Eldest

Overview

Darkness falls... despair abounds... 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.

Editorial Reviews

This phone-book size second helping in Paolini's planned Inheritance Trilogy picks up with the battle-scarred but conquering hero, first introduced in Eragon, and his dragon, Saphira. As the novel opens, the two are neck-deep in political intrigue over choosing a successor to replace Ajihad, the Varden's slain leader. The scope of the story expands when Eragon and Arya, the elfin ambassador he not-so-secretly lusts after, head to Ellesmra so he can complete his training as a Rider. Eragon's cousin, Roran, makes a more perilous journey, leading the townspeople of Carvahall in pursuit of the villain Galbatorix and his cronies, who have kidnapped Roran's fiance--hoping to bait Eragon and Saphira. The narrative shifts occasionally to follow the troubles plaguing Nasuada, Ajihad's daughter, who now leads the Varden. Fans of the first volume will find even more of the same here: a wealth of descriptive detail, mythic archetypes and prolonged battle sequences. Here, the inspiration sometimes seems less Tolkien than Star Wars (Eragon says "Yes, Master" frequently). The most affecting element remains the tender relationship between dragon and Rider, and teens will empathize as the object of Eragon's affection (repeatedly) spurns him, his teacher humbles him and he struggles with questions about God and vegetarianism. Readers who persevere are rewarded with walloping revelations in the final pages, including the meaning of the title and the identity of the red dragon on the cover. The story leaves off with a promise--To Be Continued. Ages 12-up. (Aug.) (From the Hardcover edition.) Copyright 1997-2005 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.

Author Information

Bio of Christopher Paolini

Christopher Paolini was born on November 17, 1983 in Southern California. He has lived most of his life in Paradise Valley, Montana with his parents and younger sister, Angela. The tall, jagged Beartooth Mountains rise on one side of Paradise Valley. Snowcapped most of the year, they inspired the fantastic scenery in Eragon. Christopher was homeschooled by his parents. As a child, he often wrote short stories and poems, made frequent trips to the library, and read widely. Some of his favorite books were Bruce Coville's Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, Frank Herbert's Dune, and Raymond E. Feist's Magician, as well as books by Anne McCaffrey, Jane Yolen, Brian Jacques, E.R. Eddison, David Eddings, and Ursula K. Le Guin. The idea of Eragon began as the daydreams of a teen. Christopher's love for the magic of stories led him to craft a novel that he would enjoy reading. The project began as a hobby, a personal challenge; he never intended it to be published. All the characters in Eragon are from Christopher's imagination except Angela the herbalist, who is loosely based on his sister. Christopher was fifteen when he wrote the first draft of Eragon. He took a second year to revise the book and then gave it to his parents to read. The family decided to self-publish the book and spent a third year preparing the manuscript for publication: copyediting, proofreading, designing a cover, typesetting the manuscript, and creating marketing materials. During this time Christopher drew the map for Eragon, as well as the dragon eye for the book cover (that now appears inside the Knopf hardcover edition). The manuscript was sent to press and the first books arrived in November 2001. The Paolini family spent the next year promoting the book at libraries, bookstores, and schools in 2002 and early 2003. In summer 2002, author Carl Hiaasen, whose stepson read a copy of the self-published book while on vacation in Montana, brought Eragon to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, which is part of Random House. Michelle Frey, executive editor at Knopf Books for Young Readers, contacted Christopher and his family to ask if they might be interested in having Knopf publish Eragon. The answer was yes, and after another round of editing, Knopf published Eragon in August 2003. After an extensive United States and United Kingdom book tour for Eragon that lasted into 2004, Christopher returned to writing his second book, Eldest, which continues the adventures of Eragon and the dragon Saphira. Eldest was published in August 2005, and was followed by Christopher's book tour throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, and Italy. In December 2006, Fox 2000 released their movie adaptation of Eragon in theaters around the world. Christopher is currently writing Book Three, which will be published on September 23, 2008. Early in 2007 he realized that the plot and characters demanded more space than could fit in one volume and that a fourth book would be necessary to give each story element the attention it deserved. What began as the Inheritance trilogy became the Inheritance cycle. Book Four will complete the story that Christopher envisioned years ago when he first outlined the adventure. Christopher is grateful to all his readers. He is especially heartened to hear that his books have inspired young people to read and to write stories of their own. Once the Inheritance cycle is finished, Christopher plans to take a long vacation and ponder which of his many story ideas he will write next.

Customer Reviews

• 

  Posted December 19, 2006 by Michael Tam, Sydney, Australia

  Probably more enjoyable than the first book I agree with the above review.
  
  Nevertheless, readers looking for a new imaginative fantasy world will probably be disappointed; between Tolkien, Feist and themes from Star Wars, stereotypes in this novel are entirely covered. Eragon is Luke Skywalker as a Valheru.
  
  The writing style in Eldest is more mature than in Eragon though there seems to be occasional, but significant, lapses in the prose. The dialogue on the justification of atheism though has significance as an allegory to the modern Western world, is woefully out of character. The climatic "The Empire Strikes Back" revelation towards the end of the book is particularly poorly carried out.

• Great Sequel

  Posted December 25, 2006 by Braulio Ochoa, Chandler, AZ

  The second book of the Inheritance series is more developed and exploratory. Eragon is gowing and becoming the hero that was hinted at in the first book. The writing style is fluid and the incorporation of secondary stotylines adds more depth and a refreshing break from the main characters plot.
  
  Very good read.

• Lack of inspiration

  Posted February 08, 2007 by Thierry, south Korea

  Seems the author had to fill a lot of pages with a lot of boring stuff. Even the battle scene is uninspired. Very different from first book

• A wonderful addition.

  Posted January 20, 2009 by Bryant, MO

  I loved this book it is a great addition the the inheritance cycle.

Additional Info

Imprint

Knopf Books for Young Readers

Filesize

1.10 MB

Number of Pages

704

eBook ISBN

9780375837531

Awards

• Book Sense Book of the Year
• Colorado Blue Spruce Young Adult Book Award
• Galaxy British Book Awards
• Golden Archer Award (Wisconsin)
• Quill Awards
• Teen Buckeye Book Award