One of my friends lent me this book, telling me how wonderful it was. She was right. Christopher Paolini was 15 when he wrote Eragon but you wouldn't be able to tell. The story concerns a boy called Eragon who lives in an empire run by the evil King Galbatorix. One hundred years ago, Galbatorix killed the Dragon Riders, good people and their dragons who looked after the land of Algaesia. No one was left to stop him. One day, Eragon finds what turns out to be a dragon egg. A dragon called Saphira hatches and together they set off on a series of adventures which might well end up saving the world. What I like best about the series of books is that although there are clearly goodies and baddies, the characters are a bit more complex than that. Some people mean well but do stupid things. Some people seem evil but do decent things. So this might be fantasy fiction but I don't think it's just escapism. You can reflect on the morality of your own actions if you like, Argetlam. In the end, you can change your true name so redemption is possible.
I'm half way through the third book Brisingr at the moment.
Not my usual part of the library, but they are in this stack of books.
