Eragon is one of those books that have sparked a wide
spectrum of conflicting opinions. On one side, people have praised it for being
an entertaining, epic, and ambitious fantasy novel, and as an impressive debut
from newcomer Christopher Paolini, who happened to be a teenager when we wrote
it. And on the other side, it’s been criticized as a derivative fantasy novel.
In my
opinion, Eragon is a very, very impressive
achievement. Its world, its characters, its story, while familiar to many fans of
the genre, still have that freshness that make any fantasy story such a joy to
read. It’s a loving tribute to the genre, and a must-read. Besides, it’s not like other fantasy novels, or novels in general, weren’t inspired
in some form or another by others. There’s still
plenty of originality to behold.
After
reading Eragon, if course I had to
read Eldest. How does Eldest fare? Well, it is a solid,
entertaining sequel. However, it’s not quite as good as the first.
To
begin, a brief plot synopsis. After the Battle of Farthen Dur, Eragon decides
to go to Ellesmera, the forest of the elves, to receive his training in the
magical arts and sword-fighting, so he can develop and become the Dragon Rider
the people of Alagaesia have been hoping for. Meanwhile, the forces of the
Empire have invaded his hometown of Carvahall, and it’s up to his cousin Roran
to stand against them. And on the other side, Nasuada, the daughter of the
fallen Ajihad, is now the leader of the Varden, and must take them to the
independent country of Surda.
Unlike
Eragon, Eldest has three different storylines with three different
characters to lead each one. And, frankly, the storylines are of varying
quality. I was far more invested in Roran’s story than in Eragon’s, to be
honest. Eragon’s storyline, while it does keep the reader interested (for the
most part) and we do get to learn about the elves and the magic system Paolini
has created, is a bit lacking in conflict. The vast majority of his story is a
teacher-student relationship, and while this is good material and helps develop
the characters, it’s not as exciting as the spectacular adventures we saw in
the first book. Eragon did it much
better; we saw Eragon embark in many brave adventures and we witnessed the
strength of his teacher-student relationship with the character of Brom, both
of which taught him the responsibilities of being a Rider.
Nasuada’s
storyline is, in all honesty, a missed opportunity. In fact, I might actually
be stretching it by calling her part in the book a “storyline.” We only get to
see about two or three brief scenes of her. That’s it. Her duties in assuming
the position of the leader of the Varden and her quest to take her people from
Farthen Dur to Surda could have been such a neat story, mirroring Eragon and
Roran’s journey. However, we never actually see her development as a leader or
the journey she had to take. We see her in point A, and then in point B. Maybe
Paolini didn’t spend much time with her because he never had the intention to
make her a primary character. After all, I still need to read the last two
books of the Inheritance Cycle. But it still bothered me, and seeing her
journey, even a little of it, would have helped me enjoy the book even more.
As
far as I’m concerned, the true winner of the book is Roran. His storyline is
what truly had me interested as I turned the pages. His story is the best
because, well, it just has the most conflict in it. It’s the classic “hero’s
journey” us fantasy geeks love so much. When Roran sees the Empire threatening
his village, he assumes leadership over his fellow villagers and pushes all of
them to stand up to the Empire. All the scenes where Roran stands in front of
his fellow villagers and assumes leadership over them are very inspiring. Roran
is a great character who’s just as engaging as Eragon himself.
On
top of the Empire, Roran also has to contend with his love, Katrina, and the
trials and obstacles that stand in their relationship. They’re so sweet when
they’re together. You truly believe they’re in love. Even though the peril of
their situation as well as the disapproval of Katrina’s father and the village
stand in their way, in the end, love prevails.
In
conclusion, Eldest is a good sequel.
Even though it never quite reaches the sheer sense of adventure and discovery
of the first book, it’s still guaranteed to have readers clamoring for more.
My Rating: 4
out of 5 Stars
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