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Paolini's Inheritance Cycle

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
Really? I was constantly astounded by how awful Eye of the World was. I mean... some of the worst characters I have ever had to displeasure to encounter. I can accept that Lord Foul's Bane has some creativity behind it, but oh. my. god. was that book a slog to get through. It was sheer agony. Eragon wasn't great. But it was a lot easier and more enjoyable to read than either of those two.

I'm not saying Eye of the World was great, just that it was so far beyond Eragon as to be in a different league.

I liked Lord Foul's Bane well enough.
 
I thought they were okay when I was younger. They were forgettable for me. But a few years ago I read the last book and got so frustrated with it as it progressed that when he made a blatant reference to a Doctor Who planet. Going so far as to mention half a planet's name (Raxacoriphalipitorius(sp?)) and then stopping saying Eragon wouldn't know or care about it, I just about tossed the book at that point. His other references were far more subtle and I'm fine with that, but this one was heavy handed and was the straw that broke this reader's back. So frustrating.
 

Tom

Istar
Okay, I had to drag out my copy of Inheritance just to see that. Needless to say, ham-fisted reference is ham-fisted. Usually I really enjoy pop culture references in books, but this one makes me inexplicably angry.

Why do I still own those stupid bricks o' tripe, anyway? I should sell them and buy some better-quality books with the money.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I pulled up the Eragon sample on Amazon just to see if I was remembering wrong. Nope. The writing is terrible. People complain about the writing in Twilight, which is mediocre/competent but not beyond that, but Paolini makes Meyer look like a master.
 

X Equestris

Maester
My biggest issue was the purple prose. There was so much fancy language, it was easy to forget what was actually happening.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I like a lot of descriptiveness and fancy writing, from time to time, if it is done well. It's not easy to pull off. Some authors are excellent with it, but those who aren't shouldn't attempt it until they learn how to do it properly :)
 

Tom

Istar
I still haven't gotten around to reading Inheritance...

Believe me, it's not worth it. I only read it because I wanted to see what happened to Murtagh. That's literally the only thing I cared about. I put up with Eragon only because he was the narrator; other than that, he didn't matter to me at all, because I felt no real connection with him.
 

Mindfire

Istar
I kinda feel obligated to. I've gone in three books deep. Might as well finish it. See where the rabbit hole goes. But I'm in no rush. There's lots of good books demanding my attention right now. And considering the last time I read an Eragon book was in high school and my own writing skills have improved by a fair margin since then, I'm anticipating that the series will have only gotten worse with age and perspective. Back then I thought the books were merely mediocre and mostly looked down on them because of how much they stole from other, better stories. But sometime since my teen years I've picked up this habit of thinking during my entertainment. I'll probably be much more sensitive to the poor writing now.
 
I kinda feel obligated to. I've gone in three books deep. Might as well finish it. See where the rabbit hole goes. But I'm in no rush. There's lots of good books demanding my attention right now. And considering the last time I read an Eragon book was in high school and my own writing skills have improved by a fair margin since then, I'm anticipating that the series will have only gotten worse with age and perspective. Back then I thought the books were merely mediocre and mostly looked down on them because of how much they stole from other, better stories. But sometime since my teen years I've picked up this habit of thinking during my entertainment. I'll probably be much more sensitive to the poor writing now.

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Mindfire

Istar
:D

But on a more serious note, it would be interesting to use the Inheritance books- and other fantasy novels- as a case study of sorts. Discuss what exactly went wrong, what might have been redeemable, opinions on the characters, plot, world, etc. That way it would be educational on top of all the riffing and jibing fun.
 
Mind, I expect you to post when you're reading inheritance and provide a running commentary on what you learned. If you let me know I might read it again with you.
 

Tom

Istar
Hey, that might be fun. It would be an excuse for me to reread the books and laugh/rage again at everything that bugged me about them.
 

Mythopoet

Auror
:D

But on a more serious note, it would be interesting to use the Inheritance books- and other fantasy novels- as a case study of sorts. Discuss what exactly went wrong, what might have been redeemable, opinions on the characters, plot, world, etc. That way it would be educational on top of all the riffing and jibing fun.

I think you really have to look for what they do right as well. Because there's no doubt at all that those books spoke to thousands of readers and that Paolini still has a legion of fans. He's definitely doing something right. It may not be your cup of tea, but there are a lot of readers who love it.

I think critiquing books from a perspective of "what didn't work for me" is not necessarily very conductive to improving your craft.
 

Mindfire

Istar
I think you really have to look for what they do right as well. Because there's no doubt at all that those books spoke to thousands of readers and that Paolini still has a legion of fans.
He does? I have never, ever encountered anyone who unironically loves his books. Not even when they were at their peak. His popularity seemed very fleeting and entirely the result of the hype surrounding his young age. I've never seen anyone, online or in person, who's an actual fan of his work.

He's definitely doing something right. It may not be your cup of tea, but there are a lot of readers who love it.
Seriously, where are these people? And I don't deny that he had some good original ideas in there. But not all of them were well served.

I think critiquing books from a perspective of "what didn't work for me" is not necessarily very conductive to improving your craft.
I disagree. Knowing what not to do is just as helpful as knowing what you should do, in my opinion. So long as you go beyond pointing out what doesn't make any sense- which can be entertaining- and talk about what would have worked better and what could have been salvaged, I think it could be very useful.

So yeah, I think I might do this. Making it a group thing would be awesome. But it's been so long since I read the other three books I may need a refresher.
 

Mythopoet

Auror
He does? I have never, ever encountered anyone who unironically loves his books. Not even when they were at their peak. His popularity seemed very fleeting and entirely the result of the hype surrounding his young age. I've never seen anyone, online or in person, who's an actual fan of his work.


Seriously, where are these people? And I don't deny that he had some good original ideas in there. But not all of them were well served.


I disagree. Knowing what not to do is just as helpful as knowing what you should do, in my opinion. So long as you go beyond pointing out what doesn't make any sense- which can be entertaining- and talk about what would have worked better and what could have been salvaged, I think it could be very useful.

So yeah, I think I might do this. Making it a group thing would be awesome. But it's been so long since I read the other three books I may need a refresher.

Just because you don't know any or haven't seen any doesn't mean they don't exist.

I should have put emphasis on the "what didn't work for me".
 

Philster401

Maester
I am a fan, the Inheritance cycle is one of my favorite books, I have read at least 2 or three times. And have listened to his books 3 or 4 times. But as I have said I'm still in my teenage years. I would like to read it again and see the problems you mentioned.
 
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