Eragon, The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini

Christopher Paolini's "Eragon" is about a poor farm boy named Eragon who, while out hunting for game, has a dragon egg mysteriously and magically appear in front of him. Thinking it's a type of stone with possibly some value, he takes it home with him.

An orphan, Eragon lives with his uncle, Garrow, and cousin Roran. Roran eventually leaves to find work in order to provide for his future plans to marry the butcher's daughter,Katrina, leaving Garrow and Eragon to tend their little farm alone.

When Eragon's stone hatches into a dragon, he finds himself in a world of magic and that he has now become a member of the once legendary and annihilated dragon riders. That is when all heck breaks loose. The dragon riders had all been hunted down and destroyed by a former and powerful rider named, Galbatorix. After their fall he named himself king and supreme ruler of Alagaesia. Galbatorix sends his henchmen to capture Eragon and his dragon, Saphira. Garrow is murdered and Eragon has to flee Carvahall with Saphira to avoid capture. Soon Eragon and Saphira find themselves traveling all over Alagaesia dodging the empire while hunting the mysterious Ra'Zac, the murderers of his uncle Garrow.

Meanwhile, Roran returns home to find his home destroyed, his father murdered, and Carvahall under siege. He rallies the towns people to take up arms, dig in, and fight. Eventually, Katrina is kidnapped by the Ra'Zac and Roran and the people of Carvahall have to flee for their lives.

Eragon and Saphira hook up with an army of rebels and freedom fighters which is a mix of dwarfs and humans called the Varden. With the help of the Varden and his new found friends, Murtagh, and the elven princess, Arya, Eragon and Saphira defeat Galbatorix's army and Eragon slays the evil and powerful shade, Durza, Galbatorix's right hand man.

The adventure continues in "Eldest", the second book in the series. Eragon travels with Arya to the realm of the elves to learn the ways of the dragon riders. There he encounters many internal conflicts including the elves nonacceptance of him as a rider, his love for Arya which she does not accept or return, and the crippling pain of his wound which he received from his battle with Durza.

Meanwhile, his cousin Roran is in a battle against the empire of his own. After fleeing Carvahall, he and Carvahall's survivors work their way south on a ship. They meet many obstacles while avoiding capture by the empire. Eventually Eragon and Roran reunite in another battle with the Varden against the armies of the empire. It's during this battle that Eragon and Saphira discover that another egg has hatched and a new rider has emerged. Only the new rider, a lost and thought dead friend of Eragon's, is under the control of Galbatorix. It is also during this battle, Eragon begins to learn the disturbing secrets of his family and their past.

The third book "Brisingr" reveals the secrets of Eragon's family. Also it reveals a secret of the dragons that may be the undoing of Galbatorix.

Does Roran rescue his love, Katrina, from the evil clutches of the Ra'Zac? Will Eragon ever win Arya's love? Brisingr brings more battles and conflicts as Eragon learns more and more about his family and their disturbing secrets. Meanwhile his cousin, Roran, takes the name "Stronghammer" and begins rising in the ranks of the Varden.

What does the name of the book "Brisingr" mean? Ah, you must read and find out. And the adventure does not end here. There is another book in the making.

For all of those who watched the movie, "Eragon", I agree. It was an excellent action/adventure fantasy movie. But the written story is much better in my opinion. The movie leaves out a lot of the story and actually takes on a plot of it's own. Don't get me wrong. I still sit down and watch "Eragon" time and again. But I recommend you read the series. You won't be disappointed.


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Book review - - "The Desert of Wheat" Audio book read by Jim Gough

I like audio books. Especially the unabridged audio books. They make excellent travel companions. Also they work well for entertainment while working around the home. Unlike the television, audio books don't keep you tied to one spot. You can listen to them while moving around the house.

I recently listened to Zane Grey's "The Desert of Wheat" Published by Blackstone Audio Inc. Narrated by Jim Gough (pronounced goff). Mr. Gough does an excellent job narrating the story. His western drawl and narrative ability helps keep the listener intrigued in the exciting and the slow parts of the book.

"Slow parts?" you ask. Yes, slow parts. Anyone who has read Zane Grey is well aware of his tendency to persist on detail. Not just scenery but inner conflicts and knowledge. For example, Mr. Grey spent almost an entire chapter of "The Desert of Wheat" lecturing on the wheat disease smut, it's affects on wheat, and the the breeds that do and do not have resistance to it.

Don't get me wrong. "The Desert of Wheat" is an excellent story set back in the early nineteen hundreds during the first World War. The stories protagonist Kurt Dorn is faced with plenty of conflicts, his hate for his German heritage, his father's stubbornness, IWW (yes IWW is correct) vandals that are intent on destroying his crop, and staying home to be with the woman he loves versus going to war to kill Germans and his heritage. It has the three major types of conflicts making an excellent story. There is lots of action and adventure in this book as well as lots of detail. I enjoyed it very much. I think all western fiction lovers will also.

The audio book I listened too was purchased and downloaded from the Internet. This is a excellent way to purchase audio books. The books are cheaper because there is no driving to the store and they are downloaded to your computer. You then have the option of burning them to audio Cd's or just listening to them on your computer. Some audio books are sold in an MP3 format so you can load them onto your iPods or MP players. These downloads are encoded also. This means you will have to enter a user ID and password in order to play them for the first time on your computer. Usually after the first time, you do not have to enter your ID or password again. The encoding is basically to help prevent pirating.