It had been a while since I read the first three books in this series. The fourth, and final installment, has been out for a little while. And, as I am diving back into reading and trying to knock out the stacks of what I already have before buying new pages, I decided to reread the first three books so I could catch up to where we are at the opening of number four. As I reread the first book, I remembered how I thoroughly enjoyed this book the first time (and, in all honesty, this second reading). The story follows the adventures of Eragon, a young farmboy who discovers a dragon’s egg that hatches and the trouble that soon follows. It is his destiny to save his world from the evil of Galbatorix, a former “Rider” of the dragons turned bad. It is up to him and Saphira, his dragon, to conquer evil and save the day.
The book was written by (then) 15 year old Christopher Paolini. I think this is extraordinary. He wrote the first draft one year, rewrote and edited the second year and his parents self-published his work. It was later picked up by an accredited publisher and sent to press in 2003. My friend, Ben, noted the similarities to Star Wars and at first I shook my head and said nah. But then, as I thought on it – he is right. Even though it has such similarities, you cannot take away from Paolini the fact that he created languages, characters and a world of such rich detail.
So, here is my take on a crossover list of who’s who from Eragon to Star Wars:
Eragon – Luke
Galbatorix – Vader
Brom – Obi Wan
Murtagh – Leia (ok, one is a boy and the other a girl but both are revealed siblings)
I am trying to liken the dragon, Saphira, to a character but the best I can do is Chewie and that is entirely wrong…. lol
It’s a good read for those of you who love elves and dragons and magic. Once enlightened, it is hard to not see the similarities to Star Wars but that has not stopped me from finding likability in the story and characters.
There was a failed attempt to make this book into a great movie. Even though the cast included the likes of Jeremy Irons and John Malkovich, it still fell WAY short. That saddens me. I would like to see someone pick the story up, remake the initial movie and then carry on with the next three installments. Odds are slim-to-none that that will happen, but I would buy a ticket or rent a DVD if that were the case.
If you read, let me know your take on the hero saga similarities.
Ciao
Thoughts and Ponderances 