Eldest, the second book in the Inheritance trilogy, was written by Chris Paolini. The book takes place in the fictional world of Alagaesia during a time period called After the Fall”. Eldest follows the adventures of Eragon and Saphira, Eragon’s dragon, as they train to fight the evil king Galbatorix. Eldest is an in-depth book with many overlapping plots.
Chris Paolini was born in Southern California, but he was raised and currently lives in Paradise Valley, Montana. His parents are Kenneth Paolini and Talita Hodgkinson, and he has one sister named Angela. He is of Italian descent and was homeschooled for his entire life. He graduated high school at the age of 15 through an accredited correspondence course at American School in Chicago, Illinois. After graduation, he began working on what would become the novels Eragon and Eldest, both set in Alagaesia.
Eldest is the sequel to Eragon and continues where Eragon left off. It starts after the battle at the Varden stronghold where Eragon defeated the shade Durza. Ajihad, the Varden’s leader, was killed in the battle and it is time for the Varden to elect a new leader. Ajihad’s daughter, Nasuada, is chosen to lead the Varden. Eragon and Saphira pledge fealty to Nasuada and the Varden, then leave with the elf Arya to begin their training with the elves. On the journey to the elven capital, Eragon learns much about the elves and dwarfs who reside in Alagaesia. Eragon and Sahira must hurry their training because King Galbatroix may attack the Varden at any time.
This book is awesome. That is the only word to describe how entralling the world Paolini creates is. I couldn’t put the book down, and even though it was over 600 pages long, it seemed all too short. I love fantasy books, and Eldest is by far one of my favorites. In Eragon, you could really sense a heavy borrowing from other authors, but in Eldest, it seems Paolini really finds his own style. The way he describes the beauty and sometimes ugliness of the world of Alagaesia makes you feel like you’re actually there. The battles in this book are epic in scale and brutal in content. The language is creative and extensive, and I find very few faults with this book.
Just because I praise the book so highly does not mean I do not find some fault with it. The main thing I did not like about Eldest is its constant back and forth plots. In this book, there are three stories going on all at once, and it sometimes gets confusing. I will agree that these side tales are needed to progress the main plot, but I just did not like how it was done. Until the end of the book where everything falls into place.
In my opinion, if you haven’t already, pick up Eragon and Eldest. These two books are fabulous, and I recommend them to anybody. If you do go to read these books, do not let the length of them discourage you. You will find that they are all too short. Eldest is one of the best books I have ever read. I enjoyed it immensely and cannot wait until the third and final book comes out to answer some long-awaited questions.
