By Christopher Paolini
Narrated by Gerrard Doyle
Reviewed by Gabby
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Eragon Overview:
When Eragon finds a polished stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy as old as the empire itself. Overnight, his simple life is shattered and with only an ancient sword and an old storyteller for guidance, he is thrust into a perilous new world.
Eragon Audiobook Review:
STORY
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The Good:
For anyone wanting to encourage their children to listen to audiobooks, Eragon is a great place to start. I wouldn’t recommend it to Tolkien fans who will certainly recognise most of Paolini’s plot ideas have been taken from Lord of the Rings. The plot is choppy at times, but bear in mind, Paolini wrote this when he was 15. I would recommend this audiobook for driving when you have all the family in the car and you need something to distract them with. The story is enjoyable and fills the ears with memorable characters, witty dialogue and some great battle scenes. The Eragon audiobook is widely regarded as the beginning of the best dragon book series available. In 2003 Eragon was one of the best selling audiobooks. Eragon is a wonderful story, very enchanting and it’s perfect for the slightly younger reader or someone whose just dipping their toes into the pool that is fantasy fiction. The narrative style is captivating and almost believable, although wordy at times it is clear Paolini put a lot of thought and love into this book.
[/span6][span6]The Bad:
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IDEAS
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The Good
I simply love the idea of dragons and I thought Paolini’s concept of the Dragon Riders was very well developed. The world he created, similar to Tolkiens though it may be, is beautifully described and wonderfully vivid. Although Paolini has taken a number of fantasy standards (elves, dwarves, dragons) he’s linked them all together in one sweeping, magical story. After a slow start, the pace picks up and things just get more and more exciting, ending with a final battle. Wars and fights can make a story incredibly complex, but they are handled well in the story, not overly detailed and you don’t get bogged down in it at all.
The Bad:
Eragon is a shameless rip-off of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. It becomes almost difficult to ignore the similarities between this audiobooks plot and that of Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. If you’re a hardcore fan of either, I’d suggest not getting all hot and bothered about it, but recommend just looking at Eragon as a tribute to those works of art.
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CHARACTERS
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The Good:
Brom was a great character. He posed as a story teller, but was so much more than that. Certainly he was a wealth of knowledge, but he was also a teacher and a father figure for Eragon, when he desperately needed it. Brom was patient but also ruthless. He was clever and sharp tongued, which always makes an interesting character. I thought he was one of the most solid and well developed characters of the whole book, quite complex and well rounded. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Brom, but I think that’s what made him such an engaging character, I was always interested to hear about him or hear his opinion.
[/span6][span6]The Bad:
Eragon was an almost painfully boring, earnest, sincere guy who lacked the personality to drive this book forward. Throughout the series Paolini failed to write complex or engaging characters. While the personalities of immortal elves may seem inscrutable to us mere mortals, none of the other characters were interesting either, with the possible exception of Murtaugh and the definite exception of Brom. Brom was awesome. By far the best character in the book. I was never able to relate to Eragon or find him an engaging protagonist.
Saphira was a bit odd. I thought her relationship with Eragon was excellent, they became very close very quickly. I thought Paolini must have struggled to write her a bit because a lot of the time she came across less dragon and more human. I expected Saphira to be more immature, more focused on things like hunting and flying than talking and giving advice. I know that the dragon’s were meant to be very wise, but they also aren’t meant to be human. I didn’t expect her to be so wise at times and I found it strange, ultimately she was an animal, but was not written as such.
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NARRATOR
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Gerrard Doyle has a strong American accent, which I thought I would dislike, but he was actually very good. Each character’s voice was distinctive, and the tone of the story was portrayed very well. Doyle captured the varying emotions of all the characters very well through his use of tone and pitch and he gave all the characters appropriate voices. Eragon is a bit young and immature sounding, which is fitting as he is 15. Brom’s voice is rough and firm and then Saphira’s… well it’s a bit surprising at first but I think it is fitting for a dragon to have a rough gravelly voice. I thought the dragon voice in the movie Eragon was dreadful. Ultimately, Doyle does a good job of this book and I think it would be a pleasure to listen to for both adults and children.
[/span6][span6] The Bad:
In terms of audiobooks, the narrator can sometimes make or break the story. However I often find that once you’re a few chapters into a book you can usually get used to whoever is narrating. Doyle is a lot like that. He sounds petulant a lot of the time, but gradually improves as the story progresses. Eragon comes across as a bit insolent and whiny, but it’s not too noticeable.
ps: beware the strange voice for the dragon. It’s very growly.
[/span6][/columns]I hope you enjoyed our Eragon Audiobook Review, come back soon!