Eragon is a classic fantasy book that every Millenial and younger has probably read.... I was late to the party, but I remember friends reading it as a teen shortly after it was re-published in 2003. I finally picked it up and Paolini did not disappoint.
Eragon is a teen who lives on a farm between the town of Carvahall and the Spine, a mountain covered in forest, with his uncle and cousin. One day, while Eragon hunts in the forest for the family he finds a large stone. He takes it to town and tries to sell it for food, but no one will take the odd stone. A few nights later a dragon hatches from stone. Eragon decides to raise the dragon in secret while he learns as much about them as possible.
The land of Alagaësia has not had dragon riders since King Galbatorix killed them all, hundreds of years earlier. Eragon soon finds out that he and the dragon, Saphira, are being hunted by King Galbatorix's creatures and must flee. Broom, the old story teller, intercepts Eragon and joins him in his escape.
Eragon's quest is through space and time. Through the trek across Alagaësia he and Saphira grow up and come of age together. Brom teaches them both about the history and abilities of dragons and their riders. Now that dragons exist once again, what does that mean for the future? With Brom as his teacher, can Eragon become the dragon rider that will save his land?
I found Eragon to be well written and easy to read. The story was slow to build, as most epic tales are. Although Eragon is a YA book I kept waiting for a little bit of romance once Eragon saved Arya, the elf. After doing a little research and discovering that Paolini was in high school when he first wrote Eragon, it makes sense as to why there was a hint of interest, but no romance in the book.
Paolini says that he was influenced by folklore and temporary fantasy. Eragon melds the two together wonderfully. Paolini took great care in researching and experiencing as much of the book as he could in order to create full and accurate descriptions. The world of Alagaësia is lush and diverse, and makes sense geographically. I really appreciate well thought out worlds, creatures, cultures, and history of books. If you like dragons and mythological creatures or epic quests then Eragon, and the Inheritance Cycle series are a must.