Saturday, 13 August 2016 10:11 pm
Book Review: Eragon
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deckardcanineWhen I reported receiving this book as a gift, one forumite replied, "Ouch." It's a pretty polarizing book, tho not on the same level as Twilight. Author Christopher Paolini was only a teen, and his parents ran the publishing, which would call the quality into question. So what if he did great in school? He still has a lot to learn, right? But I was still curious, and the unpopular screen adaptation wouldn't do.
It didn't take me long to figure out that the controversy lies primarily in the lack of creativity. Heck, the very title is just a slight alteration of "dragon," one of which appears on the cover. Not only do we get a typical post-J.R.R. Tolkien pseudo-medieval fantasy setting, but I couldn't help picturing Eragon as resembling Luke Skywalker: He's a teenage farmboy who doesn't know who his father was (and still doesn't at the end of this first volume), has something special unexpectedly thrust into his hands, finds his home in ruins and his uncle dying, learns that his old neighbor is a famous badass who will mentor him in fighting and magic, loses said mentor, and joins a rebellion against an empire that wants to join forces with him.
There isn't a whole lot of moral subtlety either. I'd hoped that King Galbatorix was misunderstood, but now I'm convinced that he's even worse than Eragon's village thought. Then there are the Urkels -- excuse me, Urgals -- who are basically orcs, an entire evil race. Thankfully, the rebel forces known as the Varden offer a little ambiguity, insofar as they have to make some uncomfortable moves in war.
And what makes Eragon special? His rare bond with a new dragon, Saphira. Like the dragons written by Anne McCaffrey and Jane Yolen, she's a telepath who naturally grows very close to one human. Unlike the others, she shares not just thoughts but strength/energy, which is necessary for spell casting. Also, having been in an egg for decades, she shows a lot more wisdom than you'd expect of a five-month-old, even treating Eragon more like a son than a father figure.
Dragons, Urgals, and various forms of magic are the main fantasy trappings. We also meet dwarves (who never seem to vary between franchises); some sort of were-cat; and an elf, who probably will become Eragon's girlfriend. I'm sure the sequels will shed more light, especially as Eragon travels to other parts of the included map.
Whether or not Paolini got extensive editing help on this score, the writing avoids many of the pitfalls common to novices. I wouldn't have guessed that a teen wrote it. It may do especially well at conveying Eragon's struggles, which paint him as neither too pathetic nor too Mary Sue-ish.
Nevertheless, some issues in crafting remain. I saw several twists coming a mile away. All too often, Eragon is saved from an enemy at the last second by the sudden appearance of an ally. Tolkien would not be satisfied at the paltry differences in tone among the three fictitious languages, one of which is called only "the ancient language." (The glossary in my edition misses a few entries, BTW.)
But I've learned not to mind low originality or even predictability when enough else goes right. At no point in the nearly 500 pages did I feel like giving up; it was always at least adequate in entertainment. That's more than I can say for a lot of fantasies I've reviewed here. Had I been Paolini's age, I'd probably love it. I won't pick up volume 2 any time soon, but I'll keep it in mind if I ever want to return to the basics that got me into the genre in the first place.
Now I've started on a short sci-fi novel, Fred Saberhagen's Berserker. Not sure how long it can sustain its opening level of intensity.
It didn't take me long to figure out that the controversy lies primarily in the lack of creativity. Heck, the very title is just a slight alteration of "dragon," one of which appears on the cover. Not only do we get a typical post-J.R.R. Tolkien pseudo-medieval fantasy setting, but I couldn't help picturing Eragon as resembling Luke Skywalker: He's a teenage farmboy who doesn't know who his father was (and still doesn't at the end of this first volume), has something special unexpectedly thrust into his hands, finds his home in ruins and his uncle dying, learns that his old neighbor is a famous badass who will mentor him in fighting and magic, loses said mentor, and joins a rebellion against an empire that wants to join forces with him.
There isn't a whole lot of moral subtlety either. I'd hoped that King Galbatorix was misunderstood, but now I'm convinced that he's even worse than Eragon's village thought. Then there are the Urkels -- excuse me, Urgals -- who are basically orcs, an entire evil race. Thankfully, the rebel forces known as the Varden offer a little ambiguity, insofar as they have to make some uncomfortable moves in war.
And what makes Eragon special? His rare bond with a new dragon, Saphira. Like the dragons written by Anne McCaffrey and Jane Yolen, she's a telepath who naturally grows very close to one human. Unlike the others, she shares not just thoughts but strength/energy, which is necessary for spell casting. Also, having been in an egg for decades, she shows a lot more wisdom than you'd expect of a five-month-old, even treating Eragon more like a son than a father figure.
Dragons, Urgals, and various forms of magic are the main fantasy trappings. We also meet dwarves (who never seem to vary between franchises); some sort of were-cat; and an elf, who probably will become Eragon's girlfriend. I'm sure the sequels will shed more light, especially as Eragon travels to other parts of the included map.
Whether or not Paolini got extensive editing help on this score, the writing avoids many of the pitfalls common to novices. I wouldn't have guessed that a teen wrote it. It may do especially well at conveying Eragon's struggles, which paint him as neither too pathetic nor too Mary Sue-ish.
Nevertheless, some issues in crafting remain. I saw several twists coming a mile away. All too often, Eragon is saved from an enemy at the last second by the sudden appearance of an ally. Tolkien would not be satisfied at the paltry differences in tone among the three fictitious languages, one of which is called only "the ancient language." (The glossary in my edition misses a few entries, BTW.)
But I've learned not to mind low originality or even predictability when enough else goes right. At no point in the nearly 500 pages did I feel like giving up; it was always at least adequate in entertainment. That's more than I can say for a lot of fantasies I've reviewed here. Had I been Paolini's age, I'd probably love it. I won't pick up volume 2 any time soon, but I'll keep it in mind if I ever want to return to the basics that got me into the genre in the first place.
Now I've started on a short sci-fi novel, Fred Saberhagen's Berserker. Not sure how long it can sustain its opening level of intensity.