Now, I know this book has been the center of a lot of disputes. So, I wanted to give my opinion on it and see what you have to say. I first got the book when I was in...I think 6th grade. I read it, and loved it. Now that I look at with the mind of a writer, I see how riddled with cliches it is. The movie was absolutely horrible, and it sort of ruined the book for me. However, I think Paolini isn't a bad writer per se, but a bad storyteller. I think Eldest was a bit more original, but Eragon seems to be becoming a perfect hero. I guess my final verdict is, the series could become better if Paolini didn't use so many cliches, and with two more books, it may redeem itself. If it doesn't, it will remain really sucky and bad. So, what do you all think?
Personally, I think it's a laughable, derivative, uninventive, suck ass pile of donkey droppings. And that's the good points. Al
Yup, if people like it, then fair enough, good luck to them. But even the title is a rip off of a character name in the Lord of the Rings, which just about tells you all you need to know without suffering the rest of it. Al
When it first came out, everybody was crazy for it, so I picked up a copy. I thought it was "okay"; I can put up with a certain amount of cliche, and in some cases I even like it (for example, dragon riding is considered cliche, but at the time I had only read a couple of books with dragons in them, and only one other where a character rode one). The writing style wasn't all that great, but I decided to get the second one just to see if Paolini got better. Is it just me, or did he actually get worse?
Unless a free copy of one of his other books materialises on my desk, and I'm not otherwise busy re-organising my shoe collection, I'll never know. Although since presumably a few quid has been made, one would hope he was writing when he had a good idea worth publishing, rather than as a money-making exercise, but there's no guarantee of that I suppose. Al
I heard the first Eragon book was amazing, so I started it. Haven't finished it yet - it hurts me more than Twilight. The only reason I haven't burned the thing is because I like the dragon on the cover :redface: Though I did read one part in the second book that made me really happy. It was when Eragon was bathing with that elf-dude, and he was totally, like, checking him out. Aparently elf-dude's body was "different from what Eragon was used to seeing in Carvahal"
Agreed. Actually, why not just have a closed, pinned topic? The contents could just be: It would clear up a lot of space...
I actually enjoyed them when I read them, but I can see where he took all his ideas from. I'm just not that bothered by the fact. The one things that really bother me is that he treats his minor characters appallingly (basically they're whipping boys for the main protagonists) and he can't write a battle to save his life.
Eragon is one of those books that you love to read when your young. But when you get older and read it, it sucks!
Yep, I enjoyed it when I first read it. And to some degree I still do. Yes it's cliche, Yes it's unoriginal, since I counted to many links to count with Wheel of Time alone. And the Movie was...well after I watched the first 15 minutes I bought out my Shotgun went outside, had my sister toss it and blew it up. No joke. All that said I still read his books since despite all that I enjoy the story at a base level.
I think it was Stephen King who said that all books are worth reading, and bad books can some times teach you more valuable lessons than good books. What ever you think of Eragon, it is a book that has entertained a large number of people, and it has it's own lessons to tell to any budding writer. It all depends on what lessons you take from it.
I reckon most fantasy books are going to be Cliche in a few ways atleast, no matter what they do. Put it this way; they usually include dragons at some point, or mythical islands etc. It wouldnt really be fantasy without them. I think it's more the *story* that's important. I mean we've all seen He-man, we dont need another! Terry Pratchett's fantasy books never seem cliche to me. Now that's what I call original, personally. Though i've never read Eragon. What is is specifically that makes it so cliche? My boyfriend loathes it, lol.
I totally agree. I mean we really have to agree that for whatever reason, it has sold loads of books and had a film made of it. Even if it's rubbish ; dont we all want our precious stories to be loved and adored? I mean, we might think our writing talents exceed the author of Eragon's...but at the end of the day, his book is out there selling millions, and for some reason ours isnt.
Not entirely true. I read it when I was in 6th grade and didn't like it then and still don't like it now.
I listened to the first one on audio book and my conclusion was that he was an ordinary teenager of average writing skill who hadn't read widely enough to create a story that was truly his, and got lucky. He made all the same mistakes I did in writing as a teenager, so I'm not going to critisize. He would get better with time. The problem seems to be, since he supposedly hasn't improved from what I hear, is that he must have let the success get to him. Maybe he didn't realize that he still had a lot to learn about writing and skills to develop. From what I read of Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, I suspect it was the same thing. She her first published books when she was young, and didn't grow her skills since then. It's sad in her case, because her first book was excellent and once I realized how young she was, I saw a lot of talent at the time, but her books got worse over time, not better.
This describes me pretty well. Read it once in eighth grade and loved it. Read it again in ninth grade and liked it, but not as much. Read it a third time last year and couldn't finish it, and not because I already know what happens. Or maybe it was just seeing so much of it that I grew sick of it. Either way, Ah dun liek it no mo.
I confess that I couldn't get through it in book form. Me and my friend listened to it together on a plane ride. It skipped a chapter and I didn't even notice until I checked the playlist and it was missing one. It's. That. Bad.
I used to love it, and didnt understand people who said it was bad. Now I read Brisingr, and I understand, to a certain extent. How much of it is really story? A lot of it is simply telling you about the world in which it is based. Alot more of it is drivelling diologue. A bit more of it is predictable. He tries to tell too much. There is so much to his fantasy worl that it overwelms any story- I do not want to hear Eragon hear the entire elf/dwarf culture, I want something to happen. Alot of the time, this doesnt. I can point out the events I remember about it on two hands. BUT He is a young writer who has a fan base. The fact that he can get so much better shows also that he can make it as, possibly, a writer up there with the best. He just needs less of his world, and more of the story within his world. Also, lots of his characters sound the same. They all make the 'right' descisions, which while good for the characters, bad for the ride the book is supposed to take the reader upon. Again, something he can improve on. I hope he gets better at his writing. I think he will become a very good writer if he keeps learning, make some great books. But if he sticks to this formula, I probably wont be interested.
I think that most of the people who dislike the book only do so because it's the 'in' thing to do, and that they have eventually convinced themselves that they DO, honestly dislike the book. Sales prove that it is a good book, in many people's eyes. While I have not read it, myself, (save for a couple of chapters) what I read was not nearly as horrible as most people make it out to be. It's all just riding the bandwagon, probably because people are jealous. Incidentally, if people were not just jumping on the bandwagon, then it would be demonstrated by people declaring their hatred for the most obnoxiously written fantasy book ever: Maximum Ride.
