Eragon And Back Again

Arya has a secret.  Darien and Lucy go deeper into the woods in Eldest chapter 24, “Arrow to the Heart,” chapter 25, “The Dagshelgr Invocation,” and chapter 26, “The Pinewood City.” Talking points include the best strategy for world building/info dumping, hammering out the timeline, examining metaphor in the death of the gyrfalcon, a good use of Eragon waking up, a hood not being enough of a disgu...

Six days, Roran?! Lucy and Darien are helpless as everything goes wrong in Eldest chapter 23, “His Enemy's Face.”  Talking points include reflecting on the first real series impact of inheritance, you, who is holding onto hope, some idle speculation about what Roran and Katrina do off page, the clever chapter title, and Sloane being the worst for real.  Sparks of Inspiration Lucy is creatively...

Roran becomes the center of attention. Darien and Lucy witness some small town drama in Eldest chapter 21, “Wounds of the Past,” and chapter 22, “Wounds of the Present.”  Talking points include the masterfully crafted tension, Sloan being completely out of line, Roran's Big Announcement, Katrina making a choice, taking a sip of tea every time the word “Inheritance” is mentioned, and Darien’s p...

Arya is not okay right now. Lucy and Darien get a crash course in elven etiquette in Eldest chapter 19, “Arya Svit-kona” and 20, “Ceris.”  Talking points include Arya crashing out, learning new words, exploring alternatives to avoiding long-held grudges, Eragon's “new” feelings, theorizing about the emotional regulation skills of elves, the evolutionary implications of dwarves having 14 toes,...

Is there anything more embarrassing than a crush?   Darien and Lucy enjoy a river cruise in Eldest chapter 17, “Down the Rushing Mere-Wash” and 18, “Drifting.”  Talking points include interpreting Eragon’s definition of a Dragon Rider, interrogating why all magic seems to come from the elves, pondering the name origin of Morzan’s sword, some Misty Mountain vibes, an analysis of a chronic illness a...

It's our very first minisode! Darien assigns hordes to dragon-type Pokémon. Whose horde is made up of bubble wands? Whose horde is made up of parts from imploded billionaire submarines? Listen to find out! Get more dragons by supporting the show on Patreon and listening to the latest episodes about Dragon Tales and DragonHeart :  ⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/EABA⁠ Cover art by Luana Pastor No por...

Roran gets emotionally drunk and pops the question. Diego from Tears of Fire joins Lucy and Darien to watch things get rough for Carvahall in Eldest chapter 15, “Diamonds in the Night,” and 16, “Under a Darkling Sky.”  Talking points include shouting out Paolini for his varied female characters, a good, cathartic cry session, analyzing the distinct violence of Sloan, a stark reminder about the imp...

The unfortunate truth of coral.  Darien and Lucy get a crash course in dwarven lore in Eldest chapter 14, “Celbedeil.” Talking points include Eragon needing to broaden his language horizons, Pride being all year long, some very juicy dwarven lore, the struggle to explain what coral is, Darien bringing up Discworld two episodes in a row, further examination of how Paolini frames religious beliefs t...

Eragon can’t even walk into town without causing a riot. Darien and Lucy get a crash course in dwarven lore in Eldest chapter 13, “Az Sweldn rak Anhûin.”  Talking points include the co-hosts not being sure if they like Arya, Saphira being so dragon, speculating Eragon’s height, theorizing which fantasy science fiction series Christopher Paloni didn’t read, killer food descriptions, and all kinds o...

Bones?! Lucy and Darien witness the origin of a local legend in Eldest chapter 11, “Hammer and Tongs,” and chapter 12, “Retaliation.” Talking points include Roran and Eragon having very different days, why Darien will never order bone marrow tacos, the Empire's complete disregard for its people, accepting that the characters are not also the narrators, and how folk heroes are born. Sparks of I...

Hey, where’s Tornac? Darien and Lucy refuse to let the episode change POVs by sticking to delight in the events of Eldest chapter 10, “Hrothgar’s Gift.” Talking points include once again wishing Dragon Riders grew to look that their dragons over time, Eragon belonging to all the races of Alagaësia, trying to figure out where Murtagh’s beloved horse went, Eragon’s relationship to his trauma, and Er...

Life happened and we didn't have the chance to record, so this week we're giving all listeners a sneak peak into The Dragons' Keep, our bonus feed for Patrons! For our very first bonus episode, it was only fitting we discuss a piece of foundational dragon text: The Chronicles of Pern. If you enjoyed this episode, consider supporting the show and joining The Dragons' Keep at https:/...

We're all doomed!! Lucy and Darien delight in the events of Eldest chapter 8, “Fealty” and chapter 9, “A Sorceress, a Snake, and a Scroll.” Talking points include Lucy being a Pisces, acknowledging how long ten minutes really feels like when cheering, speculating on Jörmundur's true motives and nature, just a hot lady shooting her shot, road trip plans, the return of the best character in...

This podcast has guests?! Darien (she/they) and Lucy (she/her) are joined by a special guest Francesca McMahon (any) for Eldest chapter 6, “Saphira’s Promise,” and chapter 7, “Requiem.”  Talking points include making a guest do the chapter summaries, Saphira’s unexpected remorse, the dwarves’ deepening respect for Saphira, speculation on the symbolism behind death rituals, giving Paolini props for...

A new point of view character?! Lucy and Darien practice some political intrigue in Eldest chapter 3, “Roran,” and chapter 4, “The Hunted Hunters.” Talking points include a sincere wondering if anyone “gets” the name of the podcast, analyzing why these chapters are seemingly “boring” compared to others, the value of social norms in a fantasy narrative, Katrina being great, how people deserve to wo...

Never underestimate Nasuada. Lucy and Darien practice some political intrigue in Eldest chapter 2, “The Council of Elders,” and chapter 3, “Truth Among Friends.”  Talking points include how, even though Murtagh dies at the start of Eldest, Paolini wrote a whole prequel book about him and a red dragon, Lucy’s feelings about Eragon attempting to scry Murtagh using a tear, the worst time to deal with...

What a way to start this book… Darien and Lucy unpack the unexpected trauma that is Eldest chapter 1, “A Twin Disaster.”  Talking points include Paolini's recontextualization of previous events in order to prioritize new themes, being told about and not shown some pretty important plot points, compelling evidence for Eragon having no sense of smell, a totally spoiler-free observation of the ch...

Y'all Showed Up 💛💜 Let's celebrate finishing Eragon by emptying out the mail bag! Thank you dear listeners for so many wonderful, thoughtful comments and emails!! Talking points include really digging into the Shade backstory and how it can mirror Eragon's experiences, relitigating the “Who Should Have Taken Off Saphira's Armor?” Case, taking care not to boil down the worth of a...

We did it! Lucy and Darien wrap the first book in The Inheritance Cycle with Eragon chapter 58, “Battle Under Farthen Dur,” and chapter 59, “The Mourning Sage.”  Talking points include the Urgals still be labeled as monsters, Hrothgar’s daring fashion statement, Angela’s incredible entrance on the battlefield, pondering why exactly Eragon when off alone while Arya took the armor off Saphira, an ep...

Antici… Darien and Lucy get ready for battle in Eragon chapter 57, “The Shadows Lengthen.”  Talking points include an exciting new way for Eragon to wake up in a chapter, Saphira’s daring new fashion statement, Eragon praising Murtaugh for being “merciless” in situations he approves of, building tension for the coming battle, Arya being unable to shut down this kid who keeps hitting on her, and th...

You don’t want to fail this test.  Lucy and Darien need Eragon to get a job and leave her alone in Eragon chapter 56, “Arya’s Test.”  Talking points include the Twins not shaking the suspicious allegations, pentagrams being just for show, majestic elven Naruto-running, interrogating why Eragon’s pining for Arya is so irritating to the hosts, a weirdly placed piece of foreshadowing, and Paolini’s h...

Someones are very suspicious… Darien and Lucy choose joy in Eragon chapter 55, “Hall of the Mountain King.”  Talking points include some excellent architecture, tidbits of dwarf lore, these twins being too damn suspicious, excitement over a new cool character, troubling implications about women implied by specific word choices, and Saphira and Solembum being Magical Creature Friend Goals. We invit...

Witches, rejoice! Lucy and Darien are sure this won't come back to haunt us later in Eragon chapter 53, “Bless the Child, Argetlam” and chapter 54, “Mandrake Root and Newt's Tongue." Talking points include Eragon having a chance to chill, Eragon passing Orik’s vibe check, Orik passing Saphira’s vibe check, Darien short but hard Will Not Eat list, the daily realities of what it means t...

Ajihad is one cool dude.  Darien and Lucy get some answers in Eragon chapter 51, “The Glory of Tronjheim,” and chapter 52, “Ajihad.” NOTE: In this episode, Darien draws incorrect conclusions about the inspiration of that city name Tronjheim. Listeners have since informed us that the name is a reference to a real world city in Norway! How cool!! Talking points include Darien’s steadfast refusal cor...

This bald man sucks. Lucy and Darien have some OPINIONS in Eragon chapter 50, “Hunting for Answers.” Talking points include a crucial need for italics, being right about disliking this bald guy, the excellent word choice that is “courier,” being right about liking our new dwarf friend, Lucy's impeccable memory of lines from the text, tantalizing lore drop about Darien and Lucy's time in an...