Paolini/The Inheritance Triology (Eragon/Eldest)

[mactombs]

If you're a young writer, you'll probably have strong feelings about CP and Eragon. I'm not going to rant about it, but I want to hear other people's opinions on it.

A few links that may interest you:

Anti-Shurtugal ("where we cry many single tears"): http://www.anti-shurtugal.com/

Ivy's review of Eldest: http://members.aol.com/swankivy/eldest.html

Also, another young writer's first novel: http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6399942.html

If you've only seen the movie, what did you think of it?

[Latro]

I saw the movie and thought it was a quick throw of money at something that had potential.  I never read any of the books so I'm not sure how they compare, but it seems like they threw fantasy ideas without any real character development.

It could have been a good movie, instead it was crap.

[Labyrinthine]

Meh, please don't even try to compare the book and the movie. They are essentially two different things. Movie was HORRID, book was pretty decent.

As for The Inheritance Trilogy, it isn't a masterpiece nor do I believe it was trying to be one. Yes, Paolini may take himself far too seriously, but if you approach the book expecting little more than a fun, easy read then you'll be fine.

Eragon was decent, original (somewhat), but it did have a lot of grammar mistakes, mistakes you would expect from a first time author. Eldest was very different, many of the grammar mistakes were much less noticeable, but you could tell he had an audience this time. That is my biggest and only beef with Eldest in comparison to Eragon.

In comparison to the fun story of Eragon, Eldest introduces a lot of Paolini's personal beliefs. It seems that knowing he would have a captive audience, Paolini decided to interject whatever he felt like at random times. The most memorable of these was the Elve's atheism. Sure he had hinted at it before, but when he took 1-2 pages to do nothing but rant and rave about how religion is stupid, and how god is dead, that bugged me. He should be able to let us know that his characters are a representation of his beliefs without directly telling us.

Other than that, if you approach the books not expecting much, you'll enjoy an easy, fun filled read.

Moving on to the haters of the book. Yeah they are pissed, yes they do exist etc... But I believe their being miffed is mainly their own fault. Although, I can't say too much about the subject because I don't know much about it, what I have managed to glean from those who have based on the book is as follows:
They point out some very valid problems with the book, but completely discredit themselves in the process. If there is a problem you can present in a professional problem without all the yelling and screaming. Making snide jibes at the author who did a bad job puts you in a worse light than the author. These authors need to stop expressing themselves like two year olds and rethink their strategy. Attacking a public figure who has the reputation of a demigod does nothing but bolster the figure and discredit the attacker.

[mactombs]

Thanks for posting, Labyrinthine. I disagree on a few points. You said, "Eragon was decent, original (somewhat), but it did have a lot of grammar mistakes, mistakes you would expect from a first time author." I must add, for a first time teenage author, yes. One that would, rightfully, remain in the slush pile and be quickly rejected afterward. Original? Not even close.

The main beef of Eragon-haters (besides the rampant near-plagairism and god-awful prose) is that he gets fame and profit simply because his parents are publishers. Yes, he did put a lot of effort into promoting his book and all that before an editor saw the hype value behind it, but the truth remains that there are many, many teenage novelists (I was one 16 years ago) and as we mature, we learn what is art and what is childish imitation of art. Paolini is not a prodigy, nor is he that unusual. He's hype gone bad and pissing all over the genre and literature in general (not that this hasn't happened before, if you'd like to consider the horribly hackneyed writing of The Davinci Code [btw, I enjoyed the movie and plot in general], or what almost happened with OJ Simpson).

I also have to disagree that it was an easy, fun read. I approached it open-minded (or as open-minded as I can be given my history), but the book is so horribly written and the plot rips off other greater authors so blatantly and predictably that it's hard to trudge through. It just ruined for me the magic of the novels it ripped off, and even further ruined it when I think that people who have otherwise read very little of the genre read Eragon and think the ideas are great when they'll never experience the originals it stole from. It's pretty good for a teenager just starting out, but it doesn't deserve to kill as many of Canada's forests as it has. Also, since he's gotten so much fame, he isn't learning. I'd have to argue that Eragon is below-average for a second novel.

My little sister likes CP, and that's (almost) okay. I'm not going to lie and say I've come to terms with people liking these books. I'm just saying, from my perspective, Paolini represents the bottom of the genre and I'd hope if you liked that, you'd give some of the good stuff a try. (And seriously, if you've read Lord of the Rings or seen Star Wars ... nevermind).

[/RANT] This topic gets me all riled up.

I agree with Latro, too -- I don't care for the book, but I think they could have done so, so much more with the movie. What a waste of production value. We need more good Fantasy movies.

[Labyrinthine]

I agree with you that he isn't a prodigy and that all the hype about him being one is just that, BS. He's not really that special and his writing style is no better than the average AP English student, not to mention his plot writing ability. Although, while he may be pissing on the genre, writing a good book and making money are two totally different things. That is something you can respect CP for, his ability to make money. There are plenty of authors that know how to write, although they are very few who know how to make money off of their works. CP found a niche and is working it for all that it is worth.

As for the originality debate, I consider that completely and totally a worthless point. There have been so many novels which have ripped off star wars/LOTR that it's just become the standard. While CP may do it more than others, in every single novel ever written I can guarantee you that people will be able to find a way to claim it stole things from SW/LOTR.

[The Grandfather]

wow laby and mac, i love you!

[Powdered!]

wow laby and mac, i love you!

too kind

[Labyrinthine]

Ok, now I want to know what it really said...

[The Grandfather]

Powdered=post changing ho.