So much for brevity. *Cough*
Genre: Fantasy
Book Summary: In four fat, delightful books, young author Christopher Paolini tells the story of Eragon, a foster-son of a poor farmer who stumbles upon a dragon egg, a discovery that throws him into an enormous war to overthrow evil King Galbatorix. Filled with elves, dwarves, and other magical creatures and races of Paolini’s own invention (influenced by epic stories like Lord of the Rings), loads of magic, and of course, dragons, this series is gripping and a must-read for all lovers of fantasy and good versus evil tales.
Indulgent Book Talk: Now, I will admit, these books don’t get too many points for originality. Paolini is a diehard fantasy fan and he has certainly borrowed from many authors, so if you also read fantasy pretty extensively, you probably won’t think these are the most original books. Likewise, they are also fairly indulgent. What I mean by this is that Paolini basically wrote a “fantasy” fantasy book, where he put all of his favorite elements of fantasy and wallowed in them for a couple thousand pages. So if you are not a big fantasy fan, you probably won’t find these books very entertaining. However, if you can get over the “I’ve seen this device before” feeling and forgive Paolini for some of his more indulgent moments, you will find these to be very fun.
Glorifying Elements: Like many fantasy novels, good versus evil is the main theme in these books, with Eragon and his allies being “good” and Galbatorix and his allies being “evil.” However, I think Paolini does an interesting job developing the sub-themes within this, another reason why I think these books are worth a read. Here’s a break-down:
The evil within: One thing that Paolini really draws out is the characters’ realization that given the right circumstances, they are capable of great evil. There is this sense throughout the books that everyone has the capability for evil in them, and it’s the choice to rise above that that defines a person. While there is no perfect analogy in these books to original sin, there is a hint at that, an understanding that we are all evil, and we must make a conscious effort not to be. Of course, we Christians know we cannot truly make that effort apart from Christ.
The requirement of sacrifice: Good does not triumph without great sacrifice. Whether that is the sacrifice of life or limb, or even a loss of innocence, all of the characters learn they must give up something precious to overthrow Galbatorix. And all of the characters show great fortitude and a willingness to do this. That’s admirable.
The importance of sticking together: One of the major obstacles Eragon and his allies must overcome is their differences. They realize very early on that petty arguments and bitterness weaken their cause. Great strides are made when characters overcome an initial dislike or distrust of one another in pursuit of a common goal. I think this is a great message for the church; when so much divides us: minor doctrinal differences, personality conflicts, worship preferences, etc, it is good to remember that we are “only as strong as we are united.”
Worldly Elements: These books are written with a young adult audience in mind, so there is some mild profanity and non-graphic sexual references. There is quite a bit of violence, to the point where I was skimming through battle scenes to get to the plot. Paolini is not shy about describing gore, but he isn’t necessarily gross either. I would not go below PG-13 for a content rating on these novels. Magic is a huge plot device, so if you have objections to that, you may find these books unpalatable.
A thematic problem I couldn’t quite resolve as well was the role of religion in Paolini’s imagined world. He never tied the ends with this, but drifted amongst sympathy with one race’s atheistic views, other races’ god worship, determined self-reliance, and then some kind of relativistic, anything-goes worldview. I have a habit of trying to figure out what the author is thinking when I read (something I was told not to do in literature classes; go figure), but I never quite did with these books. If you are a Bible-believing Christian, just steel yourself for some disapproving nose-wrinkling at the religion mess in these books. However, since I wasn’t expecting theology from this series, it didn’t ruin my enjoyment of it.
General Recommendation: For mature, older-than-thirteen fantasy fans, I really think these books are fun, especially if the reader wants to wallow in a “fantasy” fantasy book, as Paolini did. If you are not a fantasy fan and want to try out fantasy, I would recommend something a little more approachable, maybe Harry Potter or even The Chronicles of Narnia to get your feet wet before you jump into this one. But for diehards like the author, you will find these enjoyable, multi-layered, and will get enough dragon “page time” to satisfy you for awhile.
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