Eragon
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I don't think it's outright plagiarism. It just happens to be very similar to other archetypal stories like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Obviously, Paolini was inspired by them and paid tribute to them in his own books.
that i can except. there is nothing truly unique out there
You don't have to smoke anything to see the similarities. Though there is a slight difference between plagiarism and using someone else's intellectual property, there's very little original about this book if you think about it in relation to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and even Harry Potter.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9......As outlined here, and here:
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9...
Mostly just highly derivative, but sometimes he verges on plagiarism.
Oh... I can see the similarites now... And i can see why some would think taht he verges on plagerism.
Veggy wrote: "Paolini has been writing this serice for about 10years but still it is amazing. I' curently reading book four and i can't put it down. If anyone talks about him plagerising... bad things will h..."
I think when they say plagiarism they mean predictable. Inheritance is just another pile of cheesy books that don't offer anyhting new to the genre
Itore wrote: "Veggy wrote: "Paolini has been writing this serice for about 10years but still it is amazing. I' curently reading book four and i can't put it down. If anyone talks about him plagerising... bad t..."\
Thats what I thought of Harry Potter.
Also, think this. The most ideas out there come from somewhere and are used. So, if you were to call Eragon as being plagiarized(whatever) then you would have to call others the same thing. (Don't murder me for this. This is just my opinion.)
I think he just took his lore and basic ideas from LOTR, Star Wars, and I also see RA Salvator'es Dark Elf series influence in there too. Personally I like the idea that he kept the race lores the same as other authors, it makes for continuity
Laura wrote: "I don't think it's outright plagiarism. It just happens to be very similar to other archetypal stories like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Obviously, Paolini was inspired by them and paid tribute..."I totally agree. There might be a little Harry Potter Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars, but he still created a whole world and an amazing story to go with it. He deserves the credit he got. Ok, maybe I was a little annoyed sometiemes, being an avid Lord of the Rings/Star Wars/Harry Potter lover myself, but still
Let me start off by saying, I absolutely love Eddings, which might explain why I wasn't disgusted with Paolini..... it is basically a poor mans version of Eddings. There wasn't anything even remotely special about the Inheritance Cycle, but I did finish it, I enjoyed it at times, and I don't hate it.That being said...... if you don't think Paolini "Borrowed" HEAVILY from Eddings work, then you have never read Eddings.
Words from Paolini's own mouth...... or hand/keyboard, however you want it :
"My grandfather on my father's side bought me 'The Ruby Knight' by David Eddings when I was nine or ten. It was the first modern fantasy I ever read, and I remember being utterly captivated by Mr Eddings' story of knights and magic and monsters, and thinking, 'I like this!'
I liked it so much, in fact, that I raced to our local library and, over the course of several months, devoured every novel Mr Eddings had published. I even went so far as to purchase all five books of the series you now hold. 'The Belgariad' is a wonderful introduction to fantasy. A classic coming-of-age epic, it features a young farm boy with a mysterious past; a mad, twisted god for a villain; true love; thrilling duels and battles; a unique land; and some of the most interesting characters in the genre.
Mr Eddings influenced how I approach fantasy, both as a reader and as an author. 'The Belgariad' will always have a place of honor on my bookshelves."
Yeah..... so, we KNOW that Paolini was in love with Eddings work, and read it a dozen times.... moving on.
Garion was a simple farmboy enjoying life, till an old storyteller took him away from his farm and into an adventure that would ultimately free the world from an evil tyrant.
No Comparison needed....
Belgarion, King of Riva, has himself an awesome sword, forged from fallen stars with a blue orb of magic at the pummel, that bursts into blue flames when he wields it.....
The Brightsteel to forge Brisingr was also a fallen star with a blue jewel at the pummel, that ALSO burst into blue flames.
Belgarion also has a white birthmark on his right hand that marks his sorcerer heritage, and tingles when he uses magic....
Again, nothing need be said........
After Belgarion defeated this great evil, he was given a nickname by the people..... he was called Shadeslay....wait, no Garion was "Godslayer" Ergaon was Shadeslayer... can't believe I mixed those up, nothing alike.
In the Vale, the "Good teams" base of power, there are two sorcerers who are twins that seem to share the same mind.....
At least in the Belgariad the twins never betrayed their allies..... so I guess there is a difference.
Bringing us to Chereks Bore and the Boar's Eye...... two whirlpools in the ocean that must be braved by our heroes....
In the Belgariad, Chereks were northern sailors who were large in statue and normally covered in red hair..... sound like anything from Inheritance to anyone?
When Garion FIRST discovered he could use magic he did it without thinking..... the magic he used? It was Brisingr, err, I mean fire..... without thinking, he unlocked his magic potential by setting fire to his enemy.
Yeah...... Paolini REALLY made the story his own, and it is SOOOOO original..... Here is a few passages from Eddings work, put up against the same passages lifted and inserted into Paolini's books.
David Eddings original work, circa 1991
Beside the ford stood a small hut. The man who owned it was a sharp eyed fellow in a green tunic who demanded a toll to cross. Rather than argue with him, Sparhawk paid what he asked. “Tell me neighbour,” he asked when the transaction was completed “how far is the Pelosian border?”
“About five leagues” the sharp eyed man replied. “If you move along, you should reach it by afternoon.”
They splashed on across the ford. When they reached the other side, Talen rode up to Sparhawk. Here’s your money back,” the young boy said, handing over several coins.
Sparhawk gave him a startled look.
“I don’t object to paying a toll to cross a bridge” Talen sniffed. “After all, someone had to go to the expense of building it. That fellow was just taking advantage of a natural shallow place in the river. It didn’t cost him anything, so why should he make a profit from it?
“You cut his purse, then?”
“Naturally.”
“And there was more in it than just my coins?”
“A bit. Let’s call it my fee for recovering your money. After all, I deserve a profit too, don’t I?”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“I needed the practice.”
From the other side of the river came a howl of anguish.
“I’d say he just discovered his loss” observed Sparhawk.
“It does sort of sound that way, doesn’t it?
Christopher Paolini's text from Eragon
The Anora River flowed between them and the town, spanned by a stout bridge. As they approached it, a greasy man stepped (out) from behind a bush and barred their way. His shirt was too short and his dirty stomach spilled over a rope belt. Behind his cracked lips, his teeth looked like crumbling tombstones.
“You c’n stop right there. This’s my bridge. Gotta pay t’ get over.”
“How much?” asked Brom in a resigned voice. He pulled out a pouch and the bridge keeper brightened.
“Five crowns” he said, pulling his lips into a broad smile.
Eragon’s temper flared at the exorbitant price, and he started to complain hotly, but Brom silenced him with a quick look. The coins were wordlessly handed over. The man put them into a sack hanging from his belt.
“Thank’ee much” he said in a mocking tone and stood out of the way.
As Brom stepped forward, he stumbled and caught the bridge keeper’s arm to support himself.
“Watch y’re step” snarled the grimy man sidling away.
“Sorry” apologised Brom, and continued over the bridge with Eragon.
“Why didn’t you haggle? He skinned you alive!” exclaimed Eragon. “He probably doesn’t even own the bridge.”
“Probably” agreed Brom.
“Then why pay him?”
“Because you can’t argue with all the fools in the world. It’s easier to let them have their way, then trick them when they’re not paying attention.” Brom opened his hand, and a pile of coins glinted in the sun.
“You cut his purse!” said Eragon incredulously. Brom pocketed the money with a wink. There was a sudden howl of anguish from the other side of the river. “I’d say our friend has just discovered his loss.”
I guess I could see how maybe that could happen accidentally, maybe he didn't steal a favorite scene from his favorite author....... but then there's this.....
“What do I do?” Garion asked.
“Gather in the force,” Belgarath told him. “Take it from everything around.”
Garion tried that.
“Not from me!” the old man exclaimed sharply.
Garion excluded his grandfather from his field of reaching out and pulling in. After a moment or two, he felt as if he were tingling all over and that his hair was standing on end. “Now what?” he asked, clenching his teeth to hold it in.
“I want you to extract a sphere of water from the stream, using only the energy you can gleam from the forest around you.” said Oromis
“Yes, Master.”
As Eragon reached out to the nearby plants and animals, he felt Oromis’s mind brush against his own, the elf watching and judging his progress. Frowning with concentration, Eragon endeavored to eke the needed force from the environment and hold it within himself until he was ready to release the magic…
“Eragon! Do not take it from me! I am weak enough as it is.”
Startled, Eragon realized that he had included Oromis in his search. “I’m sorry, Master,” he said
If you can't see it by now..... there really isn't a whole lot of helping it I guess, some people are just to biased to be able to see things without blinders on..... I won't even go into all the names that Paolini lifted from Lord of the Rings, at least he changed half of them.....though barely (See Aragorn Vs. Eragon, Morgothal Vs. Morgoth, Furnost Vs. Fornost)
Anyway......I am not saying Eragon is a horrible story and you shouldn't read it..... it isn't bad if you go in with the fact that you are reading the works of a 15 year old. If you go in expecting the polish of a seasoned author you will be disappointed. I read it while stuck in a wharehouse on flood duty for the military, it helped me pass the time, but I took all 4 books back to wal-mart and got my money back, it won't be something on my bookshelf when my son comes of reading age.
If you're looking for something to get a young one interested into fantasy, then buy them "The Ranger's Apprentice" the author is another Eddings fan and writes like it, but his is at least semi-original and he doesn't lift whole passages and specifics from Eddings.
Sorry to rock the boat and make such a long post..... I am a huge Eddings fan, I am extremely sorry to see he and his wife go.
Cristy wrote: "Laura wrote: "I don't think it's outright plagiarism. It just happens to be very similar to other archetypal stories like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Obviously, Paolini was inspired by them an..."No he doesn't deserve any credit for anything. His problem is not being creative enough with those elements to do something new. Besides, he is a terrible writer. Even if he created the most original thing he still doesn't have any talent to write well.
Besides the stealing scenes from other stories, one of the things that grated on me was his descriptions of minor characters. It was like he had a list of random adjectives (maybe from a Dungeons and Dragons game)and he rolled dice to pick 2 for each character. You would get things like "the barkeep was wistful with shiny hair" or "the cart driver was sarcastic and had a crooked nose". Sorry I can't give real examples since I got rid of the book long ago. None of the characteristics had any effect on the story and were never mentioned again. It makes me think he was told that he had to make every character memorable and this was the best he could come up with.I believe this book never would have been published if his parents didn't own their own printing press and a major publishing house only picked it up because of the novelty of being written by a 15 year old.
If anyone talks about him plagerising... bad things will happen... I don't think he did, it is original and amazing. Thous who think his is, well what are you smoking?