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Thursday, November 6, 2014

Dragons: the Sequel

Hey, guys!

As promised, here is a review for the sequel to Eragon by Christopher Paolini: Eldest. I'm not entirely sure, but it may either be because I was older when I read the sequel or that it just had more action, but I liked the second book in The Inheritance Cycle a lot better than the first, and the third even better.

Warning: this review may contain spoilers for Eragon. If you have not yet read the first book and plan to, I would avoid reading this review if I were you. All others may proceed.

So, this book begins after a long and hard battle in the Dwarf kingdom's capitol: Farthen Dur. Eragon and Saphira, with the help of the elf Arya, had turned the tides in the battle by slaying a Shade, leaving Eragon badly scarred and incapacitated.

After the battle, Murtagh (a friend of Eragon's) disappears along with shady twins. I did not mention this in the review for the first book, but trust me, it's important at the end of this book and in the third.

But now it's time for Eragon to move on and learn new things so that he stands a better chance of defeating the evil king, Galbatorix, and save his oppressed kingdom.

So where to now? I'm glad you asked. Eragon and Saphira must now journey to Ellesmera in Du Weldenvarden, the realm of the elves.

There awaits the Cripple Who Is Whole, the only other dragon rider in existence. His name is Oromis, and his dragon is Glaedr. Once there, Eragon and Saphira will continue their training. (For Eragon, sword-fighting and the ancient language for spell-casting; for Saphira, flying and fighting.)

Meanwhile, Eragon finds himself drawn to Arya. Is she the one he is to fall in love with? The one that the herbalist, Angela, predicted? I have to admit that I'm all for Team Aryagon (I wonder if that will catch on?). I'm such a sucker for romance.

While all of this is going on, Eragon's cousin, Roran, is back in the village trying to pick up the mess that was left behind by the Ra'zac, terrible monsters that destroyed half the village in the hunt for Eragon in book one.

But the Ra'zac haven't ceased their mayhem yet. Now that Eragon is on the run, Galbatorix wants to use anything he can to use as a weapon against Eragon. This puts a huge target on Roran and his fiance, Katrina.

It becomes clear that the villagers are in serious danger so long as the Ra'zac are around. Will Roran step up as a leader or will he just sit around and hope that everything goes back to normal?

And as for Eragon, how far will he come in his training? Will he be ready to defeat the evil king? Will Saphira? And what ever happened to Murtagh?

As I said, I liked this book a lot better than the first. I would recommend this for all you hardcore fantasy lovers out there. If you're into dragons, this book (nay, this series) should be at the top of your list.

Check back tomorrow for a review on the third book, Brisingr.

Happy reading!!

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