Eldest, by Christopher

This is the second novel in a series that started with Eragon. The first novel in the series was full of dashing adventure as Eragon discovered a dragon's egg, the egg hatched, and he was chased by the evil Empire.

The second book was a bit of a disappointment, in that Eragon has very little dashing adventure, until the very end. He spends most of his time being trained by the elves and gaining power and knowledge so he can fight the Empire.

The dashing adventure in this book is taken up by Eragon's cousin, Roran (who we barely saw in the first book). Roran returns to his home village, to find Eragon disappeared and his father killed. Soon the Empire returns, and the entire village must fight or be killed. It soon becomes clear that the village is doomed, so Roran takes them on a pilgrimage to join the rebels.

The book was enjoyable, but different in tone than the first. The story is clearly building, and Eldest felt like a necessary step along the way, more than a story in its own right. This is not uncommon in series of novels like this, but isn't as enjoyable as novels that stand alone yet contribute to a larger story.