Review- Eldest by Christopher Paolini

Well, ok this isn't strictly a review, but here goes.

Eldest, the second book in Paolini's Inheritance trilogy just came out and I picked it up yesterday. It took me all day to finish it because the thing was Harry-Potter sized. Almost 700 pages (the book is across the room, or I'd give you the exact number.... but I distinctly remember seeing page 666...).

It's very similar in style and tone to Eragon, it's predecessor. One difference is that since much of the plot of Eldest revolves around Eragon's time in the company of elves MANY MANY new words in the ancient dialect are presented, and although there is a glossary in the back, it's kind of a pain in the ass to have to flip back and forth to figure out what's being said in some cases.

Like Eragon, Eldest is also clearly a product of a modern writer. The influence of Tolkien and Lucas remains strong. In the case of Tolkien, his influence is clear in the races of elves and dwarves, their language and culture, their interaction. Although I must say that it's kind of unnerving to read words in "elvish" that should be "dwarvish" (if you're used to Tolkien). As for the influence of George Lucas, let's just say the kid really SHOULD get out more. More on this below the fold (SPOILERS, mostly from Eragon, but key ones from Eldest, too)

If you've never read Eragon, let me give you a summary:

An orphan boy raised on a farm by his uncle meets his destiny when he finds something precious in the forest. His find turns out to be a dragon egg, revealing his destiny as the last of the Riders, the ancient group of men, elves, and dragons that until recently had served as the protectors of Alagaesia, their homeland. Too soon, the Emperor Galbatorix discovers that Eragon has a dragon egg and sends assassins after him. They kill his uncle and burn the farm, but Eragon escapes, under the guidance of a mysterious old man named Brom, who we later discover is a former Rider in exile. Under Brom's tutelage he receives a magnificent gift: his father's sword (ok, this is sort of a cheat, you find out who Eragon's father was in Eldest, but you probably were thinking it, right??) Meanwhile, Eragon has begun having visions of a beautiful dark haired woman...

Is this starting to sound familiar? Not yet? Ok, here's more.

Eragon and Brom track the assassins across Alagaesia, discovering their lair and then preparing for battle. At this time they meet a mercenary named Murtagh who agrees to help in their quest. They are attacked by the assassins, and Brom dies. Eragon is imprisoned. He uses his powers as a Rider to break out (with some help from Murtagh and Saphira, his dragon) and at the same time rescues the beautiful woman, an elf princess, who was also imprisoned there. Upon leaving the prison, Eragon, Murtagh, Saphira, and the elf fly to the hidden encampment of the Varden, the rebellion against the Empire. Once there, the elf, Arya, is healed, and Eragon learns that Murtagh is in reality the son of the main servant of the Emperor, a former Rider called Morzan. Morzan had been the emperor's closest ally and chief enforcer, and when Murtagh refused to serve him and fled, the Emperor began chasing him too.

Sound familiar yet? It should. Because it's also the plot of Star Wars Ep IV A New Hope. Farm Boy orphan has a chance encounter with his destiny that brings him into a new relationship with a crazy old man he has known all his life and destroys the family's farm in flames. He has a vision (robot-provided) of a beautiful dark-haired woman in trouble. The old man gives him his father's sword, and they depart together to thwart the Emperor's plans. They meet up with a mercenary who helps them for reasons of his own, and eventually they save the dark-haired princess. The old man is killed in order that the young man might complete the quest which they never were destined to complete together. The boy and the mercenary and the Princess fly to the Rebellion, where they play a crucial role in defeating the armies of the Emperor.

The only difference is that you don't learn that Eragon REALLY IS Luke Skywalker until the end of book 2, when his brother reveals his true identity.

Eldest picks up where Eragon leaves off. And it too is clearly Star Wars inspired. After picking up the pieces of the great battle and fighting again with the remnants of the Emperor's forces, Eragon and Saphira journey to the land of the elves so that Eragon may be instructed by Togoro Ikonoka, "the cripple who was whole", an ancient, wizened elf Rider. Much of the book focuses on Eragon's training under the old elf and his struggle to maintain focus despite the fact that he is in love with the elf princess. When Eragon leaves to face battle with the rebellion, he promises to return to complete his training...

On the battle field, he meets Murtagh, whom he has long thought dead in battle, and Murtagh reveals that he too is a Rider, has been seduced by the Emperor, and is also Eragon's older brother. Eragon uses the good left in Murtagh to talk him into a temporary truce between them, but Murtagh takes Eragon's sword as his rightful inheritance as the eldest.

(Luke confronts Vader, they fight, they talk, Vader takes Luke's hand off and he loses his sword... Vader leaves him to die. Except that Vader in this case is also Han Solo.....)

Another great portion of the book follows what happens in Carvahall, Paolini's Tattooine. After Eragon flees, the Emperor continues to beseige the village with soldiers and assassins, and Eragon's cousin, Roran, who was away when his Father was killed, leads them in battle, and then away from the town in a desperate attempt to avoid being turned into slaves after his true love is kidnapped by the assassins.

Roran and company arrive just in time for the battle. Roran in fact plays a crucial part in the Rebellion's victory in that he kills the Twins, magicians who betrayed the alliance to the Emperor, kidnapped Murtagh, and killed the former leader of the group, Ajihad.

You can probably figure out the rest if you've ever seen Empire Strikes Back.

Overall, the book was great, but Paolini suffers from that malady common to young writers in that hs is not yet a master of subtlety. For example, in Eragon, the witch Angela reads Eragon's fortune and tells him that he will love a Princess and be betrayed by a family member. It doesn't take many brains to figure out that Arya (the elf) is a princess and that Murtagh will turn out to be his brother and betray. It was also no shock that the Twins were allied with the Emperor. Their deeds were just too obvious. Combine that with the straight-up copycat plot , and the whole story is largely predictable.

Not that that's really a bad thing. I'm hoping for the super-happy Return of the Jedi ending, complete with fireworks and the Ewok song.