Synopsis: (from Goodreads) One boy. One dragon. A world of adventure.
When Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself.

Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of destiny, magic, and power. With only an ancient sword and the advice of an old storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a king whose evil knows no bounds.

Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands.

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I’ve thought long and hard about what to say about this book. The problem, you see, is that I saw the movie first, and couldn’t help comparing the book to the movie the entire time I was reading it. Now, I know that no movie based on a book is ever the same as the book but the differences here were quite vast. However, this review is for the book, not the movie. I will try to refrain from comparing the two.

Going into this, I truly expected to like this book, if not love it. After all, I had seen and liked the movie and the movie was based on the book. Logical conclusion: I would like the book. It didn’t quite thrill me as much as I expected it to though. I felt the pacing of the story was too slow. Eragon and Saphira were supposed to be on the run for their lives from the King, but I never felt much of a sense of urgency in their travels. It was often like they were just out traveling, or like Brom was a mentor taking his apprentice for training by wandering the empire and teaching him things as they went along.

That’s not to say that I didn’t like this book. There were things I definitely like. For instance, Saphira is a fun and complex character. Though she is still very young, it’s clear that she must have been at least somewhat aware of her surroundings while still in her egg because she knows things about the past before she hatched and often speaks in a wise-beyond-her-years tone.

The bond between Eragon and Saphira is deep and very touching. It’s clear that they care for each other greatly. As they journey and deal with all the things that come their way, their bond strengthens and they have in each other someone to lean on and grow with.

I can’t adequately describe how I feel about this book. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t love it either. I suppose in the end, I would say it was okay. 2.5/5 stars.