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Eldest (The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 2)

(2005, Fiction - Fantasy, Written by Christopher Paolini)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    The epic saga continues -- and improves.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 10 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Not an issue.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence:

    Lots of battles and swordplay, some pretty graphic.
  • Sex:

    Not an issue.
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Some drinking and drunkenness -- even Saphira the dragon gets drunk.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Eldest (The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 2)

Parents need to know that, as is typical in high fantasy, there is plenty of fighting and bloodshed, though not as much as in the first book. Fighting and war, though sometimes bemoaned, are pretty much accepted as the way to solve problems.

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about Eragon's training and its parallels in Roran's trials. Does Eragon deserve Roran's blaming him for the village's troubles? Was Oromis right to withhold forms of magic that Galbatorix possesses? What are the parallels with the Star Wars saga? It can be fun to play Find the Matching Characters -- if Oromis is Yoda, who is Obi-Wan? Darth Vader? Princess Leia?

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Our Members Say

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See all 53 member reviews

Most Recent Reviews

  1. Kid Reviewer Age 10
    I rate this title on for age 10 and give it 4.0

    not for under 10.

    Eldest is better than eragon by only a little bit...... eragon tries to win Arya's heart ( and fails ) quite often. lots of description of the blood - oath celebration ( good description ) which is my favourite part!

  2. Teen Reviewer Age 13
    I rate this title on for age 8 and give it 4.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages
    • Good role models

    PERFECT! :)

    This book is very interesting and you get to use your imagination to travel into a time of dragons. Overall I loved the book.

  3. I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it 2.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Negative message
    • Negative role models

    Not my standards

    Improves!? Ha! It falls much shorter from its starwars rip-off of the first book. I still like the series though.

  4. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    I rate this title on for age 12 and give it 4.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence
    • Inappropriate sexual content

    The pacing has much to be desired, but I really loved this book.

    I really loved this book. The writing has definitely improved, and as the story unfolds, I am more and more falling for Paolini's world. It still feels like Middle Earth, but Paolini has his own mythology and languages. His world is similar to Middle Earth, but it has its distinct differences, to be sure. This book was overlong, I think, but regardless of the length, I enjoyed every minute of it. It does start out a bit slow, in my opinion, but it ramps up quickly enough. The battle and twist at the end are incredible, truly shocking. There were several times where Eragon would try to win Arya's heart, and he does this so awkwardly, and so frequently, I squirmed in my seat on so many occastions. He just wouldn't give up! It reminded me much of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and The Order of the Phoenix. Many people hated these scenes in this book, and while I didn't find them pleasant at the time, in fact I had to close the book I was so frustrated with Eragon, it made the reading experiance that much better. When a writer gets me to squirm, that's when he/she is getting me involved with the characters. Among all of the flaws in these books, Paolini has created incredible characters. In my review of Eragon I gave that book 4 out of 5 stars. My actual rating for it would be 3.7, but since I couldn't put that, I simply rounded up. This book, however, earned itself a genuine 4 out of 5 stars.

  5. Teen Reviewer Age 14
    I rate this title on for age 12 and give it 5.0
    My concerns are:
    • Excessive violence

    • My highlights are:
    • Positive messages

    It's very rewarding, but don't read this book unless you have the third one too, because the as soon as you put this book down, you'll want to grasp the third book in the series and read it as well!

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