Places to Chat
I wasn't awfully
Chatterbox: Blab About Books
Eragon
I wasn't awfully...
I wasn't awfully impressed. They were sort of draggy... I didn't make it past the first book, and that took me forEVer to read. Saphira was rather irksome, Paolini killed the best character (Brom) before the series was even halfway written, and it was all unoriginal. And way too verbose. Can we have another page of description regarding the exact appearance of that elfish tunnel thing?
Does anyone agree, or have a believable argument for enjoying them?
submitted by Mary W., age NJ, 11.38
(June 2, 2009 - 5:06 pm)
(June 2, 2009 - 5:06 pm)
According to the author's website, Paolini intended for Eragon to start out arrogant. Throughout the other books he gets a lot better. Besides, everyone has their flaws, don't they?
(June 12, 2009 - 1:59 pm)
Why you would want your main character to be arrogant is beyond my comprehension... but I don't pretend to fathom the genius of Paolini, right? ;)
I will go see if I can find the author's website of which you speak... that should be moderately interesting. *cough*
(June 12, 2009 - 6:40 pm)
I found the site. It was rather depressing. First I read Paolini's bio, and he describes his favourite authors. Tolkien? Ah, no. Not there. Then I read the blurbs (i.e., people from big publishing houses gushing about Paolini's awesomeness). His work was described as "drawing on" that of Tolkien's (among others). Well, that's one way to put it, I guess. His books were called "beautiful and lushly written." (Lushly written is an interesting way to describe anything).
But I didn't see where Paolini said that he wanted an arrogant main character (?). I mean, I believe you, but I didn't see it.
(June 12, 2009 - 6:52 pm)
Hm... I thought I saw somewhere he wanted him to start out pretty arrogant and ignorant, and then later on (in the other books you didn't read) get wiser and less arrogant. Maybe he took it off the site. Or maybe I'm getting mixed up and I read it somewhere else, like that phone conversation between him, Tamora Pierce (who is a great author!), and Philip Pullman (whose books I've never read). But I'm pretty sure I saw it somewhere... and even if I'm wrong, he does get less arrogant in Eldest and Brisingr, especially Brisingr (although I wish he could have given the third book a title that can actually be pronounced!).
(June 14, 2009 - 11:52 am)
I pronounce it BRIZ-ING-GER. *shrugs* He has a pronounciation guide, which I don't always agree with. I read that interview with Pullman, Pierce and Paolini. I thought it was really interesting! No comment for anything else, because I've already countered those exact arguments earlier in the discussion ;););)
(June 14, 2009 - 8:16 pm)
TNÖ compared the plot of Eragon to LOTR, and did a wonderful job. Now, I will compare some details:
1. After eragon leaves his town, he is chased around the countryside by NAZGUL, oops, I mean RA'ZAC.
2. There is a big battle, in which the old and mighty king (Theoden/Ajihad) DIES.
3. The king has a daughter/neice who is a SHIELDMAIDEN.
4. Eragon goes to see ELVES in Lothlorien, or Du Weldvarden, or whatever.
5. Eragon is repeatedly cursed to LEAVE this land and never return. Grey Havens, anyone?
More to Come.
(June 14, 2009 - 8:58 am)
LOL, Reuben. I just got the LotR books from the library... *pats self on back for making it through the forward and almost finishing the prologue* He's very... descriptive...
@ Ima: "The other books that I didn't read." Do you suggest that I read them? *hopes that she's not suggesting that* I'd really rather not...
And I believe it's pronounced BRIZ-in-GUR. If you wish to ascertain that, you can, naturally, just check the handy little glossary that Paolini so thoughtfully provides in the back of his books, yes? ;)
(June 14, 2009 - 6:13 pm)
Mary, you want descriptive and confusing, read Jane Eyre.
I think, I one book by Tolkien but didn't finish it. I'm pretty sure it was The Hobbit. *goes off to check bookselves*
(June 16, 2009 - 4:55 pm)
you're right, the Raz'ac are a bit like the Nazgul. I notice that they both occasionally ride on black winged things. Did anyone notice that there is no actual evil in Eragon except the shades? I mean Galbatorix is insane, the Raz'ac are just natural predators, Urgals are victim of a misunderstanding, and for their part the shades are humans who have been taken over against their will (by something evil, that's the exception).
(June 15, 2009 - 2:43 pm)
Huh. I never thought of it that way....And really, you have to feel sorry for Galbatorix: he lost his dragon to Urgals, and that's not something too terribly easy to live through, considering he was something like Eragon's age. You know, there's something that's mildly confused me. In "Eragon," Brom tells Eragon that should the dragon die, the human would live, (but might go insane or commit suicide) but that if the dragon rider should die, then the dragon will die, too. ???
(June 17, 2009 - 9:24 am)
Maybe they explain it in the third book. But maybe not.
(June 17, 2009 - 6:56 pm)
I used to be enthralled with the series, but now that I read them again...let's just say he wrote Eragon using LOTR and a thesaurus. :P OK, maybe not THAT extreme, but still... For one did anyone notice the similarity of Arya and...Arwen? But that's minor. And the elves...I was quite disappointed (even when I read them the first time). And Eragon is so selfish. Oh well...LOTR forever!
(June 22, 2009 - 6:27 pm)
LOL, that's so true.
(June 23, 2009 - 2:19 pm)
TNO hit the nail on the head when she said Eragon was whining (whingeing?) and angsty. That self-piteous depressed thing (especially after he was injured by the shade) was very irksome and did not make you want to keep reading. "I'm so weeeeeak!" Ick.
(June 23, 2009 - 9:43 pm)
It is very annoying when characters are like that, isn't it?
I'm guessing that to "whinge" is to whine or pule, but it wasn't in the dictionary so I'm unsure. Anyone know?
(June 24, 2009 - 6:14 pm)