don’t speak flippantly or without thought, because your words will have impact far beyond what you intend.”
I think there is some truth to these words. The Bible, especially the book of Proverbs, tells us that our words and actions have impact on others besides ourselves. We ought to be wise with our words, and not fools.
Now that we’ve talked a little bit about Paolini’s prose and writing style, let’s look at the core of the story: the theme.
Worldview
I want to start this section off by saying that I cannot 100% know Paolini’s worldview based solely off of the book Eragon. However, it is nearly impossible for an author not to insert at least a portion of their worldview into their stories. At the very least, the following ideas are the beliefs of Paolini’s characters.
I discovered some very interesting quotes in this book. I have listed four of the most interesting ones below, along with my thoughts on them.
On Following Your Heart…
“What does your heart say?”
Our modern world is infused with this idea that one should follow his own beliefs. “Follow your heart,” they say. But if we who are inside this world cannot see beyond ourselves to the Truth, how will we be able to judge rightly? We need Someone to come in from outside and show us what Truth means. I think I would rather say, “Follow your Creator.”
On Forgiving and Forgetting…
“If you can’t forgive, at least forget.”
Eragon’s companion said this to him after he slayed a weaponless man Eragon wanted to show mercy to. Eragon is furious at his companion, but his companion begs for forgiveness. Again, this hearkens to a teaching that we ought to “Forgive and forget.” It is true that we ought to forgive. But the reason for our forgiveness flows from the amazing truth that Jesus forgave us of all our sins, and so we ought to forgive others, not simply because we should be nice to everyone or because we should “do unto others.”
On the Subject of Gods…
“He fervently thanked all the gods, known and unknown.”
and…
“What god would do this? Show yourself!”
These statements say something about what Paolini believed about God. What exactly it says, I am not quite sure. It seems that he believed in a Being up in the sky, but not a personal one. Interestingly, Paolini seems to have some sort of moral code, as Eragon clearly states that murder of an unarmed person is evil, and stealing is wrong, but the basis for this code goes unmentioned.
I am not totally sure what Paolini believes, but it is not Christian worldview. However, just because something is not Christian does not mean we can’t and shouldn’t read it. It simply means that when we read things like this, we know what the Bible says so that we can test these ideas against the Word of God.
If you’d like to learn more about Paolini’s worldview, I found two articles expanding on some of the thoughts I had in this section. Please note that I have not read other articles from this person, so use discretion when browsing content on his website. This article was specifically on Eragon, and the following article, while on book 2 in the Inheritance Cycle, digs deeper into Paolini’s worldview than the first article.
To Watch For
- Swearing: There are several mentions of characters cursing. The words “damned,” “ass,” and “hellfire” are each used once.
- Sorcery: A witch prophesies the future. Witchcraft and fortunetelling are portrayed as something good that helps the main character.
- Sexual Content: Eragon removes a woman’s shirt to heal a deadly wound and sees her bare back.
- Violence: There are descriptions of dead bodies, including that of an impaled baby, whip wounds, men getting shot with arrows/stabbed, broken bones. One character describes a religious sect that makes limb offerings and drinks blood.
Overall, I enjoyed reading Eragon. Despite the differences in worldview, he wrote a book that kept me hooked until the end. I really appreciate Paolini for having a satisfying ending, since I do not have time to be forced into reading the entire series if it ends in a cliffhanger! My good irl friends may convince me to read the next one, though. 😀
Have a blessed day!
PAPERBACK PRICE: $9
DATE PUBLISHED: 2002