HP readalikes - Eragon

[dumbledore11214]

> 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.
>


Alla:

Heeeee, I enjoyed Eragon well enough, heheeh. But no do not believe 
that it comes anywhere in the 1000 miles near Lord of the Rings ;)

To each their own. I enjoyed it as a first book of certainly talented 
sixteen year old child. Every great master starts with copying his 
elders, that is how great painters learned IMO and maybe some great 
writers as well ;)

If he has it in him, he will do better with with every book. I think 
his writing matured even in Eldest, but I think he has miles to go to 
become truly original writer.


Oh, and I will be the first one to say that I will not compare JKR's 
writing with great masters of the past. She is certainly no Tolstoy 
or Dostoevsky ( citing those with whom I grew up :)), but Eragon is 
more complex? 

I disagree - I did not find much complexity at all.

JMO,

Alla