By now you’ve probably heard of the new fantasy movie coming out today about a Dragon rider… it’s called Eragon. I recently finished reading the book, and I enjoyed it. It is classified as “young adult”, so it is a quick read, meant for younger people. The author, Christopher Paolini, started writing it when he was 15 (his parents helped him publish it a few years later). There have been quite a few criticisms of the book, especially those calling the writing derivative and immature and accusing the author of ripping off Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. They even go so far as to make fun of the title, which is also the name of the main character, stating that it is just one letter different than the word ‘dragon’. To be honest, I agree with the criticisms to a certain extent. I won’t spoil the plot, but instead I’ll just say that it seems very much like Star Wars in a Lord of the Rings setting. Some of the dialog seemed a bit contrived, and I’m not usually critical of books if they have a good plot. However, despite its flaws, I still enjoyed reading it. While the plot wasn’t very original, it wasn’t dull either. There was always something happening to keep my interest and develop the story. I will definitely get the second book (when it’s in paperback).

I was looking forward to seeing the Eragon movie after reading the book, but the movie is getting horrible reviews. I have read that the movie is quite a bit different than the book, which is a shame. I hate it when movie directors and writers stray too far from the original. The Lord of the Rings movies were very well done… they differed from the books only when necessary, while still holding true to the spirit of the books. The Harry Potter movies have also been reasonable transformations from the book. I will probably still see the Eragon movie because I like seeing books that I enjoy portrayed on film.