Review - Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Abandoned by his mother as a baby and put into the care of his Uncle Garrow, Eragon is a simple farm boy, nothing more, nothing less. One day when out hunting for his family, Eragon comes across a large blue stone. Thinking that this stone could buy some meat for his family, Eragon takes it home. During one night the stone begins to crack and before he knows what is happening, Eragon is holding a baby dragon. Not long after the dragon appears strange things begin to happen to the village, leaving Eragon with a dangerous quest and great responsibility...

Edition: 2011 (New Covers), Corgi (RHCB)
Genre: Fantasy/Adventure
Pages: 497
Recommended Age: 13+
Source: RHCB
Rating: 3/5 (Good)

Brimming with magic, adventure and action, I found Eragon a very enjoyable read. The thing that stunned me the most with this book was the fact that the author had written it when he was only 15 years old! The style of writing in this book you would expect from an extremely talented adult but to think that it was only a person slightly older than me is just amazing!
The characters in this book are very well described and each have their own part in adding to the book. The main character, Eragon, is brave, determined and very likeable. Apart from Eragon and Arya (an elf), my favourite character was the dragon, Saphira. Even though in this book the highest she ages is only a few months, she is very wise, fiery and determined. I love the fact that she sometimes has to keep Eragon behaving and how she protects him from danger.
As I said before, the writing style used in this book amazed me. Nevertheless, I did find myself not knowing what certain (and I'm probably going to sound very childish here) big words meant. I'm not sure if that was because they were made up or because I had just never heard of them. I also found myself rather confused with the names of places, but in my defense, a lot of places were mentioned. I just found it hard to remember which place had what and whether it was good or bad, etc.
I score this book 3/5 because the ideas in this novel are unique and overall I did enjoy reading it. This might look like a bad mark but I reassure you it isn't. I recommend this book to people that can stand a lengthy novel.
I would just like to extend my thanks to the person (you know who you are) who sent me this book and the two other sequels. I can not wait until I delve into the pages of the next in the Inheritance Cycle novels, Eldest.

Rachel xx :)

PS: Can you leave a comment. I have been feeling a little lonely on the comment side of things...