Chain Reading

I started reading Eragon because the movie is coming out in December. I'm glad I did, now I'm going to be reading the other two books as well.

There are some parts that border on plagiarism of the Lord of the Rings books. The Elves and Dwarves have almost identical roles; some scenes, like the entrance of the Dwarves ancient dwellings, are really similar; and the Urgals of Eragon are basically Orcs.

But there are also some very good original parts as well. I like the stories of Murtaugh and the herbalist, Angela, and her partner, Solembum, the werecat.

A more blatant ripoff of The Lord of the Rings (and in parts the Harry Potter series) there could not be. Eragon rides on the fact that the author was a mere fifteen when he started writing it, but sadly, there's nothing else to commend or recommend this insipid work of fantasy. Paolini has borrowed liberally from Tolkien by way of ideas, characterisation, even outright names -- to an extent which is no longer excusable as paying homage to an inspiration. The entire work creates an impression of being grainy, piecemeal, and uninspired. Perhaps, in an effort to be fair to Paolini, we can concede that Tolkien raised the bar for fantasy and fantasy mythology writers so high that it is difficult for anyone else to match up, but that doesn't justify virtually basing one's whole story on his ideas. The characterisation of Elves, Dwarves and Men, the troubles faced by the protagonist Eragon, the evil Ra'zac on their flying steeds, and all the names of mountains, people, places etc. reek indisputably of Middle-earth's tales and legends.

Perhaps the only characters in the book I enjoyed were the healer, Angela, and her entertaining werecat, Solembum, as also Murtagh, Eragon's companion on his travels. Their roles are original and vivacious, though small. As for the trials Eragon undergoes, fate seems to be helping him get out of them very easily. Magic spells make themselves known to him without his ever having studied them. His mental bond with Saphira the dragon is an all-too-convenient way of circumventing any complications in the storyline, and of saving the author the trouble of probing his own fantasy world any further. Arya the elf is an even more uninspired, Arwenish love interest whom the story could well have done without.

Eragon would have been a worthy work had it been an unpublished manuscript that a fifteen-year-old wrote to first give vent to his urge to write. Published, and trembling in the harsh light of critique, it doesn't measure up. It's a boring read with nothing new to offer the world of fantasy mythology.

A good book, with some tense chapters that make you read on until your eyes are sore! However, the storyline is basically Star Wars set in lord of the rings. I'm nearly finished reading the next book in the series, Eldest, and am waiting to see if Galbatorix if Eragon's father! :) But serious the similarities are uncanny. Still well worth the read if you liked either Star Wars or Lord of the Rings.