- Title:
- Eldest
- Author:
- Christopher Paolini
- Release:
- April 14, 2009
- Format:
- Audiobook
- Narrator:
- Gerard Doyle
- Series:
- Inheritance Cycle, Book 2
Eldest picks up right where Eragon left off. As events unfold quickly for Eragon at the start of the book, the majority of the story is rather slow-paced. Eragon and Saphira continue their education as dragon and rider while learning more about the culture of the elves.
The story alternates between Roran and Eragon every few fapters, giving you something exciting to focus on. One thing that always annoyed me while reading this book many years ago, was how and when the chapters end. They often end on a cliffhanger, leaving you desperately wanting to catch up with the character you just read while trying to focus on the current protagonists’ story.
Both Eragon and Roran are built upon as characters and grow as people while the story progresses, giving book 2 another epic journey. Paolini did a nice job of bringing Eragon and Roran’s journey’s together at the finale to set up book 3. Sadly, I don’t have the audiobook for book 3, though this has just left me hyped for the opportunity to read it again.
Much of what I have to say about the narration was covered in my Eragon review. There were 2 – 3 instances where music was played during a scene or character intro. I just found it obnoxious since it was done only a few times and seemingly came out of nowhere.
Overall, I didn’t enjoy Eldest as much as I enjoyed listening to Eragon. The scene’s where Eragon is with the elves just bored me and left me uninterested. When the main character goes from traveling across the known world to sitting in a forest, it’s easy to see why. I do still recommend this audiobook for the same reasons I recommended Eragon. The convenience above all, though the name pronunciations are also a huge benefit.