Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2)
by Christopher Paolini
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Book Reviews of Eldest (Inheritance, Book 2)
Book Review: Solid, but easily forgettable...
Summary: 2 Stars
This "Inheritance" trilogy has inspired more animosity then I have seen in a very long time. Their is litterally a great divide here, with many hailing Paolini as the next Tolkien, while others say that he will be the downfall of fantasy literature. Personally, I think BOTH sides are giving him way to much credit.
Let's start off with the pro-Paolini crew. I honestly have to wonder if you have actually read any other fantasy novels out there. If you have, you will notice that Eldest is saturated with cliches which Paolini attempts to hide by calling his work 'archetypal.' The attempt at portraying true love is laughable at best with the protagonist litterally calling a girl "as beautiful as a flower." That type of stuff makes me cringe. It seems to me that Paolini doesn't get his writing from real life experience, but instead from the many different authors that he has read before. Without experience, the emotions of Eldest come out as regurgetated garbage. I do not need to delve to deeply into the storyline itself for that has been mentioned numerous times before. I will say though that Paolini has got away with plagiarism. He copied names of places and towns, people, and plots by tweaking them only slightly so as to get away with it. For an avid reader, he fails at sneaking that theivery by us. It stuck out with each new page that I read. I must also say that I am dissapointed that Paolini failed to add anything original to the fantasy genre. Everything he wrote about HAS been used before; everything. That takes the excitement from the book.
Another problem I have is Paolini's arrogance. In reviewing himself, he said "I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between Tolkien at his best, and Seamus Henney's translation of Beowulf." That is ridiculous. Plagiraism doesn't put you on the same plane as the one you stole it from. HIs arrognace can also be seen with the agenda's that he peppers into the book, such as the assertion that eating meat is barbaric and that the human race is a collection of bumbling idiots. To top it all off, he feels the need to use obscure words to make himself feel smarter then he really is. I have no problem with a big vocabulary, IF the words fit in the context they are used and if they help get a certain point across. HIs words just feel awkward and take away from the flow of the reading. In conclusion, I find Paolini to be a literary thief who hides and sells his book with his age, rather then any particular merits.
At the same time, I think the anti-Paolini groups are taking thier opinions way overboard. Sure the story is horrible and contrived and rittled with cliches, but you are all giving him way to much credit. I have read some reviews that say he will be the ruin of children's literature. To me, that's a bit extreme. I see the Inheritance trilogy as a fad fueled by the vaccum created by the last Harry Potter book. When this seriies is over with, it will be forgotten and a new writer will emerge. For all of you vehement anti-Paolini people, you are feeding right into Pailoni's niche and are, by some degree, the reason why his book is so popular. Debate and conflict is one of the greatest marketing tools available. I also want to add that some of these negative reviews are a bit exxagerated. It's a mediocre book, (at best), but you must take it as it is. Although I am discusted at how much Paolini stole, I must reluctantly commend him for getting som many young kids to read. He succeeded in that regard and I can only hope that it will inspire people to read books of a higher quality.
I must say that all this attention is a bit baffling. It doesn't seem like it warrants it in any way, from any viewpoint. I will read the last installment of the trilogy for the sole purpose of a closure to what has been a strange ride. As a positve, I will say that Paolini has imroved since Eragon, although his style needs a lot of fine tuning and work. The Inheritance Trilogy is a rebound for Harry Potter. If you are going to buy it, know what it is you are reading and take it as it is. Don't expect any powerful revelations or philosophical intrigue, but maybe that was intended. Until the next book, I sign off. Thank you for reading my review.
Book Review: The Bad, The Ugly and The...Wait, There Isn't Anything Good!
Summary: 2 Stars
Instead of a lengthy review on how terrible this book is, I will give you points on the good and bad aspects of the book. Let's begin with the good side, shall we?
Good
-Murtagh. You have to wait nearly the entirety of the book for him to reappear again, but it's worth it. He's the only character I get excited over in this entire trilogy nowadays, and that's because he's now more mysterious than ever. I do wish that he'd described Murtagh's tormenting by the Twins rather than the exceedingly boring tales of Moses Roran. Murtagh is the reason why this book recieves two stars.
Sadly enough, that's all the good points I have!
Bad
-Predictable, there's nothing you haven't seen before in Eldest. I figured out Eragon's relationship with Murtagh as soon as Murtagh retold his childhood, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. All you have to do is watch Star Wars.
-"Borrowing" ideas from the likes of Tolkein and other fantasy greats. The elegant and beautiful elves in the enchanted forests and the mountain dwelling, axe wielding, beer chugging dwarves are all too familiar. As are the Urglas similarity to the Orcs. I could name many other things, but most of you get the idea by now.
-Preaching: Unlike the Orcs, Urgals are suddenly given an intelligent brain in order for C. Paolini to get all preachy on us about not being racist against monsters that kill babies and throw them on top of mounds of dead, innocent villagers' bodies just because Galbatorix promises to help them. I'm sorry, but I don't feel any sympathy for murderers, Mr Paolini. Also, he forces the all too corny ideals of eleves upon his unwitting readers. While vegetarianism is fine, it is slightly tedious to read about Eragon and his vegetarian struggles, because it's so unbelievable and two-dimensional.
-Arya and romance. Please, spare us Paolini, from your horrible, unrealistic romances and all of your horrible cliches! Hero falling for perfect elven princess, it is at first unrequited...heard it all before. Please, come up with something new and unique! Plus, you don't feel for Arya either, because she's unlikeable. She's cold, removed, and down right annoying. She's supposed to be mysterious, but she comes off as "try-hard". Perfection rarely works in making a character popular. You just wish she'd accidently get squashed underneath Saphira in one of her drunken adventures.
-Eragon. He is boring. So very, very boring. There is nothing unique about his character. You don't sympathesize with him, because you know that he too, underneath his forced "flaws" (oh my goodness, he has a scar on his back from no fault of his own and he accidently cursed a girl but he can now reverse it so it doesn't make much of a difference) that Paolini has added just to make him seem more realistic, is just another unbearable "perfect" character. He will succeed at everything, and everyone will love him and obey him eventually. I stopped feeling for him all together when he changed into an elf. If there's a better way to kill off a readers connection and compassion for a character, then please, do tell me.
-Cliche. For once, why can't a male be kidnapped? I'd love that! Poor, helpless male needs rescuing, what an original idea! Now, I'm no feminist, but the whole damsel-in-distress thing is getting really old. And boring. When Katrina gets kidnapped, you just go "here we go again...". You don't feel enough for Katrina and Roran as a couple to actually be upset when she is captured, as their romance is severely underdeveloped, despite the fact that it is made mind numbingly clear Roran will do anything for her. Most people would do anything for the person they loved, it's generally a given thing, not something special to the two of them.
So, in conclusion (finally!) if you would like to read this book, you're probably better off borrowing it. Just like Paolini borrowed all of his ideas from others. If you'd like a giggle, make sure to read Paolini's so called 'romances', and prepare to laugh like you've never laughed before!
Book Review: ok everybody, let's just step back and take a breath.....
Summary: 3 Stars
Wow, reading these reviews is tantamount to participating in a hockey game....there are some very overly passionate opinions out there in the negative. I would advise if you're going to slam the book, at least follow up with a positive...give us the title of a book in the same genre you DID like. If you REALLY want to hate a book, try reading 'Perfume' by Patrick Suskind...now THERE'S a book worth hating.
Back to Eldest...I read Eragon to my kids a couple of years ago and found it a decent read. While I was reading I would think to myself how much more enjoyable it would've been to just read it to myself. My son went back and read it a year later and enjoyed it. I was wandering around Costco and saw Eldest for $10.00, so I picked it up and began.
Now the thing that the people slamming the book need to understand is that this is a TRILOGY. A three act story goes like this people....opening act (Eragon), plot point, second act (Eldest), plot point, final act(book 3). The second act is the "dullest" part of the story because it needs to create obstacles, raise the stakes, articulate a theme, or complicate things for a protagonist trying to reach an objective(again, act three). This book is not supposed to be a barn-burner. That said, on with the review....
I subtracted a star for the amateurish dialogue. I have an innante quirk called the "wince factor" that activates when I'm reading a novel or watching a film. I'm a dialogue fanatic and this book is riddled with examples that test my suspension of disbelief. I developed a twitch while reading this book and hopefully the author will come around in book three. If I'm not mistaken, one of the elves used the word "technically." Sorry, but that word can't exist in Alagaesia...there were a couple of other instances where that occured but I can't recall them. Also, the "we don't need no steenking badges" gag/in-joke was a little thick and obvious.
I subtracted another star for lack of editing. The book could've been seriously trimmed. The author spends a lot of time describing things that don't need description and I get the impression that he has a "word of the day" calendar at his desk. Every couple of chapters I would come across what my grandparents would call a "$20.00 word" and it just seemed forced and inappropriate. Also, his home schooling shows in his lack of knowledge in earth sciences. How can a river run 'south' towrds the coast but inland the rivers run 'north?' Can someone explain that one to me?
Aside from the glaringly obvious, CP has created quite a universe here for us. I agree that the Roran storyline is just as inticing as the Eragon storyline and if you're going to write an epic, you could've spent some more time on that. There were a lot of opportunities for dramatic repose there, but again, the pages were spent on neverending descriptions. I don't see any evidence of plagiarism though. Everyone accusing him of ripping off Star Wars and/or LOTR should read Homer or the Grimm brothers....and then shut the h*ll up. I laughed when I read the review from a "teacher" who said she wouldn't let any student turn something like this in. I would challenge any or all of her students to come up with something this lengthy and compelling. I doubt they have the focus to get through a chapter of anything that isn't a magazine regarding video games or fashion. Also the "teacher" who wouldn't read the book to her class becasue it was too racy. She sites two passages, both of which she could've omiited while reading and it wouldn't have affected the storyline one iota. People crack me up...it takes all kinds I suppose.
I read a lot, but would I recommened this book to everyone I know that reads...? Probably not....the genre's not for everyone, and it takes a certain patience to forgive a book of this length, but since I'm already two-thirds comitted, I'll pick up the third book when it comes out, but I'll definitely keep my Costco membership open for the purchase (and the pretzels).
Book Review: Once you put it down, you can't pick it up
Summary: 1 Stars
Urgh. I finally finished reading Eldest, and my gods it was a long, unrewarding slog.
This book is the flaws of Eragon, raised to the power 100. It's twice as boring, twice as convoluted, three times as pretentious and fifty times as pointless. I didn't find it quite as boring as I expected, but it was still pretty darn dull. I agree with Arthryn's assertion that most of what happens in the book amounts to nothing in the end. The book is also preachy, very unsubtly so. A note to Christopher Paolini: sticking in half-arsed `messages' about religion and vegetarianism does not make you `better'. This book was clearly written by someone who was trying too hard to take a place amongst the so-called `literary greats', hence the constant clichés and outright thefts of ideas, and the insistence on dawdling with long, long, looonng descriptions and plot deviations in order to `flesh out' the world. This might have been acceptable, but for the fact that this fantasy world wasn't invented by the author, but was stolen from other people. The gall of it is simply unbelievable and should not be praised or rewarded. The next Tolkien? I beg to differ. This book was sometimes interesting, but was more frequently comical. It's full of ludicrous ideas and even more ludicrous dialogue, all of which is handled with deadpan seriousness. The story takes itself so seriously that it becomes risible. There was no sense of irony, and the constant `references' (read `thefts') were delivered without even a hint of a metaphorical nudge and smile. Instead, they were jammed in in a way that was both obvious and hideously overwrought, so that, rather than looking like references they simply came off as bare-faced plagiarism. Perhaps the constant complaints about this have gotten rather boring, but the obvious stealing is a constant distraction and irritation during the story. Rather than being able to ignore the clichés, the reader is unable to stop noticing them. This prevents the reader from becoming caught up or involved in any way.
Some of this might have been forgiven or overlooked, but the author compounds the felony with his utter lack of talent when it comes to creating believable characters. If he had taken the time to grow as a writer rather than just dashing off and selling yet another lame LOTR knockoff, he would probably have learnt some valuable lessons about the importance of characters.
A common factor amongst talented writers is that they will often speak about their characters as if they were real people, and remark that these characters will often act apparently as they want to. A good character, who is `alive', needs very little direction from its creator. If the characters are alive, they will more or less write the story on their own. Writers who read this will know what I mean. The author of this idiotic book, however, is clearly unaware of this. In his own words `characters are born out of necessity', in other words they are plot conveniences, and it shows. Oh boy does it show. Absolutely none of the characters have any discernable personality. It's blatantly obvious that their writer had to force them to do things rather than letting them act independently, and the result is that their dialogue, emotions and actions are never once believable. Instead, they are cardboard cutouts. I know that's a cliché, but considering how much the author loves the things, why not?
To finish, this book is one of the dumbest and most poorly written works I have ever had the misfortune to get my hands on. If I were a religious person (sadly the outrageous success of this book and its predecessor only provides further proof that the gods don't exist), I would be giving thanks that this book was given to me free of charge (by someone who seemed rather keen to get rid of it, I might add).
And suddenly all the characters are using words like `aye', `nay', `yea', and `alas'. I think I can figure out why. And no, Chris, they don't add colour. They just make you look stupid.
Book Review: Eldest (Book Reveiw)
Summary: 5 Stars
Eldest (Book Review)
A fire breathing dragon! The blue dragon Saphira is one of the last dragons alive. Eragon is the rider who owns this dragon and loves and cares for her very much. Without either of them the evil king Galbatorix will devastate all of Algaesia. The book starts after the major battle against the Urgals and Galbatorix's forces where Eragon suffers a serious wound to his back by the shade Durza. Aijihad is killed and the twins and Murtaugh are taken by other Urgals. Nasuada is chosen to take his place and defend them against the king. Eragon and Saphira travel to a different place so that he can train to become stronger so he could defeat king Galbatorix. They travel with Arya and some other people to go to the elves so he could complete his training. Eragon's wound heals completely and then he meets up with Murtaugh. Murtaugh has turned evil and Eragon figures out something very surprising. Murtaugh is his brother! Not only that but this means Eragon's father is Morzan, the king's sidekick who was killed a long time ago! This is a fantastic book and I would recommend it to people who are dragon fans and love interesting fantasy.
The first reason I liked this book is because of the action contained in the material. Either Eragon or his cousin Roran was doing something you wanted to hear about. When Aijihad was killed by the Urgals Eragon rushed to his side to assist him while the twins and Murtaugh were taken away. Meanwhile Roran was returning back to Carvahall only to discover Galbatorix's forces were located there. Also when Eragon faced the dragon-like creatures and how they were starting to take over Eragon but then they got away from them just in time to escape their magic. Last but not least when Roran decided to fight the soldiers and lead a revolt. He had a hammer while the other people had other weapons such as swords and spears. Roran went and slaughtered a lot of the soldiers with no mercy and no chance for them to defend themselves. That is why Roran is now known as "Roran Stronghammer".
The author also described the characters with really strong details. The author told how Eragon loved Arya and how he felt about her especially when they reached the elves' palace. He explained how infuriated Roran was when he found his farm in ruins and in Carvahall that meant he couldn't get a wife which is why he went away to work. Instead he just decided to propose without her father's permission. He was also infuriated how Eragon left and how the soldiers decided to go into Carvahall. Eragon and Roran weren't the only people that loved somebody but Saphira started loving another dragon named Glaedr. He was the only other dragon she had ever seen and she was lucky it was male. Glaedr didn't want Saphira so she got mad and attacked him.
The book also kept you guessing on what was going to happen next. It was exciting to try to guess but I could never get it right. I never suspected that Roran was actually going to find Eragon after he traveled so far. It was a really low probability that Roran was going to find Eragon because he was really far from Carvahall. Aijihad dying really took me by surprise. He was a very important person too many people. The Dwarves weren't sure if his daughter, Nasuada, could be as good of a leader as Aijihad. The most unpredictable thing was towards the end of the book when Eragon was fighting Murtaugh and he figured out that he was his brother. Eragon and Saphira were both shocked when Murtaugh told him about Eragon being the son of Morzan.
Eldest is literally the greatest book I ever read. Dragon and fantasy lovers alike would love this book as much as I do. Eldest was action packed with a mix of love in it. It is because of that this is the best book I have ever read. It had lots of description and always kept me guessing about what was going to happen next. It makes me want to buy the next book in the series as soon as it comes out.
D. Bennett