Editing Eldest (section)

== Literary style and genre ==
''Eldest'' falls in the [[genre]] of juvenile fiction<ref name="Random Genre">{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/audio/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307280725|title=Eldest|work=Random House|access-date=2007-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627231220/http://www.randomhouse.com/audio/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307280725|archive-date=2009-06-27|url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[fantasy]].<ref name="Common Sense">{{cite web|url= http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Eldest-Inheritance-Trilogy-Book.html| title=Eldest |work=Common Sense Media | access-date=2007-12-16}}</ref> Reviews often commented on how ''Eldest'' borrowed from the fantasy genre.<ref name="Amazon"/> Other reviews criticized and praised the writing style of the author. ''Los Angeles Times'', while noting that the writing was more mature, criticized the novel for being inconsistent. An ''Entertainment Weekly'' review was negative toward the story because it was slow-paced, while ''The Washington Post'' said ''Eldest'' needed to be shortened.<ref name="Powell's Book">{{cite web|url=http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?show=hardcover:sale:037582670x:14.70|title=Eldest (Inheritance Cycle #02) by Christopher Paolini|work=Powell's Books|access-date=2008-02-03}}</ref> A reviewer from ''The Boston Globe'' said:<ref name="BookBrowse"/>
<blockquote>"He is to English as a bad dog to a chainsaw: he worries it, and worries it, and devastation spreads around him."</blockquote>
On the other hand, Barnes & Noble called the writing style fluid<ref name="BookBrowse"/> and ''Children's Literature'' praised the story for being richly detailed. ''Kirkus Reviews'' compared the story to a patchwork of fantasy elements and characters, then concluded that it, despite being derivative, was exciting and held together well.<ref name="Powell's Book"/>