Eragon: Inheritance, Book I

Written by Christopher Paolini

Narrated by Gerard Doyle

Don’t miss the eagerly anticipated epic new fantasy from Christopher Paolini—Murtagh!

A new adventure hatches in Book One of the Inheritance Cycle, perfect for fans of Lord of the Rings! This New York Times bestselling series has sold over 40 million copies and is an international fantasy sensation. 

"Christopher Paolini is a true rarity." —The Washington Post

When fifteen-year-old Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon soon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and, gifted with only an ancient sword, a loyal dragon, and sage advice from an old storyteller, Eragon is soon swept into a dangerous tapestry of magic, glory, and power. Now his choices could save—or destroy—the Empire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 26, 2003
• ISBN: 9780807219645

Christopher Paolini

Christopher is the firstborn of Kenneth and Talita. Creator of the World of Eragon and the Fractalverse. Holder of the Guinness World Record for youngest author of a bestselling series. Qualified for marksman in the Australian army. Scottish laird. Dodged gunfire . . . more than once. As a child, was chased by a moose in Alaska. Has his name inscribed on Mars. Husband. Father. Asker of questions and teller of stories.

[T · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A fantastic book. The narration for Seraphina, not so much. The voice chosen for her sounds absolutely ridiculous.

[yarncatsnbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful young adult book that is fun to read as an adult.

[ktn_vrce · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A beautifully written book about a boy Eragon and his dragon Saphira. There are many similarities with the LOTR trilogy and in some instances Harry Potter books, but it is still a very well written book.

[zedseayou · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having finally noticed that the Paolini has completed the series, after almost a decade, I decided to pick up Eragon again so I could refresh my memory of the names and events of the first two books. As a brief synopsis, Eragon is a fifteen year old boy living in a remote village. Upon discovering a dragon egg in the woods, he hatches it and becomes a new Dragon Rider, with the goal of fighting against the emperor Galbatorix's rule. He journeys away from the Empire to the hideout of the rebel Varden group, in search of sanctuary while he trains in arms and magic.

It seems to me that the prevailing opinion among the more "refined" reviewers here is that Eragon is a rehash of old fantasy tropes. Although I agree that the idea of a young hero discovering a magic power/object and fighting an evil ruler is hardly original, I don't think this detracts from the enjoyment of the story itself. My favourite part of Eragon is probably the magic system. In Eragon, magic is tied to an "ancient language", which describes things as they are - by saying something, it can be made so. The catch is that all magic requires the same effort as the actual task. Paolini has thus created a flexible yet structured magical system, which (I think) is a also a fairly original concept. The drawback is that unlike in, say, Mistborn, magical battles are less than exciting, amounting to rapid talking and thinking.

The blurb mentioned that Paolini began the book at fifteen, and it shows: the writing is not often subtle and seems tailored at the young adult reader. He makes an effort at creating vivid landscapes, but too often we lose out on significant details - for example, the fact that Ajihad is black is mentioned only once and is quite easy to miss, giving a very different mental image of him and his daughter. Other problems include the fact that I still have yet to get a good idea of what Farthen Dur looks like: Paolini has a habit of skipping over gaps of space and time as people tend to "travel for three days" and appear elsewhere. Maps help alleviate this, but it still feels a little discontinuous.Nevertheless, I would still recommend reading Eragon, especially as a primer to some fantasy as it isn't a particularly taxing text. I will however be interested to see how the rest of the series goes. 3/5 for promising storyline but slightly confusing presentation.

[sedodge-608996 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good reread. its funny how much of the book i forgot! Turns out most of what i actually remembered was from that hokey movie that they made. Andi remember almost nothing of what happens in the rest of the series. I can see why it had a choke hold on me as a kid, but as an adult it was just a fun read. The writing is good, and the story is intricate, I think its getting this rating more for the pure fact that its a reread maybe?

[rmsbrooklyn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing series

[mrsbond_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wanted to love it. It has dragons, heroes, villains, elves, battles between good and evil -- how could you not devour an epic tale like this? The excessive use of commas and frequent over description knocked a few stars off. It could have used another round of editing, or polishing. I'm hoping that the author has matured in his writing skills by the next installment, otherwise it will be too painful to continue.

[regoodrich · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enthralling bit of fantasy. Descriptive and vibrant with literary imagery.

[amcheri-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My 10 year old son and I listened to this book together and had a great time. I very much enjoyed the story and the narration. We're moving on to book two!

[kslade-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

OK fantasy YA novel. My daughter Jordy said it was a bit too derivative of Tolkien and others and I guess that's right. I enjoyed it though. I have not read the others.

[chibitika-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Excellent fantasy.

[kburne1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book! The movie wasn't really that good, but the book is wonderful! The world Alageaisa [sp] is fully developed and while I can see the influence of other fantasy/scifi projects and books, it's not a copy.

[Anikattel · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A good book has some things that perhaps should get to the point more or not be so abrupt in others... It might drag on a bit, but overall it is a good book. A charming epic story idea for all ages, although I believe it would be better suited for people between 14 and 20 years old. Still, it is a good book that is enjoyable regardless of age. (Translated from Spanish)

[paulagalvan-323293 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I very much enjoyed reading Eragon—book one in the Inheritance series. Now, nineteen years after its publication, it was a nice change from most of the modern thrillers I read today (although I like them too). Of course, being a YA supernatural fantasy, you would expect it to be without a lot of cursing, sex, and graphic violence. Yet it was a fascinating journey filled with magic, elves, dwarves, sorcerers, and a dragon. I loved the characters and found the language and names very inventive. Some critics claim Paolini might have gotten some of his ideas from other renowned writers, such as J. R. R. Tolkien, J. K. Rowling, and George R. R. Martin (a lot of initials). Still, there is more than enough originality to engage and entertain the reader. I was drawn in from the first page and look forward to reading about Eragon's future.

[cbloky · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The book was an easy and quick read keeping you interested in the story. The character development was well done. I look forward to getting into book 2 of the series shortly.

[Klandgreisth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining, fantastic, ideal to read as one of the first dragon stories. (Translated from Spanish)

[josephty1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book.

[FernandoLozano · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting and captivating novel, it practically reads itself; unfortunately, the reason for such a captivating plot is a complete copy of the structure of episode 4 of Star Wars, which disappointed me a lot, as it highlights its lack of originality. (Translated from Spanish)

[Chachán · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Eragon is a very inviting novel that excites readers. With its magnificent descriptions of the landscapes, the way magic is presented, and despite having repetitive beings like elves and dragons (although they are given a unique touch), it also features original creatures like Shadow or the urgals. (Translated from Spanish)

[Eliar11 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very good book and it had great potential for a movie, but they messed it up. (Translated from Spanish)

[estrella0016 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am a person who loves fantasy books, and this book fascinated me.
I love the relationship between Shapira and Eragon, all the places in the world, and how the story developed.

For people who enjoy fantasy, I highly recommend this saga. (Translated from Spanish)

[carobu · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was pleasantly surprised with Eragon. I really can't believe it was written when the author was only 17 years old! It's an entertaining story and very well told. Since it's a saga, the ending is almost the conclusion of a chapter, and it makes you want to go buy the second book immediately. I recommend it as light reading, to relax and have fun. (Translated from Spanish)

[1997Libros · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It is a very beautiful book. It has great lessons about courage and intelligence. Eragon is a very intelligent, compassionate, and brave character. Saphira is like a loving mother who teaches Eragon the power of courage and sanity. Together they form an indomitable team. They complement each other. The final action scene happens very quickly, but you enjoy it just the same. (Translated from Spanish)

[octoberdad · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An all-around enjoyable read.

[payday1999-430350 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read these a long time ago and it was just an ok book. Nothing new or original was written and there is similar fantasy out there.

[Davidcalvache · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Without wanting to give spoilers, I would sum up this work as an overrated, yet still notable epic story. It is ideal for someone who is just starting to read or looking to begin with something light in the genre of literature. It is easy to read, which gives it an extra plus. However, the script of its story borders on being too conventional and predictable. Its main character is completely perfect and all-powerful, doing everything himself and completely overshadowing all the other characters. There is a very evil villain like Galbatorix, fighting to dominate the world, and a very good hero who will stop him. If you come from Tolkien or R. A. Salvatore, just walk away; you won’t find anything that will help you evolve. If you want to give a good gift to a novice, they will love it. (Translated from Spanish)

[sara_cat-107388 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book has been sitting on my bookshelf since 2003~2004. While I am sad it took me so long to read this amazing book, I am also excited that I won't have to wait to read the other books in this series.

The first few chapters of the book was a bit rough, not because of a lack of interesting beginning, but because it took me a while to get acquainted with Alagaesia. But, as I learned more about the world of the book as I continued reading, I got pulled in more and more. Paolini does some wonderful foreshadowing throughout this first book. The reader is able to guess at somethings, but is left without confirmation until Paolini wants you to know. The book ends with the immediate situation at a kind of resolution, but still with a lot of large plot points left unsolved, but a general path set down to lead into the next book.

Content Warning: Descriptions of battles and wounds, mentions of torture - though no descriptions of it happening, there is some details of the resulting wounds.

[juanalejo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is an outstanding trilogy. (Translated from Spanish)

[Augusto1974 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fun and very easy to carry. Ideal for those taking their first steps in reading fantasy novels. (Translated from Spanish)

[Dragonmary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I saw the movie a while ago and was tempted to read the book.... And as always... I stick with the books... I loved Safira from the moment she was born... And following Eragon through the process... For me, it's one of the best stories I've read... And I always like to find similarities with real life, I like the idea of a world where all people, regardless of color or nationality, live together in harmony... (Translated from Spanish)