I’m planning to read it soon, as soon as I finish re-reading LotR. I’ve actually read the first couple of chapters, and so far I’m kind of “meh” on the idea of finishing it, but my 16 yo son loves it and keeps pushing me to read it. Considering that this child is most emphatically not a reader, and the only two books I’ve ever seen him get the least bit excited about are Eragon and Catcher in the Rye, that’s reason enough for me to finish it.
A must read ? I’d say Roger Zelazny’s first Amber series. Very good, and very original.
Its a pretty worthless book IMHO. If it gets a kid excited about reading, that’s super, but it doesn’t make it any good. The Sweet Valley High series got some people interested in reading, and everyone knows they blew chunks, just for one example.
If you are looking for YA Fantasy that is actually pretty worthwhile, may I suggest:
Dragon’s Blood - Jane Yolen
Hounds of the Morrigan - Pat O’Shea
City of Ember - Jeanne Duprau
Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett
The Book of Three - Lloyd Alexander
DragonFlight – Anne McCaffrey
Over Sea, Under Stone - Susan Cooper
Beck, shoot me your e-mail addy (mine’s in my profile) and I’ll send you my copy of Eragon. It doesn’t suck, but it’s not great, either, and I wouldn’t suggest you buy it. In fact, it’s so not great that I’m willing to give my copy away, if you promise not to send it back. 
Oh, and I’ll definitely second the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. (Amulet of Samarkand, Golem’s eye, Ptolemy’s gate.)
Yeah, I just read the final book in this series last week. Really well-done, I thought. Nothing earth-shattering, but very entertaining and fairly skillfully written.
On a different note, I’d like to recommend The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. Somewhat of a cross between, I dunno, Perdido Street Station (though not nearly as detailed or rich in its world-building) and Oliver Twist. It’s a little too blatantly disposed to be turned into a movie, but other than that it was a great read.
When I heard about the author’s age, I thought, good for him, but I immediately dismissed the book as something I wouldn’t want to read. That’s terrible, but good reviews for the book might have changed my mind. I’m not a huge fan of sword-and-sorcery fantasy, so a book has to be highly recommended for me to try it.
I used to be biased against reading a writer’s first novel, on the grounds that the writing would be clumsy. Lately I’ve read some first novels that were pretty good, so I’m trying to get over this.
Heh, before the Eragon movie came out, I seem to recall people here opining something to the effect of, “The book is really lame and derivative, but it might make a really cool movie.”
I saw the movie with my eight year old son. It was okay, but extremely predictable. Some decent special effects, and some nice scenery. Not the worst way to spend some time with a child. And I thought that Jeremy Irons and Robert Carlyle’s characters were both decent enough, given the limitations of the script. But it certainly didn’t want to make me run out and by the book – it seemed like it was written by a junior high school kid for the most part.
It was.
Marlitharn - I’m sorry but I’ve GOT to take issue with your parenting. You’re telling me you’ve allowed your 16 year old son (someone now of an age that really should know better) to reach a point in his experience of literature where Eragon is one of his favourite books. For the love of GOD you need to act before it’s too late! The thought of anyone having Eragon as one of their favourite books is painful enough, but he’s the son of a 'doper - you’ve got to fight the ignorance Marlithar, you just gotta…
Breaks down into a sobbing heap
And to add some suggestions to the ever-growing list for Rebecca DiMwitter: if you like historical fiction I suggest the Baroque Cycle by Neal Stephenson (Quicksilver, the Confusion and the System of the World). Amazing books, currently the reigning champions of all the books I have ever read - and I’ve read a lot. Something less heavy-going but still good would be the Old Kingdom trilogy by Garth Nix (Sabriel, Lirael and Abhorsen) and also the Keys to the Kingdom series by the same author.
I will also happily support the suggestions of the Bartimaeus Trilogy and Jonathan Strange. The discworld books are good, suggest you start on Mort, Guards Guards or Moving Pictures as your first one. If you like them then can I also suggest the writings of Tom Holt, especially the Portable Door (and its sequels, except for ‘Earth, Air, Fire and Custard’ which was terrible), Faust Among Equals and Ye Gods.
IMO, the best starting place for must-read fantasy books is the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series that Lin Carter edited back in the late '60s and early '70s.
Many of the selections in the Fantasy Masterworks series would also be safe choices.
Eragon was fun- while reading it. About five minutes after I’d finished? Forgotten the entire plot. It’s sort of a time filler, not something that makes you think. It didn’t really end, either-- just cut off. Gave the impression the only reason it’s a trilogy is that they couldn’t fit it in one book. Oh, and MrDibble– They’re making a film of stardust? Hope it’s not lousy, that is one brilliant book (scurries off to IMDb).
For what it’s worth, I took a course in Fantasy Literature a few years ago, and the reading list included The Little Prince; The Neverending Story; A Wizard of Earthsea; The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass; The Fellowship of the Ring; Watership Down; The Left Hand of Darkness; The Wind in the Willows; and maybe one or two others I’m forgetting. Though if I were to compile my own list it would be a bit different, none of these books would be out of place on a list of must-read fantasy. (Later, for advanced reading, the prof had me read The Worm Oroborous and at least the first Gormenghast book.)
I just bought the Garth Nix Abhorsen trilogy on the recommendation of our esteemed Dopers in another thread. I’ll report in a few days.
Oh come on, most smart kids at that age have horrible taste. Look at how many bright adolescents like “Shibumi”. I myself at that age enjoyed Piers Anthony :smack:
I’ll second the first 5 Amber novels by Zelazny. They have some amazing epic moments.
I’ll suggest the first 6 Garrett novels by Glen Cook.
I am still ashamed that it took me until Cube Route to realize what utter dreck Piers Anthony was.
Whenever I read a book like Eragon, and I have read it, I am reminded of the wise words of a literature professor upon grading a particular student’s paper. “The paper was both good and original. Unfortunately the parts which were good were not original, and the parts which were original were not good.”
Enjoy,
Steven