Review: Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Eragon (The Inheritance Cycle #1)

Christopher Paolini
Published by Corgi Books 2005
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dragons

Goodreads | Bookdepository

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.

POSITIVE THOUGHTS

• When I have to describe Eragon, I have to say it's just enjoyable. Nothing worth screaming about, but also not all bad. 
• The connection between Saphira and Eragon takes a while to get used to. I mean... Dragons and humans, talking through their thoughts. I know right, it just takes some getting used to that whole thing. But once you do get over it, it's actually quite funny. I loved their relationship and how Saphira calls Eragon her little one (even though she is much younger than he is!). Saphira is also very protective of Eragon and they even have little fights sometimes because they are both stubborn. 
• No insta-love! Or at least I didn't experience it that way. Eragon sees Arya in his dreams, sort of, and although he is fascinated because of her beauty and he does want to rescue her just like that, his feelings only really develop much later. So that's always nice! 
• I also really liked the world of Alagaësia itself and of course the whole theory behind the use of magic through words. 

NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

• A bit slow paced and I also only really started to connect to the story at the end. Which is really quite late if you consider how man pages this book actually has. The entire book is basically one big roadtrip through Alagaësia and then at the end there's a battle but not the most exciting thing ever. Because of this I decided not to give it 4 stars, even though I did like a lot of elements in the story.
• The fighting scenes just didn't feel alive and real to me. I know it's hard to describe and entire battlefield and I respect that, but I have to be honest about it, it just wasn't right. And when there's so much going on at once and you don't really see it all happening in your mind, it's hard to keep track of everything. 

Have you read The Inheritance Cycle yet? Or are dragons not really your thing?