Eragon is a book for FANTSY lovers. if you don't like fantsy then you will be bored stupid! i think this is an awesome book. can be a little violent in places ( like a pile of dead bodies and torture but other wise its really good!
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Eragon
(2003, Fiction - Fantasy, Written by Christopher Paolini)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings(Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)
Not age appropriate for kids under 9, age appropriate for kids over 10; suggested age 10. -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
A teen wrote this engrossing fantasy story.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 10 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
About Eragon
Parents need to know that the idea that a teen wrote this will be fascinating to many children, and it may inspire some to try their own hand at writing. The story does include some rather gory violence, however, including beheadings, torture, and piles of dead bodies.
Read our full review by Matt Berman
Families Can Talk About
- Families can talk about the qualities of successful authors and how to become a published writer. Do you think this book's young author did a good job writing his first novel? What about his writing do you find appealing? Is there anything about it that you don't particularly like? Do you think you could have done as good of a job -- or ever better? Families can also talk about the major motion picture that was spawned by the book. When your favorite books turn into movies are you excited, or are you worried Hollywood might "get it wrong"?
Our Members Say
See all 105 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
- I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
for kids over 9.
- I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
- Educational
Great book, but for older kids.
It's got it's share of violence, the whole series does, but not in excess as some more mature novels. It's good for kids 12 and older, and can be found in the "Young Adults" section in many bookstores, which should tell you something itself. I've rarely, if ever, found it in the kid section of any bookstore. This book, as many, helps build vocabulary, so in that way, it is educational, and it can encourage some to learn a foreign language. I loved the book, have read all three novels so far, and on average, I'd say they're all appropriate for kids 13+.
- I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
Older kids.
This contains graphic violence and some language. It's a great book, though!
- I rate this title iffy for age 10 and give itMy concerns are:
- Excessive violence
Not Too Objectionable, Just Bad
The most surprising thing about this otherwise flat, overlong retread of ground blazed by Tolkien and Campbell is its atheist agenda. You see, the elves in this book are atheists, which would be fine in and of itself, but they're also an entire race of Mary-Sues. They're the most beautiful, magical, and good creatures in Paolini's derivative world, and anyone who disagrees with them is either stupid, evil, or both. This is a relatively minor issue in the book, though, and were the content worth reading, it wouldn't be enough to stop me from recommending the book. But, as many other reviewers have said, Eragon is a shameless copy of Star Wars: A New Hope cloaked in generic high fantasy tropes. Actually, that may be giving Paolini too much credit. Had he ripped off Star Wars more closely, Eragon might have been a gripping narrative, if nothing else. But the author has pretensions to, well, pretentiousness. So he plumbs the thesaurus for fancy synonyms without understanding their connotative meaning, claims to have invented a new language when all he's done is made up a couple dozen words, and sends his protagonist on a textbook hero's journey without any idea how to make that journey compelling. In lieu of organic characterization, the reader is bluntly told what characters are supposed to be like. Magic, rather than operating according to coherent rules, works (or fails to work) as the plot demands, in often self-contradictory ways. The story is so full of plot holes that it only functions because characters--ones we've been told are intelligent--consistantly make the stupidest possible choices. If you're easily frustrated by bad writing, you'll hate this book. If not, you'll likely just be bored.
- I rate this title iffy for age 12 and give itMy concerns are:
- Negative role models
Good but cheap!
Good book! But not original. Total Starwars and Tales of Earthsea rip-off.
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Ratings at a Glance
| 100% | of parents say it's too violent |
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