Eldest--Christopher Paolini

Submitted By: Matt Mogensen
School: South Sioux City Middle School
Grade: 8
Title: Eldest
Author: Christopher Paolini
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
Christopher Paolini's Eldest, has the elemental twist of fantasy and science fiction that many readers, like me, love. He has written one book earlier, Eragon, the first book in the Inheritance Trilogy. Now 19 he lives with his family in Paradise Valley, Montana.

Eldest's edge of your seat plot leaves you with questions on the next event. The story's theme tells the tale of two fate-befallen cousins, Eragon and Roran, whose life becomes equally terrible through the upcoming events. Eragon flees to Ellesmera, an elves city, with his dragon, Saphira. He obtained her egg in a magical explosion. When she hatched Eragon received the gedwey insignia, the mark of Dragon Riders, where he obtains powers of unbelievable strength, and can talk to Saphira through his thoughts. On his journey's he meets Arya, an Elvin princess, Orik, a dwarf nephew of the mighty dwarf, Hrothgar. Once they reached Ellesmera, they talked with the Queen Islanzadi when, to their surprise, Islanzadi was Arya's mother. Arya had been banished from the land many years before for betraying her mother. Islanzadi realized now that this was a mistake, and immediately forgave her long lost daughter. Islanzadi then had a surprise for Eragon, a mystery of which you'll have to figure out when you read the book.

In Carvahall, Eragon and Roran's home village, Roran returns to his village, after business with traders, where he finds it over run by soldiers of the evil empire under King Galbatroix. The king had sent 100 soldiers and two Ra'Zac, the king's most powerful soldiers. They were searching high and low for Roran and it was all because of Eragon. Roran hid in the forest outside of Carvahall, and watched the madness. Katrina, his fiancé, sent food and supplies to him, with the help of others. His only company was natures own and the people who dared to bring him supplies. The soldiers finally camped about thirty miles outside of the village, when Roran knew that it was safe. Then, rebellion began. Mean, merciless, and horrifying creatures, the Ra'Zac planned to take the village hostile, or kill them there. The resistance of the 300 villagers, who were poorly equipped, stopped the rage of the soldiers. Roran knew more soldiers would be sent to stop them, so he decided to take them to a free country named Surda. In order to get there he must brave terrible terrain let alone King Galbatroix.

Eldest takes you to a new world that will enwrap you in the book. This book will show you the tough decisions that are blinded by revenge, love, and hatred. I recommend this book to all fantasy and science fiction readers. It will show you the tough decisions that Eragon and Roran make, that could change the course of an entire empire.