Paolini's "Eldest"

[dudemom_2000]

Message 28929 --- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Steve" 
<bboyminn at y...> wrote:
>Big Snip< 
> 
> bboyminn:
> 
> 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. 
> 
> Of course, there are those who rate Hemmingway as a self-indulgent
> overrated hack, while others praise him as a great master. 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. 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.
> 
> 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. 
> 
Snip<
> So, in short, I liked it. 
> 
> Just a few more thoughts.
> 
> Steve/bboyminn

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Like art, writing is subjective - you either like and respond to it 
or you don't.... You can see Christopher Paolini has put a lot of 
thought into his characters and they are very much alive for him in 
the way that JKR's characters are alive for her. You can also tell 
he enjoys his story very much and I enjoy seeing that in his story 
telling. Yes, he is very young and I can see his storytelling 
growing as he matures. One can be critical of the technicalities of 
his writing but the bottom line is: if you liked it, you liked it 
and that is what ultimately counts. Sometimes I get a sense of sour 
grapes in some of the criticisms. Let's face it, Christopher Paolini 
was one of the lucky ones who was able to get his book out there and 
get the interest. I am sure there are many other wonderful writers 
who will never get published or get the recoginition. Stardom is the 
same way. Not everyone gets to be a star as talented as they might 
be. Sometime it is the luck of the draw and sometimes it is who you 
know. I for one am glad Christopher Paolini figured out how to get 
his story out there and hope for more! It is also my understanding 
they are going to try to make a movie. It will be interesting to see 
what comes of that. 

Dudemom_2000

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