I saw my children were excited over Eldest (by Christopher Paolini), so I decided to take up the book, trying to find out what it was here that interested them. To be sure, the book was very well crafted, good language, gripping to the young, full of actions, running and fighting, in the same tradition as Lord of the Rings, with themes like duty and loyalty, love and friendship, courage and bravery, life and death, growth and awakening, eventual triumph of the good over the evil, etc. The scale matches that of an epic. But as far as I can see, nothing’s original, which is perfectly okay to his young readers.

To be blatantly honest, I find it a waste of time to sit through this over 700-page book. Even though I am not a teenager, I can imagine why 13-year-old readers cannot put down this book.

The familiar themes are conservative in nature, nothing shocking and repulsive to us. Actions, hard-to-gratified love, loyalty at the risk of one’s life, all have their appeals to the minds of the young. Fights over whatever issues are especially effective to compensate for the boredom and monotony of everyday life.

I have no doubt that, in 5 years from now, my children will have a different view of the book. For now, it is a good fit, a safe escape from daily boredom. After all, it is better than some other books, which I am too nice to list here.