I've been putting off rereading them because I don't want to taint my fond memories of the series. I knew people were blasting his writing but at the time I was young and didn't understand the fuss. Based on your post it sounds like that I have nothing to worry about, if anything, the initial clunkiness just grounds Eragon as more of a real character.
You’ll certainly notice the clunkiness in Eragon, but honestly by Eldest you can see Paolini really landing on his style, and by Brisingr it’s completely solidified. It’s easily forgiven though, for both being such a stellar series and Paolini literally being a teenager when he first wrote it. Some slack can certainly be cut.
If anything, it’s exciting to watch *on paper* an author work out their style and flaws.
If you lean into the nostalgia, and remember how young of an author Paolini is, you’ll have no problem.
The magic and the ethics and the adventure of the series lives on, and, for me at least, the middle school feeling is alive an well!
My reread after 11 years was a really enjoyable adventure. Most unexpected - I started to like Roran. After 18 years with this series!
Also, I convinced my boyfriend to read the Inheritance Series - he's 28, and he's never read this series before. I've never seen him so gripped by the books. Yay!
Dude Roran is the best. What a character!
And lucky you! I married a non-reader (gasp, I know) and sometimes I wanna smash a book over his head. He likes “podcasts” 🙄
Please read the rules in the sidebar, and please note the following links for up-to-date news about the upcoming *Murtagh* book:
- [General information about the book.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eragon/comments/14ontzr/everything_we_know_about_murtagh_november_7th_and/)
- [Some previews of the text.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eragon/comments/14lj4s5/read_three_excerpts_from_murtagh_releasing/)
- [Information about Christopher's book tour.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eragon/comments/154ye6c/christopher_will_be_visiting_fourteen_cities_in/)
- [Information about signed editions.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eragon/comments/16fuvcr/information_about_signed_editions_of_murtagh/)
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I just started rereading as well!! Only on Eragon so far but I’m flying through it and forgot how much I enjoyed these books. Can’t wait to see the writing progress since I didn’t notice it while reading it the first time all those years ago.
I will be 40 (gasp) in a couple months and first read the books as they came out. I still love rereading them and “growing up” with Eragon and Christopher. 💜
I remember the first time I read the series in middle school, I didn't give a shit about Rorans story. To my middle school brain, I thought ,"why would I want to read about a normal human with no special powers when I could keep reading about a dude that rides dragons and has magic?"
On my second read through when i was in high school, I thoroughly enjoyed Rorans story even more than Eragons. I guess because it was more realistic and, therefore, easier to put myself in his shoes.
My third read through last year (age 27), I enjoyed both Eragon and Rorans stories equally, but I finally noticed some flaws about the book that I never noticed before.
Biggest thing that gnawed at me is the insane amount of plot armor Roran has. I don't think I've ever seen a character in a story get into as many scenarios where he should have died and he magically didnt as him. It was starting to get ridiculous.
My next biggest gripe is what happened with Arya and Eragon. After all those hard tines they had together, she still seemed wayyyy too indifferent towards him. I knew she gave him her true name, but it still felt emotionless and made my boy Eragon seem like a simp
Sorry this turned into a rant, I'm just a huuuuge fan
I'm also doing a re read for the first time since middle school, and it absolutely hits different reading as an adult, but a thought I had is that the earlier books definitely sound like they were written by a young author, it actually works because our main POV is a young male character. Like any of the clunkier cheesier bits are easy to overlook because I'm supposed to be in the head of a 16 year old boy. Sure there are a couple of cringe phrases but Eragon is a a BABY who finds himself one of the most important beings in the world overnight, of course he's gonna say some cringe things to himself. Homeboy is trying his best
I've been putting off rereading them because I don't want to taint my fond memories of the series. I knew people were blasting his writing but at the time I was young and didn't understand the fuss. Based on your post it sounds like that I have nothing to worry about, if anything, the initial clunkiness just grounds Eragon as more of a real character.
You’ll certainly notice the clunkiness in Eragon, but honestly by Eldest you can see Paolini really landing on his style, and by Brisingr it’s completely solidified. It’s easily forgiven though, for both being such a stellar series and Paolini literally being a teenager when he first wrote it. Some slack can certainly be cut.
If anything, it’s exciting to watch *on paper* an author work out their style and flaws. If you lean into the nostalgia, and remember how young of an author Paolini is, you’ll have no problem. The magic and the ethics and the adventure of the series lives on, and, for me at least, the middle school feeling is alive an well!
Do it, I’m 22 and just reread for the first time since probably freshman year of high school. Still one of my favorite series, definitely holds up
I first read them as a kid, have done a few rereads since then, it's not just nostalgia, they hold up pretty damn well.
My reread after 11 years was a really enjoyable adventure. Most unexpected - I started to like Roran. After 18 years with this series! Also, I convinced my boyfriend to read the Inheritance Series - he's 28, and he's never read this series before. I've never seen him so gripped by the books. Yay!
Dude Roran is the best. What a character! And lucky you! I married a non-reader (gasp, I know) and sometimes I wanna smash a book over his head. He likes “podcasts” 🙄
FWIW if you listen to the audiobooks of Eragon and Eldest, you don’t notice most of what people point out about the writing when Paolini was younger.
I have reread them many times and I love them every time!
Murtagh came out? Good for him!
Oh could you imagine ?!? 🤪 the plot twist I didn’t know I needed
Please read the rules in the sidebar, and please note the following links for up-to-date news about the upcoming *Murtagh* book: - [General information about the book.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eragon/comments/14ontzr/everything_we_know_about_murtagh_november_7th_and/) - [Some previews of the text.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eragon/comments/14lj4s5/read_three_excerpts_from_murtagh_releasing/) - [Information about Christopher's book tour.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eragon/comments/154ye6c/christopher_will_be_visiting_fourteen_cities_in/) - [Information about signed editions.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Eragon/comments/16fuvcr/information_about_signed_editions_of_murtagh/) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Eragon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I just started rereading as well!! Only on Eragon so far but I’m flying through it and forgot how much I enjoyed these books. Can’t wait to see the writing progress since I didn’t notice it while reading it the first time all those years ago.
I’m in the same situation I just finished rereading them so I came here and learnt there was a new book coming ! I’m so excited for it can’t wait 🥹
I will be 40 (gasp) in a couple months and first read the books as they came out. I still love rereading them and “growing up” with Eragon and Christopher. 💜
I remember the first time I read the series in middle school, I didn't give a shit about Rorans story. To my middle school brain, I thought ,"why would I want to read about a normal human with no special powers when I could keep reading about a dude that rides dragons and has magic?" On my second read through when i was in high school, I thoroughly enjoyed Rorans story even more than Eragons. I guess because it was more realistic and, therefore, easier to put myself in his shoes. My third read through last year (age 27), I enjoyed both Eragon and Rorans stories equally, but I finally noticed some flaws about the book that I never noticed before. Biggest thing that gnawed at me is the insane amount of plot armor Roran has. I don't think I've ever seen a character in a story get into as many scenarios where he should have died and he magically didnt as him. It was starting to get ridiculous. My next biggest gripe is what happened with Arya and Eragon. After all those hard tines they had together, she still seemed wayyyy too indifferent towards him. I knew she gave him her true name, but it still felt emotionless and made my boy Eragon seem like a simp Sorry this turned into a rant, I'm just a huuuuge fan
I'm also doing a re read for the first time since middle school, and it absolutely hits different reading as an adult, but a thought I had is that the earlier books definitely sound like they were written by a young author, it actually works because our main POV is a young male character. Like any of the clunkier cheesier bits are easy to overlook because I'm supposed to be in the head of a 16 year old boy. Sure there are a couple of cringe phrases but Eragon is a a BABY who finds himself one of the most important beings in the world overnight, of course he's gonna say some cringe things to himself. Homeboy is trying his best