Fantasy readers unite!
I have a pre-teen who devours books. He speeds through books that interest him. He loves books in the fantasy genre and has been known to blast through a Lord of the Rings book in a few days. He has forgotten to eat, watch tv, play with friends and even occasionally asks to take a book with him to soccer. And that's saying a lot because he loves soccer!

Inheritance Trilogy
Jeremy saw Eragon by Christopher Paolini at our Scholastic school book fair in October 2003. He begged me to get it for him. He had a $5 book fair gift certificate that he won in our fundraiser he was willing to put toward the $18.95 price of this hardback. I put up the additional $13.95 and an addict was born. Jeremy loved Eragon and got other 4th graders at his school to read it. And then he started bugging me for the next book in the trilogy.

Eragon plot (very minor spoilers)
The Inheritance trilogy takes place in Alagaesia. Eragon is a 15 year old farmboy who finds a blue stone in the mountains. The stone hatches a dragon who becomes attached to Eragon, allowing Eragon to become a dragon rider. Humans, dragons and elves lived in peace in Alagaesia since the great elf/dragon war. Warrior Urgals came in and destroyed the peace. Galbatorix lost his dragon and turned into an enemy of the dragon riders. This sets the stage for an age old plot of fighting, betrayal and heroic actions.

Long wait
As mentioned, I was prodded for Eldest: Inheritance, Book 2 every time we looked for new reading material. I finally placed an order for Eldest with amazon.com in May, 2005. And last week, it arrived. All 668 pages, complete with map, a synopsis of Eragon: Book 1 and a language and pronunciation guide. There are so many characters and subplots, readers can get lost. The synopsis helped us bridge the time gap between reading books 1 and 2. Did my son savor the delicious meal of fantasy faire, lingering to allow his digestion to settle? Of course not! He finished this buffet in record time and is anticipating Book 3.

Eldest
Eldest is the story of King Galbatorix' attempt to take over Alagaesia. The classic conquest plot, Eragon must find a way to stop the evil King. Eragon is weakened by not having best friend Murtagh at his side after Murtagh runs into peril with a capital "P". Eragon is the best hope of the Dragon Riders to maintain their traditions in the face of Galbatorix' treachery. I won't reveal the story twists but they are numerous and in keeping with fantasy story traditions.

Why is the Inheritance trilogy compelling?
I asked my son and one of his friends why they love these books so much. They told me that Eragon was very suspenseful. An example of a twist from Book 1 that they iterated for me is that Brom, the old story teller was not only a story teller but a dragon rider and a master swordsman. They also described Paolini's writing style as being evocative of sounds and smells, making you feel as if you are in the story.

Author a young sensation
After reading Eragon, we looked online for information on the author, Christopher Paolini and the next book in the series. We learned that Paolini started writing the trilogy when he graduated from high school at age 15 and was 17 when Eragon was published. Wow! That is a remarkable achievement for anyone to get published at age 17, and even more amazing when you realize that Eragon is a bestseller, published in many formats. This is a complicated text including languages of dwarfs and Urgalls as well as an Ancient Language into this heroic fantasy quest. For pre-teens and teens to know that one of their revered authors is a teen himself is a boost to their confidence in their own story telling abilities.

Eldest compared to Eragon, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings?
In my opinion, Eldest shows Paolini's increased writing maturity as it compares to Eragon. It seems that the Inheritance trilogy may be influenced by Tolkien's epics but Paolini definitely uses his own imagination to add creatures and twists to his narratives. My son believes that Harry Potter fans will love the Inheritance series, even though the story lines have little in common.

Reader demographics?
Eldest is pegged for ages 12 and up according to one source, grades 8-11 according to another. My son and one of his friends started the series in 4th grade. Readers who love fantasy fiction may find the book challenging due to many characters and invented languages.

Next book?
Eldest sets the stage for a truly horrific battle in Inheritance, Book 3. No release date has been set.

Current rank at Amazon - #3 right behind Harry Potter's Half Blood Prince book

Author's website: http://www.alagaesia.com/



Recommended: Yes