Eldest, Christopher Paolini
Novel - Fantasy
Rating: 2/5
Why I Read It: I'd read Eragon(didn't like it), and I have an interest in what Paolini does, since he was the first young writer to really get a lot of press attention.
Paolini totally ripped Tolkien off. The only battle that was even half-decent was the final 'climax'; the rest were kind of blink-and-you-missed-it. But the last battle, I was halfway though it and was thinking "hey, how'd he get so good at battle construction?", and then I saw the line "look, here come the dwarves!". The hell? Can you say Riders of Rohan? I mean, Paolini even had the freaking boat. Many authors rip off Tolkien, but they usually are much less blatant about it.
Alas, much as I would love to poke fun at his lack of plotting ability, I could find no discernable plot holes. Speaking of plot, I suppose I should have started off this review with a basic summary rather than a rant about ripping Tolkien off(shame on you, Paolini).
Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have saved the Varden from certain destruction(oh!) at the hands of the evil king-whose-name-shall-not-be-pronounced-or-spelled, ruler of Alagaesia. Now, he must journey north into the even-more-unpronouncable land of the elves to complete his training as a rider.
Not only does Paolini write awkward battle scenes, but his romance is decidedly lacking as well. If one is going to introduce a romance side-plot, one must actually have something happen in it. The same thing happening over and over again for several chapters while the author kills time isn't very entertaining at all.
One of the few bits I liked was what happened to the little girl that Eragon blessed at the end of the last book. That was totally awesome, and much more sadistic than I ever had Paolini pegged for. I have hope for the man yet.
Rating: 2/5
Why I Read It: I'd read Eragon(didn't like it), and I have an interest in what Paolini does, since he was the first young writer to really get a lot of press attention.
Paolini totally ripped Tolkien off. The only battle that was even half-decent was the final 'climax'; the rest were kind of blink-and-you-missed-it. But the last battle, I was halfway though it and was thinking "hey, how'd he get so good at battle construction?", and then I saw the line "look, here come the dwarves!". The hell? Can you say Riders of Rohan? I mean, Paolini even had the freaking boat. Many authors rip off Tolkien, but they usually are much less blatant about it.
Alas, much as I would love to poke fun at his lack of plotting ability, I could find no discernable plot holes. Speaking of plot, I suppose I should have started off this review with a basic summary rather than a rant about ripping Tolkien off(shame on you, Paolini).
Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have saved the Varden from certain destruction(oh!) at the hands of the evil king-whose-name-shall-not-be-pronounced-or-spelled, ruler of Alagaesia. Now, he must journey north into the even-more-unpronouncable land of the elves to complete his training as a rider.
Not only does Paolini write awkward battle scenes, but his romance is decidedly lacking as well. If one is going to introduce a romance side-plot, one must actually have something happen in it. The same thing happening over and over again for several chapters while the author kills time isn't very entertaining at all.
One of the few bits I liked was what happened to the little girl that Eragon blessed at the end of the last book. That was totally awesome, and much more sadistic than I ever had Paolini pegged for. I have hope for the man yet.
posted by Tigger89 at 7:09 AM
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