Synopsis:
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. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider. Ages 12+. 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. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn't know whom he can trust. Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle–one that might put Eragon in even graver danger. Will the king's dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life. . . .
Review:
I hate Eragon, but I was intrigued to see if Paolini has improved, so I borrowed this book and attempted to read it. I hate Eragon. I hate Eldest even more. If Eragon is bad, it at least had a semblance of a traditional plot - the introduction, the buildup, the climax, and the teaser for the next chapter of the journey. Eldest started off with a flat summary, then it went straight into a continuation from the previous story, and around 600 pages of exposition full of step-by-step miniscule details that have no bearing towards the plot at all, before finally going to a faux-climax again. The faux-climax battle of dragons comes out of the blue, as there was a sadly sparse attempt of interweaving it with the bulk of the book. I rather thought the 600 page could be edited out to just 10 pages, and it might've made the book a bit better and much more bearable for the readers. So how did I bear reading the book? I didn't. I skimmed through the book, saving myself from the complete painful experience, yet still scarred enough to warn other people against reading it. The 600 page in short: emo angsting, super!protagonist transformation, excessive hero worship, and fumbly teenage crushing. God only knows what Paolini's last chapter will be like. All I know is that if this is what people call good writing, I, like many others, fear for humanity.
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