By Christopher Paolini
Narrated by Gerrard Doyle
Reviewed by Gabby
Eldest Overview:
Eragon and his dragon Saphira have saved the rebel state from destruction at the hands of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesméra, land of the elves, for further training in magic and swordsmanship, the vital skills of the Dragon Rider. It is the journey of a lifetime, filled with awe-inspiring new places and people, each day a fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and Eragon isn’t sure whom he can trust.
Eldest Audiobook Review:
STORY
[columns] [span6]
The Good:
Eldest is very detailed and can drag on at times. It’s a good story and we get to learn a bit more about some of the other characters. The world is magical and again Doyle brings it to life. The story and characters have been given much more depth, but it could be a little hard going on the younger listeners. This audiobook has some great plot twists, so if you’ve not read or listened to this story before, you’re in for a ride. This audiobook plunges you into the history, myths and culture of Algaesia. We get to see so much more of the country than before, and just as the world develops, the characters do to. The whole time there is a sense of danger, knowing that eventually Eragon must do his duty and lead the rebellion, knowing that there’s a battle coming and characters might not survive.
[/span6][span6]The Bad:Now I personally find Eragon a bit vapid and annoying, but Arya’s rejection of him after he confesses his love for her was a bit tragic. Arya can be extremely ruthless and doesn’t really care much for other’s feelings. Perhaps you lose any sense of empathy after living for hundred of years. In spite of this, Eragon does not need to be pursuing a being who is so much older than him, I found that to be a bit creepy. Arya will be far more mature and wise than he. Eragon is clearly just a little kid to her, hence why she doesn’t want to be with him like that .
Another of Paolini’s biggest flaws is that he doesn’t know how to ‘show, not tell’. A lot of his descriptions need to be cut short, he spends far too much time describing things like rooms and other miscellaneous items. Instead of making comparisons to things, he takes it upon himself to describe every minute detail of every single thing. I also had a problem with inconsistencies in the language. Sometimes Eragon would be speaking normal modern English, next minute it’s all ‘thee and thou’. I found that a bit strange
[/span6][/columns]
CHARACTERS
[columns] [span6]
The Good:
Roran’s story I found to be much more interesting than Eragon’s. Roran just got stuff done, he doesn’t mess around and he knows how to fight. I visualise him as a kind of rough, peasant type man, quite brawny with a big beard. What’s pleasant about Roran is that he’s also clever and a good leader. There’s a lot more to him than muscle and he obviously has a big heart. I think he serves as a good role model for Eragon, even though he’s no dragon rider, Roran is down to earth and wise beyond his years.
[/span6][span6]The Bad:
Eragon comes across as weak and self centred at times. He’s also becoming extremely full of himself because he’s turned into a half elf. So of course now he’s beautiful and his body is unmarked. All in all, Eragon just comes across as a loosely developed hero that I didn’t really want to invest any real emotion in.
Arya was so cold and uninviting she could have been replaced with a stone. Honestly, how are we supposed to want her and Eragon to be together if she’s so cruel. Ah yes and she’s a princess, there’s a plot twist we never saw coming! To top it off she has a go at the dwarves for their religion. I don’t know who gave elves the authority to tell other races who they can and can’t worship, but that seems to be all they actually get passionate about. Stopping religion.
I found Oromis to be the most dull, long winded, pointless character ever. I hated the time Eragon spent holed up with him learning pointless lessons in microbiology. It was so mind numbingly boring and Oromis bought nothing to the table. After the initial excitement of finding out who he really is, the story settles in to a long winded period of Eragon learning incredibly boring things, just to please the silly old elf. To say Oromis was an irritating character is a huge understatement.
[/span6][/columns]
NARRATOR
[columns] [span6] The Good:
Once again I think Doyle did a great job. His narration is engaging and each of the voices for the characters are fairly distinctive. His pacing and tone is also good.
[/span6][span6] The Bad:Doyle needs to distinguish more between the male and female peasants of Carvahall. At times it was confusing as to who was who. I’m also starting to get tired of the voice he uses for Saphira. Since she’s a female dragon, her voice needs to be a little more feminine. The growliness can be harsh on the ears when she’s speaking for long passages. Apart from that he did a good job.
[/span6][/columns]I hope you enjoyed our Eldest Audiobook Review, come back soon!