Eragon
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A New Hope
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There are a LOT of similarities; you're right.I don't know if Paolini copied, per se, but a lot of themes and ideas seemed to be directly matching those in Star Wars and Lord of the Rings:
for LotR:
The four main races of Alagasia (Middle Earth) are Urgals (Orcs) who are ugly/muddy/scaly creatures of darkness that pretty much everyone hates and who like killing things, Elves who are beautiful, graceful, tall, and love nature, humans (Men), who are just normal, and dwarves who are short people who like to war and are often easily angered.
The language Paolini invented sounds a lot like the elvish one. Place names etc.
The story itself seems to come from Star Wars while the theme comes from the Lord of the Rings. The series is definitely not my favorite for this reason and because of the fact that he needed to edit at least 40% pf his material. He did good worldbuilding, but I think less of the details could be included.
FYI, George Lucas "borrowed" quite a bit from Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa.
95% of novels = 20% originality + 80% borrowing5% of novels = 80% originality + 20% borrowing
A New HopeEragon is a a tale of a small-town teen becoming a legendary hero of thegalaxyAlagaesia.The main character,
LukeEragon, is just your average kid until he comes into possession of a much-sought-afterdroiddragon egg. Soon, his uncle and aunt (who raised him) are dead, and his home is destroyed. He has little choice but to venture out into the world on a quest, with some assistance from a mysterious local,Ben KenobiBrom.BenBrom tells the young man that he must learn the ways ofthe Forcemagic, and become a trueJediDragon Rider. Pursued by assassins and soldiers, they race to find theRebel AllianceVarden, a rebel group trying to take down theEmperorking.While journeying,
BenBrom is struck down, but not before revealing that he, too was once aJediDragon Rider. Fortunately,LukeEragon has another companion,Han SoloMurtagh, a man on the run who cares for little more than his own safety. Together, they rescue aprincesself who gives them directions to the secret rebel base...accidentally leading the enemy right to it in the process.With the enemy on their doorstep, the
RebelsVarden wage a desperate battle.LukeEragon fights hard alongside them, and ends it by destroyingthe Death Starthe Shade Durza.Did I miss anything?