Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2)
by Christopher Paolini
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Book Reviews of Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2)
Book Review: Joint Review of Eragon and Eldest
Summary: 5 Stars
When I first heard about Eragon, I assumed it was just another popular fantasy series, much like Harry Potter or Animorphs, a book that was just literary candy, and not worth reading. I decided not to read it, and checked out other titles from the library. Justin received the book as a gift, and during my recent business trip to Washington D.C. he consumed the work in a single day, and made it clear to me that I should read this book. I obliged, as the story (from what I knew) was somewhat intriguing, and after finishing it, I gave it almost a perfect score. Engaged by the author's wonderfully sculpted tale, I ordered the sequel, thus creating this dual review.
When reading works by the author J R Tolkien, one is often bombarded by a world (Middle Earth) that has a complex history, many languages, and a detailed geography. Tolkien brought every bit of this complexity in his stories, and although incredible in the literary sense, and enjoyable to a degree, it always makes me tired when trying to digest the entire universe of information, contained in his books. Paolini, the up and coming author of the Inheritance trilogy (of which a third book has not yet been finished) has taken the complex world concept, and removed the unimportant stuff. His world has a detailed history, rich geography, and many cultures with their own languages, but these elements are slowly conveyed to the reader, and not set in the literary path to stumble over. He has formed one or two main languages that can be followed, some main characters in current events and past ones, and a compact slew of geographical locations that can be assimilated in to the imagining mind.
Eragon
This book opens begins the young boy Eragon, a farm boy living with his Uncle Garrow, and his cousin Roran, near the town of Carvahall. Eragon's mother has long since disappeared, and the identity of his father is unknown. It is a year before his 16th birthday (the year he becomes a man) and Eragon is already a skilled hunter, a capable and sturdy individual. In an attempt to provide his small family with meat for the winter, Eragon can be found in the beginning of Eragon, to be stalking a herd of deer in the mountains behind his home. Just before his arrow is released, killing his prey, a bright flash scares the deer, and he is robbed of his prize. On the ground before him, lays a polished blue stone, which immediately catches the attention of this curious boy. Eragon, while disappointed in his loss, takes the stone home, hoping to sell it for food.
Eragon attempts to sell the stone, and is unable to due to the superstition and fear surrounding strange objects. When even a passing trader won't buy the stone, Eragon decides to keep it. In the middle of the night, Eragon is awoken by a loud scratching sound, which he soon realizes comes from the blue object. When a tiny dragon crawls from the shards of what was actually an egg. Eragon realizes the enormity of what he has discovered.
Eragon lives in the kingdom of Alageasia, a kingdom that at one time lived in peace, protected by a group of warriors astride dragons. They were the dragon riders, and prosperity, safety, and justice reigned where they presided. But after being betrayed by one of their own, a rider named Galbatorix, they are slowly destroyed, and the age of peace slowly erodes into despair. Galbatorix takes the thrown, and for over a hundred years, rules with a cruel hand.
When the egg hatches, Eragon realizes that he has been chosen by fate to be the next dragon rider, and that under his leadership, peace can once more be brought to Alageasia. However, the king has already sent soldiers to kill Eragon, and when they do not find him, they instead hill his adopted father Garrow, leaving Eragon with a desire for revenge. With the help of the local storyteller Brom, and with the intimate companionship of his young dragon Saphira, Eragon leaves Carvahall, to find the creatures that have killed his father, and to seek refuge with a resistance group called the Varden. Having become a hunted man, and being still a farm hand, Eragon is trained by Brom, who shows an unusual knowledge of warfare and magic, in the ways of swordsmanship, magic, and dragon riding and warfare.
Having become a dragon rider, Eragon is blessed with long life, unusual strength, and the ability to communicate with Saphira telepathically. As he travels throughout the land of Alageasia, he meets many creatures, both friend and foe, and is finally brought to the far reaches of the kingdom, in the mountain city of Tronjheim where the dwarves live deep in the recesses of the mountain. With the dwarves are hidden the forces of the Varden, and Eragon finds himself accepted into this outlaw community as a leader and a warrior. As the curtain to this chapter of the trilogy draws to a close, the city is attacked by enemy forces, and a great battle ensues. This book leaves the reader with a somewhat peaceful conclusion, but sets the stage for many more adventure to come.
Eldest
After the great battle of Tronjheim, in which the forces of dwarves and Varden are victorious. Eragon is hailed as a hero, for having killed the sorcerer in charge of the enemy forces. His victory over this dangerous foe is indeed great, but he is left with a deep wound running down the length of his back, that throws him into seizures when he over exerts himself. Eragon decides to travel to the northern woods of Du Weldenvarden, and to the elven city of Ellesmera where he can complete his training as a dragon rider. He leaves the mountains of the dwarves, and begins the long journey to the complete opposite side of the empire, having to travel by horseback, so as not to leave behind the dwarves and elves that accompany him.
During this time, the reader is given a more thorough introduction to Roran, the cousin of the dragon rider. After the kings forces fail to capture Eragon, they turn their attention to Roran. Leading the kings troups, are the Raz'ac, strange and evil creatures, who are masterminds of strategy, and while not users of magic, employ sheer fright of their appearance as perhaps their greatest weapon. These forces descend of the peaceful town of Carvahall, and Roran is forced to lead the village to defend itself from the attacking foe. Repelled by angry villagers again and again, the Raz'ac sneak into the town, and kidnap Katrina, who is engaged to Roran. This is a deathly blow to Roran's spirit, but he is able to convince the entire village to journey with him to the lands in the south, in hopes of finding the Varden and joining forces with them to defeat the empire. Throw trial by fire, we soon see that Roran is a born leader, a powerful fighter (known as Roran Stronghammer) and that the people who once lived in peace, can just as easily become a formidable force.
It is a long and perilous journey through the northern mountains, and sickness and misfortune seek to dissuade the people of Carvahall. But they soon reach the sea shore town of Narda, where they hope to employ a vessel to take them by sea to the country of Surda, which borders Alageasia to the south, and is in open support of the Varden. Fate seems pitted against them, and there is not a single ship to be found that can hold the 200 people of the tiny village, but Roran is determined, and an epic tale is formed from these circumstances.
Meanwhile, having arrived in the great elven city of Ellesmera, Eragon begins training further in warfare, and magic. To use magic, one must speak a command in the ancient language, and the action which is performed by the magic, such as lifting a stone, withdraws the same amount of energy from the user, as if he were to lift the stone normally. These means, that if someone where to try and perform an act which he would not be able to do otherwise, the energy would drain from him, and the magic would kill him. Eragon, being a dragon rider, has an unusual amount of power for a human, but his greatest weapon, is the massive amount of energy that Saphira can lend to his power, creating a Rider and Dragon, that are almost and unstoppable force.
Eragon soon learns to heal using magic, start fire, hunt, draw water from the ground, and even kill an enemy by using his power to stop their heart, or pinch off a blood vessel to the head. He is becomes and incredible swordsman, and a fast and agile fighter. Saphira, now almost a 8 months old, can breath fire, fly long distances, carry several people, and is both wise and powerful.
The sum of these parallel tales, leads to a thrilling conclusion at the end of this book. Although most of the book is devoid of thrilling action on the part of Eragon, it takes you so deep in to this world, that the slow everyday life that you encounter of the elves is refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable. Paolini has worked very hard at keeping his facts lined up, so each new piece of information gained about the world he has created, fits perfectly into the puzzle, and brings a vast amount of depth to this book. The end chapters are nonstop action, and the cliffhanger at the end of the book leaves me yearning for the third installment in this series. I gave this book a slightly lower score for some of the characters I did not appreciate as much, and for some of the needless conversation
Book Review: (2.5 stars) Luke and Leia meet again...well, sort of.
Summary: 2 Stars
Warning: This review contains mild spoilers (for those of you who haven't seen STAR WARS or read THE LORD OF THE RINGS and don't know what to expect).
At the beginning of ELDEST, the second book in Christopher Paolini's Inheritance trilogy, Eragon and Saphira have survived the battle at Tronjheim and have defeated the Shade Durza, but their problems are just beginning. Alagaesia remains under the control of the evil King Galbatorix, who is regrouping from his losses in Uru'baen and continues to wreak havoc throughout the Empire. With the shocking asassination of their leader, the hopes of a victory for the Varden rest solely upon the shoulders of Eragon, the last Rider in Alagaesia, and his dragon Saphira. Since Eragon still has much to learn of gramarye (magic), he upholds the oath he made at the end of ERAGON: to go to Ellesmera, the elvish city in the depths of the forest of Du Weldenvarden, and seek out the Cripple Who Is Whole to complete his training.
Meanwhile, back in Carvahall, Eragon's cousin Roran is being hunted by the vengeful Ra'zac, who have been ordered by King Galbatorix to seek out Eragon, the traitor who wishes to supplant him. When Roran refuses to comply with the Ra'zac's wishes, his decision proves disastrous for the people of Carvahall: The Ra'zac attack their village, burning buildings and killing (or eating) all who stand in their path. When attempts to fight the Ra'zac fail, and when the evil creatures kidnap Roran's fiancee Katrina, Roran knows he must take drastic action. Becoming the surprise leader of his people, Rorn devises a plan: to leave Carvahall forever and travel to the coast, in hopes of finding a ship to carry him and the rest of the village South to Surda, where he hopes the independent state will offer them protection from the Empire.
In Surda, the Varden are preparing for war. Nasuada, the young leader of the rebels, is devastated to learn that Galbatorix has amassed an army a hundred thousand strong, who are at that moment advancing on Surda. Nasuada is desperate for allies, desperate for Eragon to return from Ellesmera and offer a glimmering hope of victory. A young girl named Elva, the cursed result of a blessing from Eragon gone wrong, does nothing to allay her fears...
Ahhh, another epic adventure from young Master Paolini. It seems I'm in the minority when I say that I wasn't a big fan of ERAGON. I know most fantasy stories have the same overlying theme--our young hero learns he's not who he thought he was and embarks on a quest to rid the world of evil--but Paolini's tale was just a bit *too* derivative for me. [...] The themes of all the masters--Tolkien, George Lucas, LeGuin, McCaffrey, even the unknown author of BEOWULF (Hrothgar, anyone?)--are all present and accounted for in Paolini's works. ELDEST continues this trend; similarities between Paolini's novel and the works of the greats abound. Paolini's Ellesmera is a dead ringer for Tolkien's Lothlorien, right down to the homes within trees and hypnotic singing. Islanzadi, the elvish queen, says at one point in the novel, "I am diminished," which, as we LORD OF THE RINGS fans will know, is quite similar to Galadriel's "I will diminish." English majors such as myself will recognize "In the kindom by the sea," a line in a poem Eragon writes, as the beginning of a poem Edgar Allen Poe wrote a hundred years ago entitled "Annabelle Lee." There are countless other examples of this...
But, even though the similarities are still there, they didn't bother me as much in ELDEST as they did in ERAGON (perhaps because I was expecting them to be there, thus the shock factor was absent). In ELDEST, Paolini is getting to the meat of his story, and, while the overarching themes are still derivative, I have to admit that many of the details are much more original. No, no, what really bothered me about ELDEST was that, despite its incredible length of nearly 700 pages, it is actually an incredibly empty novel.
What do I mean by that? Well, Paolini takes pains to describe every person, place, and thing (every noun) in his novel using exquisite detail (and tons of adjectives); yet, his efforts don't effectively paint a picture of what he's trying so hard to describe to his readers. Now that the rights to the Inheritance novels have been sold to Hollywood, Paolini's technical descriptions read as though he's merely trying to descibe things for a set designer who's going to recreate his world on film.
And his characters are just as hollow as his descriptions, exceedingly one-dimensional creations. The elvish city, the elves themselves, their culture and practices, are all Tolkien's vision, with one thing lacking: the life that Tolkien breathed into his creations. Paolini's elves don't have the vibrancy, the sadness, the luminosity, the etheral wisdom, that Tolkien's had. I'm not saying that I expect Paolini's storytelling to be as good as Tolkien's (I don't); but I have to say that, since Paolini did such a good job of emulating Tolkien in other parts of the narrative, I had high hopes for the elves.
And it's not just the elves that are one-dimensional and disappointing. I was hard-pressed to feel any emotion for any character at all in this book--with the exception, maybe, of Roran, who stepped up to the role of rebel hero so endearingly to save the woman he loved. Eragon himself seemed flat to me. His transition from a novice magician to a master is unconvincing; Paolini ineffectively uses the power of the dragons as a scapegoat. Although--I may be in the minority when I say this--I very much enjoyed Eragon's attempts to woo Arya. They were so amateurish, so awkward and uncomfortable, that they rang very true to me when looking at the writer from which they came: a young man himself who probably has very little experience with females (especially since he lives in the Big Sky Country of Montana with his parents). Arya, however, is a thoroughly unlikeable character. Paolini tells us again and again how beautiful she is, how tortured by her past, but she does not incite sympathy; she's just needlessly frigid and cruel.
During Eragon's training, he and his teacher, The Mourning Sage (a.k.a. The Cripple Who Is Whole or Oromis), have a discussion about religion. Oromis is adamant when he tells Eragon that the elves do not believe in a higher power; instead, they believe that nature itself is the force that sustains the world. The point of view expressed is almost pagan, and such a discussion of atheism in a children's book was highly troubling to me.
But I guess that raises the question: Is the Inheritance trilogy really meant for children? Paolini is once again working his good friend the Thesaurus overtime in this outing, punctuating his rather elementary prose with words so sophisticated even I wasn't sure of their meaning at times.
Paolini's languages, though derivative, are admittedly creative; however, they are poorly utilized in his novels. It gets rather tedious having to flip to the glossary at the end of the novel every time someone speaks the Ancient Language, Dwarvish, or Urgal (which is often). A more gifted writer would be able to make the meaning of the foreign words inherent, using context to draw out the translations.
The bottom line is this: Paolini just isn't a very good writer. His dialogue is stilted and unrealistic; the world he's created falls flat under poor description; his characters are one-dimensional; he lacks that ability to draw the reader in emotionally. His success is a result of good timing, a clever marketing scheme exploiting his age and upbringing, and some heavy borrowing from writers who took years perfecting their craft.
The one good part about this novel was the end. And no, I don't mean when the book actually *ended*; I'm not trying to be sarcastic. The battle between the Varden and the Empire at the end of ELDEST is quite exciting, although a bit too long and tedious in coming. There is, of course, the final STAR WARS-esque twist (although not utilized as effectively here as when George Lucas did it). The ending is action-packed, something I'll look forward to seeing in a film.
And I guess that's really the point, isn't it? No matter how much I sit here and criticize Paolini, no matter how much I [...] dislike his prose, the fact is, he's sucked me in. I don't know what it is, but I have to admit that I'm eager to read the third volume in the trilogy, and to see ERAGON when it hits theatres this winter. In spite of myself, for some reason, I guess I actually liked this novel. And for getting me to admit that, ELDEST gets 2.5 stars instead of just 2.
Book Review: Not bad, but not exceptional (SPOILERS)
Summary: 2 Stars
About a week ago, I finished the second book in Christopher Paolini's fantasy trilogy, Eldest. The preceding volume, entitled Eragon after the main character's name, was an astounding achievement for the mere fact that Mr. Paolini was nineteen when it was published. What's even more impressive about it is that he started after graduating from high school at age fifteen. However, after that, the impressiveness ends. The book is full of corny dialogue, stock characters, illogical progression, and what we might term plagiarism except that the story is not copied word for word. I would like to paraphrase another Amazon.com review of the latest book regarding the entire trilogy thus far: reading these books is like visiting Las Vegas - sure, you've got New York and Paris and whatnot all there, but they're mere shadows of the real thing. True word; Eragon seems to be a collection of all the successful elements of fantasy novels and stories. The Ancient Language as the basis of magic, an evil Empire, even the Dragon Riders, which one could write an entire essay on how these are completely unoriginal in name or theory (Dragonriders of Pern meets the Jedi Order?).
The story that most stuck out in my mind, however, was Star Wars. George Lucas could sue the guy for copyright infringement and probably would win.
Then, Eldest came out and I was very excited. Hey, let's face it: when you rip-off good fantasy elements, even when combined with mediocre writing, you're bound to hit a winner. Eldest proved to be much better written, but much more hackneyed as well. I kept thinking "Star Wars" and inserting "Luke Skywalker" for "Eragon." To his credit, he probably realized what he was doing and made at least a feeble attempt at the end to change it slightly.
Let's take into consideration the storyline of the trilogy so far:
Eragon is young man living on a farm with his extended family, which includes his uncle, Garrow, and his cousin, Roran (Owen and Beru Lars). He never knew his mother or his father and has no way of knowing who they were. One day, he finds a dragon egg (droids) that fell from the sky after being magically transported to his home after its carrier for safety (were jettisoned in an escape pod). This egg (though he doesn't realize what it is at the time) is the last hope of a small rebel group opposing the evil empire and its king, who is a powerful Dragon Rider, the last of a mystical group of super-powerful warriors endowed with the Force...er, magical abilities (Palpatine). The egg bearer, though, has no way of knowing where the egg will turn up and is counting on it coming close to the old guy, Brom (Obi-Wan) who helped out the rebels a few years ago, and indeed founded their group, as we learn in Eldest. The egg carrier was an elven princess (Leia) who was captured by a shade called Durza (Durza = Death Star? Hmm) who took her to an Imperial prison.
Anyway, Eragon's egg hatches and Ta-Da! He has a lightsaber...I mean, dragon. Suddenly, the Empire's agents turn up in Eragon's hometown looking for the egg (stormtroopers looking for R2 and 3PO). They kill his uncle, though Eragon is conveniently gone at the time, and Brom offers to teach Eragon the ways of the Dragon Rider and travel with him to avenge his uncle's death (Okay, so the motive is original...kinda). Brom leads Eragon on a whirlwind journey that takes them south to a seaport to fine out where they're going, (Mos Eisly, though this analogy is slightly flawed due to the proportional distances in Star Wars and Eragon), to the Empire's agents' lair (erm...another original plot point...I got nothin'...), and then Brom is killed by these same agents defending Eragon (ah-HA!). Eragon and his dragon Saphira then meet Murtagh (Han Solo) and they travel north together to the prison where the elf is. They rescue her and escape the Empire's armies, but the Empire uses them the track the location of the rebel's secret base...wow. Why didn't they just put a homing beacon on the Millennium Falcon? Oh, wait...they kinda did...
Anyways, Eragon and Murtagh (Luke and Han) are accepted into the rebels' ranks on account that they brought the dragon (Death Star plans) and elven princess (Leia) to them and help in the battle between the Empire and the Rebels. That alone looks like a summary of Star Wars. Long story short, Eragon battles Durza, who is distracted for a moment by Saphira (Millennium Falcon) and he plunges his sword (proton torpedo) into Durza's heart (Death Star's exhaust shaft). End Eragon.
Begin Eldest. Now that Brom is dead, Eragon needs someone else to continue his Dragon Rider training (little green frogman, anyone?). Fortunately, a vision at the very end of Eragon reveals that there is such a one in the elven forest (Dagobah), far from the reaches of the Empire. Unfortunately, Murtagh apparently dies very early on and the Han Solo role is now filled by a dwarf called Orik. They travel to the forest where Eragon begins training under a crippled old elven Dragon Rider (Paolini's philosophy on rip-offs: try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.) and things are pretty cool for a while. Now, meanwhile, Roran is pissed about his dad's death and is on his way to a small rebel country in the south, loosely affiliated with the rebel organization that Eragon joined. So forth and so on, Eragon's training starts off bad then goes good, then he sees a vision of Roran and decides he needs to go help him. His master doesn't particularly like it, but he lets him go. "Master," Eragon says, "I promise I will return and finish what I've begun, you have my word." Then the ghost of Brom says "It is you and your abilities the Emperor wants; that is why your friends are made to suffer." Well, not actually, but he could've.
So Eragon goes and gets there at just the same time a big battle is starting between the rebel organization, which has joined the rebel country (probably for tax reasons) when he confronts (der gasp) ANOTHER DRAGON RIDER!! He battles this dude, is seriously whooped, and then learns that this mysterious figure is actually Murtagh and Murtagh is actually his brother and their father was the second most evil guy in the land (ah, the many incarnations of Darth Vader in these books; it is a big role to fill). Highly unlikely, yet inevitably coincidental familial relationship with the bad guys: check. Eragon argues that Murtagh does not need to follow the bad guys, that there is good in him (wait a sec...this isn't supposed to come until Return of the Jedi...). Murtagh just takes his sword (though not his hand - I guess when you're working in fantasy you can't replace body parts as easily as in Star Wars), leaving Eragon without his mystical sword that does not break and has a jewel set in the hilt that affects the color (and a beam of light comes out the end when you flick the switch on). Meanwhile, there's a huge battle going behind them (he had to move Hoth to the end of this volume, I guess) in which Roran joins up with them. Afterward, Eragon is talking to Roran and decides that, even though his father was one bad guy and his brother he never knew until now, Garrow was always his true father and Roran his real brother. Aww. This is the worst part - he actually says, "Search your feelings, you know it to be true." Original lines at least, please. End Eldest.
Okay, I'm a writer and I know and appreciate that anything anybody writes do is going to, in some small way, be influenced by other stories that are dear to the author. Essentially, there is nothing 100% original these days, and I accept that. But when you steal an entire storyline from Star Wars and get on the New York Times bestselling list for it?! Sad. On the other hand, it's good for me, because it means I have that much better a chance of getting published someday. Although, it would help if MY parents owned a publishing company...
These books could easily be re-titled, in my opinion, and they would work just as well. Eragon Episode IV: A New Dragon Rider. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (that one had me laughing when I thought of it). And coming soon - Episode VI: Return of the Clichés.
In conclusion, Eldest is a far cry better than its predecessor, though it's still highly plagued with all manner of poor characterization and weak dialogue (the love scenes make George Lucas look like a professional romance writer), plus a certain tendency to overuse "big words" where they don't particularly fit. It's mediocre at best. Although, I do have to say the storyline was excellent. Like something I've seen before.
Book Review: Even worse than the first book
Summary: 1 Stars
Most authors improve as time goes on, but Christopher Paolini has gotten worse since his lamentably poor first novel "Eragon." This book, the second in the Inheritance trilogy, shows all the flaws of the first book, with even more on top.
For starters, the parallels with "Star Wars" and "Lord of the Rings" are so blatant that it's almost funny. Oromis is a blatant Yoda clone, and Nasuda is an obvious rip-off of Eowyn. And of course, there's the "shocking" plot twist which we all saw coming from a mile off, in which it's revealed that Murtagh is Eragon's brother (identical to how Darth Vader turned out to be Luke's father...I suppose even Paolini realised that resorting to the "I am your father" cliché was one plagarism too far), followed by the phrase "Search your feelings, you know it to be true" which is taken straight from "Star Wars." Oh yes...and let's not forget Morgothar and Elessari, whose names are clear copies of Morgoth and Elessar from "Lord of the Rings." And those are just the rip-offs of two series! He's also stolen from the likes of Anne McCaffrey (the parallels with her "Dragonriders" books are so blatant that I'm surprised she doesn't sue him), Ursula K Le Guin, David Eddings, JK Rowling, and hundreds of other authors. He even steals from the James Bond films (the idea of Eragon becoming an elf sounds suspiciously similar to Bond becoming Japanese in "You Only Live Twice"). Note to Paolini...you seriously need to get some ideas of your own, or it'll reach a point where nobody will read your books as they'll just be rip-offs of others.
Paolini also inserts complicated words every few pages (his favourite one being "stymied"). Most of them are out of place, and none of them are likely to be familiar to the target audience. There are bucketloads of forced dialogue (such as the infamous "last words" exchange near the beginning), and the same long, boring description that plagued "Eragon" shows up here too. The subplot involving Roran and Katrina was dull and uninteresting, and will probably amount to nothing by the time the Inheritance trilogy is over. He uses the word "aye" over and over again, and endlessly violates the "show it, don't tell it" rule of writing. Oh yes...and there are his pathetic attempts at trying to sound wise and philosophical by sticking in blatant morals about vegetarianism every few minutes. All of these come to together to make "Eldest" one of the worst sequels ever written.
And sadly, Paolini is going to continue making these mistakes. He refuses to listen to advice from his reviewers, and goes around crowing about his ability to write with "lyrical beauty." The fact of the matter is, he isn't a writer, and probably never will be one. His attitude to writing is summed up perfectly in his now infamous quote "Characters are born out of necessity" (we could probably have guessed at that anyway, as he is totally incapable of creating a three-dimensional character). As any true writer will tell you, characters are living, breathing creatures almost with minds of their own. Unfortunately, Paolini doesn't seem to have grasped that yet, hence the reason why he clearly thinks he's God's gift to the world of books.
I'm not going to bother reading the third book, as I already know exactly what will happen in it. The whole thing will be a blatant rip-off of "Return of the Jedi" with even more "Lord of the Rings" clones thrown in. And I know precisely how the last scene will go. Eragon will give himself up to Murtagh, who will take him to Emperor Galbatorix. Murtagh and Eragon will duel, and Eragon will mortally wound Murtagh. Emperor Galbatorix will torture Eragon, but Murtagh, with the last of his strength, will kill him. Then he will die in the arms of Eragon, who will escape just in time to avoid death. Meanwhile, the Varden will destroy the Empire despite the Empire having phenemonally powerful weaponry at their disposal. Oh yes, and Arya will realise she loved Eragon all along, and the two of them will get married and settle down. Yawn, yawn, yawn. I certainly won't be reading it, and I advice people not to read this piece of garbage either.
And by the way, I also have a few words to say to fans of the Inheritance trilogy. I honestly don't think I've seen a more obsessive fanbase of any book or film series before. This pages are swamped with Eragon fanatics who cannot bear to hear a word against this supposedly wonderful piece of literature. They give low helpfulness ratings to poor reviews, and come up with increasingly silly reasons as to why its awfulness should be allowed. As others have done before me, I intend to refute the main arguments put forward by Eragon fans in defence of their favourite book series. Here goes...
- "He's only a child, leave him alone." For starters he isn't a child any more. And secondly, he's a published author, and therefore we have the right to criticise him despite his age.
- "It's a children's book, so it's alright for it to be poor." That is cruel and untrue. Children have as much right as adults to be given good books to read, and to say that its awfulness is okay because it's a children's book is just wrong.
- "I don't see you writing a book at his age." So what you're basically saying is that only published authors have the right to criticise books. Sorry, that's not true either. You don't need to be an author to recognise a bad book...you simply have to be a reader.
- "It's not plagarism, it's influence from other authors." There's a line between being influenced by your favourite authors and plagarising from them, and Paolini crossed that line almost from Page 1 of "Eragon." Many authors use ideas that others have used before them, but they will make the ideas their own, and take them in their own direction. Paolini has used hundreds of ideas from other authors, and not once has he added his own touches to them. And if you still think he hasn't plagarised from other authors, compare the names "Aragorn," "Arwen" and "Isengard" to "Eragon," "Arya," "Ardwen" and "Isenstar." The parallels are right there.
- "If you liked the authors Paolini stole from, you must like Paolini." No we mustn't. An earlier reviewer said it better than I could...we want to read an original, well-written book, not a flimsy rip-off.
- "You're just out to criticise it." No we're not. The majority of "Eldest" haters picked the book up with the intention of reading it, not with the intention of coming to Amazon and saying "Urgh, it stinks!"
And last but not least, my personal favourite...
- "You all suck." If you can't accept that other people have a right to an opinion, you're not going to get very far in life.
The Eragon fanatics need to accept that there are people out there who dislike Paolini's work (and justifiably so). But I don't know why I'm bothering saying this...the fanatics ignored all the previous reviewers who tried to put them straight, and I don't see why they'll pay any attention to me. But at least I can say I tried.
Book Review: It's good...it's great...oh, and he CHOKES at the finish!
Summary: 4 Stars
I have read Christopher Paolini's works from a standpoint that I believe I alone may hold. I am currently eighteen years old--younger than him--but I, too, am harboring ambitions to be a writer. The sickening irony is that when I was fourteen, I had begun laying out a novel--centered around a dragon. Naturally, I am still astonished and mystified as to how this coincidence happened.
But as an aspiring author, I have read his works through the eyes of both a superior and a learner. I have been able to look scornfully at the pages, while all of the while studying his work and learning. In short, I feel that I am writing the story myself as I read it--a feeling that is indescribable. Bear this in mind through my review--I will keep my criticism to a minimum. Paolini has succeeded where I have not yet attempted to go, and he is--for lack of a better term--no better than me. But he is no worse, either. If I want to be successful, too, I must learn from him. And at the same time, fix his mistakes. I sound arrogant, but I am merely voicing my opinion. Nothing I say should be taken as fact, save the first two or three sentences.
Okay, I completely reread Eragon right before I read Eldest (after a week-long wait and longer anticipation), and I was once again able to pick up on some flaws in Eragon. Poorly written beginning, multiple copied plot lines, and some instances where he could have/should have elaborated more. But as the story moved along, I could see his writing picking up in quality as he became a better writer from experience, as he got more involved--the same has happened to me, and I can see that aspect, and I was impressed.
In Eldest, he kept his flow.
This book had no weak start. This one started out explosively, darkly, and miserably--though (Spoiler alert) I was not fooled for a second in thinking that Murtagh or the Twins were dead. I knew what was going on all along. But aside from that, the story began picking up very well.
I was startled--but soon enough, thrilled--when it switched over from Eragon to Roran. I had assumed that it would be completely from Eragon's view again; but it was not. I actually began to enjoy the Roran side more (I'll elaborate later).
Then, another twist--Nasauda had her perspective given as well. So now we were in a 3-point view. (Which, now that I think of it, oddly echoes The Two Towers...) This gave the story more life and suspense.
There were a few things, though, that jarred me slightly; the raven croaking out rhymes of "ore" was a little...distracting from the story. So was "Barges? We don't need no stinking barges!" And I also noticed that there was a god named Morgothar and a species of bear named Beorn, but those are acceptable; perhaps Beorn is an ancient word for bear?
I was actually loving the book as I read it. It was fascinating, a developing story that had surpassed its predecessor by Chapter Four.
Sadly, that was before it started to lose credibility.
There was one point in the story where the Varden discovered that an enemy army was marching on their nation--an army one hundred thousand strong. They said that Galbatorix had used his power to hide their presence, and keep the illusion that the army was much smaller.
I bought that for a moment--then, suddenly, I realized what he was up to.
I knew that it was the other way around; there weren't really one hundred thousand men marching, it was a false dispatch. And the Varden were falling for it.
Sadly, they were right and I was wrong.
It was too predictable, too shallow, too...simple. But I was fresh from Harry Potter, and the complex mysteries that Rowling weaves had me jumping at shadows.
Then, I scowled when Eragon did the Luke Skywalker maneuver and left his teacher (parody of Yoda) and flew off to save the day.
The battle was fought, and I began to feel better. It was a dramatic scene, with a massive conflict, and a host of new twists and plot changes.
Then came the thing that made me drop the book a full two stars, robbing it of its five-star raing.
The red dragon flew in, and Eragon fought it; but I was thinking there, "Eragon and his dragon are several months older than that one--shouldn't they have the clear advantage?" But no, they were outmatched.
Then came the thing that I had predicted when I reread Eragon, that I had feared from long before that, and that was responsible for the drop.
"No, Eragon. I am your brother. Morzan is your father."
I do not mean to boast or sound arrogant at all, but I cannot deny that in my mind, I have thought that I could have plotted out a better conclusion to the book. One where the entire army WAS a ruse, and they swept in behind and cut off the Varden, taking their cities and effectively ending the war. With the help of Murtagh, of course.
When I reread Eragon, I predicted/realized that Selena was Murtagh's mother as well as Eragon's--but I hoped that someone else, perhaps Brom, was his father. So they would be half-brothers. That would not have annoyed me...but maybe that's how it will turn out?
Like I mentioned before, I wish that we had seen more of Roran. Initially, I thought that he was the "Eldest" referred to, that he would be taken by Galbatorix and turned to the Dark Side...he is Eragon's cousin, after all. But then, when Roran's story grew more interesting, I was rooting him on. He had my full support. But I was very disappointed in the end; I thought that his act of heroism in the conclusion seemed extremely forced.
Overall, though, it was an enjoyable read. It was well-written, had Paolini's ingenius plot--for, despite the stolen pieces, he can certainly make a magnificent story--and had once again proven his mastery of his world. I was excited to see the Ra'zac and their steeds, but I was once again disappointed that we had not yet met Galbatorix--which makes me all the more enthusiastic for the sequel.
75%, C. An average, but enjoyable, book.