It is true what they say about picking up things each time you read a book. I have no idea how many times I have read Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, yet it was only this time around did I realise something. It may be significant, it may not, but it did make me wonder what on earth I had been reading for all of these years when I never even noticed that a city was actually inside a mountain.
This book is hard to review simply because it has been a firm favourite for so many years and reading it this time around, I knew precisely what was coming. However, the combination of magic, plot, characters and just the overall world means I will never get bored of reading it and thoroughly enjoyed it this time around just as much as I had all the others.
A young farm boy, Eragon, finds his life turned upside down after a mysterious stone appears before him. It doesn’t take long for the stone to be revealed as an egg; and a dragon egg at that. Eragon finds himself in the centre of a legend and a battle as he strives to become the next Dragon Rider, despite the king wanting to control – or kill – him to stop him from joining with the king’s enemies. However, Eragon has personal reasons for wanting to turn against the king, the least of which is the murder of his uncle, and subsequently, his mentor during his pursuit of the killers.
Prophecies have foretold of him, great leaders gather to try and control him. But the most important lesson Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, can learn is how to be true to themselves and make sure they cannot be used as a weapon, by anyone. After fleeing across the entire realm, Eragon finds himself far from home. But perhaps most importantly, he finds himself far from the farm boy that he once was as people look to him for guidance and leadership.
Paolini truly knows how to create a world. The small details present, the places named and their locations hinted at reveals precisely how deep his knowledge runs of his own world. Rules of magic, laws of a language, the language itself – these are all elements present within this novel and for those who like to lose themselves to a different world, it becomes almost impossible to escape it again due to the way it draws you in.
This re-read was in order to go through the series so I can finally read the fourth book. Having wanted to refresh my mind of precisely what happens earlier on in the series, I thought I would start from the beginning again and I’m so glad I did. It was as if I had forgotten precisely how much I adore these books and have just been reminded of all the reasons why. Magic, dragons, sword fights and the journey as a young boy tries to find his place in the world? What’s not to like?
A Rambling Reviewer 