[books] Eragon by Christopher Paolini

[snugglekitty]

I read this in about three days. I liked it.



First, a snarky comment: so, Anne McCaffrey wrote a review of the book, part of which is on the back cover. "A tip of the hat to young master Paolini." Yes, you're the Dragon Lady. Everyone knows that you wrote bestselling spec fic on dragons. We're all very impressed. Do you have to keep reminding us that you're Old Skool?

Now, some more comments. I felt that this was a little bit predictable, and a whole lot of Tolkien-derivative. And, there's the "not a stand-alone book" issue. What did I like about it? Well, for one thing it was really compelling. For another, the worldbuilding was great. For a third, the interactions between the characters are pretty believable.

But I didn't think it was the most original book I've ever read. Yes, there are dwarves who live underground and elves who live in the forest and telepathic dragons... sure. And an ancient language which captures the true essence of things, which is how magic is worked. Yes, yes, yes. Just - you know - a little cliched.

I liked the first one, not sure if I'll read the second one. Three stars.

Comments

[supercheesegirl.livejournal.com]

I noticed all the same things you did. As I read the book I was playing a fun little game of "Guess the Author's Influences", all of which were pretty obvious. A raven-haired elf maiden named Arya? Come on, dude. But in spite of how derivative it was in so many ways, I really liked the book. I'm not sure what it is about it, but I'm very much looking forward to the next book (which comes out this summer). I feel like it's possible he might take the story to more original places. He's a really young writer but I think he's got a lot of potential.