I recently came across mention of the series, with people saying they were terrible books. I didn’t know anything about them other than that- I vaguely recall the existence of a movie and owning a board game when I was younger, and my mother had the first one on our book shelf since as long as I can remember, but other than that I went in completely blind.
Honestly, I don’t know where a lot of the criticism comes from. All four books are within the okay-good range, they are enjoyable, and I really was captivated by the story.
Don’t get me wrong, they are not *great* books. It is very obvious to me that the first book, Eragon, would never have been published and marketed if the author’s parents didn’t own a publishing company. He wrote the story when he was 15-18 and it really shows. It reads like a fanfiction- a very well-made fanfiction whose world is derivative of existing works rather than a plain copy, but it is still a very derivative work.
I don’t think that matters. Nobody picking up a book about dragon riders should be under the impression they have found the next “Fellowship of the Ring.” They are fairly well-written, have interesting world building, and are so captivating that I have done nothing for a week but binge read all four of them. Eragon as a series excels at adequacy- it is nothing special, but it isn’t bad, and falls far short of being boring.
by Full_Plate_9391
4 Comments
They are a little childish at times but epic.
I love em. I think they are *great* kids books, and even enjoyable series to read as an adult
Like as an adult, I agree with what you said about Eragon reading like a fan fic, with lots of obvious influence, etc, but as a kid, I didn’t think of that all, I just enjoyed it.
and I appreciate the magic system and really love philosophy it introduces and explores for a kids audience.. and I think it only gets better after the first book.
Of all of children’s series I’ve read as a kid, Inheritance Cycle is one of the ones I’d probably most enjoy also reading as an adult.
I loved how magic was based in names, much like Wizard of Earthsea and similar works. Probably my favorite type of magic system. edit: I remember reading Le Guin was a big inspiration to him I think.
You could definitely see how young of a writer he was and how he kind of grew up along with the books, but I did enjoy reading them when I did.
When I go back and look at Dragonlance.. yeah, not always the best writing, but I enjoyed the heck out of the stories when I was a teenager and it fueled my love of reading.
Feel the same way about Eragon basically.
Fyi Murtagh releases on Nov 7th. Its the next book in the series.