So a few weeks ago I published a blog that was rather
dismissive of books people recommend or give me to read. At about the same time
Jason recommended I read Eragon by Christopher Paolini. It is about 700
pages long and the first of a four volume series; each volume slightly longer
than the one before. I was honest with Jason that I didn’t do well with long
books. I gave up after the third or fourth volume of Harry Potter as each
volume got longer and longer.
However he spoke eloquently enough about the merits of Eragon
that I was moved to immediately seek out the book. However possibly as an
expression of my commitment my first stop was McKay’s Used Books, unfortunately
McKay’s did not have a copy. I was already near Barnes and Nobles so I headed
over and picked up Eragon.
This is a story about dragons and dragon riders, Elves,
Dwarves and Urgals (A tame sort of Orc.) as well as humans all battling the
evil empire lead by a misguided former dragon rider. It is full of magic and
magicians and spells as well as various other sinister creatures. There is a
tremendous amount of lore and back story as well as battles and dragon fights.
It was strongly reminiscent of and probably influenced by the works of J. R. R.
Tolkien.
Well at times it was as if a spell had been cast over me.
When I would start reading I couldn’t stop until at least whatever danger or
conflict had befallen the heroes had been overcome. I sped through the four
volumes in a month and enjoyed each thoroughly.
So once again I am confronted by the reality that the past
is no predictor of the future. And the future is an adventure we have not yet
imagined.