Eragon?

[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.

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.

 

[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.

 

[myrddin173]

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.

 

[Ophiucha]

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.

 

[Edgemaker]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Steerpike]

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.

 

[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.

 

[Elder the Dwarf]

Enjoyed the article, thanks benjamin!

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

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.

 

[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.

 

[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.

 

[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?

 

[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.

 

[Edgemaker]

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]

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.

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.