(6/17/2004)
First off, good job Chris for being a 15 year old author. That's an incredibly cool . But, I didn't like the book at all, and let me tell you why: I'm an avid fantasy fan. David Eddings and Anne McCaffery are among my BIG FAVORITES. I'm guessing that Chris liked them as much as I did, because several of the names in the novel, a great deal of the plot, and some of the characters were blatantly based off of Edding's series The Belgariad . I know because I read his series until the covers fell off of the books. I as well fell in love with Garion, Polgara, Belgarath, Silk, and the rest of the crew.
However, it's unfair to use another author's ideas as your own and then promote the book as "origional."
Garion also started his life as a peasant. His grandfather, Belgarath was also a grumpy story teller. Garion's true identity was hidden from him his young life, as was Eragon's. Garion's hand was also marked because his line was linked with that of the Orb, much as Eragon's was marked from touching a young Saphira. Also, the name "Brand" was used in Eddings' series as the Riven Warder. It was also used in our young author's novel. I'm sure that there are more names and more similarities, but these were blaring and really bothered me. As for Anne McCaffery, her dragonets of P.E.R.N. choose their riders at hatching. Don't the eggs choose their "riders" in Eragon?
So, the story is not origional. I wanted to call attention to this. Yes, he is 15, but is the book really great? No. It's not. Only a 15 year old would have gotten away with such blaring use of other author's ideas.