Eragon And Back Again

Will we ever meet this red dragon? Diego returns to join Lucy and Darien for reunions and big reveals in Eldest chapter 68, “Convergence,” chapter 69, “Eldest,” chapter 70, “Inheritance,” and chapter 71, “Reunion.” Talking points include Roran being able to pull off all the one-liners, the most spectacular freefall, Murtagh’s dramatic return, Eragon not thinking about his supposedly dead friend fo...

Who do you call a monster? Darien and Lucy dive into the endgame in Eldest chapter 65, “Nar Garzhvog,” chapter 66, “Witches Brew,” and chapter 67, “The Storm Breaks.”  Talking points include Paolini challenging the idea of monstrousness in fantasy, Nasuada being an incredible leader, the tools we can equip to never see people as things, Angela living up to her reputation as a witch, what it looks...

Why is a raven like a writing desk? Lucy and Darien get the band back together in Eldest chapter 62, “To Aberon,” chapter 63, “The Burning Plains,” and chapter 64, “The Clouds of War.”  Talking points include fandom attempts to solve an unanswered riddle, the recent trend of mentioning Eragon's unknown father, a very cool setting for a final battle, Eragon showing off his new powers, a hug that di...

Eat your heart out, Odysseus. Lucy and Darien find their sea legs in Eldest chapter 60, “The Maw of the Ocean,” and chapter 61, “Running the Boar's Eye.” Talking points include appreciating the map at the front of the book, Roran busting out a folk hero speech, celebrating the shared strength of the people of Carvahall, and navigating a big, f*ck off whirlpool. Sparks of Inspiration  Lucy jump...

Learning about atheism. Darien and Lucy have more thoughts about elves in Eldest chapter 57, “Red Blade, White Blade,” chapter 58, “Visions Near and Far,” and chapter 59, “Gifts.” Talking points include bidding a (not-so) fond farewell to “Eragon woke” chapter openers, Arya going back to work, not tolerating Eragon trying to shirk responsibility for his actions, the culmination of the Elves Are Th...

An assassination attempt! Lucy and Darien enjoy the last Nasuada POVs in Eldest chapter 55, “Child’s Play,” and chapter 56, "Premonitions of War.” Talking points include Trianna’s stock increasing, dozens of deaths Nasuada should have need aware of, Darien protesting the use of three O names, Elva being oh so creepy, and the value of lace. Sparks of Inspiration  Lucy was inspired to avoid doom scr...

A familiar face! Darien and Lucy are excited to reconnect with an old acquaintance in Eldest chapter 50, “Landfall,” chapter 51, “Teirm,” chapter 52, “Jeod Longshanks,” chapter 53, “An Unexpected Ally,” and chapter 54, “Escape.”  Talking points include not repeating descriptions from previous books, it's okay for some things to be convenient for plot, a delightful exclamation, Justice for Hele...

We're deeply disappointed in our protagonist. Lucy and Darien enjoy high highs and the lowest low in Eldest chapter 48, “The Gift of Dragons,” and Chapter 49, “In a Starry Glade.” Talking points include the satisfaction of flow state, fantastical arts and crafts, partying with the elves, Eragon's surprising skill as a writer, the hosts spending way too long trying to figure out something t...

Has Eragon finally learned his lesson? Lucy and Darien suffer major second-hand embarrassment in Eldest chapter 46, “The Beginning of Wisdom,” and Chapter 47, “Broken Egg and Scattered Nest.” Talking points include Eragon promising to be cool with Arya from now on, Arya revealing herself to a basic bitch (affectionate), a last-minute arts and crafts assignment, some deep dragon lore, the hosts dou...

Roran’s back!  Darien and Lucy are excited to spend time with Roran again in Eldest chapter 44, "Narda” and chapter 45, “The Hammer Falls.” Talking points include an excellent use of the physical layout of the book, Roran knowing everyone’s name, questioning who described Roran for the wanted posters, and what Roran is willing to do to protect the villagers.  Sparks of Inspiration  Lucy has j...

He's got ghosts in his blood! Lucy and Darien suffer from serious secondhand embarrassment in Eldest chapter 42, "Image of Perfection" and chapter 43, "The Obliterator." Talking points include begging Eragon to please stop, learning some deep magic lore, clocking some early 2000s beauty biases, a mini anti-gen AI rant, and speculation on the extent of elven anatomical knowl...

The Raz'ac are basically mosquitoes, right? Darien and Lucy discuss just one chapter with Eldest chapter 41, "The Nature of Evil.”   Talking points include this jerk Vanir,  Saphira having Eragon’s back, interrogating what is acceptable in war, never justifying one's own actions based off what someone else might do, magic lessons, evidence that the Twins were definitely traitors, and...

Eragon, you're so sixteen… Lucy and Darien would like Eragon to chill out, please, in chapter 38, "Resurgence," chapter 39, “Why Do You Fight?” and chapter 40, “Black Morning Glory.”  Talking points include placement of dragon scales, lessons in meditation, Eragon getting knocked down a peg, and Saphira taking a turn on the Embarrass Yourself Ride before Eragon hopes right back on. ...

It's all about lace. Darien and Lucy are so excited to spend time with Nasuada in chapter 35, “A Maze of Opposition,” chapter 36, “Hanging by a Thread,” and chapter 37, “Elva.” Talking points include Darien struggling to remember which British male fantasy writer to credit for a piece of writing advice, how to actually address crime in a community, Nasuada’s fear of magic, a brilliant solution...

Saphira has a crush. Lucy and Darien have SEEN TOO MUCH in chapter 34, “The Secret Lives of Ants,” and chapter 35, “Under the Menoa Tree.” Talking points include Saphira being so basic by having a crush on her teacher, speculating on dragon genes and scale color genetics, reading way too much into Eragon having no one to teach him how to shave, Eragon being weirdly voyeuristic, Arya having destina...

We need to stop describing disabled characters as “useless.” Darien and Lucy are joined by Cache the Dog in chapter 33, “On the Crags of Tel'nae'r.” Talking points include the relief of no longer being alone, the EABA commitment to disagree with canon we don't like, manifesting the Disney+ show, Orik being totally responsible actually, examining the reoccurring ableism in the text, a l...

Peak Folk Hero Lucy and Darien are ready to answer the call in chapter 29, “Conviction,” chapter 30, “Repercussions,” and chapter 31, “Exodus.” Talking points include the cousins having different days, Roran’s growing resentment of Eragon, a study in character conviction, an incredible call to action, and a casual reminder of the political and moral stance of the hosts (with an invitation to find...

Arya’s secret is out!  Darien and Lucy discover some secrets of the elves Eldest chapter 27, “Queen Islanzadí,” and chapter 28, “Out of the Past.” Talking points include the big reveal, Arya being manipulated into forgiveness, Eragon’s ever-present crush, a new werecat friend, the weight of inheritance, Orik being a Grade-A friend, and ANOTHER DRAGON?! Sparks of Inspiration Lucy acknowledges the v...

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...