I just finished reading Eragon after about a year of haering about it. I have to say I wasn't impressed. The plot was thin with a LOTR meets star wars twist to it. As for characters, are you meant to dislike Eragon? Cos if you are, then bingo. The guys an idiot albiet with a cool dragon in tow. And why does Saphira have to know everything strait away? (yes, I know she's a dragon with mystical powers) Can't there be a maturing tage for her? However, I did like Brom (something with old mentors with beards) and Murtagh was probably the best thing he did. Arya... not so.
Any other opinions?
Points:
Time spent:
IP address:
Canary word: Present
Possible AI signals:
Original Text:
Are you sure you want to delete this comment? This cannot be undone.
Mark this comment as a review? Points will be awarded to the poster.
Your comment was posted, but it wasn’t long enough to count as a review. Reviews need about four complete sentences (at least 250 characters). Try writing another review that explains your thoughts in more detail — the author will appreciate it, and you’ll earn points for it.
139,457 Literary Works • 672,565 Reviews
I loved Eragon i don't care how cliched it is.
Eldest was a bit boring but i still can't wait for the 3rd and 4rth book to come out
if you don't like Eragon series thats you bu i like it
I hate eragon, the book. I can't say exactly why, except I was bored.
Eragon's myspace page?....................
I think I'm going to be sick.......................
What's been annoying me immensely lately is the fact that Galbotorix is the king of an empire. Is Paolini a complete idiot, to have absolutely no idea whatsoever of monarchial titles? Urgh, he irrtates me more and more. (And before anyone says, in refernece to the British Empire, the monarch would have been king/queen of the United Kingdom, but emperor/empress of the British Empire)
As to 'Eragon's' MySpace... *cough*... somebody has a little too much time on their hands. Also, it does not fit in with the Inheritance continuity. Despite having little or no education, 'Eragon' seems to be remarkably advanced in the English language.
And the comments - bleargh. One I found particularly amusing was 'hey i think ur books are great but just wondering if u have any rough estimate of wen the third book cums out'. Well, he's only the author.
Blimey, all those comments on his page look like satirical reviews for bad fanfiction. "U so rock!!!!!! i luv u! u r AWESOME say hi to Saphira for me!! wen's the next book comin out? u no u rock right?????"
*bleah*
Makes me consider making a MySpace for my characters.
....if somewhat egotistical. XD
The comments on his page, however, are quite appalling...
Paolini has openly said he put ideas taken from Dragonriders of Pern, Star Wars, LOTR and other books and melded them together into Eragon. Basically it's an insanely large fanfic.
I think it's kind of sad because I think he does have potential. I just don't think he should have started off with a whole trilogy, which I think requires a lot more experience in writing stories. He should have started of with something smaller first and experimented more with his writing style.
BTW, a little off-topic...has anyone ever taken a peek at "Eragon's" myspace page?
http://www.myspace.com/palancarvalley
It was created by Paolini and it's pretty amusing.
I, actually, kinda liked Eragon...once I got past how much I kept wanting to call him Aragorn! He really did copy LOTR, but after reading LOTR it's hard to write fantasy any other way! I used to love to write fantasy, but I couldn't stop sounding like Tolkien so I stopped trying. I'm trying to come up with something agian and I think I'm making some headway! *success* I'll post it when I've written some! So look for it.
But back to Eragon. The ending to this book was sparadic and annoying. When I started to read Eldest, I couldn't stand Roran and all that boring mess so much that I gave up completely. Oh well, I just got The Children of Hurin form the library, so that's my fantasy. (oh and I love Terry Brooks)
I saw the film the other day. It wasn't quite as bad as I've heard, but it certainly wasn't good. The random American accents of two of the characters, amongst all the British ones just didn't sound good. Also, the line from Galbatorix: "Where is my egg. I suffer without my egg." Well, I found myself laughing at a moment when I really should not have been. The pace was far too fast, you hardly had a clue what was going on. Basically, I think it was just trying to be another LOTR, but failing miserably.
Yes. And it is generally regarded that this sort of self publishing route (self publishing a book, which then comes to the attention of a traditional publisher) is actually harder work than the traditional method. Other authors have managed to do it too, but not many.
Even if your 'LOTR mania' theory is correct (and it may well be), the result would be the same had Paolini sent the manuscript to Knopf via the post. So it doesn't really make any difference.
So, simply saying that Paolini only got published because his parents' own a publishing company simply isn't true. Had he sent his work to publisher through the post, he may not have been successful (as luck plays a fair part in publishing) but his chances of success would actually have been greater.
I'm aware of the publication history of the book. Consequently, the reason that Knopf (the traditional publisher) published the novel to a wider market was because the author Carl Hiaasen, whose step-son happened to be at one of the schools that Paolini was visiting on his marketing tour, brought the book to Knopf's attention. Probably the step-son liked it, and so Hiaasen recommended it. Again, the publisher probably read it and thought of it as a good way to cash in on all the LOTR mania that was going around at that time, by publishing a book that would be 'LOTR for kids', in effect. Of course, I'm speculating a lot here, but it wouldn't surprise me in the least if that was the case.
I really need to read that book.
Ironic, isn't it?
regalredstar: I think your reader/critic argument is, to be quite honest, rather silly. Do you expect everyone to mindlessly love everything they read?
Kaz: Actually, Paolini pretty much self-published his book.
His family's 'publishing company' was tiny, and had only published three other books prior to Eragon (and no other successful books at all).
Paolini did the artwork for the origional book cover and the maps inside himself, and did all the advertising himself. You could take exactly the same route via self-publishing.
Eragon was later discovered by a traditionally published author, who showed it to his publisher. The publisher enjoyed the book, and gave Paolini an offer.
Although I agree that Paolini's books have lots of flaws, I think everyone is making too much out of the whole 'his parent's owned a publishing company' thing.
How ironic that you say this, when your arguments are completely baseless. Firstly, sure, we all copy ideas off other authors when we're young. The difference is, Paolini has had his books published, promoted and turned to best-sellers, purely because his family is a publishing one. Had he had to go the normal route, no publisher in their right mind would consider taking his work, for fear of being sued for plagiarism. Call us bitter if you like, but it's slightly disheartening that someone can be given the fast-track to publishing while the rest of wallow in the squalor of rejection letters, despite having no apparent talent. (I would just like to point out here that I don't think that my work deserves to be published any more than any others, despite how that may be how it looks) What depresses me even more is that the heavy marketing has obviously brainwashed people into believing what they've read - out of a hundred reviews for the book on Amazon.co.uk, it still manages a 4 star average. Urgh.
Which brings me to the plot. Yes, no plot has never been done, but there are ways to present the plot to at least make it feel original. Paolini has done none of this, and gone even further, to take whole plot concepts from Star Wars. An ancient order of mystical beings whose purpose is to protect the world. Only two remain, one who was responsible for the demise of said ancient order, and one who is the only hope left for the order's survival. An enemy, who happens to be a close relative of the hero. Sound familiar? And don't even get me started on the LOTR references, ie. elves and dwarves.
Paolini's ego. Sure, we don't know the guy. But, frankly, you'd have to be a complete idiot who has no knowledge whatsoever of human personality to be blind to the fact that he thinks he's the best writer since Tolkein. I quote from his site:
Excuse me, while I 'bring up' my dinner.
Notice the self-absorbed, cocky tone: 'filled with exciting action, dangerous villains, and fantastic locations.' 'Either way, there are more than enough marvels here for even the most accustomed reader of fantasy.' It's not even this blatant arrogance that is annoying. I don't mind arrogant people, they can be hilarious at times. Heck, Simon Cowell's a riot. But it's the fact that he's acting as though all these 'marvels' are his ideas. There's no reference to LOTR, or Star Wars, anywhere near him, not on his books, or on his site. Nor has he mentioned either works in any interviews. If he said it was a homage to the two titles, then we wouldn't mind. But he's trying to pass these ideas off as his own. I would also like to highlight the 'unexpected revelations' part. Had I been drinking I'm afraid I would have had to spit it out from amusement.
In fact, he actually says it himself: 'Eragon is an archetypal hero story...' Exactly. No originality in the presentation of plot, no originality in world conepts.
As to this:
Well. What can I say? You've been here long enough, surely you know by now that the only way to improve our own writing is to critique the works of other people. It's not as if we set out to do it, it just happens automatically, while we read. And the best readers are the one's who critique what they're reading, instead of just delving into any old trash and calling it quality literature. We like to learn while we read. And Eragon has taught us a very good 'What not to do' lesson.
Aside from 'bashing down' our opinions with weak arguments, what have you actually told us? You could at least do us the courtesy of telling us your opinions on the book. I think we can gather that you like them (I shudder at that alone), but can you at least tell us why you like them? If you can possibly give us that, we (or, at least, I) may be a little more willing to take your arguments seriously.
-Kaz
I get the feeling from reading this thread that very few of you know how to be a reader. All of you know how to be a writer, and rant critique and critiscize but have any of you tried suspending your judgement ant just reading? The time for ranting and raving comes later, first just read the book for what it is.
Now lets go over your main complaints.
First it is copied off star wars and lord of the rings. There are two major flaws with this arguement. The first is the fact that he was FIFTEEN when he wrote eragon, the fact is that all new writers copy off exsisting works some, take offense if you like, its just the way it works. The second flaw is that there is NO Plot that hasn't been done before. You can say that your plot is so original, but sorry folks, somewhere, some time its been done before.
your Second major complaint was that Paoloni ego. I found myself laughing at the way many of you put it. be careful how you word things because frankly, when yu complained about his ego many of you sounded egotistical.
That's all I have time to address for now. I'll address the rest later.
Until then, when you read try to be a reader not a critic.
~®®§
Everybody hates Paolini...I just read the whole thread, and I agree, Paolini is so full of himself.
I read Eragon and Eldest, and I liked both of them, but Eldest was a little too long, and a little too boring. And the characters were, well, not so okay, except Murtagh. He's the only real character in the book.
As for the copying of LOTR and Star Wars, I've never read/watched any of the books/movies.
Well, that's sort of a lie. I read The Fellowship Of the Ring, and boy, was it good!! And I watched the movie, the Two Towers, I think, and it was really cool too.
But I've never watched Star Wars, or read the books, so I can't say much about the copying part.
I'm not saying I hate the books or Paolini, I just think the books are okay. And for the third book, I'm not very interested in reading it. Probably because I'm too busy biting my fingernails over The Deathly Hallows.
I actually liked Eragon and the way it was written, and I found it was an interesting read. I read it when I was eleven and haven't bothered to read it again and I wouldn't dare to see that slop that they call a "movie."
Eldest, however, was very disappointing. It was twice or three times longer than it needed to be. Roran's and Nasuada's plights were barely worth writing down, and Eragon/Arya were getting annoying. Then the end was far to cliched (I have never gotten into LOTR and Star Wars...even though my mom loves Star Wars), but even I could see the similarities to Star Wars in the end. The book was nauseatingly long and really boring...then Eragon's transformation and sudden nobility - I wanted to barf. I can only imagine how horrible the movie will be.
I am looking forward to the third book - I actually think Paolini is waiting until after Deathly Hallows comes out in hopes that the HP fans will need something good to read....
Also, after reading all the posts and reading over Paolini's quotes I wonder, can he be any more full of himself? I absolutely hate it when people use too many praising adjectives about their works. Seriously, his book isn't that good.
"are people looking for reasons to hate the guy?" - they're not looking for reasons to hate him because they already do (at least, that's what I've picked up from this thread). They're looking for things to degrade him with because they hate him.
Ofour: I'm not talking about disliking a person. I said, 'why are people looking for reasons to hate the guy?'
People appear to be scrounging through everything he says and does, looking for reasons - a number of them illogical or completely unfair - to hate him.
Actually, all of the above from Ofour is kind of hate altogether
"Cos it really isn't a common Fantasy convention at all" - it isn't in my experience, maybe I need to read more books.
"why is everyone looking for reasons to hate the guy?" - if you don't like someone, and think they've taken far too many ideas from other people, and think they're arrogant, and feel envious/jealous, and think some of their ideas are stupid then you will try to find reasons to hate them - it's kind of logical.
I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time. He can't possibly be unaware of the fact that the majority of readers have highlighted these... similarities. I think he must just bluff his way through the interviews.
I wander what would happen if we highlighted all the similarities(sp) between eragon and LOTR and teh script of star wars then post it to him.
He might apoligise to us all. Just think of him on his knees apoligising
Yes, call it a curse, if you wish.
I'm afraid I'm just a bitter old man in a young boy's body and when the old man gets annoyed, watch out.
*gasps*
Cos Paolini was really the first person to have gold armour. Cos it really isn't a common Fantasy convention at all.
Seriously, why is everyone looking for reasons to hate the guy? Like half the reasons I've read on this site are completely unjustified.
"He gave them gold armor? I really can't remember what type of armor it was he was given, but really, gold? He must be the biggest idiot alive." - gee, it's corrosion resistant, he won't get hurt if you throw sulphuric acid at him... some people
He gave them gold armor? I really can't remember what type of armor it was he was given, but really, gold? He must be the biggest idiot alive.
I think Paolini needs to take a course in medieval warfare. Here are the reasons:
1.Silver and gold does NOT make good armour in any case (Unless of course, it's magic, but Eragon's was definately not I think.)
2. 100,000 vs. 10,000(?) slightly ridiculous odds maybe? And if you are outnumbered so, why leave the defences you have just created?
3. The cry 'the dwarves are coming! The dwarves are coming!' dounds slightly familiar (just read return of the king beforehand).
i wasn't crazy about Eragon. yes, it was cliche. Eragon as a character made me want to hit him with a baseball bat. Murtagh should have been the hero, Eragon was a whiny brat who wanted his way all the time. Saphira was...well...ok. but she was pretty whiny too. and...um...Brom was cool.
end rant.
I didn't absolutely hate Eragon...and you have to admit, he was very young when he sketched out the plot, and probably still in the middle of reading all those books - Star Wars, LOTR, etc, as he sketched out the plot. I think he's got a definite talent for writing.
My dad says that nothing is new under the sun...and he's right *for once. heh heh* Everything has been written before. No plot has not been written. You just have to find a new way to present it. Paolini didn't do a very good job of disguising his influences, that's all.
I'll have to admit, even for a stereotype, I really liked Brom. Especially in the movie. He was funny. *kill me if you can!*
Yours I remain,
Did he say that? Well, I'm just glad I don't take a word he says seriously. He's also responsible for the quote:
How modest.
LOL. Well, he is the one who coined the idiot phrase, "Characters are born out of necessity", aye?
I just watched that video. He seems to be taking lines directly out of Tolkein:
"You have to smell the trees, feel the moss under your feet..."
How strange that he was wearing shoes.
:grins at Broken Sword's post:
Actually, I think that Paolini does give details, just in the wrong places and about the wrong characters.
I was watching this video on Amazon of Paolini talking about eldest and where he gets his "inspirations" from. He talks about how living in Paradise Valley "made" Eragon and Eldest, and, though the place he lives in is gorgeous, he doesn't even describe these surroundings in his books. He occasionally gives some vauge descriptions, but nothing else. Again, I think he has trouble giving details and describing.
Maybe he should come to YWS and actually learn some tips from good young writers.
I agree with you fully, that as writers ourselves, and especially being members of this site, we tend to read things differently. Eragon was, I think, the first book I read after I joined this site, and did loads of critiquing and stuff, and it was impossible for me to stop thinking of it as a very long critique. I kept on thinking of the bits I would change, about that sentence with the bad grammar, that awkwardly phrased paragraph. Needless to say, I feel this contributed to my dislike for the book.
Well, I guess we all have our different opinions
Leaf Dwarfs.
Dwarves in mountains? Doesn't everything use that now-a-days?
Warhammer, Warcraft, and DnD to name a few.
Maybe the Dwarves of Ord in Warmachine may be a bit different, as they don't live in mountains and don't have shaggy beards.
And Elves being tall and wonderful, while they may have been short and stubby in the old days, Tokein's version changed all that.
If we wanted a different version of an elf, we wouldnt ta call them elves anymore.
:snort: I wouldn't take them seriously if they knew how to spell correctly. I pasted it into word- typos out the wazoo. Seriously, people.
He's probably never heard the word 'foil', in the literary sense.
Paolini doesn't know how to foil.
Or can't write a character smart enough to really contrast Eragon XD
I couldn't agree more. Paolini obviously doesn't know enough about people in general to make a convincing and relatable character.
If the characters were identifiable, I feel it is only because they have been used so many times the readers can relate them to other, well-drawn characters.
While the lack of complexity on the character's part did bother me, what bothered me even more was the lack of growth in each character throughout the novel. Arya and Brom were extremely static characters, and while Eragon did suddenly become courageous towards the end of the book, I felt there was very little explanation or description of his journey towards being courageous. The one character who was believable dynamic and intrigued me was Murtagh.
She is.
Still, Arya is one smart chick for not falling for Eragon.
But, in all honesty, I didn't find any of them well drawn, or identifiable. Eragon was just a brat, totally flawless. Paolini thinks he's a brilliant writer, but he can't make a believable main character. He's so damn "noble" you really wouldn't think twice about whacking him round the head with his own book. Brom's boring, we don't really see that much of Arya, although we know she's another "perfect" character. Murtagh (sp?) is perhaps the only well thought out character in there.
Like I said, I honestly think most people that DID like the books liked them because the characters were well drawn, and were identifiable. That's what I think, anyway.
That's alright and I respect the way you think. However, I have one question: why? I just want to know what made you like them so much.
I know about 95% of you on here really don't like Eragon and Eldest, but I loved them. The movie was shockingly bad however. I am really looking forward to Book 3.
I don't care how similar people say it is to Star Wars and LOTR. I loved it.
It's not so much for me that the writing is flat and boring, there is no character development, the only good characters are copied from other original works, *stops self in mid-rant* I could go on for hours, but what really annoys me is how Paolini takes credit for other authors ideas as if they're his. He acts like he's the next Tolkien, but then again, he probably thinks he is. Someone really should tell him in person that the only thing that makes his books remotely good (although many people, including me, could argue otherwise) is that he took bits and pieces of other works, put them all together in a book, and slapped his name on it.
Eragon is all right but Star Wars is a lot better.
I on Fan Force board thir are a lot better writers then Poalini.
www.shutugal.com
Has a lot of opions and Fan Fics.
Lanna
Well, the series has its own Wikia.
- http://inheritance.wikia.com/wiki/Inheritance_trilogy
Yeah, I might take their point more seriously if they knew how to use correct grammar. XD
At any rate, I do intend to get my hands on a copy of Eragon and give it a go. I'm curious what all the fuss (from both sides of the fence) is all about about.
Three cheers for KazSmurf. I was just wondering how large the Eragon fanbase was, so I could compare it to other books and authors. Does anyone know?
The reason it's so unbelievably bad is, mostly, because it's just an imitation of other, better, works. The plot mirrors Star Wars, practically scene for scene, well the world itself is almost an exact replica of Middle-Earth. He tries to write in a style reminiscent of JRR Tolkein's, which isn't a good idea anyway, as any book without the huge wealth of world, culture and language that was present in LOTR, that is written in that style is going to be boring, difficult and pointless to read. None of us have any problems with borrowing certain ideas from other writers. It's when you take whole worlds and plot concepts that you're in trouble.
It makes you wonder, doesn't it? If the book is better after all the "tearing apart" how bad was it to begin with?
I know, he seems to think he's this amazing child writer, better than the rest of us. It's never occurred to him that any old fool who could string a few sentences together, who's born into a publishing family would be able to get published. And marketing played a big part in his "success" as well. What really irritates me is when he says things like this:
Marvels? Please, don't make me laugh. It's OK to borrow Tolkein's ideas on a dwarf city, but to dub them as your own? Now that is going way too far.
I know i shouldn't ask the obvious, but :
Why are most of you again Eragon
it's not thaat bad...
Okay, so I finally found a copy of Eragon in my house and attempted to read it, to see if it was more understandable than Eldest. It isn't.
It is true that the book is almost a copy of Star Wars. Just read the back cover and substitute "Eragon", "wise old man" and "Dragonriders" for "Luke Skywalker", "Obi-Wan" and "Jedi" and there you have Star Wars.
Christopher's writing is extremely hard to read. It's choppy, flat and unrealistic. Despite the fact that the author says that he got his inspiration of Alagaesia by visiting parks and whatnot, he never describes in detail what the landscape looks like except for some brief, vauge comments about a "dark" or "orange and pink" sky.
After Eragon's dragon egg hatches, he expresses little or no emotion at all. You'd think you'd get a short description of Eragon's surprise, but basically all you get is "Eragon stared in astonishment," followed by five pages about the dumb dragon. Big whoop.
Also annoying are the occasional bizzare statements such as "he heard a soundless scream of rage." How can you hear it if it's soundless?
I am also bothered by Christopher's bragging and assumptions that he is the only teenager to write two novels by age 21. I have seen FAR better work written by younger writers on YWS.
I actually...*gulp*...enjoyed Eragon. I do recognize its similarities to LOTR, although I have not read star wars. (Watched some of the movies--hated them. Never bothered to read the books. Not my forte, I guess.) I think that we, as writers, read things differently than the majority of the population. Actually, when I read, I just try and enjoy the book. I keep myself from editing the sentences in my head, or telling myself that a particular plot twist was shamelessly cliche. I'm different when I'm reading than when I'm writing. Perhaps a day will come when this changes, and probably if I read it over again, looking for all the faults, it would drive me crazy, but I think most people enjoyed it because they could identify with the characters, and enjoyed it for that reason. And, honestly, I don't think Paolini is that bad an author, especially for a boy of 16 when he began, depending, of course, on how much it was edited.
By the way, hated the movie. Horrible acting, horrible scenes, horrible everything....
Get a clue, idiot. It's bitter reality. Just because your father pulled all the strings doesn't mean you get to escape all the realities of publishing.
EDIT: OMGOSH...no Star Wars in childhood? :tries not to blurt out several spoilers:
I would suggest: Go to the bathroom before you start. You won't want to pause the movie. And get a good seat. You won't want to move. xD
thanks! yes, i do feel ashamed...only person in the world who hasn't watched star wars.... quite honestly, i went to a very strict boarding academy where movies and music weren't allowed... hehe no joke! so now i'm in college, and kinda experiencing the world for the first time...everything!
i will definately go rent the movies. so there's the old and the new, huh? great..the more the better! Finals end next week then i'm home free, and i guess it's time for some Star Wars education!
You-you-you-you don't know what Star Wars is? Star Wars? *faints* Even my Star Wars-loathing elder brother knows what Star Wars is! Well, he'd have to know what it is, wouldn't he, or else he couldn't loathe it.
)
In the old ones, there is perhaps more plot, and the special effects are good, considering their time, except for a bit in Return of the Jedi, which was really bad.
In the new ones, there are some seriously cool, mouth-dropping lightsabre duels. The Phantom Menace isn't THAT great. It got an award for Worst Supporting Actor, and I can see why.
How is it that when Johnny Depp says "Not good", is sounds funny and believable, yet when Jake Lloyd says "Not good" it just sounds silly? Better actors.
Attack of the Clones was better than The Phantom Menace, but Revenge of the Sith was brilliant. Even though I knew what was going to happen in the end (of a sorts) it was still sad, and....ironic? Is that the right word? I have difficulty recognizing irony.
But yes, watch the movies. A thought tho, is it better to watch them in the order they came out (first episode IV, then V, then VI) or in chronological order? If you watch them chronologically, you'd get the full impact of Anakin's transformation in Revenge of the Sith, but if you watch them in the order they came out, then you'd get the full impact of the punch in The Empire Strikes Back. (I won't say what it is for those who haven't seen it.
-ST
I find it simultaneously amazing and terrifying that you have never watched the Star Wars movie, nor are you aware exactly was Star Wars is. Indeed, I believe you may well be the only person in the Western hemisphere who is in this position.
Loved the book, hated the movie. Haven't read Eldest, though, nor have I watched/read Star Wars. (books or movies of both?) Of course, it's rare that I watch a movie before reading a book. I thoroughly enjoyed Eragon the book, though it seemed a bit long and kinda repetetive at some points. Saphira was the best character in my opinion, i loved her wit and wisdom. Anyone want to tell me what's so great about star wars? maybe convince me to go watch/read (whatever) star wars?
Just finished Eldest. I'll leave it at that.
I read Eragon because i saw the movie trailer. I liked the books but i agree that the ending to the second book is irritating and pointless. even though there are some simularities to star wars i liked the books and found the characters interesting.
But i also agree with KazSmurf. There are some better fantasy writers out there that people have never even heard of and have some of the best inspirational writing out there.
I know, it's sickening. But, in worst case scenarios, some people will say they've read it and that it's the best book they've ever read. That really gets on my nerves.
In my opinion, I think it gives a bad impression of young writers to the people who count.
I agree. Paolini isn't a terrible writer, he just seems to think taking entire words and plots from other writers is okay. Personally I blame his parents and publisher for helping him publish and market a totally unoriginal book and acting like it was acceptable.
Eragon proves that it really isn't the quality of the book that makes it a bestseller, it's the marketing. I've read YA fantasy books that are a million times better than Eragon but no one has ever heard of them. And then i'll ask them if they've read Eragon and they'll say: "Oh yeah, i've read that one. It really sucked."
Agreed, Poalini bases a lot offf of Star Wars such as Eragon = Luke Skywalker,Brom= Obi Wan,Arya=Leia,and many other elements. Poalini also based off The Immortals Quartet,Dragon Riders of Pern,and of course Star Wars.
I think Poalini knew a certain Kathy Tyres who wrote a Star Wars book.
I read Eragon sometime last year, and I didn't absolute hate it, but I didn't think it was that great. I mean, it was a rather mindless thing to read when I had nothing else to do, but the extremely Lord of the Rings-Star Warsy plot made it extremely predictable and not all that enjoyable for me. If you ask me, Murtagh was the saving grace of the book.
And after that, I really didn't like Eragon OR Eldest.
Then I read Eldest.
Anyways, I think Paolini does have a writing talent, but he just needs to fine tune it. A lot of Eldest made me shudder, but there were a few parts that were rather good. It wasn't a disgrace to writing or anything, but I certainly expected more out of a best-seller book. I've read many other young adult fantasy books that are much more worth the read.
I know, it's unbelievable! And he bases "his" "Ancient Language" *cough*unashamedly using Tolkein's own words*cough* off of languages like Old Norse. Now, a quote from Wikipedia, regarding one of Tolkein's languages, Sindarin:
What a coincidence.
Someday, I will go through Eragon, and find every single minute detail and compare it to Star Wars/Lord of the Rings. Then when I am a big author, I will track that kid down and confront him about his plagurism. When he ends up in jail, me and my friend will visit him, dressed up as Darth Vader and Gollum. "My Precious, oh how it mocks us, GOLLUM, GOLLUM!"
Stars Wars meets dragons and horses. That was my impression.
I actually have to say the first time I read Eragon I thought it was mildly enjoyable. But give me a break, I had just turned eleven at the time. The second time I read it at last year I realized how cliched and unoriginal it was and lost any interest. I have read Eldest, and it is quite possibly the most boring and aggravating book I have ever read. During the middle three-hundred pages or so I actually could feel my brain turning into mush.
Yeah, I've seen quotes by Paolini. It's one thing to be totally full of yourself and be a talented writer. It's another thing all together to be totally full of yourself and be nothing but a copycat with very little writing talent, if any at all. He acts like most of the content of his book are actually his own ideas. Does he think the world is stupid and won't notice? Being a big Lord of the Rings fan myself, I can't even describe how much it ticks me off that Paolini quite obviously stole Tolkien's concept of elves and dwarves, without even trying to cover it up. Have you all seen the lists of words from Eragon that were so obviously copied from LOTR? It's mind-boggling to me how the world has accepted this book and acted like it's no big deal that it comes dangerously close to plagiarism. *shakes head sadly* What has the world come to?
KazSmurf - after reading his website, I felt like I needed to puke. But after that, it made me so fired up to write. I think I pounded out 5 pages in my notebook last night after reading that, a new record for me.
Also, yes, Arya is a princess. I read Eldest. Eragon is still a blasted whiney boy, and you could guess the big-suprise by like halfway through the book. But him getting beat up by Murtagh was pretty awesome.
Murtagh - ROCK ON! Go kill Eragon! *cackles evilly*
About the characters, I feel it goes more like this:
The characters are similar to star wars but they've been switched around with some things. For example:
Love interest goes from Han (Murtagh), to Luke (Eragon). And I'm guessing that Arya is of nobility (Angela's reading) and with the switched love interest Eragon loves her so she is princess Leia.
Well, I don't know about you guys, but I really liked Eragon and Eldest. Though the movie...let's not go there. I have to say though, when I was reading both of them not one single thought of LOTR or Star Wars crossed through my mind. Don't know if that's good or bad. Maybe cause my mind closes down when I'm reading fiction/magic/that kind of thing. Anyway, now you know...I can't wait for the next one.
Yeah, I read that on his website as well. I could go through step-by-step and say what's similar to LOTR and Star Wars.
The plot is "A New Hope" with dragons, and the elves are the same as Tolkein's. Silver hair, thing for the sea, living in trees, liking plants, being immortal, poetry and all.
Brom is Obi-Wan who gets killed (how sad, not), Eragon is Luke (he gets his father's weapon and then looses it, given to him by the last old boy of an extinct order of do-gooders in the empire), Murtagh is Han (the suspicious stranger with a dodgy background), Nasuada is Leia (princess with unknown parentage, and what looks to be a relationship with the suspicious stranger: Han/Murtagh).
Wasn't I restrained? Only one post, and not a full length article!
-ST
It's easy to say you made it "intentionally cliched" after the majority of critics have stated that it's a total rip-off. It's more than just cliched, though, some elements are exactly the same. For one thing elves "came from the West in silver ships." Almost word-for-word exactly the same as LOTR. Also, they have a rivalry with the dwarves. To top it off, they're known as the "fair folk!" There's borrowing ideas, from another writer, but then there's a whole other extreme. The plot irritates me as well. Both Eragon and Eldest are practically identical in plot to A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if Galbatorix gets pushed down an endless pit in the next one.
There are a lot of other things he says in his website:
This is a statement Paolini himself made, on his site. How full of yourself can you get? It's not enough that most of these "marvels" were created years ago by other, better writers, he's parading and boasting about them as if they're his own. He thinks a bit too much of himself for my liking.
Anyway, rant over!
-Kaz
Kill me now, I actually liked Eragon. And uh, Paolini actually intentionally made it cliched. Or at least I read that somewhere on his site. I'm eagerly anticipating the next book. I realize that it's very similar to Star Wars and LOTR... But I think it works anyway. If you analyze the book on it's own... It's not half bad.
I watched the movie before reading the book...I bought the book but haven't finished reading it. I enjoyed the movie enough to buy the book because I'm curious and ask for it for Easter. But I really enjoy it more as an overal "yay, fantasy move! -Jumps up and down-" sort of thing. There were quite a few things that irked me about the movie, though. The setting sun scene and the scene where Eragon's uncle dies are two specifically. They're just -obvious- rip offs of Star Wars to me.
I don't like Eragon in the movie. I LOVED Brom, and I LOVED Murtagh. I fell in love with Murtagh, which is rare because I don't normally fall for the "bad guy/dark hero/whatever you want to call him." I normally fall for Eragon's type of character.
I do have to say that I like that Eragon has to earn the information that Brom gives him, unlike Luke. That makes him very different from Obi-Wan to me, which I approve of. If he just randomly gave Eragon information like Obi-Wan does (although Obi-Wan is at least hesitant about what to tell Luke and Luke finds out other important things over time), I wouldn't be so happy.
I really need to get back in to reading the book. -Will have to try to read more this weekend.-
Ah, the ending of Eldest. I couldn't be bothered to read it, so I just looked up the plot summary on Wikipedia. I didn't realise the "big twist" was at the end. Even more Star Wars-like. For those of you who don't know what happens, it's not difficult to guess that someone is related to someone else...
-Kaz
ahh... I also could go on for ages concerning the Star Wars/Lord of the Rings similarities that annoy me so much. So now my friends just joke about it, and make up a fake dialogue between Eragon and Brom that goes something like this:
Brom: Anakin... no, no, that's not right... aha! Luke! no... it's Harry, isn't it?
Eragon: My name is Eragon.
Brom: ohh, Aragorn! I am ... well, I'm not Dumbledore... maybe I'm Obi-wan, no, perhaps Gandalf... ah yes! My name is Brom. I can help you train yourself with your lightsab... err, dragon. So you can defeat the Empire ... of King Galbatorix!
and so on. The only thing I like about those books is the parts about magic, and how performing the magic takes the same energy to create it normally. And Murtagh is pretty sweet.
oh well, that's what you get when you have a kid who's parents own a publishing company.
- Stella
I actually did kind of like the books. Okay, they were majorly cliched, but at least they knew it. Althoguh I do admit the end of Eldest did put me off a bit. I was picturing the scene from Star Wars at the time. :p
Eragon stinks. DO NOT get me started on all the parts in it that Paolini copied from Star Wars and LOTR - you'll want to sock me over the head with a sixteen ton weight before I've even got half-way.
As for Eldest . . . have you read Eldest, yet, FantasyArtist? If you haven't, beware the ending. It will make you scream in frustration and pull your hair out at the author's un-originality. Seriously. I very nearly did that when I read it.
-ST