posted
Checking my email, and it turns out the last Eragon book is finished and will be out November 8th this year, it's titled "INHERITANCE" and has a green dragon on the front....
Now the only other book I am waiting for is Shadows in Flight, and judging by the discussion of that it hasn't really even been thought about ;-; so it's gonna be a while...
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
It was so, so horrifying when Barnes and Noble sent me an email saying that they thought I'd be excited to know the new Eragon book was coming out.
I guess it's just because my purchase history is heavily SF/Fantasy skewed, but still. How insulting.
Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Heh heh...I thought this thread was going to be a celebration that there are no more Eragon books... Posts: 324 | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
The Eragon books are pretty good. Now the movie was a total bust...
What's the beef against the books anyways o-O it's one thing to think they wouldn't be so great, it's another to act as if you ate something nasty.
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
My sister in law tried to get me to read Eragon, and she explained that it was written by a high school student. I said I wasn't interested.
Many months later, she loaned me a book which she'd put a protective cover on...told me it was a great book. I didn't see the cover or the author, didn't realize it was the same book. (Sneaky sister-in-law!)
A few pages into it I thought to myself, "Good grief! This sounds like it was written by a 15-year-old...hey, wait a minute..."
So I forced myself to read a couple chapters, but that was it...
Posts: 324 | Registered: Mar 2008
| IP: Logged |
posted
.___________. you're as bad as me and the twilight book, but at least I made it all the way to the sparkly part, then I closed it and returned it where it came from...
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
Blayne Bradley
unregistered
posted
I might read these someday, but I got so much more before then.
I mean, if I could sorta enjoy Hubbard's Mission Earth I can enjoy anything right?
IP: Logged |
They spend half the book in some desert building painfully slowly to a rescue of some guy from a criminal warlord.
Then the Vardin (or whatever the rebels are called) attack the mighty Imperial capital.
But IT'S A TRAP!
But the rebels win anyway because Eragon's friends pull through anyway with the help of vegetarian atheistic reclusive gnome-people, and Eragon faces the bad guys off and that guy who's Eragon's brother or something who was compelled to the evil side is redeemed and everyone lives happily ever after.
No, I've never read the books (I saw the movie though). I don't need to read the books to understand what they rip off.
Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Rawrain: You've must've read the book, because the movie never reveals Eragon as having a brother, only a cousin..........
My brother read the books and summarized the plot to me, so I have a very cursory knowledge of the story.
Posts: 1029 | Registered: Apr 2007
| IP: Logged |
posted
You cheated ): you can't read a summary and know the whole book, you have to read it and form opinions of your own.
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
In other news: People who like books where the author has the prose of a semi-literate duck probably shouldn't be calling themselves geniuses.
When Stephanie Meyer seems not all that bad in comparison, you know you're writing some generic trash.
Posts: 3564 | Registered: Sep 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I didn't mean in a mean spirited way...I just know what reaction the Eragon books get on this forum and figured I would go ahead and start the party.
Hope it didn't offend, Rawrain.
As for the forum's most hated book....hmmm...Twilight and The DaVinci Code would most likely be in the running too.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Belle: I didn't mean in a mean spirited way...I just know what reaction the Eragon books get on this forum and figured I would go ahead and start the party.
Hope it didn't offend, Rawrain.
As for the forum's most hated book....hmmm...Twilight and The DaVinci Code would most likely be in the running too.
I don't know. Twilight had a pretty good discussion going on here. Sure there were lots of people that hated it but there were more who liked it than I have seen on this thread so far.
Most any other forum, yeah twilight is the most hated.
Posts: 891 | Registered: Feb 2010
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Wingracer: Most any other forum, yeah twilight is the most hated.
That's because Eragon had the common decency to die as a hot pop culture property after one terrible movie.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm under the assumption that pretty much everyone on this forum is familiar with the plot of the Eragon books. You've all seen Star Wars right? The first two books, at least, are direct re-interpretations of Star Wars, mixed with a dash of LOTR here and there. I read the first two. I like some of the not-so-great young adult fantasy that's out there as my guilty pleasure reading when I don't really want to pay a whole lot of attention.
The writing is just awful. Maybe it could be better if Paolini didn't write with a thesaurus right next to him so he could make every word sound smarter than what he originally wrote. But despite the fact that he's only thinly veiled the material he's ripping off, I actually thought parts of it were sort of fun for what it was, it was a rather imaginative retelling of the Star Wars story. It's written around the same level of the very best fanfic that's out there, but it's fun for what it is. The kid ain't Tolkien, but I think he fits perfectly into the group of authors that have emerged recently who peddle poorly written young adult fantasy (I am Number Four, Percy Jackson, and the like, I'm looking at you).
I'll probably borrow and read the last two books some day, because I'm curious to see if the Ewoks come in to save the day, or if he manages to break away from the source material at all.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Great review! I never made the connection to star wars, but now that you mention it clearly, I do see I pretty dang good comparison, but there are plenty of differences to set them apart aswell.
Sadly I am not seeing any LotR in there .__. unless you're refering to elves, dwarves, and the 3rd race... but if you have dragons these things are a must /:
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
posted
The LOTR stuff is minor, some names, and a couple tiny plot details, I haven't read it in a few years, so I don't really remember. But the Star Wars thing is dead-on. If you describe the plot generally, it's Star Wars.
Young farm boy being raised by his uncle. He meets a mysterious old man with unusual abilities, who turns out to be one of the very last of a dying breed of people with special powers, who were all hunted down and killed by an overlord with the help of that boy's father as his henchman. The uncle is killed so the boy sets off on an adventure with the old man. Sadly, the old man is alive only long enough to teach him a few tricks before sacrificing himself to save the boy. Meanwhile, the boy saves a princess with the help of a dashing rogue, and off they go to the rebel stronghold, where as we speak the imperial army is on its way to crush the rebels. Luckily, the boy manages to destroy the all-powerful force that comes to take them down, and saves the day.
In the second story, he heads deep into the woods to find an old recluse, who happens to be . . . a lost master of the same powerful force as the old man who died, and this one can teach him all the stuff he'd need to take down the evil ruler. Along the way, he finds out he has a long lost sibling, and that his father was uber evil, and betrayed the entire order. Sadly, he leaves the old master before his training is complete, to run off and save his friends. I recall there being a lot more LOTR in the second book, but can't remember it specifically.
Seriously though, that general description is the first two books of the Inheritance Cycle to a tee, and it's exactly the plot of Star Wars as well. He changes a few things here and there, adds a cousin, changes Leia from a sister to a more centered love interest (and in this, we're closer to Aragorn/Arwen, but I'll give him a bit of a break as the "two people from different worlds" trope isn't LOTR specific) and instead makes Han Solo the sibling, though there's a twist with him temporarily being evil. We'll see how long that lasts.
Like I said, some of it is pretty clever, turning a sci-fi plot into a fantasy setting. But it's totally derivative, and he loses a lot of points for that.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I just died a little on the inside.... I'm hoping this last book breaks the chain. ----- ZzzZzZZZZzzzZZzz I will be returning to the forum tomorrow afternoon!...No wait.. later today... ya.. -gone-
Posts: 461 | Registered: Nov 2010
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Like I said, some of it is pretty clever, turning a sci-fi plot into a fantasy setting. But it's totally derivative, and he loses a lot of points for that.
I would really say that Star Wars is a fantasy plot in a sci-fi setting, personally. The original movies, anyway.
Posts: 450 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:The Eragon books are pretty good. Now the movie was a total bust...
I am the only one who actually liked the movie better?
I'm pretty sure Twilight wins in a Which Sucks More face-off between the two books, but not by a wide margin.
In my own version of hell, there would be nothing to read but Twilight and Eragon stuff...and anything by Danielle Steele.
Posts: 407 | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Lyrhawn: Like I said, some of it is pretty clever, turning a sci-fi plot into a fantasy setting. But it's totally derivative, and he loses a lot of points for that.
I would really say that Star Wars is a fantasy plot in a sci-fi setting, personally. The original movies, anyway.
Absolutely. Magic swords, colorful rogues, enemy wizards, a princess to save, and a castle to storm.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm surprised at the vitriol against the Eragon/Inheritance series.
I found the universe vividly drawn with very interesting characters combined with a compelling story.
Now that I've read the final books, yes, I do have some criticisms but they are small. Overall, Paolini brought the series to a somewhat bittersweet but satisfying conclusion.
I personally found Tolkien dry as day old toast and couldn't possible wade through his long winded rants until I had seen the movies and knew were the story was going. Once I, more or less, knew the story, when Tolkien would get bogged down I would know what was coming next, and simply read through the bore.
People rave about Tolkien, but I found him 'wordy' and long winded. But, once I has seen the movies, I was able to enjoy the books.
I thoroughly enjoyed the Eragon series, and would rate it one of the best reads I've found lately. And I would certainly rate it over I Am Number Four and Percy Jackson which really are lean teen fodder.
The last book sold 500,000 copies on the first day, and instantly jumped to number ONE on the New York Times Best Seller list. For that to happen, somebody must be enjoying the books.
posted
Man, why did you go and do this. I had completely forgotten that Eragon existed, and that was nice.
OTHER THINGS I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT: What The Bleep Do We Know, The Secret, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, The Golden Smug Atheist Compass, and Narnia: Adventures of the CGI Lion Who Is Jesus It Is A Very Straightforward Representation
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I read the first few Eragon books and they seemed simple enough not to be offended at until I got to the part where it was clearly Paolini trying to be smart by putting thinly veiled hints that the elves were FAR superior to the dwarves (like worlds better) and when the author's writing style starts to display their own prejudices that blatantly, I decide to put the book down and never look back.
I can see good guys and bad guys being written as superior/inferior, but when I can see a writer writing two different types of good guys where the "superior" race takes pity on an "inferior" race and it has a real-world corollary, that's when I can't stand it anymore.
Posts: 258 | Registered: Jul 2006
| IP: Logged |
quote: I would certainly rate it over I Am Number Four...
Yes, well. But 'I Am Number 4' was stunningly bad. I read the first chapter and it made my teeth ache with it's awfulness.
Posts: 1528 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
The only thing I was impressed by in I Am Number Four was some of the dialogue. I laughed at most of the intentional jokes, and I thought they actually represented teen banter far more truthfully than most writers do, if for no other reason than there was a lot more casual swearing than you normally see in these things.
The actual story was alright. I thought the movie was a pretty impressive visual interpretation of the book. It was a hell of a lot better than the movie version of Eragon, where the main actor simply did not know how to act. I've heard the Percy Jackson movie was pretty good.
The fun thing about these books is that they only take a couple hours to read. Tolkien might be a slog at points, but it's worth every sentence. Like a fine dining experience compared to the fast food of the fantasy world. Every now and then though, you really just crave something off the dollar menu. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:The last book sold 500,000 copies on the first day, and instantly jumped to number ONE on the New York Times Best Seller list. For that to happen, somebody must be enjoying the books.
No one has ever gone poor underestimating the intelligence of Americans. In related news, the Snuggie continues to be a popular item.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm waiting for them to market the new and improved sleeveless Snuggie, the Cuddly, for when you want to cuddle with someone else.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I just picked up I Am Number Four last week. I'd never heard of it before, but it was cheap and I was curious.
I made it about 70 pages in and threw it in the garbage. Literally. I don't think I've ever thrown a book in the garbage before. But I could not in good conscience donate it to goodwill, where some poor impressionable kid might find it.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
By the way, I honestly made a good faith effort to finish I Am Number Four. With a book that short, I usually try to give it the benefit of the doubt, no matter how bad it seems at first.
But after a few chapters I fell asleep, and I dreamed that I was reading Asimov's Foundation. It was a lovely dream. When I woke up and saw I Am Number Four sitting on my chest, I was so depressed I couldn't bear to read another word.
Posts: 2804 | Registered: May 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
It was co-authored by James Frey, of Million Little Pieces fame. He's pretty much openly admitted that his publishing company, Full Fathom Five, exists mainly to churn out YA sci-fi/fantasy crap for mass consumption. They are far more interested in quantity than quality.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
I Am Number Four is definitely a yawn in many places, but I will say that the sequel was actually a big improvement. Four is a boring character but his little entourage is rather enjoyable, especially his UFO loving buddy. Its certainly not a masterwork of science fiction, but while some people go the theaters to watch Transformers, I'm guilty of consuming my fair share of fluffy juvy lit. And working in a bookstore kind of makes it my job.
As for Eragon, as much as I try to stay on top of what's popular even to the point that I read all the [/i]Twilight[/i] books, I just couldn't bring myself to try the Inheritance series. My tolerance for dragons pretty much ends at their rare appearance in Harry Potter. Otherwise, we're too close to the lame corner of the fantasy genre.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Bad writing. Terrible writing that makes me cringe and twitch with pain. I tried to read the first 2 books in this series and gave up on the second one because it made me shout at it. His writing is just so terrible! It's unoriginal as all hell, yet he thinks he's Tolkien. He is NOT TOLKIEN.
I really wish his parents would have had someone give him constructive criticism because now it's too late. He thinks he's God's gift to writing and has gotten paid tons for it. I'd take Twilight over it. Sometimes Twilight can be a bit dippy, but at least it's entertaining.
Posts: 9942 | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Wow, I don't HATE either Eragon or Twilight.
Sure, Eragon definitely sounds like it was written by a teenager. It's plot is hardly original. But, it's a fun ride while it lasted. It's sort of like the kiddie roller coaster. It's not a ton of thrill, and you've been on it dozens of times before, but it's still kinda fun to feel the air rush by.
Twilight I actually really enjoyed - well, at least the first book. It was just such a perfect description of an intense and unhealthy teen romance. It was all the fun without any of the pain. Quite nice. The second book did suck, and the rest of the series was pretty much a "ok, I want to find out what happens at the end" read. The first book was fun though!
I can't really say much about the movies though. I didn't like Eragon enough to bother to see the movie. I did watch the first Twilight on DVD, but it was so cringe worthy I haven't seen any of the others.
Posts: 1321 | Registered: Jun 2006
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Speed: I made it about 70 pages in and threw it in the garbage. Literally.
This is a valuable modern-day skill. Some people never really learned to give up on undeserving books early and say 'well i started it i guess i have to finish it' and urggggggggghhhhhhhh through most or all of it for months. Think of all the time and mental energy that saps away!
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Samprimary: OTHER THINGS I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN ABOUT: What The Bleep Do We Know, The Secret, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, The Golden Smug Atheist Compass, and Narnia: Adventures of the CGI Lion Who Is Jesus It Is A Very Straightforward Representation
quote:Originally posted by Speed: I made it about 70 pages in and threw it in the garbage. Literally.
This is a valuable modern-day skill. Some people never really learned to give up on undeserving books early and say 'well i started it i guess i have to finish it' and urggggggggghhhhhhhh through most or all of it for months. Think of all the time and mental energy that saps away!
If it's taking you months to read I Am Number Four, you're doing something wrong.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
![[Embarrassed]](redface.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
