Editing Eldest (section)

== Critical reaction ==
''Eldest'' received generally negative reviews, and was met with criticism similar to ''Eragon'' for its derivative nature. ''School Library Journal'' noted that ''Eldest'' lacked originality, but would still find reception among fans. It also acknowledged that themes of ''Eldest'' are based generally on the works of other writers.<ref name="Amazon">{{cite book | url = https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/037582670X | title = Reviews of Eldest | date = 23 August 2005 | publisher = Knopf Books for Young Readers | isbn = 978-0-375-82670-2 | access-date = 2007-09-23}}</ref> ''BookBrowse'' also criticized ''Eldest'', but said, as ''School Library Journal'' noted, that nothing the reviewers can say will stop some children from reading the book.<ref name="BookBrowse">{{cite web | url = http://www.bookbrowse.com/reviews/index.cfm?book_number=1636 | title = BookBrowse reviews of Eldest | work = BookBrowse | access-date = 2007-09-23}}</ref> ''Entertainment Weekly'' rated ''Eldest'' as one of the worst five books of 2005, calling it a "700-page drag."<ref name="Weekly">{{Cite magazine | url = http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1142746,00.html | title = Books: The 5 Worst | magazine = [[Entertainment Weekly]] | access-date = 2007-09-23 | first = Jennifer | last = Reese | date = 2005-12-22 | archive-date = 2007-09-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070917072135/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,1142746,00.html | url-status = dead }}</ref> ''The Boston Globe'' gave a negative review for ''Eldest'', criticizing the very low points and for "drama that rises to a wet pop."<ref name="BookBrowse"/> ''The Christian Science Monitor'' gave ''Eldest'' a C+ grade. Similar to other reviews, it criticized the long plot and its similarities to ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' and ''[[Star Wars]]'', as well as the lack of humor. The review commented that [[Roran]], one of the secondary major characters, had the best part of the book.<ref name="Christian Science Monitor">{{cite journal | url = http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0923/p15s01-bogn.html | title = Book Roundup | journal = The Christian Science Monitor | access-date = 2007-09-23}}</ref> ''SFSignal'' also gave ''Eldest'' a poor review, giving it one out of five stars. The main reason of this was for its dull pace. The SFSignal review, like ''The Christian Science Monitor'', did say that [[Roran]] had the "strongest sequence" in the book.<ref name="SFSignal">{{cite web|url=http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/003239.html |title=Review: Eldest |work=SFSignal |access-date=2007-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070716232848/http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/003239.html |archive-date=2007-07-16 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

However, there were also some more positive reviews of ''Eldest''. ''[[Bookmarks magazine]]'' saw ''Eldest'''s similarity to other works, but said that ''Eldest'' displayed more emotional depth than ''[[Eragon]]''.<ref name="Amazon"/> ''Publishers Weekly'' also gave a positive review for ''Eldest'', praising the revelations in the final pages.<ref name="BookBrowse"/> [[Barnes & Noble]] gave a positive review for ''Eldest'', in particular for its style, characters and themes such as friendship, forgiveness, responsibility, and honor.<ref name="BookBrowse"/> ''Eldest'' won the 2006 [[Quill Awards|Quill Award]] in Young Adult Literature.<ref name="Borders">{{cite web | url = http://www.thequills.org/2006.html | title = The Quill Book Awards | work = [[Borders (retailer)|Borders]] | access-date = 2007-09-23 | url-status = usurped |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070914042211/http://www.thequills.org/2006.html |archive-date =2007-09-14}}</ref><ref name="Alagaesia.com">{{cite web | url = http://www.alagaesia.com/news_quills.htm | title = Eldest wins a 2006 Quill Book Award | work = Alagaesia.com | access-date = 2007-09-23 | archive-date = 2007-10-11 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071011110125/http://alagaesia.com/news_quills.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref> ''Eldest'' also was nominated for a [[British Book Awards|British Book Award]] in the Children's Book of the Year section,<ref name="British Book Awards">{{cite web | url = http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/bba/pnbb_winners.asp | title = Winners | work = British Book Awards | access-date = 2007-11-10|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071106084433/http://www.britishbookawards.co.uk/bba/pnbb_winners.asp |archive-date =2007-11-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> the [[Disney Adventures]] Book Award, the Colorado Blue Spruce Award, Young Adult Book Award, and the Wyoming Soaring Eagle Book Award.<ref name="Random House">{{cite web | url = http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375826702 | title = Eldest | work = Random House | access-date = 2007-11-09}}</ref>