I have a pretty decent collection of books, unfortunately over the years I have moved a lot and some of my books have been lost in the shuffle. I used to read all the time, but since adulthood I have actually barely read at all.
I always used to tell myself I'll read more and these favorites again. I also didn't want to read them too much in an attempt to not let the books get 'old'.
Well now it's been easily, if not more than, ten years since I have read any books most likely, let alone these favorites!! I'm only getting older, and so it's time to re-live these classics. Can't believe time has passed so quickly.
I began reading Eragon to my son and I remember just how awesome The Inheritance Cycle really is!! While I continue to read these to him, I'm gonna go ahead and read more on my own!
Reading these books while older and hopefully wiser has been a whole new experience and reading them to my son is even more intense in a different way.
I am nine chapters into Eragon and man, it's just been a treat. In a way I am glad I waited as long as I did to read them again because it really is mega fresh for me. Also, I appreciate the supporting cast more than ever.
I mention being smarter and obviously I am since I read these last as a teen. Not gonna lie, these books were a bit challenging for me then. Now I can read it with very much ease and really enjoy these at a bit of a different level.
I guess if you include the prologue I'm sort of ten chapters deep. Including the prologue the first chapters are as follows:
Prologue: Shade of Fear
Discovery
Palancar Valley
Dragon Tales
Fate's Gift
Awakening
Tea For Two
A Name of Power
A Miller-to-Be
Strangers in Carvahall
It's clear to me now how much this is obviously a coming of age story but there's aspects of course that make Eragon standout.
Reading this at my age of entering prime adulthood I recognize how clever Eragon really was in the beginning. Eragon is clearly the main character but there are also two other men in his life that are older and also entering crossroads of their own.
Eragon himself is in his middle teens, adulthood on the horizon, when he is also met with his discovery of a dragon egg so a bit of a double doozy there. His older cousin Roran is a young adult dealing with his own set of challenges such as leaving home and starting his own life and marrying etc. Eragon's uncle (and father figure) and Roran's father Garrow is significantly older of course but facing his own challenges that include his son leaving his home to be his own man, and of course likely thinking about his own mortality. The three men facing three levels of life is really interesting and clever.
In the beginning of 'Strangers in Carvahall' Garrow gives both Eragon and Roran life advice and MAN that was cool. Could barely read it to my own son! Perhaps when I'm older and re-read Eragon I'll be able to appreciate Garrow's perspective even more.
Amongst the first nine chapters there are several quite short chapters that only last three or four pages. They're short and elegant and just a real treat to read.
I always looked at Eragon as the 'worst' of the four books. All the books are excellent but if I had to pick, it'd be Eragon. Nevertheless I am really enjoying Eragon more than ever before. Maybe ranking these books is silly in the first place but yeah.
Paolini wrote Eragon between the ages of like 15-18 or something like that. One could say Eragon is not quite as good as the others because Paolini was so young. Once again there could be some truth to that but Eragon is still really excellent and I can really see why now.
Pushing aside Paolini's youth when writing this for now, there are other aspects of Eragon that make it special and instead of looking at Eragon as less good I see Eragon as truly Eragon growing and waking up.
Eragon is obviously at his youngest in Eragon, so his sheer intelligence and awareness is simply going to be less sharp at his young age. Eragon may seem sort of simple and everything but one could argue that that was simply Eragon being a young man becoming older but still with some child lingering in him.
ALSO, I believe Eragon does a great job at actually portraying his nearly sixteen year old age thanks to Paolini writing it at such a young age himself!
Overall the first nine chapters have been fun magical and raw in a good way. Paolini does a great job making the life and landscape feel rugged and realistic and even cold at times. The books feel like there is actually danger lurking.
All in all, the magic is really capturing me all over again and man I can't wait to read more.
Books used to make me more happy than pretty much anything and man I can't wait to dive back into books again. It's nice to ramble about them on the blog too. Bonus fun baby!!
No work today, I'm going to Alagaësia.
