Eldest is the second book in the Eragon series. It is a fairly large volume in which many things happen and many details are given about the past of the main characters.
If you want to read about the book Eragon, Inheritance cycle #1, please go to this article. Here we’ll talk about Eldest.
Since I hate spoilers, I’ll try to talk a bit about the story of Eldest without saying much about it, let’s see if I can manage to do it. The second book of the Inheritance Cycle continues where the first one left. However, the story of Eragon, the main character, continues for more than half of the book in the same place as in the previous book. Not much happens, to be completely honest. I say this almost as a criticism, because there are many pages that do not add anything to the plot, but I can also blame it on my desire to know how the story continued. Be as it may, I think I am allowed to like the whole story, but not parts or ways in which the story is told. Long descriptions of events that do not add much to the story would be my main criticism.
As I said at the beginning of this post, in Eldest we learn a lot from the past of the main characters, but we also learn about the history of the world of Alagaësia and its races: the elves, dragons and men, how the pact between the different races was formed and how today’s world became what it is.
The book drastically changes pace, without so much philosophical or historical discussion about life, almost at the end, in the last quarter of the book, and from there it gets very interesting. And shortly afterwards, the book ends! I think the effect was very well created, because you need to keep on reading and know what happens afterwards. I really appreciate that all the books are finished and published. Yes, I am talking to you GRR Martin!
I was looking for some information about Eragon and Eldest on the internet and I found a lot of spoilers, so I warn you, be careful what you read, hurry up reading the books and you will have no problems. I don’t know about you, but I hate spoilers.
I know this is a rather short analysis of the book, but I had the feeling that there weren’t that many facts in the story, the goal of the book was to give more background and depth to it. It was a transition book in this story … a very long transition book, yes, but it doesn’t advance much in the story, beyond things that were already evident from the first book. If you read other reviews, you will find that many people criticise this.
Final comment: the book as a whole advances at a slow pace, especially the first three quarters of it. I think after the middle it gets more interesting, and the end ends on a high note. A cliff-hanger, perfect for motivating the reader to continue the story in the third book, which is equal to or greater than Eldest itself, what pages are concerned. What does Eldest mean? We also find out about this in this last part of the story. It seems that the first three quarters of the book are preparing you for the last quarter. Like any book that is part of a series, a complete assessment of one of its parts can only be given when the series ends and you can look back on what the contribution to the whole story was. For now, I tell you, as always, keep reading.
Book quote: “Power without moral direction is the most dangerous force in the world.”
Keep on reading,
Questions to answer in the comments:
Have you read the series of Eragon / Inheritance? And what about “Eldest”? Did you like it? Do you agree with my final comments? Have you read any similar books you would recommend, for someone who would like to read more of the same genre? Please answer all these questions in the comments!
GG KLIMT 