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Book Report
Title/ Author: Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Published: Corgi, 61-63 Uxbridge Rd. London
Genre: Action/ Adventure
When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the
forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a
poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family
meat for the winter. But when the stone brings
a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has
stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the
Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is
shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new
world of destiny, magic, and power. With only
an ancient sword and the advice of an old
storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the
fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous
terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no
bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The
fate of the Empire may rest in his hands. . . .
The story is set in Alagasia, a place in a mythical world with all sorts of terrain.
Eragon lives on a farm, with his uncle in Therinsford, and the city, Carvahall, is
were Eragon will meet Brom. On Eragon’s adventure, he and Brom will travel
south, past a dark and dangerous forest called the Spine. As they travel down
the spine, they will discover the king’s captive prison, Helgrind were they will
battle Durza, and rescue an elf named Ayre. As they keep travelling, they will
enter the Beor Mountains. Were tall, snowy peaks hide a lost city, were the
rebels are preparing to fight against the urgles in the under ground city called
Farthen Dur. In the center of the map is a desert, but there is more info on that
in the follow on ‘Eldest’.
Kieren Park 7M
DUE: 9-11-09
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The story is told in 3rd person, and there are 2 protagonists:
Galbatorix and Durza.
Galbatorix is the cruel ruling urgle king, and is trying to destroy Eragon and the
rebels. Him and his apprentice, Durza, will watch there every move in order to
find the rebels.
Durza, the shade, Is trying to destroy Eragon and his dragon, Saphira. The only
way a shade can be killed, if he is penetrated through the heart.
There a 4 major characters. Eragon, The boy who lives on the farm with his
uncle, He is traveling with Brom to find the rebels, and destroy the urgle
onslaught. Saphira, The dragon who accompanies Eragon and Brom on there
adventure, and helps destroy Durza. Brom, an old dragon rider also
accompanying Eragon as he travels south to find the rebels; Brom teaches
Eragon magic and how to fight with a sword. Last is Ayre, the elf Eragon
rescues from Helgrind. Ayre will also help fight of the rebels. Ayre is poisoned
and requires the rebels help, so this is what motivates Eragon a bit more.
To summarise the plot, Eragon finds a blue stone, which turns out to be an egg.
When a dragon hatches, Galbatorix and Durza are onto him. Eragon needs
some advice, so he turns to old dragon rider, Brom. Together they travel south
to rescue Ayre in Helgrind. After battling Durza, Brom is wounded and later,
killed. Durza lives on, and prepares to fight the rebels at Farthen Dur.
There are 5 major events I found and they are honestly the best.
1. Eragon is hunting in the spine. He has his sights on a deer but then
boom! The dragon egg appears.
2. Whilst Eragon is in Carvahall, Durza has sent some of his minions to find
Eragon. They go to Carvahall; interrogating and killing people to find
were Eragon lives. The butcher, Sloan is interrogated and gives away the
farms location. Eragon rushes back but Saphira has other plans. To save
Eragon, Saphira picks him up and travels him far. Garrow is killed, and
the farm destroyed.
3. Brom and Eragon arrive at Helgrind, to rescue Ayre. As they enter they
are not alone. Durza spooks them, and starts to try kill Eragon. As they
Kieren Park 7M
DUE: 9-11-09
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battle, Brom rescues Ayre and in the nick of time, an arrow from a skilled
archer, hits Durza in between his eyes. Durza disappears, but is still alive.
4. The urgles break into Farthen Dur, and are fired on by archers. As the
urgles rush through pools of oil, Saphira swoops down and breathes fire
on the oil. The urgles are immolated and that battle continues.
5. Durza and Eragon fight it out in the skies. Eragon and Saphira battle
Durza and his born by magic dragon, a shade just like him. As they battle
it out, Saphira is wounded but battles on. As Durza is tailgating Eragon,
Saphira spins around, charging Durza. Eragon slips out his sword and
stabs Durza in his heart. Durza is now no more.
The climax is happening when the rebels are preparing to fight off the urgles
and Durza. Oil pits and scaffolds with archers are in the making, whilst an army
helps fend off the foes from below. The urgles break through in a flurry of
blows, but slowly are shortened in number when Eragon and Saphira step in.
The oil pits are lighted and some urgles are inflamed after a short few seconds
in entering. As they battle, Eragon and Durza skillfully fight it out on their
dragons.
Whilst battling, Eragon stabs Durza in the heart and kills the fowl shade.
Saphira plummets into a high rise cave, with severe wounds. Eragon knows it
may be fatal, but uses magic to heal Saphira. He is successful but is knocked
unconscious.
As he awakens it is day and the urgles have been held back. The rebels have
fought of the onslaught and Farthen Dur is safe. This is the resolution so far.
Evaluation
If the Author wanted an action packed adventure book, he got one. It was a
really great book and the writing really made you feel like you were there. It is
my favourite book so far, and I could read it plenty of times. It is really good at
giving information to the reader and ties the past with present and future very
well. That was strength; a weakness was sometimes, it would foreshadow way
too much. In some parts it was like reading the same bit twice. That was really
boring.
Kieren Park 7M
DUE: 9-11-09
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Over all it was a really good book. After reading I watched the movie and
straight off I knew what was going on. It all made complete sense and had
some real logic, no confusing stuff. I read the book no trouble. It has 497 pages
and yes I would highly recommend to other people. Once you’ve read Eragon,
you will love Eldest and Brisingr, The 2nd and 3rd book in the Eragon series. I am
reading Brisingr, and I just recently started it. But it ties in with Eragon so well.
So you remember everything.
In conclusion it was a well fascinating book. It is probably a wee complex for
younger readers but anyone else will love it. It is great for people looking for an
action typed adventure book, but read the book before watching the movie. Or
you will spoil it. I bet anyone will like this book but also read Eldest and
Brisingr.
Kieren Park 7M
DUE: 9-11-09