I wasn't far into Eragon before I realized I was reading the book I always wanted to write as a kid. It is also a book that, had it been around when I was a kid, would have driven me mad with jealousy and sent me searching for Christopher Paolini, hell bent on killing him and stealing his identity.
Thankfully, I'm older now and past such ridiculous ideas. Ahem.
Eragon is a fun, familiar story that has enough freshness about it to keep any fantasy fan, and most other readers, interested. In the main, it is a Chosen One story, which has clearly been influenced by some of the greats in the genre. At the same time, Paolini does enough with the characters and plot to keep the book from sampling overmuch, giving it a life of its own.
What struck me most powerfully while reading it was the book's similarities to Star Wars IV: A New Hope. The title character is a teenage boy who grows up in the sticks, having been orphaned under mysterious circumstances. When he comes into contact with a seemingly innocuous item containing a secret, all hell breaks loose. See under Luke Skywalker. Where Luke finds a pair of droids, Eragon finds a dragon egg, but in both cases someone comes looking for it. The Ra'zac might as well be Stormtroopers when they level Eragon's house and kill his uncle. With no one to turn to, the hero seeks out the town storyteller, Brom, who is more than he appears.
Like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Brom is a former warrior of great renown who has hidden himself away from the dominant evil in the world. Unlike Obi-Wan, Brom wasn't watching over the Chosen One character. Indeed, the argument could be made that had Brom not settled where he did, dragon and rider would never have met. Regardless, Brom takes Eragon into his care and teaches him how to use his new powers, including how best to live with the dragon Saphira.
Brom is secretive about his past, only revealing what he thinks Eragon needs to know. In this, there are also shades of J.R.R. Tolkien's Gandalf (up to and including blowing dancing and colored smoke rings on occasion). Ultimately, like both his wizard and Jedi forebears, Brom sacrifices himself to save the boy's life.
Even the bad guys have a distinctly Star Wars/Lord of the Rings feel. The king of Alagaesia is the evil Dragon Rider, Galbatorix, who betrayed his fellow riders and seized power for himself. The Dragon Riders were guardians of peace and justice in the old kingdom (before the dark time, before the empire).
Article comments
1 - anonymous
Hmm... Yeah I got a Lord of the Rings feel when I read it, and consider the fact that I know hardly anything about Star Wars. Overall, for a 15 year old kid author, it was pretty good. I don't think it was the greatest book, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.