Young Writers Society

AHH!!!! I can't stand his writing!!!! In this I don't think I'm alone, but I do want to know what everybody actually thinks about him...

*walks of with angry thoughts of Paolini*

I will admit, I was initially a fan. The story was fun and I was able to move through the books at a fairly quick pace.
However, that was my first impression. I am just now getting to the point where I critique a book that I am reading as I am trying to understand the story. So yeah, back to the history of my relationship with Paolini. We, my family and I, recently read Eragon aloud so I was able to listen with a more critical ear.
(Actually, they have not finished it yet. They are taking a break to read the fifth Harry Potter book, talk about a contrast of talent if you ask me.)
So yeah... as I've read the book now for the second time and also done a bit more research/reading about the kid and his writing. Well... let's just say I'm not much a fan anymore. I am not exactly his bitter enemy or anything, I just don't like his style, his overuse of a thesaurus, and his rip-off of Star Wars.
{How dare he defile the most noble tale of a galaxy far, far away!}
I am still going to read the third book when it comes out, if only because I'm a sucker for series/trilogies and I hate to leave a story hanging.

That's all, for now...
-tjmk

Lucky kid... I wish my parents were publishers.

Anyway, I don't think his books are horrible (actually, I only read Eragon so I guess I can't use the plural there) or that he deserves to die or anything, but I do think they could have used a lot more editing before they were published. They were essentially drafts.

Precisely.
(A lot of editing, mind you.)

Also, just because his parents were publishers does not mean it was super-ultra easy to publish his book. Sure, it helped, but they also had a great marketing strategy, from what I've heard.
All I know is that my friend's parents were publishers, and she hasn't published anything yet. [She's also a perfectionist, so that may have something to do with it. ]

Haven't read any of his work, so I wouldn't know.

Keep in mind though - his parents being publishers isn't the only really he got published. Yes, they owned a small publishing company, and yes, they published his book. But they didn't actually sell an amazing number of books.

An author came across his book, read it, liked it, and handed it to his editor, who also liked it. It was then, when he published through this larger publishing company, that he found his success.

If you want to emulate Paolini's early publishing, you can do it yourself by self-publishing. That is all he did. He drew the front cover and the map of that version of the book himself, and he didn't have an editor helping him. You can do exactly the same if you like.

I will admit, originally I liked the books.

But then I embarked on my "almost a hundred books to read this year" and encountered GREAT literature...Rebecca, Pride and Prejudice, etc....and I looked back at Paolini and said, "What. Was. I. Drinking. When. I. Said. I. Liked. This?!"
It made me so furious that people were being willingly conned into thinking that it was a good book.
People see what they expect to see- so if a book is raved about, they'll take the raver's side. Humanity is so sad sometimes.


EDIT: oh, by the way, I find these sites pretty amusing: http://community.livejournal.com/antishurtugal/ or anti-shurtugal.com

Intially i enjoyed the books. I found them an easy read not needing much concentration. But when i read LOTR again i was shocked. Then i watched star wars with my lil cousins and truly i was raving.

Terrible. But i suppose it is what happens when your parents own a publishing comapny.

I, personally, did not like the books. But you have to give him some credit (if not for originaliry) for the the fact that his books are so...well, I guess you could say universal. That doesn't mean that he's a good writer, per se, it just means he can write in such a way that a lot of people can connect with his writing.

Well... *cough* I think it's unfortunate that someone with no real talent has become so successful. It irritates me no-end me that he rips entire world and plot concepts from other writers, namely, LOTR and Star Wars.

What really p**ses me off is the way he makes out as if all these ideas are his. Have you read his site?:

Eragon is an archetypal hero story, filled with exciting action, dangerous villains, and fantastic locations. There are dragons and elves, sword fights and unexpected revelations, and of course, a beautiful maiden who's more than capable of taking care of herself.

It makes me shudder.

On this point:

Jennafina wrote:Lucky kid... I wish my parents were publishers.

Anyway, I don't think his books are horrible (actually, I only read Eragon so I guess I can't use the plural there) or that he deserves to die or anything, but I do think they could have used a lot more editing before they were published. They were essentially drafts.

This is also what Paolini wrote:

The real torture with Eragon came in the editing. I discovered that editing is really another word for someone ruthlessly tearing apart your work with a big smile, all the while telling you that it will make the book so much better. And it did, though it felt like splinters of hot bamboo being driven into my tender eyeballs.

As you can see, from this it seems that the editing was extensive. I would imagine that any more and it wouldn't have been written by Paolini anymore. What also annoys me is that he's acting like he's above editing, above the rest of us that have to go through the same thing.


I hate the way he's gained so much "success" out of other people's ideas.

Hehe, a convention for Paolini-bashers! Maybe someone should start a society for people like us.

I first read Eragon in Asda, reading a bit every week when we went shopping. Sad, huh? But I've read some real great books that way - I still do it.

Anyway, I read it and liked it. Even sadder. Then I re-read LOTR properally, and saw A New Hope for the first time. Net result: I SAW!!

By the time I'd got the end of Eldest, I was more than a bit cynical as to the quality of the books that I'd so liked before, but when I got to the "bombshell" about Eragon's oh so unexpected parentage, I choked. Literally, choked at the brazen cheek of it.
You can have that in Toy Story 2 - with Buzz and Zurg, that's just funny, and Pixar doesn't make any attempt to flutter their eyelashes and simper: "Look at us! Isn't this original? Don't you think we're ab-so-lute GENIUSES for thinking that one up?" like Paolini does.

Still, I DO want to read the last book, cos when I've begun a trilogy, I like to finish it. Eragon's such a WUSS! He blubs at any oppotunity, and he's such a thickhead at the end of Eldest. I could totally see Murtagh's point of view. He's the only sensible bloke in the whole book!

Hands up all who think that Arya or Nasuada will be the next Dragon Rider! And, I bet Nasuada will turn out to be Eragon's sister - like Luke and Leia. Murtagh will come back and marry Nasuada (perhaps) and they'll all live happily ever after. Except for Eragon who will have to leave the land for ever. Oh how sad, my heart's breaking. That is Frodo going to the Grey Havens. Pah. And that thing about "Speak your name to open the Vault of Souls" I bet that's going to be like the Armies of the Dead. A bunch of dead dudes who didn't turn up to help Vrael fight scary mad King.

Or maybe Murtagh will DIE saving Eragon, and he'll turn into Darth Vader instead of Han Solo.

-ST

Or maybe the Death Star will blow up midway through. :sighs and smiles wryly:

Okay, nobody kill me, but I really don’t think that Eragon’s that bad. I admit, the book may not be as good as LotR, but then again - what is?

Quote:
Eragon's such a WUSS!
He is not XD there are much more worse books/characters. Mind you, this is a quote, I just don’t remember from whom I copied it.


Quote (KS):
Quote:
The real torture with Eragon came in the editing. I discovered that editing is really another word for someone ruthlessly tearing apart your work with a big smile, all the while telling you that it will make the book so much better. And it did, though it felt like splinters of hot bamboo being driven into my tender eyeballs.

… and I agree with him. Paolini, that is. ‘(…) from this it seems the diting was extensive’ - well, maybe it was, but that’s editing, isn’t it? And I really don’t think he’s acting as if he’s above it…


Quote (JCobsesed):
AHH!!!! I can't stand his writing!!!!
A point for Paolini - you all did buy his books. Or half of you. But the point is, that you read them. Most of you even liked it when you read it the first time (me too )

The plot is not the most original - well, it isn’t. But what is? Find me something entirely, entirely, entirely original. Go on. Something that has been never, ever used. Or, your definition of original.


Oi. This makes me sound as if I’m his fan or something. Well, I’m not. But come on, you have to give him some credit, right? His books managed to sell as they did, and most of the people who read the first two will read the third. ... And he has a thread all for himself... XD

-Elein

"it felt like splinters of hot bamboo being driven into my tender eyeballs." - I know the feeling, I had to read it.


But seriously, no, I haven't. Although many of my freinds have and are all pointing me in the other direction, namely, don't read it. It's ironic that with such vehement dislike from so many people that I feel I must read it. Wish me luck.

Yes, elein... I just want to say, before I get into the rant, that this is no attack on you or your opinions, but that I have a very... "vibrant" way of expressing my own... of course an entirely original plot is going to get more and more difficult to come up with. But Inheritance hasn't even made any effort. Whether or not he intended to write Star Wars with dragons, or whether he did it subconciously (as is quite likely, being he was only 15 at the time), we don't know. The point is, if he didn't realise it, he should have seen on re-reading that the plot was unacceptable.

And then we get onto the Tolkein side of things. It's just huge details: "the elves came from the west on Silver Ships" "the dwarves and the elves have an age-old rivalry" "the Ancient Language" Urgals=Orcs/Uruk-hai, Ra'zac=Nazgul. These things should have been given significant changes, but are not.

I agree with you in the fact that Eragon is not the biggest "wuss" to ever come out of literature. However, the majority of characters that do annoy us, we do hate, etc. etc. are the ones we are supposed to. Take JK Rowling's Dolores Umbridge, for example. From the very first time we meet her, she is presented to us in such a way that we already dislike her. This dislike rapidly turns to a fury and hate (for all of us die-hard Potter fans ) or at least a serious annoyance. Eragon, on the other hand, we are supposed to like. Paolini's aim is to get us to like Eragon, to cheer him on through his battles. Frankly, I couldn't care less if he got knocked unconcious (in the nick of time to save Paolini having to write a battle scene which he couldn't pull off, as we see many times throughout the book), and didn't wake up in the next chapter. The incident which really irrtated me was when Murtagh killed that soldier, leaving Eragon to go all noble and be angry at the guy who saved his life. This is neither a believable, nor realistic way of writing about such a situation. Even if it is a fantasy, the characters at least should be realistic, and the writer should be able to portray real human emotions in whatever situation. Paolini's ideas of people and their emotions, personalities, etc. are way too idealistic, to the point where we want to casually throw the book out of the window. Even Tolkein, keeping to the bare minimum as far as portraying emotional people is concerned, manages to convey a more realistic idea. Eragon is, essentially, the "perfect" character, and it is exactly for that reason that we dislike him so much.

Phew. Rant over

*applauds*

Eragon is a "Gary-Stu" so quoth Wikipedia and I unquoth.