another Eragon spot post(longer than originally intended, cuz Murtagh rocks)

[meganbmoore]

Aaah, Murtagh, I am loving you more and more.  Eragon, shut up and listen to Murtagh...you'll live longer and pick up some more survival skills.  Murtagh just gave his origins(incidentally, unless Paolini is setting up a huge red herring, he may as well write "they're brothers" all over the margins in big block letters) and why he doesn't want to

Comments

[crumpeteer]

Eragon is an enfuriating book. Paolini can write things very competantly sometimes, but most of the time he can't write to save his life.

I love Murtagh though. In Paolini's world of Mary Sues and Gary Stus, Murtagh is an actual character with dimension. I feel for him and I actually care about him. I love the scene where he beheads the slaver simply because Murtagh is RIGHT in doing what he does. Ruthless, yes, but as a warrior, he was acting in a smart manner and even the dragon agrees with him. Eragon would be dead in two seconds flat in a real fantasy world if he hadn't lucked out, stumbled over everything he needed, and been written as a Gary Stu who is perfect at everything he tries and radiates light from his eyeballs. Murtagh wouldn't though. Murtagh survives because he's tough and independent and smart.

[meganbmoore]

Eragon would have been dead countless times if not for Murtagh, but he lectures him every time.

I think my favorite scene from the entire book is when the twins want to read Murtagh's mind and he basically goes "So, you can't kill me, and you can't kill my friend, right? You got noghtin' so screw you and keep out of my head." Because, really, how often(outside a Simon Green book) does a character just flat out call another on their bluff and grandstanding like that?

[crumpeteer]

I think the reason I like Murtagh so much is that he IS so practical. How many characters do you see recognize that though killing the evil emperor might be GOOD, having no government is BAD? Or that practice the "you threatened me, time to kill you the fastest way possible" method? Many Bond villians could learn from that. Chop his head off NOW and he won't come back to haunt you LATER. I appreciate Murtagh's practicality.

[meganbmoore]

Countless heroes and villains alike could learn from Murtagh. His sheer practicality is unlike anything I've seen in other fantasy books, outside of Simon Green(where he'd be the guy the heroes asked for help because the people they either wanted to intimidate or to fight would be scared silly of him, because he'd be sheer badass)