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| Inheritance Cycle Omnibus: Eragon and Eldest (The Inheritance Cycle) | 
 enlarge | Author: Christopher Paolini
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $12.22
You Save: $7.77 (39%)
New (31) Used (8) from $7.59
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 22598
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1216
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6 x 2.1
ISBN: 0375857044
EAN: 9780375857041
ASIN: 0375857044
Publication Date: July 8, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
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Product Description
Enjoy every word of the first two books in the Inheritance cycle in one convenient volume. Featuring brand new cover art and never before seen original manuscript pages!
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| Customer Reviews:
 I LIKE THEM ALL, INCLUDING AUDIO BOOKS August 30, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My goodness, such passionate reviews. Let me add my own passion to the mix. I am an OLD dude, and I have been reading since I was a little tad. I read everything I can get my hands on, or, if I have nothing, even the back of cereal boxes will do. I have to read! I LOVE this series! I have been reading fantasy, and science fiction, Cowboys and Indians, adventure of all kinds, for all of my life.
One must remember that Christopher was 16-17 years old when he began this series, so his imagination was able to soar. Yes, there is a relationship to the "Dragon Riders of Pern." Yes, there is a relationship to Tolkin, but so what? If you are writing stories of "Smokey the Bear," there will be similarities to other bear stories, So how would one write a story without having it "sort of" relate to some other story?
In Eragon, Saphira becomes a very lovable part of the story. She is intelligent, sometimes funny, always wise, and a wonderful conscience of Eragon. The dragons of Pern, were none of these, but were none the less, loveable.
The series is VERY enjoyable, and I can hardly wait for the release of Bersingr, and the good news is that the story has grown so epic, that a forth book is now necessary.
So my friends, just read, or listen, and enjoy the story as written. Don't try to relate it to other books, enjoy it for what it is, an epic journey into the world of magic, dragons, elves, dwarfs, and other mystical creatures. Time well spent. Try it on audio too, the readings add a LOT to the story with the variety of voices. I listen in my truck, it makes the drive seem way too short.
Imagine the Possibilities August 29, 2008
I know a lot of people are criticizing these books because they do remind you of other books you've read or movies you've seen, but that is what I love about them. It's like putting the best plots you've ever read or seen into a mixer to see what you can make out of it. The end result is bound to be something fantastic when all the ingredients were fantastic to begin with. Besides Paolini isn't that old so we get the best of both worlds. We get an author who is still young enough to remember what it's like to create your own adventures and old enough to know how to put a pen to paper so the rest of us can share in his excitement.
I love Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Harry Potter and Dragonriders of Pern and I love that I am reminded of all of them in these stories. It's kind of like a continuing legacy of entertainment. While totally new ideas are good to read too sometimes you just want the story to never end.
For those of us who love every adventure and reliving them in countless different ways these books are for you.
 A real Review August 29, 2008
Ok let me say first that i do not like that they released an omnibus book with the first 2 when the third book is coming out in a month to finish the trilogy. I That is where my disappointment ends.
The reviews below compare this book to random fantasy stories that have little to do with this books plot other then that they share a genre (fantasy). In some ways EVERY fantasy book is a cliche or can be said to have taken things form this book or that book. Just because in the story there are "dragonriders" does not mean it is a rip off of Anne Mccaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern.
I found this book to be entertaining. I was pleasantly surprised after seeing the horrible movie they produced from it. It has a lot of depth considering it was meant for children and is an easy read. The pages flew bye and i am excited to read the third book. I won't go into to much detail because it is a crime to spoil the books. All i can say is ignore the reviews that seem to pop up all over new fantasy books claiming its a rip off of "insert classic tail here" those that say this probably haven't read much other then that series and look in the broadest possible view of the book. under there theory every book that has an elf or a dwarf or has a quest where a group goes out to conquer and enemy would be a rip off of the lord of the rings. every book that has dragons in it is obviously a rip off of Dragonriders of Pern. I cant even come up with one that would work for star wars as it is so far off in left field i don't think even the person who posted it or George Lucas himself could explain it.
 A waste of time, money and trees August 19, 2008
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I am truly perplexed as to how such a book can be a best seller, even among children's books...
Mix the Belgariad (the peasant boy with a mysterious background and a blue circle on his hand) with the Dragonriders of Pern (defenders of civilisation with a psychic connection to flying dragons), add a few elves and just about every single plot cliche you can find in the fantasy genre (impossible love with an elf,et cetera, et cetera and yes, it will probably be "revealed" that Eragon is the son of Big Bad Guy or, more likely, of his Numero Uno Henchman - thus the possible "tragic showdown" with his half brother Doohickey the other dragonrider), not to mention the mediocre plot and pacing from the first book that is shot to hell in the second one ...
If you are nonetheless sufficiently perseverant and through sheer force of will (or simple masochism)manage to slug through these two books, odds are that you will swear an oath to the deity or other supernatural manifestation of your choice NEVER to read ANYTHING else remotely related to this series.
If you onetheless feel that you absolutely must read this, borrow it from a library, it makes a painful experience just a little bit cheaper.
 Eldest story in the book July 14, 2008
11 out of 30 found this review helpful
Mix together equal parts "Star Wars" and J.R.R. Tolkien, then add a generous helping of Anne McCaffrey's dragon-riders and a few random shreds of Garth Nix.
Obviously originality is not Christopher Paolini's strong suit, since the omnibus of "Eragon" and "Eldest" is brimming over with fantasy cliches. But the biggest weakness of Paolini's two books is not his stilted dialogue or numerous cliches, or even the slow-moving pompous slog of "Eldest's" endless elf training -- it's his cardboard cutout of a self-insert hero, Eragon.
The titular character is lucky enough to stumble across a strange blue stone while hunting. After failing to sell it, Eragon finds that it's actually a dragon egg, and the baby blue dragon inside selects him -- yes, him -- to hatch for and remain with forever. All the Dragon Riders were killed off by Evil King Galbatorix long ago, but for the weird old recluse Brom, who becomes Eragon's mentor. And Luke, I am your father... wait, wrong story.
When Galbatorix's men destroy Eragon's home and family, Brom and Eragon flee to find the mysterious rebels known as the Varden, and rescue the beautiful elf Arya who is haunting Eragon's dreams. But while Eragon and his dragon Saphira learn many things -- and make new allies -- the journey to the Varden brings them a terrible (and totally predictable) loss, and leads them to Eragon's first battle.
"Eldest" picks up immediately afterwards, with Eragon badly wounded and the leader of the Varden murdered. But despite the rebels' turmoil, Eragon is told that he has to accompany Arya back to her home city of the elves, to train as a proper Dragon-rider. But when he arrives, Eragon finds that his new master is an ancient, crippled elf named Oromis, who has a lot to teach him before he inevitably expires.
Unbeknownst to Eragon, his hometown of Carvahall is being ruined by a band of Galbatorix's soldiers, and his newly-engaged cousin Roran may be their only hope. And our hero's truncated training leads to strange new changes in his body and mind, as he prepares for a devastating new battle against Galbatorix -- and a horrifying new discovery. Yes, you can probably see it coming.
Lofty elves, kings-in-waiting, humble farm boys, ghastly goblinesque creatures, mystical women, special swords, evil tyrants who are evil because they just are, wise mentors, and telepathic dragons in a variety of colors. Christopher Paolini never met a fantasy cliche that he didn't like. And as a result, both "Eragon" and "Eldest" are dripping with Tolkien and Lucas-style trappings, right down to the hero's suspiciously Tolkienian name.
Paolini paints these typical sword-and-sorcery stories with rather stilted but promising prose, at least at first. "Eragon" has some raw rookie potential, and you can detect Paolini's enthusiasm as he explores his invented fantasy land, much the way many other teenagers have done after reading high fantasy and yearning to explore their own made-up worlds. There's just not much that is new or unique about this story.
But things go way downhill with "Eldest" -- Paolini's prose becomes bloated, sluggish and painfully smug, with dialogue that becomes more painfully wretched with each chapter ("I walk between the candle and the dark"). The story is wrenched out into three different storylines, two of which deal with the Varden's lace-making and Roran's engagement woes. Neither is terribly interesting, and the battle at the finale feels as though Paolini slapped it on to give it a suitably slam-bang ending.
Worst of all, the book's bulk is devoted mostly to Eragon's uneventful dragon-riding training with Oromis, which consists mostly doing yoga and watching insects, and occasionally whapping each other with swords. Yes, it's every bit as boring as it sounds. And the hilariously homoerotic moments with Eragon and Oromis only liven it up a little.
The biggest problem with Paolini's writing is that Eragon is portrayed as a noble, brave, compassionate soul with a brilliant destiny ahead of him. Well, frankly he shows no nobility, bravery or compassion, and the many characters who gasp in admiration of him does not make him any more impressive. He's a glaring self-insert, with all the dimension of a cardboard standee.
The supporting characters are not much better -- Brom is too brief a character to make much of an impact, and while Oromis has a certain fascination, we hear too little of his intriguing past, except how it relates to Eragon. And the love interest Arya is glorified only for her looks -- which is all she has, since her personality is chilly at best, snotty and autocratic at worst.
Christopher Paolini's not-terribly original fantasy series starts off with the flawed but readable "Eragon," before sliding down into the painfully bloated carcass of "Eldest." Lightweight fantasy at best, but a painful salad of cliched preaching at worst.
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