[The Inheritance Cycle 02] • The Inheritance Cycle - 02 - Eldest

The Barnes Noble Review

Eldest, the shelf-bending sequel to Christopher Paolini's wildly acclaimed debut novel, Eragon (and the second volume in his Inheritance trilogy), continues the epic saga of Eragon and Saphira. The teenage boy and his blue-scaled dragon are destined to free the realm of Alaga�sia from the clutches of the ruthless king Galbatorix -- or die trying. Even though Eragon and his misfit alliance of rebels have won minor victories against the nightmarish minions of the Empire, he realizes that without more training, he will never be able to defeat Galbatorix and his dark magic. With that in mind, he sets off for the awe-inspiring land of the elves on a quest to complete his education as a Dragon Rider. Like J.nbsp;K. Rowling's Harry Potter saga, Paolini's epic fantasy -- although categorized as children's literature (for readers 12 and up) -- has attracted not only adult fantasy fans but also mainstream fiction readers. Paolini's fluid writing style, abundance of compelling characters, and utilization of age-transcendent themes like honor, friendship, responsibility, and forgiveness, will make this saga a huge hit with teachers and librarians, as well as lovers of dragon-powered fantasy � la Anne McCaffrey and Ursula K. Le Guin. The 650-plus pages of Tolkienesque adventure will almost certainly leave readers salivating for the third and final installment.

IPaul Goat Allen/I