Eldest is underrated, but also apparently an unpopular opinion I recently discovered, but Brisingr. **SPOILERS** I love how the book begins with Eragon and Roran together accomplishing what eragon set out to do alone when he left. Avenge their father, or father figure in eragons case. I also have a spot soft for oromis and glaedr, and I really feel like eragon comes in to his own. Plus, we can't forget our queen Nasuada being an absolute bad ass in the trial of long knives and earning her leadership in the eyes of her people!!
@@stevenolivas7262 yeah that's true, he really did have a good arc in eldest, but idk... I've done a reread since this comment and honestly my new favorite is Inheritance. His journey to her is impressive, yes, but I love them as a couple. And not the young love that was in the first book, it's become tempered by their time apart, and tested in new ways as they work together to face the war in their own ways. Plus I'm a nut for world building and the way vroenguard has become this inhospitable place is fascinating to me
Factual. The addition of Roran's perspective (and nasuada's) from the second novel on added a measure of depth that, though we didn't know we needed it, enhanced the world of alagaesia to new heights. This newest addition from murtagh & thorn's perspective post inheritance is even more of an attribution to the genius that is, was and always will be Chris Paolini. Imagine being 16 & writing a classic, and then being 35 and writing ANOTHER classic? Its madness.
Someone else who feels the way I do about eldest, finally! Eldest is the one I've reread the most since I got into the series before brisingr was out. I go back to this book more then any other in the series.
Same. I love the reunion scene. I still remember sitting on my couch, reading the book and just waiting and waiting for that reunion scene. I love how it happened.
It’s a fantastic series. I too love the training scenes. I learned karate growing up and at times the training reminded myself of that when I was a teenager. Now I’m the teacher to my own sons. I see a lot of parallels. It’s my favorite of the 4 as well.
Eldest is my favorite because I love Oromis he was like a teacher to my middle school self. Especially his comments about religion, particularly about doing good things for goodness sake rather out of fear of punishment/promise of reward are things I thought about when leaving religion and still think about today. That and I love how he was firm in his teachings but always incredibly kind and understanding, as opposed to many of the other elves who seem so stuck up
I was thinking the same thing. The build up to the end was just epic. I might slightly change my opinion to book three for Rotan’s struggle and not knowing whether he lived or died but Eldest was really good.
@@TiffanyRussell they’re all really good. The character development is top notch. I love that Paolini addresses questions most authors I’ve read leave loose ends with.
@@TiffanyRussell I just bought Murtagh yesterday because I heard it works well as a standalone, if not, I’ll finish three and four first. But yeah I will definitely get around to finishing the whole series.
@@TiffanyRussell Voice acting was... serviceable. Considering Rachel Weisz is a known actress, it was entirely directing that made it just serviceable. But, the physical design of Saphira... I honestly wouldn't mind if Disney merely took the model from the movie, spit shined with a fresh coat of paint to make it prettier (and growing more like how it was illustrated in the books) and more modern, and used it in the Eragon TV series that they have in pre-production. The only critic from me is to make the wings more bat-like and the hair on top of her head looks silly, but... that's really it.
I agree I watched the film before I read the books and I defnetly liked the look of Saphira. However while I didn't hate the voice I feel like it is missing something. I really liked how she had this great motherly voice but when I came to her sounding tough I think it feel short. In the books it talks about how differently Saphira's tone changes when talking to people so like how she often refer to Eragon as "little one" as a mother would but when talking to anyone else she sounds intimidating. Also yes eldest is the best I have read it at least 20 times now.
I'm rereading Brisingr and still not if Eldest or Brisingr is my favourite. What I love about Eldest is the growth of Eragon and Roran and how Paolini expands so brilliantly the world of Alagaësia and make us fall for every inch of the story.
There is a lot of growth in Eldest. Brisingr has a lot to love, but it kind of continues the same way it starts without as much of the growth that’s in Eldest.
Eldest is highly underrated. It was the first true fantasy novel I ever read. If it’s “so boring” how come my ADHD self was entertained, when I HATED reading and had NEVER taken on anything similar to the absolute PROJECT that is reading anyone of the thousands upon thousands of words of Paolini(before I had a great teacher who taught me the love of reading the same year I read Eldest) I read it in Elementary and loved it and read the rest. I’m currently listening to “Murtagh” and it’s a banger.
Eldest has been my favorite of the series from the very beginning. I havent read Murtagh yet (just bought it yesterday) but here is my ranking...not including Murtagh. 4. Brisingr. 3. Inheritance. 2. Eragon. 1. Eldest.
@TiffanyRussell I find the 1st two books in the series to be better written with better storylines. Eldest especially. With the last 2 books, Paolini's writing seemed to slack. It was like it was running out of ideas and for the sake of fans, just prolonged the series and the storylines became more dull. I remember when Brisingr came out and thought it would be the last. Then Paolini told his fans that he planned the finish with 3rd, but had so many more ideas that he thought it be best to separate book 3 and 4 instead of ending with the 3rd. While some might think it was a good idea, and I thought it cool at the time too, the last 2 books seemed to drag for the sake of length. It was like quantity instead of quality. Inheritance is only slightly above Brisingr for me mainly because the story climaxes with Galbatorix and had a few edge of the seat moments. Brisingr just seemed like a "filler" book.
Eldest is my favorite. Hands down worse book is inheritance. The last one is god awful. It really felt rushed and he could have extended the war out, the way it bouncing from city to city without actually securing the countryside. It really was a child’s way of thinking about war. It’s never that smooth or easy.
Inheritance could’ve been way shorter. I’m sure it would be better done if he wrote it nowadays. I liked it better on this reread, but it took a long time to get to the end😂
Eldest is actually my favorite too, it has a great jumping off point for Roran (my favorite character/storyline in the series), and I love how much Eragon is forced to grow, making it clear he's far from a perfect protagonist with the mistakes he makes, and the subversion of his confession to Arya. Though to be fair, I really didn't care for Books 3 and 4 at all, so that may also be a factor.
I'm rereading the cycle, I'm on Inheritance right now. Eldest is my favorite of the first 3, maybe will he be my favorite of the cycle. Roran's story is way too good
@@TiffanyRussell I will be honest the movie was complete garbage. I heard Christopher wants to crow right the script to the Disney plus show they want to make. My favorite books of the series were 1 Eragon 2 Brisingr 3 Inheritance 4 Eldest That's my favorite book series and my second favorite is the Harry Potter series.
Eldest is underrated, but also apparently an unpopular opinion I recently discovered, but Brisingr.
**SPOILERS**
I love how the book begins with Eragon and Roran together accomplishing what eragon set out to do alone when he left. Avenge their father, or father figure in eragons case. I also have a spot soft for oromis and glaedr, and I really feel like eragon comes in to his own. Plus, we can't forget our queen Nasuada being an absolute bad ass in the trial of long knives and earning her leadership in the eyes of her people!!
I think I liked Brisingr more on this recent reread. It has a lot of good stuff.
Brisingr will always be my favorite but some of my favorite parts of the entire series are roran defending carvahall and journeying to save katrina
@@stevenolivas7262 yeah that's true, he really did have a good arc in eldest, but idk... I've done a reread since this comment and honestly my new favorite is Inheritance. His journey to her is impressive, yes, but I love them as a couple. And not the young love that was in the first book, it's become tempered by their time apart, and tested in new ways as they work together to face the war in their own ways. Plus I'm a nut for world building and the way vroenguard has become this inhospitable place is fascinating to me
I agree, it's Brisingr or Inheritance for me. His writing really matured at that point.
My favourite part in Brisingr was when he forged his sword.
True unpopular opinion: I have equal love for all 4 books so far and can't wait to dig into Murtagh to make it an even 5 books to love.
You’re right, I don’t see that as often. I hope you love Murtagh just as much!
Same here
Eragon, Brisinger, Eldest, Inheritance. Eragon being the worst and Inheritance being the best.
The way the Murtagh plot hit me like a freight train 100% makes this the best book
It’s so powerful when he shows up!
I knew because i saw the cover of murtagh book when I was reading it so it want really a surprise
Agreed, my favorite parts was Eragons travel into Du Weldenvarden, and learning with him from oromis.
I love those parts! It made me feel like I was also learning magic along with him.
me too!!
You describing your favorite parts made me feel nostalgic for when I read it in 7th grade so long ago
I’m a big fan of nostalgia when it comes to reading
Factual. The addition of Roran's perspective (and nasuada's) from the second novel on added a measure of depth that, though we didn't know we needed it, enhanced the world of alagaesia to new heights. This newest addition from murtagh & thorn's perspective post inheritance is even more of an attribution to the genius that is, was and always will be Chris Paolini. Imagine being 16 & writing a classic, and then being 35 and writing ANOTHER classic? Its madness.
I love all the perspectives, but I do hope to see more of Thorn. And I can’t wait for the next book!
@@TiffanyRussell same same 🤞🏼
Eldest is my favorite too. I like middle installments a lot. I find them the most re-readable compared to books that start/finish a series
Someone else who feels the way I do about eldest, finally! Eldest is the one I've reread the most since I got into the series before brisingr was out. I go back to this book more then any other in the series.
In this one, some of the slowest parts are my favorites!
These books hit me when I was around 14 years old.
Perfect age
I started them in my 20s, but still loved them
@TiffanyRussell started this year as a 22 yo
Same. I love the reunion scene. I still remember sitting on my couch, reading the book and just waiting and waiting for that reunion scene. I love how it happened.
We waited over the course of a very long book, but it was worth it
I need to reread all the books but I know that Eragon has alot of nostalgia for me.
Me too with the nostalgia!
“Eragon and… his brother.”
That’s so funny to me because like
That’s almost a bigger spoiler than just saying his brother’s name
Oh maybe! I love the reveal of not just that he has one, but who it is.
It’s a fantastic series. I too love the training scenes. I learned karate growing up and at times the training reminded myself of that when I was a teenager. Now I’m the teacher to my own sons. I see a lot of parallels. It’s my favorite of the 4 as well.
It’s so fulfilling to pass on knowledge gained like that.
Eldest has always been my favorite. I love the 2 story back and forth with them intersecting at the end. Easily my favorite
I love that Roran gets added as a main character!
Eldest is my favorite because I love Oromis he was like a teacher to my middle school self. Especially his comments about religion, particularly about doing good things for goodness sake rather out of fear of punishment/promise of reward are things I thought about when leaving religion and still think about today. That and I love how he was firm in his teachings but always incredibly kind and understanding, as opposed to many of the other elves who seem so stuck up
Have to agree, I love Eldest and I especially love the worldbuilding in it
Me too! Ellesmera especially.
Brisingr will always be my fav but love all of them!
I liked Brisinger better on my most recent reread than when I read it several years ago.
I was thinking the same thing. The build up to the end was just epic. I might slightly change my opinion to book three for Rotan’s struggle and not knowing whether he lived or died but Eldest was really good.
I almost changed my favorite to book 3 after this reread😂
@@TiffanyRussell they’re all really good. The character development is top notch. I love that Paolini addresses questions most authors I’ve read leave loose ends with.
Fully agree. Eldest is a great book. Still a little juvenile here and there, but that’s okay. I really need to finish Inheritance.
Finish it so you can read Murtagh!
@@TiffanyRussell I just bought Murtagh yesterday because I heard it works well as a standalone, if not, I’ll finish three and four first. But yeah I will definitely get around to finishing the whole series.
Actual unpopular opinion: Saphira's design in the Eragon movie was the best part.
That’s definitely an unpopular opinion! What did you think of the voice acting though?
@@TiffanyRussell Voice acting was... serviceable. Considering Rachel Weisz is a known actress, it was entirely directing that made it just serviceable. But, the physical design of Saphira... I honestly wouldn't mind if Disney merely took the model from the movie, spit shined with a fresh coat of paint to make it prettier (and growing more like how it was illustrated in the books) and more modern, and used it in the Eragon TV series that they have in pre-production. The only critic from me is to make the wings more bat-like and the hair on top of her head looks silly, but... that's really it.
I agree I watched the film before I read the books and I defnetly liked the look of Saphira. However while I didn't hate the voice I feel like it is missing something. I really liked how she had this great motherly voice but when I came to her sounding tough I think it feel short. In the books it talks about how differently Saphira's tone changes when talking to people so like how she often refer to Eragon as "little one" as a mother would but when talking to anyone else she sounds intimidating. Also yes eldest is the best I have read it at least 20 times now.
Mine is Eldest aswell. When Eragon is learning to connect with his mind and nature.
I really love those parts
I always loved Eldest the most, that Burning plains battle had me GRIPPED at like 3 AM
I LOVED all the coming together at the end.
I may or may not have thrown pillows in anger @ Murtagh owning Eragon so easily lol@@TiffanyRussell
I completely agree
I'm rereading Brisingr and still not if Eldest or Brisingr is my favourite. What I love about Eldest is the growth of Eragon and Roran and how Paolini expands so brilliantly the world of Alagaësia and make us fall for every inch of the story.
There is a lot of growth in Eldest. Brisingr has a lot to love, but it kind of continues the same way it starts without as much of the growth that’s in Eldest.
Agreed
I ABSOLUTELY AGREE
Yay! I did also really like Brisingr on this reread too.
Eldest is the greatest Christopher Paolini book
Eldest is highly underrated. It was the first true fantasy novel I ever read. If it’s “so boring” how come my ADHD self was entertained, when I HATED reading and had NEVER taken on anything similar to the absolute PROJECT that is reading anyone of the thousands upon thousands of words of Paolini(before I had a great teacher who taught me the love of reading the same year I read Eldest) I read it in Elementary and loved it and read the rest. I’m currently listening to “Murtagh” and it’s a banger.
I’m so glad you loved it! And I’m happy the world of fantasy readers is bigger because of the Eragon books.
It’s my favourite too!
Inheritance and Brisingr are pretty much tied for me but Eldest is still excellent!
It is a very good book
I agree!
Murtagh
Brisingr has always been my fave but Eldest is amazing too
On this reread I really loved Brisingr too. It might be tied with Eldest for me now.
Eldest has been my favorite of the series from the very beginning. I havent read Murtagh yet (just bought it yesterday) but here is my ranking...not including Murtagh.
4. Brisingr.
3. Inheritance.
2. Eragon.
1. Eldest.
Interesting that Inheritance is 3rd. What put it above Brisingr for you?
@TiffanyRussell I find the 1st two books in the series to be better written with better storylines. Eldest especially. With the last 2 books, Paolini's writing seemed to slack. It was like it was running out of ideas and for the sake of fans, just prolonged the series and the storylines became more dull. I remember when Brisingr came out and thought it would be the last. Then Paolini told his fans that he planned the finish with 3rd, but had so many more ideas that he thought it be best to separate book 3 and 4 instead of ending with the 3rd. While some might think it was a good idea, and I thought it cool at the time too, the last 2 books seemed to drag for the sake of length. It was like quantity instead of quality. Inheritance is only slightly above Brisingr for me mainly because the story climaxes with Galbatorix and had a few edge of the seat moments. Brisingr just seemed like a "filler" book.
@@michaelhockaday7426 very good points. I did feel like they were unnecessarily stretched out towards the end.
Eldest is my favorite. Hands down worse book is inheritance. The last one is god awful. It really felt rushed and he could have extended the war out, the way it bouncing from city to city without actually securing the countryside. It really was a child’s way of thinking about war. It’s never that smooth or easy.
Inheritance could’ve been way shorter. I’m sure it would be better done if he wrote it nowadays. I liked it better on this reread, but it took a long time to get to the end😂
Eldest is actually my favorite too, it has a great jumping off point for Roran (my favorite character/storyline in the series), and I love how much Eragon is forced to grow, making it clear he's far from a perfect protagonist with the mistakes he makes, and the subversion of his confession to Arya. Though to be fair, I really didn't care for Books 3 and 4 at all, so that may also be a factor.
Sounds like we like a lot of the same things about Eldest. The fourth one was a bit much, it could’ve been condensed quite a bit.
I'm rereading the cycle, I'm on Inheritance right now. Eldest is my favorite of the first 3, maybe will he be my favorite of the cycle.
Roran's story is way too good
I enjoy both Eragon and Roran, but I’m glad Roran got his own POV.
In my opinion brisingr is the best ‘cause Eragon now is vale to use the full power of his body and he knows his limits.
I like it too, it had a lot of character development
Training with the elves is awesome!
Some of the best parts I feel like
Hello fellow valerian
Valerian is a plant the root of which can be used as a sleep aid. Also a species on Star Trek.
In either case, hello!
This is my favorite book series but this is my least favorite out of the series. It's still a great book though.
It’s the one you consider the worst is still great, that’s a good thing!
@@TiffanyRussell I will be honest the movie was complete garbage. I heard Christopher wants to crow right the script to the Disney plus show they want to make. My favorite books of the series were
1 Eragon
2 Brisingr
3 Inheritance
4 Eldest
That's my favorite book series and my second favorite is the Harry Potter series.
Rorans journey through that book is fantastic really what sold me on continuing the series
Say his name. SAY HIS NAME! It's Murtagh!
Spoilers!!😂
Eldest is also my favourite and imo have by far the best cover
Yes! I love the head on dragon on the cover.