Gifted only with an ancient red sword, the brilliant-blue dragon Saphira, and counsel from the old storyteller Brom, the young man, Eragon, is entangled in a convoluted tapestry of destiny, magic, olden grandeur, radiance and love.
His saga carries readers through a fantastical land filled with brooding and menacing danger as he flees the tyrannical king, Galbatorix. An ancient legacy and an unforeseen inheritance contour his destiny. In this book when Eragon is hunting in the woods he finds a cerulean stone with ashen lines on it, inside an outlawed fraction of the mountain, the lost spiral. He takes the stone and brings it home. While he tries to get some sleep, he hears a squeaking sound, and he realises that it wasn?t a stone but a dragon?s egg.
After the dragon, which was named Saphira, hatches, he takes care of it for several weeks, during which he was marked with a crest on his hand when the dragon touched him. King Galbatorix wants Saphira and its owner working for him. Soon after, sinister strangers cloaked in black, come looking for Eragon. These strangers lethally wound Eragon?s uncle Garrow and Saphira. They meet Brom who was a dragon rider, which Eragon becomes later. Brom teaches Eragon how to fight with swords and ride dragons. The plot takes a turn in which Brom dies. After which, Eragon makes friends with Murtagh, a swordsman who can match blades with Eragon. Eragon skirmishes many battles along with Murtagh and saves an elf, who suggests that he take a path to Ellesmera. After a long struggle and the loss of Murtagh, they finally reach a Dwarven village and get ready for their next battle.
Unmistakably paying homage to Beowulf and Tolkien, Christopher Paolini offers an influential epic fantasy. It?s helpful that a listing and a map are provided. The fast-paced story line is action-packed and riveting.
Lord of the Rings fans of all ages will value and worth Paolini?s tale and want to read the sequels in the Inheritance Trilogy. I loved it ? hope you do too!
Aparajita Paul,
Class IX,
Delhi Public School,
Bokaro Steel City