Inheritance Cycle
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Agreed. And IIRC, didn't his parents publish the first one for him? Aside from the plagarism, I think my biggest issue is that the protagonist is a sociopath and no one has seemed to notice.Bobbity said:
I'd almost say the opposite in regards to being adult. It's almost like the books are inverted. Paolini gets harder to read as you get older, but Harry Potter gains a lot more depth reading it as an adult because you recognize a lot more themes and undertones present.Psymon138 said:
Yes, we've all heard the Star Wars jokes.
I love the books. Love them. Can not emphasise this enough. Love. Those. Books.
I actually really enjoyed Brisingr. I'm a fan of the long, "blowy" epics. To me it didn't feel like he was wasting time, just that this is a fucking war, there's a lot of shit happening. And I knew after the second book that either the third would be massive, not the end, or suck.
For some context, I've read four books of The Wheel Of Time and still want to keep reading (but can't), and I love Terry Brooks.
Since many people are talking about the film too, I'll throw down. It sucked. Hard. So very hard. Unbelievably hard.
I apologise for the poor structure. I'm running on four hours sleep and 1L of Monster. I finally feel like a Uni student.
I love the books. Love them. Can not emphasise this enough. Love. Those. Books.
I actually really enjoyed Brisingr. I'm a fan of the long, "blowy" epics. To me it didn't feel like he was wasting time, just that this is a fucking war, there's a lot of shit happening. And I knew after the second book that either the third would be massive, not the end, or suck.
For some context, I've read four books of The Wheel Of Time and still want to keep reading (but can't), and I love Terry Brooks.
Since many people are talking about the film too, I'll throw down. It sucked. Hard. So very hard. Unbelievably hard.
I apologise for the poor structure. I'm running on four hours sleep and 1L of Monster. I finally feel like a Uni student.
i'd like to talk with all you folks saying that eragon and the other 2 books are plagerized.
it's fantasy.
all elves, trolls, dwarves, goblins, ect; have been used in pretty much the same way in ALL FANTASY BOOKS, MOVIES, AND "WHAT ELSE"!!!
the only real changes that are ever made are names and quests.
and dragons are only used in 2 ways: brute monsters or wise old creaters.
the only original fantasy story was the first one ever written. all those that came after it, were just slightly altered copies.
in fact, very few things that have been made are actually original creations.
just about every thing that is new, is actuall an updated/redesinged version of something else.
example: shark-resistant armor = midevil chainmail
anti-squid armor = stormtrooper outfit (not lieing)
so please, don't bother insulting eragon, or anything that you think was copied from something else. because no idea is original. if it isn't redigned, then it was inspired by something.
and remember: i'm pullin for ya, we're all in this together.
(anyone that gets this reference is awesome in my book)
it's fantasy.
all elves, trolls, dwarves, goblins, ect; have been used in pretty much the same way in ALL FANTASY BOOKS, MOVIES, AND "WHAT ELSE"!!!
the only real changes that are ever made are names and quests.
and dragons are only used in 2 ways: brute monsters or wise old creaters.
the only original fantasy story was the first one ever written. all those that came after it, were just slightly altered copies.
in fact, very few things that have been made are actually original creations.
just about every thing that is new, is actuall an updated/redesinged version of something else.
example: shark-resistant armor = midevil chainmail
anti-squid armor = stormtrooper outfit (not lieing)
so please, don't bother insulting eragon, or anything that you think was copied from something else. because no idea is original. if it isn't redigned, then it was inspired by something.
and remember: i'm pullin for ya, we're all in this together.
(anyone that gets this reference is awesome in my book)
It's only a matter of time before this thread goes into the drain, but for what it's worth:
- Eragon: Not very well written, and more than a little derivative, but still a fairly fun diversion, if a rather time consuming one.
- Eldest: The characters get a bit more interesting, the style improves a bit, and the story gets increasingly original. Still, the plotting itself is fairly bad, and the style has a lot of room to develop.
- Brisingr: The characters and story get far more nuanced, and the style is starting to improve in leaps and bounds. It's still pretty oddly plotted, and Paolini is definitely still a new writer, but comparing Brisingr to Eragon, he's improved immensely. I'm interested to see how he resolves it. What's more, if he continues improving like this, I'm interested to see where he goes as a writer.
So, at least in my opinion, the Inheritance Cycle didn't start out very strong, but it seems to be heading to an interesting conclusion. I'm thinking a lot of the people who hate on the series never read past the first book, or otherwise only read some of the more...err...questionable excerpts from the rest (not all, mind you, I can understand not liking it too). I wonder where Paolini is in writing the manuscript...
- Eragon: Not very well written, and more than a little derivative, but still a fairly fun diversion, if a rather time consuming one.
- Eldest: The characters get a bit more interesting, the style improves a bit, and the story gets increasingly original. Still, the plotting itself is fairly bad, and the style has a lot of room to develop.
- Brisingr: The characters and story get far more nuanced, and the style is starting to improve in leaps and bounds. It's still pretty oddly plotted, and Paolini is definitely still a new writer, but comparing Brisingr to Eragon, he's improved immensely. I'm interested to see how he resolves it. What's more, if he continues improving like this, I'm interested to see where he goes as a writer.
So, at least in my opinion, the Inheritance Cycle didn't start out very strong, but it seems to be heading to an interesting conclusion. I'm thinking a lot of the people who hate on the series never read past the first book, or otherwise only read some of the more...err...questionable excerpts from the rest (not all, mind you, I can understand not liking it too). I wonder where Paolini is in writing the manuscript...
Okay. I'll bring up a couple, and maybe just see which interests you the most.noah22223 said:
Legend, by David Gemmel, is about the heroic stand of a couple of thousand men defending a key pass against a massive invading force. It's a very well told story, and enjoyable, to say at the least.
The Belgariad, by David Eddings, is a light-hearted stab at epic fantasy. There's a lot of humour, and the characters are damned interesting, but the plot is somewhat questionable. Still, it's very enjoyable, and easy to read. The first book is Pawn of Prophecy.
The Wheel of Time, by Robert Jordan, is an absolutely massive series. The plot is intricate, there's an enormous cast of characters, and it's epic in scale. There are thirteen books in the series so far, so you won't run out of material any time soon, but it can be more than a little dry, at times. The first book is The Eye of the World.
The Discworld series, by Terry Pratchett, is a satire of modern fantasy. It takes every theme and thing you might find in a modern fantasy, and throws them back in your face. It's by far the funniest fantasy series I've ever read, and the first one, at least, is worth reading. The first book is The Colour of Magic.
I agree that a lot of fantasy (not all) builds off a basic fantasy build. But when you have a farm boy discovering he's the last of an ancient order of magic-wielding, peace keeping knights, besides the emperor, who killed all the rest of the knights, has a mentor that turns out to be one of these knights as well and dies, and finds out his friend, turned evil, is really his brother, and one of the Big Bads is his father (deep breath) we go past similarity to plagiarism.jack583 said:
I would recommend the Mistborn series, by Brandon Sanderson. It has one of the most original magic systems I've ever encountered, and a deep, engaging plot. Overall, a great piece of fantasy.noah22223 said:
Really, all of Sanderson's work is great. He always comes up with very interesting magic systems. I'm not really sure how he does it.
I WANT THE 4TH BOOK NOW!!!!
Basically, I fell in love with the series. When I finished Brisingr, I was psyched to think there's another one. But then I learned it hasn't been published yet. Really? Really?!
Gragh.....!
Don't care if it's plagiarized. If it was a problem, someone would have sued and won. So whatevs. Complain if you want. And if you guys don't read, more books for the rest of us to get our hands on.
Basically, I fell in love with the series. When I finished Brisingr, I was psyched to think there's another one. But then I learned it hasn't been published yet. Really? Really?!
Gragh.....!
Don't care if it's plagiarized. If it was a problem, someone would have sued and won. So whatevs. Complain if you want. And if you guys don't read, more books for the rest of us to get our hands on.
I enjoyed the first two when I read them, but that was quite a long time ago and I don't think I'll ever finish it, because I honestly don't remember too much about the first two and I'm not about to go read those long-ass books again.
Today I'm of the same opinion, but at the time things seemed rather different. One thing that stood out in my mind was that I preferred the way magic worked in Eragon. I liked the idea of a magical language and the fact that using magic has explicit physical consequences, as opposed to yelling in Dog Latin and shooting things out of a wand. Looking at it now, it's obvious Potter is far better written and the series matured very nicely. And as you point out, Eragon's flaws do become more obvious as time goes on.VivaciousDeimos said:
If we are recommending books, here's a couple of my favourites:
The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin. These books are brilliant epic fantasy, full of magnificent battles, fascinating court intrigue and amazing characters. Two provisos if you do want to check them out: 1) Get used to waiting. The sixth book in the series is, fingers crossed, arriving this summer. It has been 'six months away' for five years. 2) Be ready for some seriously dark stuff. The author loves to highlight just how horrific people can be and how cruel the world is sometimes. I wouldn't recommend getting too attached to any one character.
The Black Company series by Glen Cook. An excellent series following the adventures of the titular Black Company, last of the Free Companies of Khatovar. They are a group of mercenaries with a very long history, written down in the Annals which the narrator is filling in. Their latest job is in the army of The Lady, a powerful sorceress who is quite obviously the head of an evil empire. Thing is, the Rebels they fight don't really seem all that much nicer and have committed plenty atrocities of their own. The books are very well written and the confused morality of the setting makes it very interesting to see how it all plays out.
Lastly, I will plug Jim Butcher's books, The Dresden Files and The Codex Alera.
Harry Dresden is a wizard in modern Chicago. He does the usual stuff, lost items found, exorcisms and so on. But as the series progresses he ends up in increasingly bizarre situations, meeting, fighting and running away from just about any supernatural creature you care to name. The plot of the series is strung together marvellously after a bit of a shaky start and the characters are fantastic.
The Codex Alera is a little more odd. Imagine Romans with the power to control elemental spirits called Furies. Now put them in a world populated by several other races, almost all of whom are aggressive. Add some intrigue and plotting for the throne amongst Alera's nobility and throw in one young shepherd boy way out of his depth. This is an incredibly brief overview, but believe me, it's awesome.
One of the best things I can say for Butcher is that his books are packed with scenes that will make you sit back and say 'Holy Shit that was awesome!' The man knows how to write battle scenes and somehow manages to keep topping that last insane gambit his protagonists use to win the day.
Well, it got a lot better once you could tell its plot synopsis apart from that of Star Wars. It has some cool ideas--the super-pious dwarves in comparison to atheist elves was interesting, and I liked the concept of the supersoldiers in book 3 that were immune to pain. Also, I actually enjoyed the random little meaningless conversations that were had during the various journeys--dwarf toes and the like. However, one starts to get sick of Eragon's constant bitching about everything, and his ridiculous middle-schooler infatuation with that one elf. The series has its ups and downs I guess. A decent read, but not an amazing one.
Also, the watching film was the first time I experienced nerd rage in its purest form. What a piece of shite.
Also, the watching film was the first time I experienced nerd rage in its purest form. What a piece of shite.
Oh, god, I love Jim Butcher. He's probably one of my favorite current authors. I simply cannot resist a snarky, nerdy protagonist.Psymon138 said:
Also, if you liked the magic system in Eragon, then I would recommend the Belgariad by David Eddings. I love Eddings because he basically challenged himself to gather up all the fantasy cliches and archetypes he could find and make a good story out of them...and he does. Also, snark.
I really enjoy this series, wasn't aware the fourth book had a release date yet, thank you.
So what if it explores ideas/themes and has a similar story structure to other fantasy stories, I think Star Wars, The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings are the ones most pointed to. I love these, and I love The Inheritance Cycle because these are the sort of stories I enjoy.
So what if it explores ideas/themes and has a similar story structure to other fantasy stories, I think Star Wars, The Wheel of Time and The Lord of the Rings are the ones most pointed to. I love these, and I love The Inheritance Cycle because these are the sort of stories I enjoy.
The first one is very okay. The plot moved, stuff happened, and it was clear Paolini enjoyed writing it. He didn't seem to have much of any idea what he was doing, but it had that enthusiasm behind it to carry forward.
Eldest drags. I want everyone who claims Inheritance copies from Star Wars to imagine The Empire Strikes Back, except without Hoth or Cloud City. This is that. Yoda lectures and lectures and Eragon studies. The worst of this is that Eragon never applies most of the supposed learning. There is no magical knot tying in the final battle, nor does the much-touted animal empathy come into play. Alas. And then there are the Deus ex Machinae, which I won't spoil. On the bright side, Roran gets almost half the book and he doesn't have superpowers, making him unique.
Brisingr is where Paolini stops leaning on the classics and his lack of ability really shows. To an extent, it is an easier read than Eldest, in that the plot starts moving again. But it also either makes a brutal lurch to the gritty side, or else we're supposed to sympathize with characters who perform some terribly awful acts. This book baffles and angers me; the main characters perform cruel acts and I have no idea whether this is deliberate or if Paolini is oblivious. There are also a number of plot concepts introduced, such as the two women, though I have no idea if they will be sustained.
I feel that Paolini has plenty of potential and a skill for imagining new things. His failure is his unwillingness to execute any of the ideas he brings up, instead opting for a Deus ex Machina to eliminate them. He also badly needs an editor, as he also seems unwilling to excise his unfruitful ideas. The "Eragon's Scar" arc is a prime example of what is wrong with the entire Inheritance series.
Eldest drags. I want everyone who claims Inheritance copies from Star Wars to imagine The Empire Strikes Back, except without Hoth or Cloud City. This is that. Yoda lectures and lectures and Eragon studies. The worst of this is that Eragon never applies most of the supposed learning. There is no magical knot tying in the final battle, nor does the much-touted animal empathy come into play. Alas. And then there are the Deus ex Machinae, which I won't spoil. On the bright side, Roran gets almost half the book and he doesn't have superpowers, making him unique.
Brisingr is where Paolini stops leaning on the classics and his lack of ability really shows. To an extent, it is an easier read than Eldest, in that the plot starts moving again. But it also either makes a brutal lurch to the gritty side, or else we're supposed to sympathize with characters who perform some terribly awful acts. This book baffles and angers me; the main characters perform cruel acts and I have no idea whether this is deliberate or if Paolini is oblivious. There are also a number of plot concepts introduced, such as the two women, though I have no idea if they will be sustained.
I feel that Paolini has plenty of potential and a skill for imagining new things. His failure is his unwillingness to execute any of the ideas he brings up, instead opting for a Deus ex Machina to eliminate them. He also badly needs an editor, as he also seems unwilling to excise his unfruitful ideas. The "Eragon's Scar" arc is a prime example of what is wrong with the entire Inheritance series.
I read the first one. Didn't care for it. Then I saw the movie and, hey guess what, trying to compress that much terrible book into an hour and a half of movie went incredibly poorly.
Gimme Pratchett, Gaiman, or Butcher instead. PLEASE.
Gimme Pratchett, Gaiman, or Butcher instead. PLEASE.
I started reading them when I was younger and read the third one out of nostalgia. To be honest, I couldn't give a flying fuck about the plagiarism and all that. It's a fun read, and that's pretty much it.
the base of that plot has been used in a few other things too.Fai57 said:
plots are the most reused things in books, movies, games, ect.
and let's also consider this: had the author of eragon ever HEARD of whatever he is accussed of plagiarizing?
just asking.
plus eragon was chosen to be a dragon rider.
I remember reading Brisingr in 7th grade...I'm now a freshman. Usually, authors begin writing their next book before the one they just finished comes out. It shouldn't take 2+ years for it to be released.Gxas said:
