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Eldest
by Christopher Paolini
Return to the battle for Alagaesia and the future of the Dragon Riders.
SPOILER ALERT!
After defeating the Shade Durza in the battle for Farthen Dûr, Eragon is told he must visit the sprawling expanse of Du Weldenvarden and meet with the elves. Eragon is torn by this decision, as he is the only Dragon Rider in existence, save for the mad King, Galbatorix. He doesn’t want to leave the dwarves and the Varden (a group committed to overthrowing the king) without protection while he trains with the elves. Also, in his fight with Durza, Eragon was tragically wounded across the back. But, the wound would have possibly killed him if The-Cripple-Who-Is-Whole hadn’t visited him in his comatose state and given him the strength he needed to survive.
Eragon’s debt to the cripple who saved him eventually drives him to leave the Varden for Ellesméra - an elfin city. Eragon discovers the cripple is an elf named Oromis, and that Oromis is a Dragon Rider. He was captured by the Forsworn (the 13 Riders King Galbatorix rallied to conquer Alagaësia), and tortured until his hold on magic all but disappeared. However, he and his dragon, Glaedr, manage to escape, although Glaedr suffered an amputation. They hid themselves in Du Weldenvarden to teach the next generation of free Riders.
Eragon leaves to fight with the Varden after being healed during a Blood-Oath Celebration, and learns that his friend, Murtagh, did not die in the battle for Farthen Dûr, but was captured and forced to bend to Galbatorix’s will. As the son of one of the Forsworn, Murtagh was coveted by the Empire, and proved why when one of the few remaining dragon eggs hatched for him. At the end of the book, it is revealed that Murtagh is actually Eragon’s older brother.
As most “middle” novels are, so is Eldest. It serves the purpose of furthering the story line, but leaves the reader hanging after one of the biggest bombshells of the series is dropped. A fair follow-up to Eragon that makes the reader anxious for the coming novels that close out the series.
Title: Eldest
Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 037582670X
Review written by: Tracy Elledge
Reviewer's Rating:8.5
Reader's Rating: 0
Reader's Votes: 0
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