Review: Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Authors and publishers are not able to post replies in the review topics.
- Alexandra Bayer
- Posts: 266
- Joined: 11 May 2014, 21:52
- Favorite Book: Vampire Academy Series
- Bookshelf Size: 3
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-alexandra-bayer.html
- Latest Review: "Anonymous" by Christine Benedict
Review: Eragon by Christopher Paolini
The first thing I would like to mention is just how long it took me to finish this book! It is 754 pages. Normally, this wouldn't prove to be a challenge for me, but combined with the old-fashioned language and storyline, plus, simply, lack of time, it took me over three weeks to finish this novel. I wouldn't say it's because the story is boring; I would argue the opposite, in fact! It is a very detailed and compelling storyline; Christopher Paolini is an unarguably talented writer. This just isn't the style of book I would normally pick up.
Although this book was the first of the Inheritance trilogy, I found it could contain three books in itself and no one would argue. This novel seemed to stretch on infinitely. So much happened, so many places were visited and people met, that I had difficulty keeping up with what happened where and with who. The names of everything didn't help. Most were in the Ancient Language and were hard to pronounce. Many were similar, as well. I often confused people and places. I believe there was only one 'normal' name in the entire book: Angela, a witch. Also, Paolini had a habit of introducing someone by their name only once and then expecting the reader to remember who they were the next time they were mentioned, along with everyone else. I wish this book had been split up into separate novels, or that Christopher Paolini had just associated the names with the people a little more; I think it would have been much easier to keep up with.
As I mentioned before, I found the concepts and ideals in this novel to be quite intriguing. Magic that comes at a price, fate determined by birth, and many creatures living both in harmony and at war, intertwined together to create a masterful work of imaginings. Written by another's hand, Eragon would have undoubtedly turned out differently, and I'm not sure if that would be a good thing; I believe that Paolini wrote the story in such a way that changing it would make it not as good. Aside from what I would have enjoyed more if it had been altered, namely the sheer length and names, Eragon turned out beautifully. I found much of the writing reminded me of poetry.
This book had very good writing and a nice storyline, but it just wasn't my style. I would give this story three stars. It was very lengthy and wordy, which I found distracted me from the main storyline a bit. Overall, I would congratulate Christopher Paolini on being able to complete such a masterpiece, a feat many other authors have failed to do. I would recommend this story to anyone looking for medieval features, not-so-mythical dragons, and a good, long read.
Reason: Edited out official
-
- Posts: 49
- Joined: 30 Jul 2014, 15:17
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-erich-gray.html
Thanks for the review and great job.
Erich
- RheaGrey
- Posts: 33
- Joined: 10 Aug 2014, 21:13
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rheagrey.html
If you thought the names of people and places were confusing in this book, the Game Of Thrones series would really throw you for a loop. When I read Eragon, I took care to picture each character and each place as I thought they should look in my mind so that I didn't get them confused.
My main problem was all the traveling! They would travel East to such-and-such and North to this-place or that-place and it was hard to picture the map and where they were headed, and which place was by which place. Although...
I have to give the author credit for allowing a map of the region to be pictured near the beginning of the book. That helped immensely.
Otherwise it was a fantastic adventure. The length of the book didn't bother me because I didn't want that adventure to end!
-
- Posts: 70
- Joined: 02 Aug 2014, 01:09
- Bookshelf Size: 0
I think the media had a large role to play in selling this man as a "prodigy." A prodigy by definition must be under age 13. Paolini was 15 when he started writing this novel. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'm upset because Paolini stole his writing from other authors, and they weren'y even great ideas to begin with. I'm surprised no one took him to court.
Then again, my own writing at that age was about the same.
- RheaGrey
- Posts: 33
- Joined: 10 Aug 2014, 21:13
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rheagrey.html
I'm thinking that it's possible I was very unbiased and pure when I read the series and that's why I enjoyed it so much. I hadn't heard anything, good or bad, about Paolini. I just saw a book on a shelf with a dragon on it, and I was sold. Mind you, this was also before the movie came out so I didn't know if it was going to be a popular book or not at the time. I'm surprised that I didn't notice any 'stolen ideas' from other books or movies. (I've seen all the Star Wars movies and read many books.) If you can remember the book you read that you think that scene was copied from, you should let me know! Otherwise, I will definitely be doing some research myself because I enjoyed this series.Kzin wrote:I must disagree. I tried to read the book, and I only got halfway through. It was the same as Star Wars, which itself was a copy of Japanese cinema. I take offense because there were a multitude of ideas and scenes that were lifted from other writers (I remember that scene with the bridge and how the old man robs the man's purse from another book I read when I was a child).
I think the media had a large role to play in selling this man as a "prodigy." A prodigy by definition must be under age 13. Paolini was 15 when he started writing this novel. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'm upset because Paolini stole his writing from other authors, and they weren'y even great ideas to begin with. I'm surprised no one took him to court.
Then again, my own writing at that age was about the same.
-
- Posts: 70
- Joined: 02 Aug 2014, 01:09
- Bookshelf Size: 0
This link sums it up:RheaGrey wrote:I'm thinking that it's possible I was very unbiased and pure when I read the series and that's why I enjoyed it so much. I hadn't heard anything, good or bad, about Paolini. I just saw a book on a shelf with a dragon on it, and I was sold. Mind you, this was also before the movie came out so I didn't know if it was going to be a popular book or not at the time. I'm surprised that I didn't notice any 'stolen ideas' from other books or movies. (I've seen all the Star Wars movies and read many books.) If you can remember the book you read that you think that scene was copied from, you should let me know! Otherwise, I will definitely be doing some research myself because I enjoyed this series.Kzin wrote:I must disagree. I tried to read the book, and I only got halfway through. It was the same as Star Wars, which itself was a copy of Japanese cinema. I take offense because there were a multitude of ideas and scenes that were lifted from other writers (I remember that scene with the bridge and how the old man robs the man's purse from another book I read when I was a child).
I think the media had a large role to play in selling this man as a "prodigy." A prodigy by definition must be under age 13. Paolini was 15 when he started writing this novel. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'm upset because Paolini stole his writing from other authors, and they weren'y even great ideas to begin with. I'm surprised no one took him to court.
Then again, my own writing at that age was about the same.
http://aydee.wordpress.com/2006/12/17/eragon/
Even before I heard anything about plagiarism accusations, I knew it was plagiarism. The media is all lies, trying to pass off a man as a prodigy when he started the book at age 15, and it was published when he was 17, and he had the advantage of rich parents and home school. However, Star Wars stole from Kurosawa (although Kurosawa was vastly superior), ergo this is probably some form of karma.
-
- Posts: 45
- Joined: 21 Jul 2014, 14:37
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-heneryknox.html
- RheaGrey
- Posts: 33
- Joined: 10 Aug 2014, 21:13
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rheagrey.html
Kzin wrote:This link sums it up:RheaGrey wrote:I'm thinking that it's possible I was very unbiased and pure when I read the series and that's why I enjoyed it so much. I hadn't heard anything, good or bad, about Paolini. I just saw a book on a shelf with a dragon on it, and I was sold. Mind you, this was also before the movie came out so I didn't know if it was going to be a popular book or not at the time. I'm surprised that I didn't notice any 'stolen ideas' from other books or movies. (I've seen all the Star Wars movies and read many books.) If you can remember the book you read that you think that scene was copied from, you should let me know! Otherwise, I will definitely be doing some research myself because I enjoyed this series.Kzin wrote:I must disagree. I tried to read the book, and I only got halfway through. It was the same as Star Wars, which itself was a copy of Japanese cinema. I take offense because there were a multitude of ideas and scenes that were lifted from other writers (I remember that scene with the bridge and how the old man robs the man's purse from another book I read when I was a child).
I think the media had a large role to play in selling this man as a "prodigy." A prodigy by definition must be under age 13. Paolini was 15 when he started writing this novel. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but I'm upset because Paolini stole his writing from other authors, and they weren'y even great ideas to begin with. I'm surprised no one took him to court.
Then again, my own writing at that age was about the same.
Even before I heard anything about plagiarism accusations, I knew it was plagiarism. The media is all lies, trying to pass off a man as a prodigy when he started the book at age 15, and it was published when he was 17, and he had the advantage of rich parents and home school. However, Star Wars stole from Kurosawa (although Kurosawa was vastly superior), ergo this is probably some form of karma.
Thank you, this is very interesting food-for-thought.
I will still always love the Eragon series, but this definitely puts the author into a whole other light for me.
-
- Posts: 49
- Joined: 30 Jul 2014, 15:17
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-erich-gray.html
I once read an inteerview with Olsen Card that in order to write a complete fiction work one must set down and do a lot of brain storming. I mean, alot! If you look on the backs of many books nowdays you will see somethings like, "In the likes of Lord of the Rings", " Star wars fans must read", " ect, ect.
My thumbs go up to Paolini. His work was long, as I stated in an earlier work. But his detail to be able to write a setting so well thuoght of, and yes, I think his world was well thought out, I can forego the "Star Wars" feel.
Even though I am not a Dark Fantasy reader, I am curious of reading what he is working on next. And no, as he said, now that he has gained some experiance, he may not be writing fantasy next.
This is a good read. And my step son, who is a BIG Star Wars fan and a very voiceful book critic, loved this book and read it back to back twice.
Enjoy... Erich
- RheaGrey
- Posts: 33
- Joined: 10 Aug 2014, 21:13
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-rheagrey.html
Erich_gray wrote:I thnk the book is brilliantly written. Especially from a teen ager. Ok, so what if it has a little Star wars in it? It is very difficult to write a fantasy book today that is completely original. Almost all books I see on the book shelve or on Amazon draw a little from other authors. Paolini was 15 when he started writing the series. I am sure he had a lot of Star Wars in his mind at the time. As I am sure many SCI FI writers have a lot fo Star Trek in their minds when writing.
I once read an inteerview with Olsen Card that in order to write a complete fiction work one must set down and do a lot of brain storming. I mean, alot! If you look on the backs of many books nowdays you will see somethings like, "In the likes of Lord of the Rings", " Star wars fans must read", " ect, ect.
My thumbs go up to Paolini. His work was long, as I stated in an earlier work. But his detail to be able to write a setting so well thuoght of, and yes, I think his world was well thought out, I can forego the "Star Wars" feel.
Even though I am not a Dark Fantasy reader, I am curious of reading what he is working on next. And no, as he said, now that he has gained some experiance, he may not be writing fantasy next.
This is a good read. And my step son, who is a BIG Star Wars fan and a very voiceful book critic, loved this book and read it back to back twice.
Enjoy... Erich
I agree with you Erich. Even though some ideas were drawn from Star Wars, I loved the overall adventure created by Paolini. Sure, bits and pieces were similar to other stories, but a lot of it wasn't. And the descriptions and feelings I got through the writing was definitely not plagiarism, but the skills of the young author shining through.
I agree, it wasn't a literary masterpiece, but for a young guy, I think he did great.
I myself have an old computer full of half-written stories based off of other stories that I enjoyed immensely that I had written at around age 14.
- Yangu_38
- Posts: 12
- Joined: 15 Aug 2014, 07:56
- Bookshelf Size: 0
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-yangu-38.html
- CMRingh
- Posts: 7
- Joined: 07 Jul 2015, 13:13
- Currently Reading: Johnny Fracture
- Bookshelf Size: 7
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-cmringh.html
- Latest Review: "Johnny Fracture" by Waheed Ibne Musa
- Londera
- Posts: 379
- Joined: 28 Jun 2017, 15:03
- Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... elirium</a>
- Currently Reading: World, Incorporated
- Bookshelf Size: 391
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-londera.html
- Latest Review: The Reel Sisters by Michelle Cummings
- Reading Device: B00IKPYKWG
- Ash and Stars
- Posts: 42
- Joined: 24 Jul 2017, 04:07
- Bookshelf Size: 640
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ash-and-stars.html
- Latest Review: "Superhighway" by Alex Fayman
-
- Posts: 84
- Joined: 02 Aug 2017, 16:01
- Currently Reading: And Then I Met Margaret
- Bookshelf Size: 45
- Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-basya.html
- Latest Review: We are Voulhire: A New Arrival under Great Skies by Matthew Tysz
Thank you for your review and a trip down Memory Lane.