By: Christopher Paolini Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Knopf Books for Young Readers Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 704 Publication Date: March 13, 2007 Reading Level: Young Adult Release Date: March 13, 2007
Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn’t know whom he can trust.
Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle–one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.
Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life. . . .
Praise for Eragon: “Unusual, powerful . . . fresh and fluid. An impressive start to a writing career that’s sure to flourish.” –Booklist, Starred “Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic with his precocious debut.” –People “The new ‘It’ book of children’s lit.” –U.S. News & World Report “An auspicious beginning to both career and series.” –Publishers Weekly
A #1 New York Times Bestseller A #1 Publishers Weekly Bestseller A USA Today Bestseller A Wall Street Journal Bestseller A Book Sense Book of the Year A #1 Book Sense Selection
From the Hardcover edition.
Amazon.com: Surpassing its popular prequel Eragon, this second volume in the Inheritance trilogy shows growing maturity and skill on the part of its very young author, who was only seventeen when the first volume was published in 2003. The story is solidly in the tradition (some might say derivative) of the classic heroic quest fantasy, with the predictable cast of dwarves, elves, and dragons--but also including some imaginatively creepy creatures of evil.
The land of Alagaesia is suffering under the Empire of the wicked Galbatorix, and Eragon and his dragon Saphira, last of the Riders, are the only hope. But Eragon is young and has much to learn, and so he is sent off to the elven forest city of Ellesmera, where he and Saphira are tutored in magic, battle skills, and the ancient language by the wise former Rider Oromis and his elderly dragon Glaedr. Meanwhile, back at Carvahall, Eragon's home, his cousin Roran is the target of a siege by the hideous Ra'zac, and he must lead the villagers on a desperate escape over the mountains. The two narratives move toward a massive battle with the forces of Galbatorix, where Eragon learns a shocking secret about his parentage and commits himself to saving his people.
The sheer size of the novel, as well as its many characters, places with difficult names, and its use of imaginary languages make this a challenging read, even for experienced fantasy readers. It is essential to have the plot threads of the first volume well in mind before beginning--the publisher has provided not only a map, but a helpful synopsis of the first book and a much-needed Language Guide. But no obstacles will deter the many fans of Eragon from diving headfirst into this highly-awaited fantasy. (Ages 12 and up) --Patty Campbell
Meet Author Christopher Paolini Christopher Paolini’s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at age 15.
"Writing is the heart and soul of my being. It is the means through which I bring my stories to life. There is nothing like putting words on a page and knowing that they will summon certain emotions and reactions from the reader. In my writing, I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between Tolkien at his best and Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf." --Christopher Paolini
Paolini talks more about the series, and about what inspires him in this video clip. Watch the video (high bandwith) Watch the video (low bandwith)
The Eragon/Eldest Boxed Set
Want to learn more about the series? Check out our review of Eragon: Here's a great big fantasy that you can pull over your head like a comfy old sweater and disappear into for a whole weekend. Christopher Paolini began Eragon when he was just 15, and the book shows the influence of Tolkien, of course, but also Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, and perhaps even Wagner in its traditional quest structure and the generally agreed-upon nature of dwarves, elves, dragons, and heroic warfare with magic swords. Read more
Order your copy of the boxed set today
Learn the Lingo Our quickie pronunciation guide will help you get to know some of the names and places in the Inheritance series.
Ajihad
AH-zhi-hod
The Leader of the Varden
Argetlam
ARE-jet-lahm
Elven word to describe Dragon Riders meaning "silver hand"
Arya
AR-ee-uh
A powerful elf who is both beautiful and a master swordswoman
audio reader way to anoying the book eldest i realy like and have read more thsn once ,but the other day i went on vacation and thought hay ill get eldest on cd and listen to it on the drive. the guy who is readen the book has one of the most annoying voices ive ever heard and he makes eragon sound like a fag and saphira is a female dragon not yoda.
Amazing The best book ever? Oh wait third book in the trilogy is coming out September 20!
This book... This book, Eldest is good no doubt, but some parts, most of the book actually are really slow. It also has a great problem, it seems it is some kind of rip-off book from Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and more.
Let me explain, when Luke goes to avenge his uncle with Obi-Wan, an old but clever teacher...Wait, that's Eragon goes to avenge his uncle with Brom. Well anyway, they fight a lot of enemies, they kill Durza and then Eldest starts. The story follows Eragon with Gimli and Arwen going...Oops, I mean Orik and Ayra. They arrive to the Elven city and there Eragon learns the arts of the Dragon Riders from an old man who is a rider himslef. Some of the things he learns are interesting but when you read 500 pages about a boy learning you're bound to get bored when an entire chapter is about ants, or when dear Oromis goes into the river with Eragon without clothes on, or...well, you'll get bored. Then the battle comes, some interesting things happen again and boom! Darth Vader appears and claims to Eragon "No, I am your father"**dramatic music playing in the back**...Damn, did it again! It's actually Murtagh who says to Eragon that he's his brother and that Morzan, a bad guy who is dead, is their father...Oh, he also loses his sword which doesn't remind me of Luke losing his Lightsabre when Darth Vader told him the truth...
All in all, you can read the book, you'll get bored in some parts, you'll find many paralells with other novels and you can either like it or hate it. Good luck.
PS: Eragon faints every other page and you'll get tired of it. At the end of the book, he's lost concioussness so many times, you wonder how he doesn't get any brain damage
Excellent book I enjoyed Eldest immensly. Not many books can pull me from video games, but this book and its prequel did just that. I enjoyed the progression through the book, but I wanted it to continue when I finished. I will be purchasing Brisingr when it is released.
great bok This is a great book, the story line continues from the first book and the characters are developed nicely. I cant wait for the next installment to be delivered in august. I pre-ordered the next book for myself and for a friend.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
Christopher Paolini’s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high school at age 15. 
Our quickie pronunciation guide will help you get to know some of the names and places in the Inheritance series.
