Yossarian89
New Member
I've heard mixed reviews about this 15 year old author. Is he 15 or 17? Well has anybody read his book "Eragon". And the sequel to the book "Eldest" is coming out August 22nd I think.
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Christopher Paolini
- Thread starter Yossarian89
- Start date
I'm pretty sure he's 19 now, but maybe 20. My step sister had his book when she visited the last summer, and I read a little bit of it. Eragon isn't a good book. Some people may find it an enjoyable, light read, but I certainly didn't. The characters are boring, the storyline is predictable, and the writing is superfluous.
This isn't exactly a life changing book here. It's not even anything to write home about.
This isn't exactly a life changing book here. It's not even anything to write home about.
Sadly I'd have to agree with you. I rather gather a lot of the hype surrounding the release of this book centered around the age of the writer rather than it being of any great quality per se. It is highly generic, containing many of the fantasy tropes I've come to dislike in recent years....Cretin said:
lilbiteb
New Member
GOLLUM said:Sadly I'd have to agree with you. I rather gather a lot of the hype surrounding the release of this book centered around the age of the writer rather than it being of any great quality per se. It is highly generic, containing many of the fantasy tropes I've come to dislike in recent years....
It really depends upon who's reading it I guess.
My son is 11 and Eragon is the first "big" book that he's read. He loved it and was bursting with pride when he finished it. It's fired him up to go on and read more and more.
Yes you make a partiucularly pertinent point there actually. It certainly does depend upon who is reading it. It's obviuosly targeted towards a YA market so for your son it's presumbably a highly enjoyable read, I'm reviewing it from the perspective of someone reading fantasy for the past 25 years...lilbiteb said:It really depends upon who's reading it I guess.
My son is 11 and Eragon is the first "big" book that he's read. He loved it and was bursting with pride when he finished it. It's fired him up to go on and read more and more.
You also bring up another interesting point I've discussed on other forums, which is that as long as an author writes to a specific target audience that enjoys that particular style of writing then they are equally as valid to someone writing to a totally different audience whom they are able to entertain and engage as readers. For example I don't like David Edding's books but then again he's very popular so for the audience he targets it could be argued he does a good job.
Hope your son has many an enchanting literary adventure in the years to come..
manatherindrell
New Member
I actually loved Eragon. It throws back to the classic fantasy I loved so much as a kid. Now you see so many people trying to take classic fantasy elements and make them their own and they usually end up with mediocre stories. I like the stories that are either classic fantasy or something new, that is completely the domain of the author.GOLLUM said:Sadly I'd have to agree with you. I rather gather a lot of the hype surrounding the release of this book centered around the age of the writer rather than it being of any great quality per se. It is highly generic, containing many of the fantasy tropes I've come to dislike in recent years....
Well I didn't feel that Eragon was particularly original or well written from what I read of it compared to authors like China Mieville, M John Harrison, Steven Erikson, R Scott Bakker, Gene wolfe etc.. but then again everyone's going to have differnet tastes and opinions on these things which is good. As long as it entertains you I guess that's the important thing.manatherindrell said:
T
Tetris
Guest
I have read Eragon and Eldest and I have to say I enjoyed them greatly. Although it is very generic and very closely related to Lord of the Rings series as shown in the Derivative nature of the books section of this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eragon , it is still a great read. And, even though it is targeted more towards the younger crowd, I know a few adults who loved the books. Also, Eragon the movie is supposed to be coming out in December, but my guess is that it will be very corny and childish but I might go see it anyway.
lady.cordelia
New Member
I always read what I think my kids will enjoy and just finished Eldest (read Eragon a while ago). I think they are great for the age of the author and for the target audience. I did enjoy most of the characters and had fun reading it, but it is hard to get into at first when you come into it after reading works by more mature authors. His age comes through a bit, but I did notice that you can see his maturity rising through the development of the second book.
Hrothgar is a name commonly used, as it was really the name of an ancient king (can't remember what now - but I came across it recently in doing history with my oldest). Eragon was supposed to be a play on the word dragon. Since he uses Old Norse as a foundation for the development of his "Ancient" language and language experts said that Tolkien's elven language had many characteristics of the same language, it isn't surprising that they have common elements. The names have meaning and the authors would be drawn to those meanings for the character. That said, yes, the characters are amazingly similar.
I am fairly new to fantasy (except for LOTR and Narnia, which I have been familiar with for quite some time), but I am curious as if all elves and dwarves are depicted in the same manner in most fantasy novels.
Hrothgar is a name commonly used, as it was really the name of an ancient king (can't remember what now - but I came across it recently in doing history with my oldest). Eragon was supposed to be a play on the word dragon. Since he uses Old Norse as a foundation for the development of his "Ancient" language and language experts said that Tolkien's elven language had many characteristics of the same language, it isn't surprising that they have common elements. The names have meaning and the authors would be drawn to those meanings for the character. That said, yes, the characters are amazingly similar.
I am fairly new to fantasy (except for LOTR and Narnia, which I have been familiar with for quite some time), but I am curious as if all elves and dwarves are depicted in the same manner in most fantasy novels.
ValkyrieRaven88
New Member
I really liked Eragon. It wasn't the best book ever, but considering how young he was when he wrote it, I think it's excellent. Anyway, he's at least 21 now and working on the third installment.
lady.cordelia
New Member
like fine wine, i expect he'll just get better with age, too! 
HermioneWeasley
Member
someone asked-yes, elves and dwarves are pretty much the same everywhere except in harry potter, where they're house elves(I rather dislike the idea. my lotr obsessed friend has had too much influence on me)
jcsoblonde
kickbox
hmm well im sometimes a bit divided when it comes to this author...the first thing i noticed in the books was the elves and some other things. personally i liked it, it was a fun read, though you can tell chris is getting older and more mature which means his books just get better. eldest was more deeper though personally i could have done without the athiest rant. i think that the 3rd book 'Empire' will be better because hes in his 20s now. still a good read though.