HP readalikes - Eragon

[Steve]

---  "bgrugin" <bgrugin at ...> wrote:
>
> 
> > Paolini, Christopher. 
> > Eragon 
> 
> MusicalBetsy:
> I've heard good things about this book - has anyone else?
> Just  curious.
> 
> Well, there's my two cents - hope it helps!
> 
> MusicalBetsy
>

bboyminn:

I thought I would jump in an comment on 'Eragon' and now
'Eldest', the first two in the 'Inheritance Trilogy', 
before the nay-sayers jump in.

Many people claim these books are 'predictable' and
'derivative', but I found a fascinating captivating
story filled with very likable characters. Perhaps
I haven't read as much fantasy as these nay-sayers and
am therefore less jaded. 

I suspect, though certainly not universally true, that
many of those who don't like 'Eragon' are people who are
'Lord of the Rings' fans, who simply can't stand any book
that ventures into Tolkien territory. I personally found
Tolkien to be a slow, arduous, tedious, grueling read;
too many strange people and place names, I simply couldn't
keep track in a story that seem to wander at a snails 
pace.

Eragon, while similar to Tolkien in that it takes place 
in the Mythical land of 'Alagaesia', is much easier to 
keep track of. It is also a wonderful action adventure
story that keeps you draw into the world on every page,
and keeps you moving forward in the story. The recent
Eragon movie, like so many movies based on books, didn't
tell even a faction of the story, nor did it get into the
depth of character found in the books. 

For me, this was a real page turner, that I have since 
read several times. Wonderfully sympathetic characters,
interesting plots and adventures, well controlled and
well contained, carefully plotted.

There is a small degree of a sense of immaturity as an
author on Paolini's part, but to be fair, he was only
15 or 16 when he started writing the story. The book
was originally published by his parents small publishing
company, and Paolini went from school to school giving
readings and promoting the books. So this book, much
like Harry Potter, reach the best seller list by word
of mouth, not marketing budget and strategy.

I highly recommend the books to anyone and everyone,
and would rank it as one of my favorite series. Deeper
and more complex than Harry Potter, and probably not 
for young readers who are not sophisticated. There are
several made-up languages in the books; Elf - the heart
of the ancient and magical language, dwarf, and a couple 
others. Also, since this book does not live in the normal
world there are strange place names, though I found this
very contained and managable, though unsophisticated 
younger readers might have difficulty. 

Again, wonderful action adventure fantasy with deep
sympathetic characters and a complex, yet easy to 
read, story.  

Steve/bboyminn - feeling the need to defend 'Eragon'
where ever he goes.