Review: Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Eldest (The Inheritance Cycle #2)

Christopher Paolini
Published by Alfred A. Knopf 2005
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Dragons

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Darkness falls... Swords clash... Evil reigns.

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 Ellesméra, land of the elves, for further training in magic and swordsmanship, the vital skills of the Dragon Rider. It is the journey of a lifetime, filled with awe-inspring new places and people, each day a fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and Eragon isn't sure whom he can trust.

Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle back home in Carvahall – one that puts Eragon in even graver danger.

Will the king's dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life...

POSITIVE THOUGHTS

• I enjoyed Eldest more than Eragon because I noticed I was a lot more invested in the story and the characters in the second book. Sometimes it takes me a while to get into a story and really be interested in what happens, and I guess this time it took me an entire book to get there. Better late than never, right?
• Once again I really liked how the connection between Eragon and Saphira grows stronger and stronger, even though they each have their own personality.Their bond keeps them together no matter what and that's a beautiful thing.
• All this would-be romance, aaagh! It's so sad to see both my favourite character suffer from being in love... I can't say more, don't want to spoil things for you!
• A new character, Oromis, is introduced and gawd do I like him! He reminded me of someone very close to me, so that's always nice. He's a great tutor to Eragon and everything about him just demands endless respect. He's great. 
• In the beginning I was a bit bored by the chapters from Roran's story, but as his story progressed and he progressed as well as a (marvelous) person, I really started to like him. 

NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

• The story was still so very slow and loooooooooong before anything really happened. These books could have been much shorter and maybe better...
• The big final at the end which involves a person I can't name for the sake of spoilers just didn't do it for me. Bad plot twist, bad!

Have you read Eldest yet? If you have, what did you think about the ending?