Eragon

[Coolhand]

Anti-Shur'tugal

Wow.

As I’ve said in my previous rant, I’ve not read the whole Eragon book, just bits of it in bookstores and libraries so all I can say with any genuine knowledge is that the prose is, from a technical standpoint, terrible. Not terrible for a young teen, but certainly for a published author who’s getting a 125 million dollar movie of his book and who is hailed as a wunderkind.

Now usually I’m hugely wary of websites like this so but they do seem to go into quite some depth and give many references from the book itself so I’m tempted to think that they have a very serious point, especially when it comes to the Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back blow for blow plot rip-off.

And as to the suffocating Mary-Sue/Gary Stu nature of Eragon and his Elf chick, I can quite believe that because that’s how I used to write when I was about 14-15 years old. I wrote stories that were basically me with another name kicking bad guy ass and getting hot babes whilst everyone generally patted me on the back for saving the world.
But I am SO very glad I never got any of them published. I’d be so embarrassed now…

Much like Goodkind, I may have to get a copy out of the library just to see for myself if it's as bad as all that.

But based on what I keep hearing, either the screenplay for the book got a MAJOR overhaul or Malkovic, Carlyle and Irons are in this thing to simply take the money and run…

Not everyone is gonna like this book but if you like sword fighting, dragon, and magic this is your kinda book. I saw NO resemblence to LOTR either

Welcome to the site Urmon, and it's great that you've found a writer you like. I hope the movie is as enjoyable for you as the books. I have to say though, a lot of people here DO like swords, dragons and magic, and don't like Eragon. And it's not to hard to spot some of the Tolkien-eque bits, such the Orc/Uruk-Hai clones. Not a bad thing in itself because many other fantasy writers do it, but it is most certainly there.

 

[Majimaune]

Ok heres my stuff that I have to say about Eragon.

There is alot of stuff similar to LOTR in it. To see some stuff writen by me about it go here.

The second one is better then the first seeing as he was older when whats-is-name wrote it.

To get it published by your own fathers publishing company at 17 is no mean feat.

I will go and see the movie when it comes out.

I hate all the pronounceation that he puts in the back. Say it like you spell it for... I wont continue the rest of that sentance.

Majimaune.

 

[the_faery_queen]

i wrote a book at 15. i wrote one far younger. they were rubbish! i dunno, i guess because of that im not really impressed by the idea he started writing it at 15, because that's nothing special to me, i did it to. difference is, i didn't think anyone would take it seriously as i was only 15, and i didn't have parents with a company willing to print it for me.

so in short, I'D pick on him but then, i tend to say what i think anyway. they can call me jealous if they want, part of it's true. who wouldn't want a movie and a big publishing dealy? but i'd want it for something i thought was worth it. i'd never want the stuff i wrote at 15 in print (it was so bad! ) so um,, yeah. if i ever met him, i'd tell him what i thought, i'd tell him i thought it was a mistake, that he may not grow as a writer now that he has instant success and that i felt it was too heavily influenced by other works, and that just cos he admitted that, it doesn't make it a good thing.

and i thought he said that fantasy itself was derretive, not his work specifically? which kinda says to me he hasn't read a lot of fantasy

 

[Majimaune]

I think he was influenced alot by Tolkien. There are some many similarities, just to name one is the name: Eragon. Doesnt that remind you alot of Aragorn??? It does me. I mean Majimaune is the name of my main character. Try finding similarities to that.

 

[the_faery_queen]

well my friend said eragon is just dragon with an e and as it's about dragons, i figured that's why he had that name. but yeah, it does seem similiar.

and i mean, the odd familiar name is ok. i mean, not everyone is good at names, and sometimes you're bound to come up with one that is similiar to someone elses (david gemmel had a character in his knights of darkn renown that was also the name of a character in king's quest 3 game ) but when you have a lot of other similiarties, that's when it's problematic.

 

[Scriven]

*wonders how on earth she could have missed this thread*

I have yet to read the whole thing back, but I'll just pop a post in now because I never tire of discussing this book (which worries me, frankly).

i wrote a book at 15. i wrote one far younger. they were rubbish! i dunno, i guess because of that im not really impressed by the idea he started writing it at 15, because that's nothing special to me, i did it to. difference is, i didn't think anyone would take it seriously as i was only 15, and i didn't have parents with a company willing to print it for me.

I agree, I don't understand the hype surrounding his age. I know a lot of people fifteen or younger who write, does that mean they're all prodigies as well? I would love to be published young, I think anyone would, but you've got to be good enough first. =/

That's partly the reason I don't agree with people who say, 'Cut him some slack, he's just a kid!' Because he's not a kid any more (you could hardly call him a kid when he finished Eragon) and he's a published writer so should be judged like any other. I for one would be embarrassed if I was published young and people patronized my work because of it.

I have too much to say on this topic and no idea where to start, so I'll just leave it at that for now.

 

[the_faery_queen]

i never get tired of discussing eragon or goodkind. for the same sort of reasons though (both negative) and THAT worries me. im heading for bitter old cat woman land

and i agree with that. lots of people do write books that young, i guess people who think it's amazing are the ones who didn't do it? which is fair enough, but just because one person didn't do it, doesn't mean a lot of others did. i don't tend to be that impressed by something like writing a book, unless they happened to write an amazing george rr martin type book that makes me jealous. then i'd be impressed, and jealous! but i don't see eragon as being in that league at all. or maybe im just harder to impress!

and i agree with that too. when you enter the world of publishing, for wahtever reason, you're going to be compared to the people you're sold alongside. and if your work doesn't compeat, it doesn't matter how old or young you are, you will be compared because you're alongside. for me, his age just isnt a factor. he's young, his book is flawed. there are many older writers with flawed books on the shelves as well. do we say cut them a break? nope! maybe we should? i dunno.

 

[Scriven]

i never get tired of discussing eragon or goodkind. for the same sort of reasons though (both negative) and THAT worries me. im heading for bitter old cat woman land

I fear I am too, though I'm more a dog person.

and i agree with that. lots of people do write books that young, i guess people who think it's amazing are the ones who didn't do it? which is fair enough, but just because one person didn't do it, doesn't mean a lot of others did. i don't tend to be that impressed by something like writing a book, unless they happened to write an amazing george rr martin type book that makes me jealous. then i'd be impressed, and jealous! but i don't see eragon as being in that league at all. or maybe im just harder to impress!

I agree. I think what bothers me the most isn't so much the fact that it got published, but that Paolini (even though it was his first story) seems to think it's 24-carat gold. That disturbs me a bit. I look at my first stories now and cringe with horror, happy to have improved, but will Paolini ever look at his own work the same way? I thought writing was all about improvement, and he needs a lot of that. =/

I admit I loved Eragon the first time I read it, simply because of the novelty of it being written by someone not much older than myself. The story of Paolini getting published is a story of pure luck, not one of a boy with any especial talent (determination, though - credit where it's due) and I guess people love that. I suppose you could be jealous of Paolini for that, but I would rather make it on my own merit than by fluke and having friends in high places.

(Oh, got to go to work now. I was just getting on a roll.)

 

[the_faery_queen]

totally. though for me, it was mostly that he got published because of his age that annoyed me. not because he wrote something that wasn't that good, or the fluke aspect, because that's life. for me it was the whole, he's 19, he wrote a book, YAY he's amazing, attitude.

BUT i do look at him (and mark Robinson on here) and think, wow. ok, so they marketted themselves, they worked hard, and look what they have to show for it. i could do that. i can be where they are. because despite eragon kid being accepted mostly because of his age, he had to get attention in the first place, and the fact he did that is admirable.

 

[Scriven]

Yeah, I admire him for the effort. The quality of the marketing puts the product to shame. If only they'd stop shoving that stale marketing plug, 'He wrote it at fifteen! (Which he technically didn't.) He graduated at fifteen! (Is that really relevant?)' in our faces. He's not a teenager any more but the teenage-author hype is still being milked for all it's worth.

Will you be reading the third book when it comes out?

 

[the_faery_queen]

um, i haven't read any of them! i probably shouldn't comment on his bad writing until i've read the whole thing, but i tried it and i couldn't get into it and the whole, he got published because he's young, really irratated me so i didn't want to try that hard. and now seeing adverts for the movie, i really dont' want to try even more. the movie lookes pretty cheesy, dragon riders and scars, it's so cliche!
tho the bad guy looks kinda sexy. taht red hair and messed up face

 

[Telperaca]

Eragon has a really pretty fromt cover. Especially the texture. And te book smells so good!
The content is tem times more awesome!

 

[Scriven]

Well, the cover is quite attractive.

um, i haven't read any of them! i probably shouldn't comment on his bad writing until i've read the whole thing, but i tried it and i couldn't get into it and the whole, he got published because he's young, really irratated me so i didn't want to try that hard.

I won't say I recommend it, but it makes for education and entertainment (depending on your sense of humour).

and now seeing adverts for the movie, i really dont' want to try even more. the movie lookes pretty cheesy, dragon riders and scars, it's so cliche!
tho the bad guy looks kinda sexy. taht red hair and messed up face

LOL! I might go and watch the movie out of curiosity (the sort that kills the cat), though preferably not with the parents. They don't know what the book is like and it'd be too embarrassing.

 

[Majimaune]

From all the posters for the movie, if you were judging it off that then I personally would say the movie looks bad.

 

[the_faery_queen]

from posters and tv adverts, to me the movie looks bad. cheesy. makes me cringe actually!

 

[Patrick Mahon]

Anyone else bought The Times in WHSmith's today (UK)? It's got a free MP3-CD of Eragon with it, which looks, at 9 hours, like it is the unabridged version of the audiobook. For 65p, that didn't seem too bad value!

 

[the_faery_queen]

nothing's bad value at 65 pence. but, i have to say, i'd still not buy it!

 

[Majimaune]

Pitty I don't live in the UK.

 

[The Upright Man]

I can't remember if it was in here or it was in a different thread, but aint there a lot of similarities with Star Wars in this books and Eldest.

first of all, Garrow is exactly like Uncle Owen, in the fact he wants Eragon to stay and he doesnt like talking about Brom (obi-wan) or his wild stories. Murtagh is Solo and had hints of Leia (Realated, dont find out till end, of sorts. He was there to save the day, M in Eragon).

Eragon is obviously Luke, both Blond, same build, annoyingly strong with the force/magic, are good pilots/Dragon riders, loves someone royal (Arya/Leia, even tho bro and sis he dint no the first time they met, im not saying Arya and Eragon are related tho.) their fathers are Evil, inherits the blade/sabre. and vanquishes the evil in the end and changes the baddie to good side to save day (we all no murtagh is gonna b good agen and killed Galb but only when Eragon is injured and convinces him 2 turn good agen. hey presto that sounds the same to Star Wars to me)

And Brom is Obi. he knew Morzan/anakin before they turned evil (Morzan the first forsworn and Vader), trained with M/A, admired them, were like brothers.
Brom killed M and obi thought he killed A in sith, Brom/obi is now a hermit thats tells stories of old when the riders/jedi were peacekeepers. they both die to save the protagonists.

also the themes are the same, theres isnt another jedi/rider (except Galb and Vader), and E/luke becomes a new one. Both stories are against the Empire (surise, suprise). they both foil the Empire lots of times. theres a rebel secret base that isnt secret (Yavin??/farthen)

well as you can see Paolini loves SW as much as others and me. all we need now is prequels (oh i hope not, but hey if it makes money.....)

 

[Majimaune]

Ok I think your right. He is also alot like me because he also likes Tolkien. The Raz'ac are almost the same as the Nazgul. Brom is alot like Gandalf as well as Obi. Galbatorix or whatever is Sauron. The Urguls are orks and the Kull (elite Urguls) are the uruki. Eragon is alot like Aragorn (not only in name) loving and elf and all that. Theres more but I cant think right now.