Melodrama ahoy.

[wyrdmuse]

I don't know what it is with people, but as soon as they learn that I'm a fan of sci-fi/fantasy, they recommend Eragon. Not in a "OH HAI Have you read this?" way, but in an "If you like JKR, then you must love Eragon!" way. And it's just not one or two people. I get this damn rec almost monthly. You can just tell that they think they're the

Comments

[ferromancer]

Are you kidding? Eragon is WONDERFUL! I mean, it was, like, entirely brilliantly done! If I could have one book to read on a desert island, it would be Eragon. I'd like to wallpaper my room with Eragon's pages so I could read them all day long. It's just so...

*SLAP*

....OK, I feel better now.

Eragon was a good story. Good writing, and I thought it had an interesting premise. I can see why alot of people that liked (insert random book from genre here) would like Eragon.

But while I am indeed looking to see how the storyline progresses, I'm not calling it the epiphany of literary cuisine that others are.

....that being said, you HAVE to read the Dresden Files books. :) I was reading them long before they went to TV (which was moderately OK), and I've enjoyed every single book that he's come out with. Check it out. Jim Butcher. The Dresden File books (starts with Storm Front). Brilliant work.

*SLAP*......nope, I still like the Dresden Files

[wyrdmuse]

I've read a bunch of the Dresden Files. I like the premise and I think it's one of the finer examples of urban fantasy, but there's something about them I just don't like. It's really hard to explain, but there's just something about Harry that rubs me the wrong way.

And as far as Pern goes, I think I've only read one or two and that was ages ago when I was first discovering fantasy.

But I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on Eragon. :)

[ferromancer]

there's just something about Harry that rubs me the wrong way

Hah! Yeah, I think I understand. :) He appeals to my style, and I REALLY like Butcher's writing. I've heard that Butcher's other books, the Codex Alexa (I think) series is really good - maybe you'd want to check that out if you like Butcher's style.

As far as Eragon - I wouldn't say that we entirely disagree. Yeah, alot of it is mirrored from other series. But consider the genre - dwarves, elves, dragons....most of it is copied from something else anyway. I think I just like his take on it, the character building, the little things. It's no sweeping epic, but it's not bad.

[wyrdmuse]

Oh, I like Butcher's writing style well enough. I like the setting and the plots and the way he takes familiar lore and puts his own spin on it. None of that bothers me; Harry Dresden does.

But there's really no character buiding in Eragon. Every character who is important (they're the ones with the fantasy-sounding names, BTW), has a dark past that allows them to brood often. Most of the characters are basically caricatures.

I'll agree that stories are told over and over and retold and repackaged, etc. Paolini, however, takes the worst cliches you can find in fantasy and crams them into a single volume. I'm told it gets worse in the sequel, but I don't plan on reading that unless every other book on Earth is destroyed.

[ferromancer]

People - by and large - are sheep. They only like things that others have confirmed that THEY like. An aura of acceptance, I guess is the best way to put it. Harry Potter and Eragon appeal to the lowest common denominator with common fantasy staples and a simple reading style.

It's a fantasy reading primer.

Sure, I like the book well enough. I like green eggs and ham, too, though. :) I guess I'm a little more accepting of his book because _I_ tried to write a book...and it largely became a big steaming pile of 300 pages of crap. :) I'm trying to have some perspective. :)

[wyrdmuse]

I was going to write up this whole long comment about Harry Potter, but it went tl;dr way too fast.

So, I'll skip to the second part of the comment. I doubt all 300 pages was crap. :P Even in crappy books, there's gotta be something brilliant.

[ferromancer]

The initial plot was good, I suppose....but as good a writer as I might be, it's hard for ANYONE to be a good writer through 300 pages. The ones that pull it off......well, some of them should and some of them shouldn't. :)