ERAGON

A newly illustrated addition marking the 20th anniversary of the wildly popular fantasy series opener.

When unassuming farm boy Eragon finds a strange blue stone while out hunting, the last thing he expects is for a dragon to hatch from it. Eragon is now one of the fabled dragon Riders, whose ancient order was destroyed from within by King Galbatorix. Eragon is content to live his days quietly with Saphira, his dragon, but Galbatorix will not suffer the existence of a Rider who’s beyond his control. When tragedy strikes at the hands of Galbatorix’s agents, Eragon embarks on a journey of revenge and self-discovery across Alagaësia. This new edition features stunning artwork that excels at capturing the personalities and bringing to life the textual descriptions of the human characters. Eragon looks every inch the youthful and naïve hero, Brom has a truly magnificent beard, and Arya is beautiful and defiant. But the art fails to convey the true size and majesty of Saphira as well as original cover artist John Jude Palencar’s work did; at times it makes her appear diminutive, in contrast to descriptions in the text. Long-time fans will also likely be disappointed by the limited number of illustrations featuring beloved character Murtagh. The full-color map of Alagaësia, however, is superlative.

Attractively executed; will please newcomers, but ardent fans may be less satisfied with some of the artistic choices.