It’s sometime in the future and global warming is affecting the earth in a big way. A new drug addiction is overcoming the world and it’s falling into chaos.  Cities are slowly crumbing into havens of maddened drug addicts and the few people who resist it’s lure are quickly becoming targets for those addicts to assault, rob, rape and murder.

A group of people decide to leave the chaos behind them and move to the wilderness. They are mostly intellectuals with no experience in the wilds, but one man has done some hiking and camping and he becomes their semi-leader. They set off for the wilderness of northern Canada intent on making a new start. they must learn woodsmanship — how to build fire pits, how to fish, how to hunt with snares and bows and arrows and how to make those articles.

Once out in the wilderness strange things happen. Two of their members are killed by a giant hawk after the leader kills a hawk in anger after missing a shot at a deer. Then another member is eaten by a giant frog after that same guy dashes a small frog to it’s death in disgust at not catching a fish.

The party finds a lake they determine has clean water and decides to set up their new homes there. Again one of their party is killed by a mutant animal - this time a giant skunk and once more the one guy had killed a baby skunk for no reason before. Is Nature trying to send them a signal?

On a hunting trip, the guy comes back to camp to tell them that his partner tripped on his gun and shot himself in the chest. Before he dies, he remembers that the guy was angry that he had missed a shot at a fawn and had shot him out of anger. The group decides to expel the man from their group, but first they must confiscate the guns and ammunition he has so wait for him to leave his cabin. He and another man go fishing and while out in the boat, he pulls out a bottle of whiskey which he drinks, then when they get back to shore, he urinates into the waters of the lake. His partner objects to this fouling of the waters they drink but the man ignores him and finishes.

The group meet him at his cabin door and deliver the news that he is expelled. They have made up a pack of food, clothing and other items he will need on his trip back to the cities. He orders his wife to accompany him, but she’s had enough of his bullying and abuse and tells him she’s staying. He storms off to the canoe to leave and when he reaches the beach, the sands where he had urinated turn black and oily and suck him down to his death. The rest of the group stand horrified at what is transpiring before their eyes.

It’s then that they realize that the Earth has finally awoken and is taking steps to rid herself of the despoilers.

The Dawning by Hugh B Cave
Published by Dorchester Publishing Co., Inc. July 2000
ISBN 0-8439-4739-X

This young man amazes me with the depth and complexity of his writings. I can only predict that he will get better and better as he matures and hits his writing peak.

Eldest is the second in the Inheritance Cycle trilogy and begins with a synopsis of Eragon which was the first book.

Our Rider, Eragon, having defeated the Urgals at Farthen Dùr which is home to the Dwarves, and suffering a wound from the Shade, Durza must now go to the elves in Ellesméra for training.

Meanwhile, we return to Eragon’s home in Carvahall where his cousin Roran now becomes the focus of the Ra’zac who still seek Eragon and Saphira for the evil king Galbatorix’s ends. After a prolonged battle with the entire village, Roran realizes that he must send the children and women into the Spine to keep them from the King’s soldiers and the Ra’zac. His fiance is among those who are slated to go up into the hills, but a confrontation with her father where he disowns her for becoming secretly engaged to Roran delays her departure and sets up her capture by the Ra’zac. The villagers overwhelm the solders who retreat with Katrina and her father in the custody of the Ra’zac and Roran swears to follow them and rescue Katrina. Their retreat is not without penalty, however, as the Ra’zac swear to return and kill every villager and burn the village, so Roran convinces the majority of them to follow him to the Varden stronghold in Surda.

Mustering an entire villiage, what belongings are transportable, livestock and supplies to sustain them on their travels is a monumental task, but Roran is undettered by it. They make it to the port city of Narda where they  commission barges to take them further down the coast to Terim. There they find the Jeod, Brom’s friend from Earagon who helps them steal a ship to take them to the Varden in Surda.

Meanwhile, Earagon is training with the elves and the rider know as Oromis who’s dragon is crippled. He learns much about magic and swordplay, but it’s not until the Agaetì Blödhren where the greivous scar he received in the fight with Durza that brings him to his knees is healed by the dragon tattooed on the two elven women’s skin. This also accelerates the changes in his physical self that make him look more and more like an elf, give him a greater strength and stronger magic. His studies are not quite complete before he is summoned by a scrying to return to Surda to fight the massed soldiers of the Empire who seek to break the Varden and all their allies.

Roran and his villagers arrive at the battle just in time to throw themseves into the fray and help tip the outcome towards the Varden. Roran is responsible for the killing of the two strongest magicians that are with the King’s army which also helped turn the tide, but our hero, Eragon is not yet finished with his battle.

When Earagon and Saphira are nearly spent from fighting the soldiers and the king’s magicians, a new menace appears in the form of a Rider on a red Dragon. It is Murtagh who was believed to have been killed by the Urgalls in the battle at Farthen Dùr. Murtagh spares Earagon’s life and so ends our story which will be picked up in the third and last book, Brisingr which was released this month.

Eldest by Christopher Paolini
Copyright 2005 by Alfred A Knopf
ISBN 978-0-375-92670-9

Three precious dragon eggs have been hoarded by the evil King Galbatorix over the last century in the hopes that they will choose a rider and hatch. Riders who will become his minions in his quest to conquer the world.

But others have their own plans and one egg is stolen. It’s captors are taking it to a safe place when they are waylaid deep in the forest of Du Weldenvarden by a Shade who kills two of them, giving the third the chance to work magic and send the egg to a place she hopes will be found by another ally.

The egg is instead found by Eragon, an orphan boy who lives with his uncle and cousin on a remote farm.

Finally, after a century of waiting, the dragon’s egg has found her rider and hatches. Eragon must hide the dragon hatchling while she grows and matures; something she does quickly.

But the forces of King Galbatorix are ever searching for the egg and he is gathering forces of monsters and sending them across the Empire in a destructive march that is razing whole towns in their quest for the egg. When two hooded strangers appear in Carvahall, Eragon must flee or be captured.

His unexpected aide in escaping the Ra’zac is the storyteller, Brom who turns out to be a Dragon Rider himself, although he has no dragon. Brom takes on the task of teaching Eragon swordsmanship, magic and dragonlore.

And so they begin their quest for revenge against the Ra’zac which takes them across the Empire to the port city of Teirm. There they meet an old friend of Brom’s and a witch and a werecat who will help Eragon later in a battle against the Krull in the underground keep of Tronjheim.

This is the first of a series of books called the Inheritance cycle. Second in the series is Eldest and third is Brisingr. Christopher Paolini began writing this series at the age of 15 and Eragon was self-published in 2001. Random house picked up the book in 2003 and in 2006, the movie was produced and released by Fox 2000. Christopher began writing the second book of the series, Eldest, which was published in 2005. The third in the series, Brisingr, is slated for release in September of 2008.