# Eragon?



## Mythic Scribes

Has anyone read Eragon?  It was written by a teenager, and got a lot of press.  Is it worth reading?


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## Chilari

I read it years ago, and I bought Eldest and read and enjoyed it, but I never bothered with Brisingr. Maybe I should, I do want to know what happens and how. I did enjoy reading Eragon - or I'd never have got Eldest. It's a little cliche-packed, but it's well written and just generally fun. Parts are predictable, and most of the characters are archetypes, so it's not exactly high literature, but like I said, fun, enjoyable.

The author is a few years older than me, so when I read Eragon and found out a 15-year-old (at the time) had written it, this gave me hope, but then my 16th birthday came and went and I'd still not written anything any good, and then I read forum posts which ripped apart the cliches and tropes and was generally rather rude about it, and I sort of went along with that, but I recently watched the movie and it's actually quite a good movie, so I'm considering reading it again. I just don't know if I still have the books. Will have to check when I visit my parents next week.

But yeah, I'd say so.


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## Philip Overby

Eragon seems to be almost universally reviled by a lot of people.  It is kind of like the Twilight of fantasy fiction, I suppose.  I bought it, read some of it, and it didn't really do anything for me.  But, I really admire Christopher Paolini.  I found him to be really inspiring in that he was so young but he sold all these books.  I would say Eragon would be great for younger readers as an introduction to fantasy, the same way some of the Dungeons and Dragons books were for me.  Most people, I've noticed on forums especially, tend to really rail on the kid, which I think is unwarranted.  

I say find a sample of it on Amazon and read it, and if it seems like your bag, pick it up.


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## Calash

I preferred Eldest myself but Eragon was a good read as well.

The movie did not sit well with me.  Felt to much like "Star Wars with dragons".  The book, while basically the same story, did not give me this same feel.

Not that I don't like Star Wars...but that is another discussion


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## Kelise

I'm siding with Phil - it's pretty much twilight.

I read the first and part of the second but the quality isn't that good. It's amazing it's written by a teenager, and honestly, good on him for getting so far... but personally the books weren't for me. Maybe if I were a lot younger?


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## Ophiucha

For a fifteen year old, I would say _Eragon_ is about as good as I could expect it to be. The fact that his parents were in publishing pushed him into fame, and hey, good on him. I don't care if people get famous for trite, really. I like bad books (and bad everything; where would I be if Bruno Mattei were not renown?). They aren't good, though, and I think we need to stop giving him slack for being young. He was young when he wrote the first book. He's *27* now, and Brisingr was as bad as the first one. And even _Eragon_ was only started when he was fifteen. It was published when he was eighteen or nineteen, if my math is right. I guess it might just be because I'm nineteen myself, and nearly all the writers I know in real life are in the general 'eighteen to twenty five' range, but this isn't young enough to be excusable.

And I really, really hate his elves.


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## Mythos

I read Eldest first, on accident, and I really enjoyed it, but when I tried to read Eragon I got bored half way through the book. I may have been about twelve when I tried reading it, and I think one of the reasons I didn't like was because it felt too predictable. I've alway been a big reader, so this wasn't the first fantasy I ever read. It might be good for younger kids who don't read as much, and a lot of teens I know liked them.  I haven't even tried to read Brisingr.


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## Mdnight Falling

eragon is DEFINATELY worth reading... The movie was okay but it left you wanting and they never made Eldest into a movie which just made it worse. But the series... It's good. that boy knew what he was doing when he thought that up. The story line is fantastic and very much believable. It was a good read, and I've worn out three copies of the book LOL


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## Dagzar

Eragon isn't worth it. When I was younger, around thirteen, I remember liking it, but as I grew older, my fondness turned to distaste. It also didn't help that I read an Eragon sporking that pointed out every single mistake the series made in great detail, which turned me off of it forever.

It's clichÃ©, the characters are flat, and the plot is boring. Skip it.


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## Meg the Healer

I read Eragon a few years ago and it was okay. Parts of it were interesting, but parts were also inconsistent. I bought Eldest because a lot of people told me it was the better of the two books, but by the time I finished Eragon other projects started and I never went back to the series. When I heard he was making a fourth book, I was slightly upset, only because he stated that there was just so much more he wanted to tell that he couldn't fit it all into one book and complete the triology. But that was also going on when the Twilight 4th book was coming out and the HP movies were being split up - that it seemed to be on the band wagon of "there's just too much info - let me do this one more thing" and I felt it was becoming more about money and less about story.

Anyway, back to the point. For someone so young to be published - I think is a great inspiration for young writers (and even some of us older ones) that if you put your mind to it - you can get your name out there and be published. He may have had a leg up due to his parents, but it's still inspiring.

I would read it again and I would recommend it, but the series as a whole - I don't know.


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## misaki

I've read all 3 books and don't mind it. Upon reflection on the comments people made, it is true that it's like a Twillight (not in terms of plot). I don't think it's anything mind-blowing though and is a little cliched but I did enjoy Eragon and Sapphira's relationship


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## Mdnight Falling

I enjoyed Eragon. I haven't read Eldest and the third book though.. I did hear there's going to be a fourth book


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## rolf

Watched the film, it was OK, didn't read the book, but found the basics owed more than a nod to the Anne McCaffrey Dragonriders series, which in my opinion was superb and would make some great films.


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## myrddin173

Eragon is a good introduction to the fantasy genre.  I read it first in fifth grade, and I have enjoyed rereading it since.  However it certainly is not the best the genre has to offer.  A major reason for that is the plot line in the beginning is basically Star Wars with dragons.


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## Mdnight Falling

There's a fourth book to the series coming out  I still haven't read the other two that are out yet >.<


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## Kate

I thought the movie was ok - not great, not terrible and can hardly remember a thing about it besides that.
Haven't read the book but I enjoy the Paolini success story (even though it makes me twinge with jealousy sometimes).  It's interesting to read opinions on the improvement of his writing over the series, or lack there of.

I wonder what the rest of his career will hold.......


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## Mdnight Falling

About the movie I remember it pissing me off cause it left out key stuff from the book... other then that I'd have to watch it to tell you anything LOL


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## tallyho

yeah, i enjoyed Eragon - the author reminded me of me lol. Thats perhaps a little to bold. But the idea of dragons - being quite a simple and used alot in fantastical works was very different to others of similar ilk.


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## balthore

Eragon was one of those books/movies you picked up when you wanted something enjoyable, but not something you really wanted to think while doing.  There were no unpredictable plot twists and you could easily guess what was going to happen next.

There are times I enjoy stuff like that, and times when I want to pick up something that forces me to pay attention to the details or I might miss something.  

Recommended yes...on my list of must reads...no.


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## AvengerofOsiris

I personally didn't like the books, but at the same time, I wouldn't criticize Paolini because I don't like them.  Honestly, who cares if a book is derivative?  I respect the guy for not getting a job as an insurance claims adjuster.  I'd rather write an "unoriginal" book and make a living doing that than do a job any jamook with half a brain could do (which is 98% of all jobs out there).  No offense to insurance adjusters intended, of course.  I respect Paolini for what he's done, even if I don't think he's Tolkein reborn.


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## Sezmo

I read Eragon, got part way through Eldest and just quit. I found them dull, unoriginal and just not worth spending any more time on.


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## BeigePalladin

Sezmo said:


> I read Eragon, got part way through Eldest and just quit. I found them dull, unoriginal and just not worth spending any more time on.


 
I agree entierly - they're badly written before you consider the inherant inbalance, self-contradiction and absolute lack of logic involved in them.

and the fact the plot's sar wars with jedi replaced with dragon rider...


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## Sezmo

BeigePalladin said:


> I agree entierly - they're badly written before you consider the inherant inbalance, self-contradiction and absolute lack of logic involved in them.
> 
> and the fact the plot's sar wars with jedi replaced with dragon rider...



Oh is it?  I've never paid attention to Star Wars so didn't pick up on that one.  Might explain why my husband enjoyed it though.


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## Map the Dragon

I agree with the Star Wars conspiracy theorists. This kid write well, but he copied an idea...entirely. I sat down with a group once and we took turns identifying the cut and paste allusions to SWs. Look it up online and you'll find charts of how Paolini is a copy-cat artist.

BUT, he also sold way more than I have or probably ever will and is filthy rich. DANG!


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## BeigePalladin

but he sold it all through having a good marketer, and by this being the 1 in 1 billion chance that cliche's sell...

so he got lucky, and I can't find any respect for him.


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## hhippen941

I had an extremely different opinion about eragon compared to some others it seems. I thought it was nothing like twilight (thank god no vampires!) and personally found it to be an exceptional read- i'm currently reading eldest and haven't seen many twilight-like aspects. For one it's not a romance it's a full fledged fantasy and personally it's written by an extremely talented author espeacially considering his age. Being 14 and a writer i appriciate the novel maybe more than some older readers but if you like fantasy like tamora pierce, j.k. rowling and lord of the rings balled into one then i deffinately reccomend this read!


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## Skilletgirllee

Brisinger was my favorite of the three. But the are all totally worth reading. The forth one comes out on November 8th and I can't wait!


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## Skilletgirllee

THAT IS SUCH CRAP! There is no way that Eragon is in anyway like Star Wars and I grew up with both so... Paolini just made his books really desriptive, which isn't a bad thing. It just takes a brain (which you two are obviously lacking) to understand it all.


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## Skilletgirllee

Brisingr is totally the best one so you just gave up far to quickly


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## myrddin173

Skilletgirllee said:


> THAT IS SUCH CRAP! There is no way that Eragon is in anyway like Star Wars and I grew up with both so... Paolini just made his books really desriptive, which isn't a bad thing. It just takes a brain (which you two are obviously lacking) to understand it all.



There really is no reason to be rude.  I did enjoy Eragon but it is certainly not the best example of Fantasy literature.  In reality Eragon does borrow quite a bit from Star Wars, though it does diverge some in later books.  See this link to see just how similiar they are.

Comparisons between the plot of Eragon and Star [email protected]

Also you should use the edit feature instead of making three different posts.


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## BeigePalladin

Skilletgirllee said:


> THAT IS SUCH CRAP! There is no way that Eragon is in anyway like Star Wars and I grew up with both so... Paolini just made his books really desriptive, which isn't a bad thing. It just takes a brain (which you two are obviously lacking) to understand it all.



well, somebody's in a bad mood. people are entitled to an opinion, even if it diverges from yours, and if you look into that link you'll see a heck of a lot of similarities

also, if you grew up with both, you probably grew up with the star-wars origin trillogy (phantom menace and all that) which I'll concede it's different too, but the quality of both is simmilar 

and I'll admit brisingr was the best of the three, but it was still only an average book. and here's the thing that annoyed me most about the trilogy. at least there wasn't as much star-wars refferencing in it (other than the replacement sword after x took the first)

Casting magic requires you to say what it is in the elven language, whilst being able to cast magic, and there is (stated by the author) no way to not cast the spell whislt saying this. The elves don't speak human, yet they can talk without casting anything. this, no matter how you look at it, is a major continuity error.


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## Joseph I

It was very Tolkien world cliche. But other than that it was okay.


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## Garren Jacobsen

I'd have to give the series as a whole a resounging....meh.


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## Matty Lee

Eragon was fun when I read it. I didn't like the direction the story went even in the first book (I wanted Sapira and Eragon to do their own thing, more mercenary like than standard hero w/ rebellion narrative) but it was very enjoyable. Then I read the second one, I didn't mind reading through more description. Then I got older, a bit wiser, and I also was more interested in reading stuff on the INTERNET, where experts in all things spend most of their time (sarcasm off). It seemed that people had some issues with it, that it was cliche (isn't everything?) that it was like Star Wars/LoTR. 

I generally try to just enjoy stories and get the best out of them rather than criticize, but now that I look back at the writing, now that I have read MUCH more, now that I know more about the craft, I can see why people revile it. Even after all of the editing Paolini was forced through by his publisher, the prose, the characters, and the plot and world were riddled with pus-oozing sores that disgusted those with literary sensitivities. 

The story IS Star Wars. It has some plot elements similar to the Dragonriders of Pern series (which I didn't get into even though I tried) but the framework is Star Wars. The world is to LotR as a wax cheeseburger is to the real thing, superficial similarities, but one is edible and tastes good, the other looks like something that is edible and tastes good. I lost my ability to enjoy the series when I read the criticisms of it, and the sporks. Perhaps the series was ruined for me by these people, or perhaps I was saved from lowering my tastes.


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## Edgemaker

Regarding Christopher Paolini and his inheritance circle I mean cycle, I think that he is an amateur writer with a lot of potential. In reading his books I think that he gets distracted from his main story. Its a nice fantasy story with some interesting characters that make an intriguing plot. But compared to Tolkien he still has alot of work to do. That said I will look forward to his next book but I am not a hard core fan just an observer.


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## Argentum

There was this one youtube video I found once when looking for Eragon spoofs. They showed clips of the movie, but replaced the voices with Star wars dialogue. I wish I could find it again, it was so darn realistic. I knew it was like Starwars, but didn't know just how badly until I saw it.

I don't quite believe that Paolini's books are related to Tolkien's at all. I read them, but got halfway through Bristingr (which I should eventually finish). It's not all bad, it does have some good qualities about it, but I don't think I understand why it got to be so famous so fast.

One thing that made it different than Tolkien's work was the elves. I was so incredibly disappointed with them. Tolkien's elves (at least to me) gave a sort of holy, pure, wise vibe. I know elves don't have to be the same, but Tolkien's elves were beautiful. It had a classic feel, where you couldn't really imagine meeting such elves in person, because they are old and have their own code of honor. You could respect them.

When I read Paolini's, I got this image that they were just like humans, but lived longer. His writing seems much more modern, and it's not too hard to picture the elves as actual people you could meet on the street. His writing made me feel like the elves could be just as vile as humans if they wanted, depending on their character, and it made me feel like they were rather snobby. While his stories are not all bad, I guess I personally need there to be something remarkable about a book. The characters and races were okay, believable because they were a lot like people nowadays, but there was no one that stood out.


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## Leuco

Argentum said:


> Tolkien's elves (at least to me) gave a sort of holy, pure, wise vibe. I know elves don't have to be the same, but Tolkien's elves were beautiful.



That's why elves are cool.

They're still cool, right?


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## Argentum

They are, definitely are .... just not in his books.


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## Wings&Weird

I have read Eragon, Eldest and have nearly finished Brisingr. I loved Eragon, and I think it is definitely worth reading.


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## morfiction

This post is going to have spoilers! 



Let's play a game.... list mistakes Eragon makes!

I'm sure there's dozens of examples where his being a new to the hero game are readily apparent. I'll start...

It's his fault his mentor is killed!


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## Ghost

I wouldn't write spoilers here since the OP is considering reading the books. Not that I can remember a damn thing that happens in Eragon because it was very forgettable. I didn't even remember the dragon's name until someone mentioned it. I agree with the Twilight comparison because Eragon is very light reading. If you're a fast or motivated reader, you'll finish it in a few hours. After that, you can read all the lovely Star Wars/Tolkien/Pern comparisons.

I think people who haven't read very much fantasy aren't bothered by Paolini, but there are better introductions to the genre.

Paolini doesn't deserve to have the entire fantasy community take a dump on his books. As derivative as he is, I don't think he writes the worst fantasy ever. I've read some atrocious books I wish I could return to the depths of the remainder bin, never to be seen again.

I wish Paolini would stop pretending he made a language, though. And he should really cut it out with the elves.



Skilletgirllee said:


> Brisingr is totally the best one so you just gave up far to quickly



It shouldn't take two and a half books to make a story interesting or worthwhile.


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## Seth son of Tom

has anyone read the fourth one yet? i thought he did really well in creating a nigh unbeatable villain. overall i loved the series, though i won't deny that the first two are definitely a lot of star wars.


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## myrddin173

Seth son of Tom said:
			
		

> has anyone read the fourth one yet? i thought he did really well in creating a nigh unbeatable villain. overall i loved the series, though i won't deny that the first two are definitely a lot of star wars.



I actually finished it last night.  Overall I thought it was a fitting end to the series.  While he is certainly not the best author out there he has definitely shown growth in his abilities.  I mostly read it because I have spent almost half my life waiting to find out how the king was going to die and the manner which he did was better than any idea I had come up with.


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## Ophiucha

Seth son of Tom said:


> has anyone read the fourth one yet? i thought he did really well in creating a nigh unbeatable villain. overall i loved the series, though i won't deny that the first two are definitely a lot of star wars.



For the brief background: I though the first one was badly written, but it was a fun fantasy read. The middle two were boring enough to put me to sleep, and neither showed any signs of improvement in terms of technique, so I wasn't optimistic about the final one.

My thoughts were basically that I think Christopher Paolini has improved a lot since he began the series, but ultimately, I still couldn't like Inheritance because of what it was built on. I think if he had a chance to rewrite the series now, it'd be a lot better overall, and hints of that come up in this book, but the very core of what Inheritance is just isn't _good_, and it was basically impossible to overcome that. The two big things I really liked in this one were Doru Araeba and the final scene between Eragon and Arya (a romance that, until that scene, I really never cared for). That scene just made it... click with me. It was really well done.

But it was kind of ruined (not just in terms of quality, but in terms of the rules of the world established) by the last confrontation with Murtagh, for me. That was the worst part of the book. It bordered on Breaking Dawn levels of terrible conclusions, and to be honest, I really didn't find the fight with Galbatorix must better. But, as I said before, that one at least can be chalked up to his terrible development as a character in the previous books. I think the Eragon vs. Galbatorix battle would have been better if Galby got a bit more work in books one through three.

I still can't say I really liked Inheritance, but the last book left me feeling better about Paolini, and I probably won't be dismissive of his next book/series if he writes one. And I wrote a longer review of this book on my tumblr, if anyone cares for a more (spoiler-y!) detailed look.


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## Edgemaker

Ouroboros said:


> I wish Paolini would stop pretending he made a language, though. And he should really cut it out with the elves.



I didnt think he was doing anything worthwhile with the elves. When he describes them in the book I only think of LOTR, crossed with Warcraft elves, I think the only original thing about the elves, was the one character that was the head of Eragon's Bodyguards. Even then I would have liked to have seen a little more action with that dude.


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## Edgemaker

Over all I think that through out the Books I felt like i was in a Video Game where I was not in control of the game. Each time the character took notice of something or some small thing that he would like to get into later on, would be bypassed and you would be like "Hey i wanted to see that, go back." The way he ended the Books was interesting in a way. Most people just do a snap shot of the ending, because they focus on the climactic end scene. But Christopher Paolini actually went into it enough where i thought, if under the conditions of 
A. he writes his books a bit smaller. 
B. He focuses his main plot with a better transition.
C. He continues with the sparks of originality. 
Then he definitely has the potential to put out at least 6 or so more books.
He assuredly has the momentum built up, all I think he needs to do is to refine his process, and he will be a great writer. He has done an excellent try. He is not as epic as Tolkien but hes not on the bottom rung either.


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## Steerpike

Ouroboros said:


> It shouldn't take two and a half books to make a story interesting or worthwhile.



I agree with this. I also thought Eragon (what I read of it) was atrocious. I don't give up on many books, but that was one of them. That said, I agree that it isn't the worst fantasy novel ever written.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

I just started reading _Inheritance_. It's been a few years since I read Paolini (and the last thing I read was _Brisingr_). Maybe I didn't notice it then, but I'm noticing it now: He _really_ overdescribes things, specifically actions and motions.



> With a rush of air, a cocoon of wraithlike blue flames sprang into existence around the blade, running up toward the tip. The heat from the fire warmed Eragon's hand, arm, and the side of his face.



Maybe it's because I've written an entire novel of my own since then, but man:



> A cocoon of wraithlike blue flame sprang up along the blade, warming his face.



The dude is pretty clearly thinking in pictures, and feels that he has to describe it in enough detail that you see the exact same thing he sees. I guess he hasn't figured out that that really isn't necessary?

There's an *excellent article* in the last issue of The New Yorker about Tolkien and Paolini, actually. Definitely worth a read.


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## Elder the Dwarf

Enjoyed the article, thanks benjamin!


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## Edgemaker

That was a very good article. Thank you Benjamin. 

Agreed in what Adam in the article says about the Kids who can relate because they have mastered some of the symbols in the book. I can remember back to my old days when I was a kid who would play Knights in the backyard with the sticks I made from the forest. I mastered the symbol of the sword and understood how it was supposed to act and behave in the story, and I took it and ran with it, Figuratively and Literally. 
I like what he says about kids going to fantasy not for escapism but for organization. In the books they see that there is already a blueprint that the author has put out for them in black and white. They are not trying to escape from this world into another although this is still possible but rather I think the kids who read fantasy now are seeing these characters like Eragon, and they see the teenage boy with the cool flaming blue sword and the blue Dragon fighting the Bad guy who they can make out to be who they want. Thus Kids who read fantasy take away from the book once they put it down some behavior to overcome the enemy. This is an interesting thing to think about. Children being equipped with Fantasy to live life. 
Altogether this article was very insightful, this dude Adam is a very good writer I will be looking out for more articles that he puts out.


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## Codey Amprim

Wow, thanks for posting this! If you come across any others as such _please_ post them! This doesn't fully explain what's so inviting about fantasy, mythology, and history, but it does shed some light on it. I could easily relate to this article as one of the kids that grew up to fantasy, because, well, that's pretty much how it's gone so far for me.

What particuluarly caught my attention was the bit: "When they're ready for college-acceptance letters, they've already become a dragon-rider." That line echoed within me, and so did the bit about living life and growing up through moral lessons and stories. I think if one grew up with a fantasy mindset so-to-speak, they fit that mold.

@Edgemaker 





> Thus Kids who read fantasy take away from the book once they put it down some behavior to overcome the enemy. This is an interesting thing to think about. Children being equipped with Fantasy to live life.


 Interesting, indeed. I had been thinking about this for some time, even prior to the reading of this article. I think fantasy actually helped me develop as a human, and as an individual as I grew up and continue to. I think that fantasy provides some kind of backbone or some type of aspiration to be as great as the characters told within stories. Fantasy had created an outlet for me that provided support through my rough moments in life, and I think that's one of the powers that it has. All in all, fantasy may have truly shaped the world at one point or another as we know it, but I'll  never have proof of such a thing.

I can't really think of a way to word this right, but what opinion I'm trying to convey is that I think everyone needs fantasy at some point in their life. We live up to the stories and tales that we were raised upon. Blah! I'm trying to get these thoughts out of my head (I'll have to eventually for college at some point on this matter) without sounding crazy or obsessive. I'd like to read some other opinions on this.


But as for Eragon itself, and I've think I've posted this somewhere before, I just couldn't do it. I loved the whole premise, but I couldn't keep going past the beginning of the second book, not because I didn't like the content, but because I simply couldn't read it. All I vaguely remember before I put the book back in the rubbermaid container with the rest of my misc. things was that Eragon was in some type of chamber with a bunch of fancy big heads around him bickering about something, and while Saphira was communicating with Eragon, I couldn't tell if she was actually in the room, flying above, or perched on a rock somewhere in no man's land. I shouldn't have to keep rereading something to grasp the environment, and I apologize for being harsh but that's one of my biggest pet peeves. That, and big, flashy, sophisticated words that I don't understand, nor would I want to.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Edgemaker said:


> I like what he says about kids going to fantasy not for escapism but for organization. In the books they see that there is already a blueprint that the author has put out for them in black and white.



I definitely remember as a kid that me and my friends all obsessed about the technical details of all the fiction we were absorbed in. Here's exactly how this weapon worked, here's when this guy did this cool thing, etc. Story and character were not (apparently) important to us.

Now, as an adult, I find the technical details not particularly interesting, and I'm much more interested in character and story. Ah, growing up.


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## Edgemaker

@Cody Amprim 
I agree with what you say about Fantasy playing a big role in people's live. I have often wondered if the writers who write what they write consider that their works might influence the minds of the Readers, and if they aim to do that particularly or not. I dont know what the aim was of Christopher Paolini was with the Inheritance Trilogy/Circle/Cycle thing forget which one. I do know that he has his misfires and his decent shots.


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## DameiThiessen

I read the first chapter and didn't continue. A huge pet peeve of mine is an author describing a character by their appearance first, and the majority of the impression I got just from reading a little bit was that it was a show-and-tell, "look at all the cool imagery I came up with!" book. But then again, I haven't actually read it, so I don't really have an informed opinion. xD My mother really likes it though.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Here's something else I realized that bothers me about the Eragon books: New chapters seem to occur in random places. Like, every couple thousand words, it's time for a new chapter, regardless of what's happening. Chapters frequently break in the middle of a scene, for no apparent reason. It sort of defies the purpose of a "chapter," which is a discrete portion of a story. If the end of the chapter and the beginning of the next chapter could be connected with no page break/chapter title between them, what's the point exactly?


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## Masronyx

I read Eragon a few years after it came out, I think I was around 17 or so. At that age, I was duly impressed with it.  I read the second book, and thought it was okay. I haven't continued with the series after that.  I got bored with it.  He names Terry Brooks as one of his major influences, and I am not a fan of Brooks. I think both authors take way too much time telling the story.  The Inheritance series dragged when I tried to read the 3rd book and I just couldn't get through it.  One of my ways of telling a book is bad is that I skip to the ending to see what happens, and that's what I was doing.  

Recently, I flipped through the last book at a Wal Mart (the ending of course), and wasn't really impressed with the style.  It's one of those fantasy books that's geared more for the young adult crowd.  

Plus I agree with Ophiucha, I do NOT like elves. Do not care for them.


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## Edgemaker

DameiThiessen said:


> the majority of the impression I got just from reading a little bit was that it was a show-and-tell, "look at all the cool imagery I came up with!" book.



After reading through each of the books I would say that this is pretty accurate. Each Character is over described, and almost seems as if you lose eragon a bit, or that each character adds something to Eragon and it gets a bit redundant at times.


----------



## Edgemaker

Masronyx said:


> Plus I agree with Ophiucha, I do NOT like elves. Do not care for them.



Elves seem to be a tricky thing, because they have almost it seems like a template. That in order to write something different would be to deviate from what elves should be. Although I do think that this template started with Tolkien, and i dont think anyone else has had an original thought from these Characters.


----------



## Masronyx

In a way, they are a lot like vampires. What isn't original about these characters? I tried to write stories with elves, I just couldn't do it.  I don't think there's any originality with them anymore.  

I agree. I think Tolkien set the stage for elves. Now they are too cookie cutter.  Unless you read the Merry Gentry series by Laruell K. Hamilton.  I read the first few books in the series.  I think she did pretty good with the various characters and elves in general. 



Edgemaker said:


> Elves seem to be a tricky thing, because they have almost it seems like a template. That in order to write something different would be to deviate from what elves should be. Although I do think that this template started with Tolkien, and i dont think anyone else has had an original thought from these Characters.


----------



## JamesTFHS

Eragon is not a bad read. I read Eragon when i was 14 and it was a contributing factor to my desire of becoming a writer. Though i was like blind to its flaws after i discovered them i did feel a little betrayed by Paolini. He is obviously inspired by other stories and writers but you cant really blame him. The only reason i forgive Paolini is because at the age of 15 he created the plot not knowing any better. I am sure as he grew older he noticed some of the things he "borrowed" from and i really feel that in the last two books he tried to make it different. I might just be giving him more credit but that is how i feel. Though if he does it again in his next story i will loose all respect for him. If you are an inspiring author read this book just so you can see what not to do and how to take whatever ideas you use from another story and give them your own twist.


----------



## Neurosis

It was possibly the worst book I have read start to finish. The story and "fantasy" ideas were extremely trite: this might be okay, considering much of the genre these days involves repeating the greats to some extent (unless you're Brandon Sanderson), however the writing was appalling! I noticed quite a few of what I considered mistakes; 'misusing' commas and their counter-part the humble semi-colon; apparently no understanding of active and passive voice; weird/illogical chapter transitions. Before you pull the "it was written by a teenager" card let me point out that I READ this when I was 15, and made the above observations then, and in addition as of writing this I am also STILL a teenager.


----------



## Edgemaker

JamesTFHS said:


> I am sure as he grew older he noticed some of the things he "borrowed" from and i really feel that in the last two books he tried to make it different. I might just be giving him more credit but that is how i feel. Though if he does it again in his next story i will loose all respect for him. If you are an inspiring author read this book just so you can see what not to do and how to take whatever ideas you use from another story and give them your own twist.



Altogether I dont know if he really meant to take and copy to his own story line, because I have not spoken with him or heard from him personally, if he did or didn't is not the question. I think the question is as James said "Is he going to do it again if he writes again." Personally I see that Paolini has great potential and great guts. He has an imagination he just needs to learn to come out of the templates. Which I think is something that not many writers are doing, they bypass the thought that it is someone else's idea, character, plot device, and they still use it (terry brooks much). When I write I want it to be original, and I want people to call me on it if they see something that is not original, because this will stretch me to the point that would be good for me to be originally creative.
On the other hand like I said, Paolini has some guts to at least publish something, at least he did not clam up and not publish anything at all.


----------



## Edgemaker

Neurosis said:


> I noticed quite a few of what I considered mistakes; 'misusing' commas and their counter-part the humble semi-colon; apparently no understanding of active and passive voice; weird/illogical chapter transitions. Before you pull the "it was written by a teenager" card let me point out that I READ this when I was 15, and made the above observations then, and in addition as of writing this I am also STILL a teenager.



Agreed it was something that was a horror show for perfect fantasy. But it was a decent shot at least he should be given credit for that. And then he should take some writing grammar lessons or a course in novel writing and then try again with the sequel. I would like him to try again with more of an understanding.


----------



## Wormtongue

I didn't care for Eragon.  I found it painfully predictable.  I was frankly stunned it was made into a movie.


----------



## Tamwen

Note: The following post will contain spoilers for all the books. 

It's hard to love or even LIKE a book where you can't stand any of the characters. 

Eragon is quite frankly a sociopath. What? He "spares" Sloan and makes him hobble across a vast expanse of land without sight one chapter, and then ruthlessly killed a helpless soldier the next. In the first book, he got his panties in a twist about Murtagh doing that, and the reader was supposed to take his side in the argument of "Bad Murtagh! You killed a helpless... slaver." Then, when he slaughters a helpless, possibly forced into service soldier, there's a short "What the Hell Hero?" moment before Arya (Who I hate) admits he's right in killing the guy! At least Murtagh killed someone who arguably deserved to be killed! 

Plus, Eragon is a complete Gary-Stu. He becomes a master swordsman in what? A few months? He learns how to read in less time than that. Plus he learned how to fight like a master with his left hand in the time it took for his broken right wrist to heal. Less, probably. And the Deux Ex Machina ritual that turns him into a freaking ELF in the second book! If he wasn't drop dead handsome and perfect before, he is after that! 

Plus, Arya, the Designated Love Interest, is really only there to look pretty. No. Seriously. Every time she shows up, purple prose smacks you in the face as Paolini attempts to describe his dream girl in the fanciest way possible. 

The elves are douchebags, which is why they're the villains in my story. Blame Paolini for my hatred of elves. The dwarves are generic, the dragons are superfluous (seriously. What purpose does Saphira serve? There's no partnership. She does whatever Eragon wants her to. It's stupid)... 

The movie's worse. Dragons with feathers. FEATHERS. /sob/


----------



## Steerpike

Tamwen: It is so poorly written I'm surprised by how many people get far enough into it to criticize the story


----------



## Tamwen

Steerpike said:


> Tamwen: It is so poorly written I'm surprised by how many people get far enough into it to criticize the story



I compare it to watching Disney. You watch/read it as a youth and love it. Then you go back and rewatch/reread and see all the things wrong with it. I loved them when I was younger, but then I reread them it was like... 

You've never done that before? Reread a book you liked as a younger person and realized it kinda sucked?


----------



## Edgemaker

Tamwen said:


> Eragon is quite frankly a sociopath. What? He "spares" Sloan and makes him hobble across a vast expanse of land without sight one chapter, and then ruthlessly killed a helpless soldier the next.
> 
> Plus, Arya, the Designated Love Interest, is really only there to look pretty. No. Seriously. Every time she shows up, purple prose smacks you in the face as Paolini attempts to describe his dream girl in the fanciest way possible.
> 
> The elves are douchebags, which is why they're the villains in my story. Blame Paolini for my hatred of elves. The dwarves are generic, the dragons are superfluous (seriously. What purpose does Saphira serve? There's no partnership. She does whatever Eragon wants her to. It's stupid)...
> 
> The movie's worse. Dragons with feathers. FEATHERS. /sob/



Remember how eragon took away sloan's sight but then paolini forgot about sloan until his grandchild came to the elven forest, and eragon forgot about sloan..........

I couldnt tell if Arya was Eragon's girl or paolini's

Dragons with feathers are griffins


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## Jabrosky

When I saw the movie, it struck me how so much of the plot resembled that of the first _Star Wars_ movie. I'm surprised George Lucas hasn't already sued Paolini's ass off. It's OK to borrow certain plot elements from other stories, as almost every plot element has been used before, but the combination of plot elements and tropes in _Eragon_ is way too reminiscent of _A New Hope_ to avoid the charge of plot plagiarism. Now Iif Paolini had passed the books off as a medieval fantasy retelling of the _Star Wars_ movies, I wouldn't mind the similarities so much, but since he doesn't acknowledge them at all I have little respect for him. I also concur with everyone who said that the prose and characterization are subpar.

That said, as a young writer myself (albeit in my early twenties rather than teens), I must confess to envying Paolini a little. At least he had the self-discipline to finish and publish a whole novel, which is more than can be said for me even now, never mind when I was 15.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

_Eragon_ is definitely derivative without being distinct enough, but the thing which actually bothered me the most was the 13 "Forsworn" who were the Evil Overlord's minions. It reminded me an awful lot of the 13 "Forsaken" who are the Evil Overlord's minions in _The Wheel of Time_...


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## Elder the Dwarf

Tamwen said:


> I compare it to watching Disney. You watch/read it as a youth and love it. Then you go back and rewatch/reread and see all the things wrong with it. I loved them when I was younger, but then I reread them it was like...
> 
> You've never done that before? Reread a book you liked as a younger person and realized it kinda sucked?




Disney shows or Disney movies?  'Cos there is *NOTHING* wrong with the Lion King!


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## Steerpike

Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast rule


----------



## Reaver

Elder the Dwarf said:


> Disney shows or Disney movies?  'Cos there is *NOTHING* wrong with the Lion King!




The Lion King is messed up.  Have you ever paused @ the part where "grown up" Simba flops down in the dirt after seeing his father in the clouds?  What's wrong with those Disney animators?


----------



## Elder the Dwarf

Oh come on!  The Lion King is a beautiful movie, and I refuse to change my mind.  Yes, I'm a stubborn little bastard .  Ok I'm not _that_ little.  I am stubborn though.  And Steerpike that is true, but Lion King is probably my favorite.  Aladdin was solid, and how could you not like Cool Runnings, Tarzan, Hercules, Mulan, or Toy Story?  And Homeword Bound?  I cried my 5 year old butt off.


----------



## Tamwen

I'm not saying that they become bad with age, or that any of them are bad. What I'm saying is that you notice things as you mature that you didn't earlier.

With Disney for me, it was that the majority of princesses just fell in love with their princes in a minute and a half.

With the Inheritance Cycle, it was that Eragon was an unlikable sociopath who never had to work for anything.


----------



## Shadoe

I was at the dentist with my son once. He was in getting tortured while I waited in the waiting room. It was a nice place, with a jungle gym for the kids and a couple of tvs showing Disney movies non-stop. On this occasion, there was a hispanic couple in the waiting room, and the day's movie was Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow from 1958. I didn't think the movie was all that impressive, but the hispanic couple were falling off their chairs laughing. That's when I realized I was using my "I'm an adult" filter to judge the movie. Getting rid of that made the movie hilarious. How we see a lot of movies depends on the filter we choose to use.


----------



## Seth son of Tom

interesting perspective shadoe


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## Neurosis

Shadoe said:


> I was at the dentist with my son once. He was in getting tortured while I waited in the waiting room. It was a nice place, with a jungle gym for the kids and a couple of tvs showing Disney movies non-stop. On this occasion, there was a hispanic couple in the waiting room, and the day's movie was Disney's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow from 1958. I didn't think the movie was all that impressive, but the hispanic couple were falling off their chairs laughing. That's when I realized I was using my "I'm an adult" filter to judge the movie. Getting rid of that made the movie hilarious. How we see a lot of movies depends on the filter we choose to use.



Perception is just a bunch of choices we make beforehand.


----------



## Masronyx

I think that was why I never far enough with my work to be considered published.  As bad as I wanted to be published when I was in high school, I was borrowing waaay too much for my own good.  That's why I never read Terry Brooks.  I read enough of his first book to see that he was borrowing from Lord of the Rings.  That and he took too long with his story line...



JamesTFHS said:


> Eragon is not a bad read. I read Eragon when i was 14 and it was a contributing factor to my desire of becoming a writer. Though i was like blind to its flaws after i discovered them i did feel a little betrayed by Paolini. He is obviously inspired by other stories and writers but you cant really blame him. The only reason i forgive Paolini is because at the age of 15 he created the plot not knowing any better. I am sure as he grew older he noticed some of the things he "borrowed" from and i really feel that in the last two books he tried to make it different. I might just be giving him more credit but that is how i feel. Though if he does it again in his next story i will loose all respect for him. If you are an inspiring author read this book just so you can see what not to do and how to take whatever ideas you use from another story and give them your own twist.


----------



## Tamwen

As a brief note, he _started_ it when he was 15. He finished it two years later.


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## Jabrosky

> The movie's worse. Dragons with feathers. FEATHERS. /sob/


I actually am annoyed by the attitude that feathers make something look less badass. Lots of vicious predatory dinosaurs, including all the raptors and possibly even T. Rex, had feathers, yet they were still among the most lethal carnivores to ever walk the Earth.


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## Benjamin Clayborne

Eagles have feathers. Eagles are badass. QED.


----------



## Tamwen

Jabrosky said:


> I actually am annoyed by the attitude that feathers make something look less badass. Lots of vicious predatory dinosaurs, including all the raptors and possibly even T. Rex, had feathers, yet they were still among the most lethal carnivores to ever walk the Earth.



Eh... It not so much that it makes it look less badass. It looked awesome but it was... pointless. Why? Why change that? What's the purpose of that change? And for that matter, what was the purpose of any of the changes the movie made? Maybe they knew it was gonna be bad anyway, so "might as well hamstring any future movies by cutting out half the important characters and making another one OOC!"


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## Ice Spider

With so few people liking Eragon on these boards, I can't help but wonder why the series was successful in the first place. Is it the fact that people on this board have usually read a lot of fantasy and have grown sick of the standard fare that Eragon mostly is? Is it because, as fantasy writers, we tend to tear others people's work apart to learn what to emulate/avoid, and so are more likely to notice the flaws in Paolini's work?

I'm guessing it's a combination of the two, and mostly the first one. When I first read Eragon, I hadn't read much fantasy, so I enjoyed it. It's a fun, albeit derivative adventure that is a great read if you turn of your brain. I didn't think it was outstanding, and cringed at a lot of the prose (I remember him describing a woman's hair blowing in the wind like a "spray of molten copper"), but I still kept turning the pages. It was charming in that archetypal way...cozy, predictable, "safe" reading, and I'd expect that's a lot of its appeal. I'd describe him as the children's author version of Terry Goodkind (except less arrogant).

But when you read more fantasy, things change. Those archetypes become stereotypes, and you see that other authors have done what he has better. That's not to say that Eragon is a bad book per se - newcomers to the genre could definitely enjoy it. But if you had the choice, why wouldn't you go to the original (and better) sources of those ideas? 

(Please note I'm just talking about the first book; I have not read any others. I did flip through a copy of Brisingr at a bookstore but was so appalled by the prose I put it down. It was honestly so bad it sounded more like a parody of the genre at its worst, full of overly flowery, bizzare descriptions and stilted pseudo-Medieval dialogue with no understanding of how people actually talked back then. And that is a definitely a thesaurus he was writing next to. In terms of prose, at least, it looks like he has actually gotten worse...)


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## Ziggy

I got Eragon as a present from someone. I had seen the movie and thought that was... you know, bit trashy, but it had Jeremy Irons and Robert Carlisle so it was alright. And I thought... yea why not, the books are usually better than the films right? But the book just did nothing for me. The writing... I don't know, I just didn't like it at all.

Had no idea it was written by a teenager, but that makes sense. It reads like it was written like a teenager. Great for him to get something published when he was so young, but I really don't understand why it was so popular.

And I'm sorry but it doesn't stack up to Twilight in terms of writing. The stories might be similar, teenager lovey dovey stuff. But Twilight is written very well, Eragon... eh. People love to hate Twilight, but that's mostly the hype around the movies. The writing is good, at least in the first book, which is the only one I've read.

Eragon might have been OK to read if I were younger. There are some books that I read when I was younger and really enjoyed that just don't stack up for me as an adult.

Where as something like the Harry Potter books, Tolkein and Pratchett, you can enjoy them when you're young and reread them when you're older and get a whole different perspective and enjoy them again. That's strong writing imo.

If I had picked it up in a book shop and read the first page, I would have put it down again instantly. But since it was bought for me I felt compelled to read it.

I'd suggest you don't bother with it. There are so many good books out there, Eragon is just... meh.


----------



## Ziggy

Ice Spider said:


> I'm guessing it's a combination of the two, and mostly the first one. When I first read Eragon, I hadn't read much fantasy, so I enjoyed it. It's a fun, albeit derivative adventure that is a great read if you turn of your brain. I didn't think it was outstanding, and cringed at a lot of the prose (I remember him describing a woman's hair blowing in the wind like a "spray of molten copper"), but I still kept turning the pages. It was charming in that archetypal way...cozy, predictable, "safe" reading, and I'd expect that's a lot of its appeal. I'd describe him as the children's author version of Terry Goodkind (except less arrogant).



It's the prose that really kills it for me. It's almost unbearable. I kept thinking it would get better, but it just didn't. I mean how can you read Tolkein, Pratchett, Shakespeare, Rowling, Steven Fry (love his books) and so on, and then read Eragon? I could not stop cringing the entire time I was reading it. I remember the 'molten copper' thing too, that was right at the beginning of the book. Eurgh.

No... it's nothing like Terry Goodkind either. His prose is no where near as cringe-worthy. The first sword of truth book was quite good. Unfortunately they just got stupider and stupider as they went on. The amount of times Kahlan 'almost got raped' became like a running joke. But it wasn't his prose that was the problem. It was his ridiculously stupid characters and plot lines.

I really have no idea at all how Eragon became so popular. It's probably the same reason that kid Justin Beiber is so popular.

I don't think we'll ever understand.


----------



## Ice Spider

Ziggy said:


> No... it's nothing like Terry Goodkind either. His prose is no where near as cringe-worthy. The first sword of truth book was quite good. Unfortunately they just got stupider and stupider as they went on. The amount of times Kahlan 'almost got raped' became like a running joke. But it wasn't his prose that was the problem. It was his ridiculously stupid characters and plot lines.



I personally thought it was after book 3 when Goodkind's plots became so ridiculous/contrived and the characters so irritating it killed the series, but people seem to have different ideas about when it really went downhill. But when it came to his early, more enjoyable books, I have to disagree. The prose (particularly the dialogue) was _the_ single biggest thing that took away from my enjoyment of the series, and that alone had me throwing down the books in exasperation and ranting in frustration in front of my friend who recommended them. Even - and I think especially - in book 1, which was the best in the series. Makes sense; Goodkind is supposed to have dyslexia. 

The dialogue was the main issue I remembered having with the books. I imagined all the characters speaking in weird affected accents because I just couldn't picture anyone talking like that in RL. They aren't fresh in my mind but I remember the phrasing being all off; he uses bad pseudo-Tolkienian syntax like "when were created" and has obsessions with odd words like "goodly" that are overused and out of place stylistically. I think his problem is not being able to feel out which words match with which stylistically. (His "sayings" and metaphors are particularly cringeworthy.) I realize my opinion differs from yours, but if you revisit the series (not that I am suggesting you should, lol) I have a feeling you might change your mind.  But don't get me wrong - Paolini is still worse than Goodkind when it comes to prose, no matter how you slice it.

The distasteful obsession with rape aside, there was still something entertaining about the first three Sword of Truth books (when I first read them, anyway - which, like when I picked up Eragon, was before I'd read much fantasy). That's why I compared Goodkind to Paolini, their first books are enjoyable, standard, turn-off-your-brain fantasy fare_ if_ you haven't read much of the genre and can ignore the terrible prose. But again I add: why would you bother when there is much better stuff out there?



> I really have no idea at all how Eragon became so popular. It's probably the same reason that kid Justin Beiber is so popular.
> 
> I don't think we'll ever understand.



Perfectly put...


----------



## Steerpike

Eragon does make Twilight look like Nobel Prize material. I will only go so far as to say the writing in Twilight is average. It isn't terrible, it isn't great.

Eragon is probably second on the list of worst-written books I've ever tried to read. The first was some old D&D book by Douglas Niles whose name I can no longer recall. I tried that one a long time ago, so my memory is a bit hazy. Eragon might be worse in terms of writing.


----------



## cliche

For me it wasn't so much as the story but the way Paolini's 'style' of writing hasn't changed much over the years. With a lot of authors you see that they graddually get better at telling their story as time goes by, but with Paolini... he just doesn't seem to be getting any better.
I admit that when I first read Eragon I thought it was great... until I started to read into the genre more. I read the book Dark Moon By David Gemmell and it made me realize that Eragon is not that good of a series at all.
One of the problems with Paolini's work is that he puts so many complicated words into his novel that it seems that he was using a thesuarus for the entire length of the novel.
Only time will tell if Paolini will further develop as a writer (especially since he has finished the inheritance series).


----------



## mirrorrorrim

Ziggy said:


> I really have no idea at all how Eragon became so popular.



For me, and I think for a lot of people, it was because of how young the author was when he wrote it. When I heard that a kid had published a book at 17, one that he'd started writing it at 15, I was curious. And, honestly, for a 15-year-old, the first book's amazing. Yes, it's incredibly cliched, and the writing's only so-so (only occasionally is it downright poor), but the fact that someone his age could even _finish_ a book is somewhat incredible. At that age, most of us struggled to even write a coherent five-page paper.

The problem, of course, is that we were expecting his writing to improve a lot in his sequels, because he was now several years older. When that didn't happen, I, for one, lost interest.


----------



## Tera-lon

Really, if people had really stuck through and read the series to the end, the writing matured as each book came out. The story had a great plot and storyline, and as the  writer matured in his writing, so did the characters such as eragon. Yes, it was written by a fifteen year old at the time, but overall, it was a great series. There was parts that I did not like, but that is the case with every book.


----------



## John Tucker

_Eragon_ was a great opener for me that welcomed me into the world of fantasy. I remember discussing it with my best friend about the plot and how awesome the story was, but that was several years ago. As I began to further delve into fantasy, I began to realize that his newer publications didn't offer any spark, any new creativity. I like the tie between humans and dragons, but overall the story could be much more enhanced. I suppose I can't say much about _Eragon_, seeing as he was fifteen when he wrote it, but he is nearly twice that age now, and the series ended in a rather pathetic way -- pathetic in the sense that it could definitely have been improved, almost as if it was lazed.

If the_ Inheritance Cycle_ has a strong suit, it is that it's a splendid introduction for new readers interested in reading fantasy. It isn't the greatest out there, but I would recommend it to novices in fantasy.


----------



## Arkius

I think that it is completely worth the time it takes to read and I just finished the fourth of the series and it Is amazIng. My only dislike about the series is that it ends.


----------



## karriezai

I couldn't get through Eragon. I read quite a bit of it, too, before deciding I didn't ever want to finish. It just didn't interest me. I wanted to care because of the author's story, but I didn't.

Maybe it's ironic, but I did always enjoy Amelia Atwater Rhodes growing up. She had a similar success story of writing her first book and getting it published very young. In middle school I looked up to her because I wanted to do the same thing, and I still read any new books she puts out and enjoy them pretty well.

Not Paolini though. Blah.


----------



## Argentum

I still make jokes that Paolini is a bad writer. Lots of good things, definitely, but ... well. For instance, I did like the last book best. It was pretty good. I liked how it ended and how it all came together. The only thing is that there were a lot of things that happened that didn't need to happen. Example (spoiler, but not really spoiler), in the 4th book, Eragon is traveling to the dwarves with that one Urgal persons. Then, they have to hide and they watch some giant boars. And then there was the moment when there were wolves that _almost_ attacked but didn't.... In the end of those situations, nothing was improved. The plot did not change, the characters were no different, it had no meaning to the overall plot. If those sort of moments were actually removed, the books wouldn't nearly be so thick as they are.

The story was good though. I did get into the last one particularly. Another thing that kinda bothers me is that he leaves so many loose ends in the stories. Prophesies, debts to friends, etc. Then, he goes back and picks up all those loose ends. Which is good, because you want to know that there isn't anything left unsaid, but the sheer amount of them all at once... Like (I think it was book #3) there was one chapter soley dedicated to Eragon handing out three gold orbs as payment to people. I really couldn't care less that he paid off his debts to characters I didn't care for and it was incredibly boring, but at least everything was set right. So it was good he made sure to cover everything, but it probably wouldn't have been so annoying if he had not made so many loose ends/debts in the first place.


----------



## Xanados

Ophiucha said:


> For a fifteen year old, I would say _Eragon_ is about as good as I could expect it to be. The fact that his parents were in publishing pushed him into fame, and hey, good on him. I don't care if people get famous for trite, really. I like bad books (and bad everything; where would I be if Bruno Mattei were not renown?). They aren't good, though, and I think we need to stop giving him slack for being young. He was young when he wrote the first book. He's *27* now, and Brisingr was as bad as the first one. And even _Eragon_ was only started when he was fifteen. It was published when he was eighteen or nineteen, if my math is right. I guess it might just be because I'm nineteen myself, and nearly all the writers I know in real life are in the general 'eighteen to twenty five' range, but this isn't young enough to be excusable.
> 
> And I really, really hate his elves.


I agree with what you said in the latter part of your post. I believe that by the age of 18, my age, you should be able to write fairly well.

I am usually blunt in my opinion towards books, so I will just say that I find Paolini's rather dull and unimaginative. I don't know the facts, but I'm going to guess that his parent's are the ones solely responsible for his fame.


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## Morgoth

I bought and read Inheritance recently (I preffer to finish reading a book series I've started, and admittedly out of genuine interest to see how it all ended) and beforehand re-read the other three books so I remembered everything that happened. 

I have to say I think it is a really poor work overall. Before rereading the books I would probably be in favour of them now. When I was younger and hadn't read much fantasy I did enjoy Eragon. But rereading it I realized quite frankly how bad it was. Most of the characters are dull (Eragon in particular who at times seems to have no personality whatsoever), the plot is pretty much the same as A New Hope, lots of other things copied from other fantasy works, way too much detail on unimportant things and not enough on things that actually are important, chapters where nothing interesting happens and that don't add anything to the story...

It would be excusable (it was his first book, he was young when he wrote it) if he had actually improved with each book, which he didn't. If anything they got poorer in quality. Eldests plot was taken from Empire Strikes Back and was even more boring then Eragon, to the point that there were chapters of Eragons training that I just wanted to skip. Brisingr was even worse then Eldest...there's barely any consistent plot throughout the whole book, and the middle chapters were so boring it nearly made me skip to the end. I'd say Inheritance might be as bad or worse then Brisingr mainly because of it's ending, though it'd take up a lot of space to put down all my problems with it. 

I don't think I'll ever read any of them again, and I'd never recommend it to someone, even someone fairly young - there's just so much better they could be reading.


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## Azza

I personally quite enjoyed the Eragon series, and yes, I read all four XD  I didn't like the ending at all, and bits of it were too predictable (I knew the ending before Paolini wrote it!) But it's a fun and imaginative world he's created which can be enjoyed be people of all ages I believe, it just depends on your taste. Some can ignore the errors while it ruins the tale for others. No harm in giving it a go, but it's certainly not one of the 'must read' series!


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## Benjamin Clayborne

I enjoyed the first three books. They had obvious issues but I didn't mind reading them; I wanted to know what happened.

When I started reading the fourth book, I made it about two or three chapters before I gave up. I couldn't stop myself from rewriting every sentence in my head to be half as long. The prose was so distracting, I couldn't actually pay attention to the story.


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## Hominid

_Eragon_ was what got me into fantasy in the first place. I definitely think the series is underrated. Not the best series in the world, and certainly not very original, but all four books are enjoyable reads, and the ending is not as predictable as some would have you believe.


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## Rikilamaro

Hominid said:


> _Eragon_ was what got me into fantasy in the first place. I definitely think the series is underrated. Not the best series in the world, and certainly not very original, but all four books are enjoyable reads, and the ending is not as predictable as some would have you believe.



I also enjoyed the series, but the first book I could tell was definitely written by a younger person. There were some minor plot logic and descriptions that didn't quite make sense. However, in the end it is a good read and I own all four in the series. I hope Paolini writes more, but he may decide to move on.

I will also comment - the movie was TERRIBLE. It left out so much of what made the book enjoyable that it just ended up stinking. I don't know if that had to do with budget or time, but it almost made me want to cry.


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## Hominid

Rikilamaro said:


> I also enjoyed the series, but the first book I could tell was definitely written by a younger person. There were some minor plot logic and descriptions that didn't quite make sense. However, in the end it is a good read and I own all four in the series. I hope Paolini writes more, but he may decide to move on.
> 
> I will also comment - the movie was TERRIBLE. It left out so much of what made the book enjoyable that it just ended up stinking. I don't know if that had to do with budget or time, but it almost made me want to cry.



I agree. The movie was very bad.

Paolini does plan on writing more; he's currently working on a scifi short story.


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## Paradox

Personally I feel that it become the cliche thing to do to hate on Eragon and the series. If you like it you can't be considered a "real" writer. Lets be honest he wrote the first one as a kid, and he wrote the books for people of that age, even the last one. His publisher had a huge hand on keeping the books just like the first one, thats what had success in sales and made them money and thats what they wanted him to churn out more of.

18 is still very young for most authors. Lets see what he turns out over the next few years before judging him so harshly.


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## Steerpike

Paradox said:


> Lets be honest he wrote the first one as a kid, and he wrote the books for people of that age, even the last one.



I read a lot of books written for that age group, and many of them are extremely well done. If he writes something better in the future, then I'll judge that future writing on its own merits. You can brush it off as cliche if it eases your mind, but Eragon was one of the most poorly-written books I've ever been unfortunate enough to start reading.


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## ryan.morrison73

Despite all of the negative press of having family members in the publishing industry, He still wrote the books, and although it wasn't the most complex series he did get better and better at writing. His vocabulary by the last book went beyond some books I've read by much older authors and they flowed better as well. All-in-all the books were a good read, although intended for a younger crowd.


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## Shockley

My opinion on this:

1. I won't give him any slack for publishing Eragon when he was eighteen (he didn't publish it when he was fifteen, folks. Just started working on it.). Isaac Asimov was twenty one when he published the first Foundation story, and that's one of the finest pieces of science fiction to ever exist. I'll say that it took a lot of effort and focus to pump something like that out at that age, but it's no excuse for some of the poor writing/plotting we see. 

 I'm not a great writer - I'm willing to admit that. I'm also not throwing my stuff out there or self-publishing before I have reached maturity as a writer.

2. The second point is that Paolini seems to have come to terms with the fact that he might have pushed his story a bit too soon, and I respect that he seems willing to learn from past mistakes. I hope he takes writing very seriously, and becomes better with time.


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## shangrila

I'll give him chances in the future, but the entire Eragon series just plain old sucks. The characters are all Gary Stus, the plot is more or less stolen from a handful of other stories and the amount of purple prose in there made me want to barf. It's just not well written and he doesn't get to brush that off just because he was young.

But, as Shockley said, he seems to have realised his flaws and is working to correct them, so best of luck to him. But his first series is a blight on this earth and one I doubt he'll want to remember when he's older.


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## Endymion

I don't know if there is any point in writing this (you have probably read it already) but when I hear Eragon my blood starts boiling. It is absolutely terrible! I read it when I was twelve and boy did I hate it! 
It is not original at all, his writing is awful (okay, my English sucks but I mainly write in finnish) and the characters are... There are no words to describe them! DO NOT READ IT!


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## Aravelle

shangrila said:


> I'll give him chances in the future, but the entire Eragon series just plain old sucks. The characters are all Gary Stus, the plot is more or less stolen from a handful of other stories and the amount of purple prose in there made me want to barf. It's just not well written and he doesn't get to brush that off just because he was young.
> 
> But, as Shockley said, he seems to have realised his flaws and is working to correct them, so best of luck to him. But his first series is a blight on this earth and one I doubt he'll want to remember when he's older.



Funny thing is, he KNOWS he writes sues. He knew there was no going back, and now blatantly says he writes sues and he's proud. He's such a good sport about it. XD


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## Gutendaug

Ophiucha said:


> For a fifteen year old, I would say _Eragon_ is about as good as I could expect it to be. The fact that his parents were in publishing pushed him into fame, and hey, good on him. I don't care if people get famous for trite, really. I like bad books (and bad everything; where would I be if Bruno Mattei were not renown?). They aren't good, though, and I think we need to stop giving him slack for being young. He was young when he wrote the first book. He's *27* now, and Brisingr was as bad as the first one. And even _Eragon_ was only started when he was fifteen. It was published when he was eighteen or nineteen, if my math is right. I guess it might just be because I'm nineteen myself, and nearly all the writers I know in real life are in the general 'eighteen to twenty five' range, but this isn't young enough to be excusable.
> 
> And I really, really hate his elves.





I couldn't agree more.


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## Hap818

I read the first three and I'm gonna read the finale soon.


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