[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Paolini's "Eldest"

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

Steve:
> Let's make a distinction between a great writer and a great story
> teller. Many a great writer has crafted dull uninteresting stories
> that are none the less techincally correct, and many great
> storytellers have crafted techincally poor books. Many have critisized
> JKR's writing as being simplistic and derivative, but you can't deny
> that she tells a great story. The same is true of Paolini, while you
> can certainly critisize his writing from a techincal perspective, I
> find it hard to believe that anyone doesn't find his stories exciting
> and captivating.

Captivating, certainly.  At least in the sense that I couldn't put it 
down -- but I can say the same thing about Dan Brown, and I wouldn't 
dream of accusing him of greatness.

> Of course, there are those who rate Hemmingway as a self-indulgent
> overrated hack, while others praise him as a great master.

Oh, he's a smug bastard, all right. ^_~

> Oh so many
> praise Tolkien as a master of both story and technique, but I found
> his writing impossibly dull, slow, and tedious. I couldn't finish Lord
> of the Rings to save my soul.

Agreed (although I did, eventually, finish it).  Tolkien's battle 
scenes are incredibly breath-taking and moving, but when his characters 
are trekking for days on end through the wilderness . . .  Well, you 
feel just like you're trekking for days on end through the wilderness 
-- after awhile, the amazing scenery just isn't enough to keep the 
hours from getting a bit dull.

> So, while there will never be a
> consensus on any author, or story for that matter, I still say
> Eragon/Eldest is a tremendous story and a tremendous accomplishment
> for a writer so young. Only time will tell if he has what it takes to
> endure his craft acrosss the span of a lifetime, but you must admit,
> he's off to a great start.

Agreed again.  Excellent start.  And I still can't figure out how a 
15-year-old mustered up the attention span to finish a novel.  I 
*still* haven't got that kind of commitment.

> As I said in other posts, I measure character development by how much
> and how well the characters came to life for me, not by the detail to
> which I am priviledge to their thoughts and feelings. I have to say
> every character in Paolini's books truly lives in my mind, each is
> distinct and speaks with a unique voice and has a unique personality.

Hmm.  Well . . . I'm not disagreeing, per se, but I'd definitely say 
that there's room for improvement.  With someone like Dan Brown, what 
you see is what you get, you know?  But I feel like Paolini has the 
potential to do better (and that potential is evident in the way he 
writes, which *why* I am sometimes disappointed in him).  Indeed, he 
has already improved so much from ERAGON to ELDEST that if he keeps it 
up at this rate, he'll be Shakespeare by the time he's forty-two.

> To another point raised in other forums, I did predict the Murtagh
> storyline as did many, but despite the accuracy of my predictions, I
> was still stunned and awed when it played out on the page, and also
> felt very mixed, deep, and complex emotions around the issue of
> Murtagh.

Heh heh.  Now, this is one of the things that was infinitely improved 
upon in ELDEST, but in ERAGON -- my God, it was like Paolini painted 
all his plot twists blue, dressed them in drag, and sent them screaming 
the Lord's Prayer across the pages.  The kid just did not posses a 
*lick* of subtlety.

> I also liked the way the two separate stories of Roran and
> Eragon converge and set the stage for the next book.

I *loved* the Roran sub-plot.  His transition from unassuming farmer to 
grim, powerful leader was flawless.  Now, I *like* Eragon better as a 
person, but I think Roran is the better developed character.

By the way, I never suggested that character development has anything 
to do with how many details about the character we are told.  (Although 
I disagree that JKR does not give details --we may not explicitly know 
Draco's hair color, but we *do* know that he is exceedingly pale and 
pointy and that he flushes easily. ^_~  JKR loves her adjectives almost 
as much as her adverbs.)  As with all aspects of good writing, the idea 
is to *show*, not tell.  So while Paolini might *tell* us something 
about a character, I feel like he does not always *prove* it.

Just IMHO.

Laura