Eragon

[Gwalchmai]

I think the only reason I'll go see the movie is because Joss Stone is playing someone, so I have to see it.

[hoodedwarrior]

Oh, great...now I feel immature and childish just because I loved this book...*is mildly upset*
Well, yes. The books were great, ok? You find no similarities if you look for none I loved both, read both and eagerly await the third. Guess what? I think that Brom is Eragons father, not Morzan like Murtagh said. if anyone's interested I'll post the fan theory...

The movie was shocking. It jumped enitre characters and crucial ones at that. They've dug a hole for the second movie. There won't be one. Gwalchmai, if you went to see Joss Stone, don't bother. Her character was misrepresented, and her time cut down dramatically from what it should be.
If I hadn't read the book I wouldn't understand what was going on...
The Ra'zac were wrong as well...but don't get me started on the movie...*takes deeeeep breaths*

[whitetrash]

yes i will read the thried also when it comes out

[twyrch]

hoodedwarrior said:

Oh, great...now I feel immature and childish just because I loved this book...*is mildly upset*
Well, yes. The books were great, ok? You find no similarities if you look for none I loved both, read both and eagerly await the third. Guess what? I think that Brom is Eragons father, not Morzan like Murtagh said. if anyone's interested I'll post the fan theory...

The movie was shocking. It jumped enitre characters and crucial ones at that. They've dug a hole for the second movie. There won't be one. Gwalchmai, if you went to see Joss Stone, don't bother. Her character was misrepresented, and her time cut down dramatically from what it should be.
If I hadn't read the book I wouldn't understand what was going on...
The Ra'zac were wrong as well...but don't get me started on the movie...*takes deeeeep breaths*

I'd love to hear your fan theory on that. I am still working on Eragon... I keep getting sidetracked with my own stories, but when I read it, I love every moment of it.

I'm sorry the movie was so horrible.... maybe I won't see it after all.

[hoodedwarrior]

I PMed it. Too much of a spoiler. (Not that I haven't already given away major plot thingamyjigs. But I don't want to worsen my crimes. )

Hmm. Still see the movie, you should from you own opinion...

[Delvyr]

The book was fairly well written and interesting enough.... but the movie they made of it was awful... they edited out major parts and the parts they left in were drastically altered.... stupid Hollywood... *sigh* I just hope that if they ever make a movie of one of SRL's books that they stick to the plot otherwise it would ruin it for me.

[chrystalized]

I bought and read the book because i wanted to see the movie, and i hate seeing a movie before i have read the book... I still havent seen the movie, but not because i hated the book, but because i LIKED the book and heard the movie was a disapointment in comparison. I did get irritated with Eragon, a lot. but i just had to remind myself that he was acting as a TYPICAL boy his age, which doesnt happen very often in books

[dinadan]

I've read Eragon and am half way through Eldest.

I'm not impressed, really. Maybe I'm too hard on him, but I have to say that Paolini's books are very much the work of an adolescent. He may be a gifted adolescent, and Eldest is definitely an improvement over Eragon, but the story itself relies too much on crutches.

What do I mean by that?

First off, his invented languages. I have a hard time with his linguistic characterizations of places/people/things. There seems to be no unity in the languages used by the various races; and, to an ear-and-eye trained on Tolkien fantasy, most of it looks and sounds like orc-gibberish. I also don't like reading line after line of the gibberish, then having it repeated to me in English. Its like he's having to point out to us that dwarves, elves, and humans all speak different languages; I think we all realize that, so I think it's more beneficial to give us snippets of the untranslated languages here and there (especially when there is no aesthetic unity in said invented language, and long lines of it reveal its very artificialness).

Then, there is his use of language. There are definite fourth wall breaking moments, where characters give long, forced ruminations on backstory that are, at best, marginally relevant to the moment in the story that they appear. You have no choice but to conclude that these are for the reader's benefit, not Eragon's (which harms the suspension of disbelief). The prose is halting, and in many places it is disjointed and unpleasing to read. It sounds like a kid trying to write flowery, "high" English. The dialogs between characters are often almost painful to read (especially in Eragon--this quality does get a little better in Eldest), because they sound like lines being forced through puppets--not like people talking to one another.

I'd say, very good for a 15 year old writer--but really, I don't think this would've been published if he had not been the son of published authors. And, being as good as he is now, he has the potential to BE a fantastic writer when he grows up a bit. But, I think the commercial success of Eragon is going to hamper that--for obvious reasons.

Just my thoughts, and, I admit, they are probably overly critical...but, while I'll finish up the series, I don't think that they are anywhere near as good as lots of people seem to think.

[whitetrash]

book III will be out this sept cant wait to see how it turns out and see if he has improved any

[heart4asia]

my two teenage sons and i read both books and watched the movie. the movie "stunk out loud" in our mutual opinion. but, we did enjoy the books. they were just a fun casual read for us. we will certainly by the third and read it when it comes out, and hope that they never try to follow up that first movie with another one.