Biography
Born in Southern California in the family of a teacher and a former literary agent. The family later moved to Paradise Valley, Montana.
Christopher was homeschooled by his parents. As a child, he often wrote short stories and poems, which led to his frequent visits to the library, and he read a lot. He said that he didn’t know anything about mathematics, but he had read three thousand books and knew the entire “Ring of the Nibelungs” series by heart. Likes to watch films from the family cinema library. At night he reads the works of the Irish poet Seamus Heaney (Nobel laureate 1995).
Literary activity
At the age of fifteen, he wrote the novel “Eragon” in the fantasy style - about the boy Eragon and the dragoness Sapphira, who, in alliance with elves, dwarves and human rebels (varden), resist the empire led by King Galbatorix. The novel was published at the expense of Christopher's parents and gained considerable popularity in Montana schools. It was noticed by the writer Carl Hiaasen, who spent his vacation in this state. He sent the book to his publisher Alfred Knopf, who published it in 2003.
The book sold 250,000 copies in one week alone and spent 87 consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and 21 months on the Publisher's Weekly Young Adult Fiction bestseller list, including nine months at number one. The novel was published in a total of 37 countries in quantities exceeding two million copies.
Eragon was the first novel in the Legacy tetralogy. The series includes the books “Eragon”, Eldest, in the Russian translation “Eragon. Return" and "Brisingr". Eldest is no less popular than Eragon.
Critics believe that the young author was influenced by John Tolkien's famous Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as other famous fantasy books. Some reviewers find allusions in Eragon to George Lucas' Star Wars.
In December 2006, the premiere of the film “Eragon” took place (with the participation of John Malkovich and Jeremy Irons) - based on the first book of the tetralogy. It is also known that the fourth book will be released soon.
Favorite books and writers of Paolini
Dune by Frank Herbert
Brian Jakes
Ursula Le Guin
Beowulf
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Icelandic sagas
The Chronicles of PERN (saga) Anne McCaffrey
Books:
Eragon
Young Eragon finds a dragon egg, from which the dragon Saphira hatches. Together they organize a rebellion against the usurper king Galbatorix to change the history of Alagaësia once and for all.
Description of the book
Eragon is a boy living in the village of Carvahall. Going on a hunt, he accidentally becomes the owner of a mysterious stone left by the elf Arya, captured by the warriors of the Empire. Eragon does not suspect that the subjects of King Galbatorix are looking for this stone, and only over time he learns that the stone is a dragon egg, since a dragon hatches from it. Eragon rises from a simple villager to become a Dragon Rider and finds a mentor in Brom, who takes responsibility for Eragon's training.
The plot of the first book ends with the battle of the Varden, Eragon and his friends with the Urgals and the shade at Farthen-Dur - the Mountain City of the Dwarves and the last refuge of the Varden.
Book characters
Characters
- Eragon- the main character who became the Horseman.
- Roran- Eragon's cousin.
- Garrow(†) - Carvajol farmer, Eragon's uncle, Roran's father.
- Sloane- butcher from Carvahall and traitor. Doesn't like Eragon and Roran
- Katrina- Sloane's daughter and Roran's lover.
- Horst- Carvajol blacksmith
- Bromine(†) - Horseman, Eragon's mentor. Dies from a knife thrown by a Ra'zac. It is later revealed that he is Eragon's father.
- Sapphira- a blue dragon whose rider is Eragon.
- Merlock- merchant.
- Angela- fortune teller, witch and herbalist from Tirm.
- Joad- Brom's friend and ally of the Varden.
- Solembum- werewolf cat. Lives with Angela.
- Murtagh- Eragon's friend and half-brother.
- Arya is an elf, the emissary of the queen of the elves, and is also her daughter, Eragon's lover. Appears in the other three books.
- Durza(†) - shade, ally of Galbatorix. He wounded Eragon in the back, but Eragon, with the help of Arya and Saphira, managed to stab him in the heart, thereby killing the shade.
- Orik- Dwarf, adopted son of Hrothgar and friend of Eragon. Appears in the other three books. Later he became the king of the dwarves.
- Doubles(†) - wizards from Du Vrangr Gat, traitors to the Varden.
- Ajihad(†) - leader of the Varden.
- Hrothgar(†) - king of the dwarves.
- Nasuada- daughter of Ajihad. Appears in the other three books. After Ajihad's death, she became the leader of the Varden.
- Elva- a girl from Farhten Dúr, who was “blessed” by Eragon.
- Torkenbrand(†) - Slaver in the Beor Mountains. Killed by Murtagh
Characters mentioned
- Morzan(+) - the first and last of the Damned. Murtagh's father.
- Galbatorix (†)- antagonist, king of the Empire. He is only mentioned in the first three books; he appears personally only in the fourth book.
- Selena (+)- mother of Eragon and Murtagh, sister of Garrow.
- Izmir(†) - Sloan's wife, Katrina's mother, committed suicide in the Spine Mountains.
- King Palancar(†) - the mad king of people, banished to the Palancar Valley.
Critics about Eragon
The novel was subject to accusations of borrowing ideas from other authors and being overly stereotypical, in particular, clear parallels were noted with the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as with the work of John Tolkien, Ursula Le Guin and Anne McCaffrey.
Screen adaptation
see also
Write a review on the article "Eragon (novel)"
Links
| "Inheritance" - a series of novels by Christopher Paolini | |
|---|---|
| Books: | Eragon| Return | Brisingr | Heritage |
| Movies: | Eragon |
| Characters: | Eragon | Bromine | Galbatorix | Murtagh | Roran | Ajihad | Nasuada | Sapphira | Morzan | Eragon I | Queen Imiladris | Thorn | Durza |
| Universe: | Peoples of Alagaësia |
Excerpt characterizing Eragon (novel)
“Count!... don’t ruin the young man... this poor money, take it...” He threw it on the table. – My father is an old man, my mother!...Rostov took the money, avoiding Telyanin’s gaze, and, without saying a word, left the room. But he stopped at the door and turned back. “My God,” he said with tears in his eyes, “how could you do this?”
“Count,” said Telyanin, approaching the cadet.
“Don’t touch me,” Rostov said, pulling away. - If you need it, take this money. “He threw his wallet at him and ran out of the tavern.
In the evening of the same day, there was a lively conversation between the squadron officers at Denisov’s apartment.
“And I’m telling you, Rostov, that you need to apologize to the regimental commander,” said a tall staff captain with graying hair, a huge mustache and large features of a wrinkled face, turning to the crimson, excited Rostov.
Staff captain Kirsten was demoted to soldier twice for matters of honor and served twice.
– I won’t allow anyone to tell me that I’m lying! - Rostov screamed. “He told me I was lying, and I told him he was lying.” It will remain so. He can assign me to duty every day and put me under arrest, but no one will force me to apologize, because if he, as a regimental commander, considers himself unworthy of giving me satisfaction, then...
- Just wait, father; “Listen to me,” the captain interrupted the headquarters in his bass voice, calmly smoothing his long mustache. - In front of other officers, you tell the regimental commander that the officer stole...
“It’s not my fault that the conversation started in front of other officers.” Maybe I shouldn’t have spoken in front of them, but I’m not a diplomat. Then I joined the hussars, I thought that there was no need for subtleties, but he told me that I was lying... so let him give me satisfaction...
- This is all good, no one thinks that you are a coward, but that’s not the point. Ask Denisov, does this look like something for a cadet to demand satisfaction from the regimental commander?
Denisov, biting his mustache, listened to the conversation with a gloomy look, apparently not wanting to engage in it. When asked by the captain's staff, he shook his head negatively.
“You tell the regimental commander about this dirty trick in front of the officers,” the captain continued. - Bogdanych (the regimental commander was called Bogdanych) besieged you.
- He didn’t besiege him, but said that I was telling a lie.
- Well, yes, and you said something stupid to him, and you need to apologize.
- Never! - Rostov shouted.
“I didn’t think this from you,” the captain said seriously and sternly. “You don’t want to apologize, but you, father, not only before him, but before the entire regiment, before all of us, you are completely to blame.” Here's how: if only you had thought and consulted on how to deal with this matter, otherwise you would have drunk right in front of the officers. What should the regimental commander do now? Should the officer be put on trial and the entire regiment be soiled? Because of one scoundrel, the whole regiment is disgraced? So, what do you think? But in our opinion, not so. And Bogdanich is great, he told you that you are telling lies. It’s unpleasant, but what can you do, father, they attacked you yourself. And now, as they want to hush up the matter, because of some kind of fanaticism you don’t want to apologize, but want to tell everything. You are offended that you are on duty, but why should you apologize to an old and honest officer! No matter what Bogdanich is, he’s still an honest and brave old colonel, it’s such a shame for you; Is it okay for you to dirty the regiment? – The captain’s voice began to tremble. - You, father, have been in the regiment for a week; today here, tomorrow transferred to adjutants somewhere; you don’t care what they say: “there are thieves among the Pavlograd officers!” But we care. So, what, Denisov? Not all the same?
Denisov remained silent and did not move, occasionally glancing at Rostov with his shining black eyes.
“You value your own fanabery, you don’t want to apologize,” the headquarters captain continued, “but for us old men, how we grew up, and even if we die, God willing, we will be brought into the regiment, so the honor of the regiment is dear to us, and Bogdanich knows this.” Oh, what a road, father! And this is not good, not good! Be offended or not, I will always tell the truth. Not good!
And the headquarters captain stood up and turned away from Rostov.
- Pg "avda, chog" take it! - Denisov shouted, jumping up. - Well, G'skeleton! Well!
Rostov, blushing and turning pale, looked first at one officer, then at the other.
- No, gentlemen, no... don’t think... I really understand, you’re wrong to think about me like that... I... for me... I’m for the honor of the regiment. So what? I will show this in practice, and for me the honor of the banner... well, it’s all the same, really, I’m to blame!.. - Tears stood in his eyes. - I’m guilty, I’m guilty all around!... Well, what else do you need?...
“That’s it, Count,” the captain of staff shouted, turning around, hitting him on the shoulder with his big hand.
“I’m telling you,” Denisov shouted, “he’s a nice little guy.”
This article has other meanings, Eragon (meanings) "Eragon" is a novel," />
This article has other meanings, see Eragon (disambiguation)
"Eragon"(Eragon) is a novel written by Christopher Paolini and the first book in the Inheritance tetralogy.
Description of the book
Eragon is a boy who lives in a village called Carvahall. Going on a hunt, he accidentally becomes the owner of a mysterious stone left by the beautiful elf Arya, captured by the warriors of the Empire. Eragon is unaware that the Urgals, Ra'zacs and other subjects of the evil king Galbatorix are looking for this stone. He only learns over time that the stone is a dragon egg and a dragon hatches from it. Eragon turns out to be not a simple villager, but the last Dragon Rider. He finds a very experienced mentor who takes responsibility for Eragon's training. The last horseman and his teacher go on an adventure and a simple boy becomes a real hero...
The plot of the novel is replete with battles, chases, captivity of the hero, and his escapes. The finale of the book is the battle of Eragon with the Urgals and the shade at Farthen Dur - the Mountain City of the dwarves and the last refuge of the Varden.
Book characters
Characters
- Eragon- main character. (Rider)
- Roran- Eragon's cousin. later, having escaped from Carvahall, he commands part of the Varden army.
- Garrow(†) - Carvajol farmer, Eragon's uncle, Roran's father. Killed by the Ra'zac
- Sloane- butcher from Carvahall. Doesn't like Eragon and Roran
- Katrina- Sloane's daughter and Roran's lover.
- Horst- Carvajol blacksmith
- Bromine(†) - former Horseman, Eragon's mentor. Dies from a knife thrown by the Ra'zac. Eragon's father and Rider, who led the Varden after the "coronation" of Galbatorix.
- Sapphira- a blue dragoness and Eragon’s friend. Daughter of Vervada.
- Merlock(?) - merchant.
- Angela- fortune teller and herbalist from Tirm.
- Joad- Brom's friend and ally of the Varden.
- Solembum- werewolf cat. Lives with Angela.
- Murtagh- Eragon's friend and brother, but later becomes an enemy, becoming a Rider who fought on the side of Galbatorix. Later he will become the rider of the red dragon Thorn.
- Arya- an elf, the emissary of the queen of the elves, and is also her daughter, Eragon’s beloved. Appears in the other three books. Later he will become a green dragon rider.
- Durza(†) - shade, ally of Galbatorix. He wounded Eragon in the back, but Eragon, with the help of Arya, managed to stab him in the heart, thereby killing the shade.
- Orik- Dwarf, adopted son of Hrothgar and friend of Eragon. Appears in the other three books. Later, the Dwarf King.
- Doubles- wizards from Du Vrangr Gat appear in the second book.
- Ajihad- leader of the Varden. Appears in the second book.
- Hrothgar- king of the dwarves. Appears in the second book.
- Nasuada- daughter of Ajihad. Appears in the other three books. After the death of Ajihad, leader of the Varden after the Court of Knives.
People mentioned
- Morzan+- the first and last of the Damned. Murtagh's father.
- Galbatorix- antagonist, king of the Empire. Does not appear in the first three books. But he is well mentioned. Appears in person in the fourth book
- Selena+- mother of Eragon and Murtagh, sister of Garrow.
- Izmir+- Sloan's wife, Katrina's mother. Also mentioned in the fourth book is Katrina and Roran's daughter, Izmira, named after Katrina's mother.
Critics about Eragon
The novel was subject to accusations of borrowing ideas from other authors and being overly stereotypical. There were clear parallels with the original Star Wars trilogy, the work of
Nowadays there are a great variety of different books on book shelves, but even in our time it is difficult to find something of truly high quality. And in the fantasy genre it is especially difficult to find something that will touch the heart and make you read to the end without stopping. But even among all the modern literary diversity, you can find really good and interesting stories that are suitable even for children.
The sensation of Christopher Paolini
Twelve years ago the world saw the first novel “Eragon”. It would seem like another second-rate science fiction from another second-rate author. But no. Fate would have decided otherwise.
Christopher initially conceived a trilogy, but the story of the rider Eragon turned out to be so inexhaustible that it was decided to write a fourth book. However, even its ending leaves room for the imagination of fans of the saga.
The author's talent even allowed him to receive a Guinness World Records Award: in 2011, Christopher Paolini was awarded as the youngest writer with a record number of book copies sold worldwide. “Eragon” has sold more than 25 million copies, and has outsold four novels from JK Rowling’s famous Harry Potter series.
The story of a little genius
Born in Southern California, his mother is a teacher and his father is a former literary agent. It is not surprising that an educated family left its mark on the personality of the future writer, because his entire childhood was spent among books.
The author's education was carried out by the parents themselves, teaching Christopher the school curriculum at home. Already as a child, little Paolini became interested in reading and often visited the library, where he spent a lot of his free time. Then he began to write. These were short stories, histories and even the first poems. But not everything came so easily to the talented American: for example, by his own admission, he was still able to master mathematics. But he has mastered more than three thousand books and can calmly quote the full cycle of books about
The beginning of the dragon saga
The young American Christopher Paolini was unusually smart and talented for his fifteen years: already at this age he wrote the first part of the tetralogy.
The story about the world of dragons, elves, gnomes and Varden was first published by the writer’s parents and became quite popular among students in primary and secondary schools in the state.
Then the samizdat version came to the attention of the writer Carl Hiaasen. He was vacationing in Montana, and after reading the novel Eragon, he sent it to his publisher, Alfred Knopf. The famous publisher could not have imagined that the author of the book was so young. He was fascinated by Christopher's literary talent. Thus, four years after the creation of Eragon, the book that was destined to become a bestseller was released throughout the West. Another interesting fact is that Adolf Knopf did not have to make virtually any changes to the original version, since the style and style of young Christopher Paolini was sufficiently formed.
The magical history of the world of Horsemen
The novel Eragon is a fascinating story of the world of Alagaësia. The title and name of the main character comes from an analogy to the original English version of the word “dragon”: Eragon - Dragon.
Together with the boy Eragon, the reader learns about the people of his world, elves and dwarves. A young village boy finds a dragon egg and becomes the last free Rider in the century of harsh tyranny of Galbatorix. Together with Saphira, his faithful fire-breathing friend, Eragon will have to confront the king's soldiers, fight the Ra'zac, find the Varden rebels, establish contact with the elves of Elesmera and master magic in order to become a true representative of the ancient Order of Horsemen.
Influence on the work of Christopher Paolini
The fantasy universe of young Paolini was not entirely original. Such legendary works as “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” had a great influence on the writer. He himself spoke about this, admiring the classics of world fantasy - the books of J. R. R. Tolkien. But these are not the only books that were reflected in such a work as the novel “Eragon”. Many readers have noted Alagaësia's extraordinary resemblance to a map of Middle-earth, and the idea of the Order of Riders is borrowed from the Jedi of the Star Wars saga. The main character's use of magic is reminiscent of the cycle of tales about Earthsea, which also reflected the idea of the magical power of words. Fans of the tetralogy deny such statements, but the similarities are obvious. But even despite this, it is impossible to deny that Christopher Paolini is truly a talented writer, and his ideas have resonated in the hearts of millions of readers around the world.
Life after Eragon
In 2006, the story of a boy and a dragon was filmed by Hollywood, releasing a film of the same name. But, unfortunately for all fans of the series, the film did not live up to expectations. In the film adaptation, gross factual errors were made in the story, which made filming the next parts of the saga impossible.
Today, the bestselling author is a welcome guest on American television shows and one of the most famous writers in the United States. Fans are interested in the possible continuation of a seemingly completed story, new works and everything else that Christopher Paolini had a hand in.
"Eragon", all books in order:
- the very first part of "Eragon";
- the second is “Return”;
- the third is “Brisingr”;
- the fourth is “Heritage”.
“Now I’ll tell you a story,” mother used to say to little Chris Paolini, carefully wrapping him in a blanket. The little boy grew up, turned into a young man, and at the age of 14 he decided to please the world with his own fairy tale: about dragons, elves, strong heroes and vile villains. But since by that time he had not yet fully emerged from childhood, his novel turned out to be borscht from his favorite books. Take 1/2 soft and aromatic Tolkien, add 3/4 low-fat Anne McCaffrey, drop two tablespoons of spicy Ursula Le Guin, then stir the resulting dish for a long time, heating over low heat. All this is quite understandable from the point of view of child psychology: remember, when you yourself were a child, didn’t you want to tell others your favorite books, passing them off as your own stories?
The publishers can also be understood: the author’s age seemed like a win-win PR trump card. Yes, everything in this book can be attributed to the author’s youth: the paucity of language, the poverty of the world, the same type of characters, the predictability of events... And as a kind of marketing research on the topic “What primarily attracts teenagers to fantasy literature,” “Eragon” Indeed, it can be considered an indispensable book. But as a full-fledged representative of her genre, she is a complete zero.
Rating: 3
A diligent retelling of the plot of the fourth episode of Star Wars in a fantasy setting, generously flavored with borrowings from the works of many famous fantasy authors - McCaffrey, Le Guin, Tolkien, Jordan, Eddings, etc. On my own behalf, the author contributed only diligent adherence to the recommendations of the “Small Standard Set for Writing Works in the Fantasy Genre.” So the book is notable only for the youth of the author.
Rating: 4
Genre: epic fantasy.
What is:
1. Large-scale depiction of battles.
2. Frequent changes of scenery.
3. A large number of characters.
4. The magical world of a fantasy country (Alagaesia).
5. Magic, spells.
6. Traditional main characters: a young aspiring wizard (in this case, almost a wizard), his beloved (who is unaware of his feelings or denies them), a mentor (a more experienced person who teaches the hero. The only difference is that soon he dies, and another mentor appears).
7. Traditional races: dragons, elves, Razzacs (something like orcs).
8. A clear confrontation between Good and Evil.
9. Powerful power grabber (= Dark Lord).
10. The fight against the usurper of power.
11. Development of the personality of the main character, training of the hero.
12. Hero's quest, journey, mission.
13. The plot is dynamic, although in some places it is drawn out with descriptions of meals, holidays, and lessons.
14. Betrayal.
15. A clearly defined plot.
16. Clear dialogues.
17. Allusions to works: “The Lord of the Rings”, “Star Wars”, “Dragons of the Pen”, McCaffrey’s Pern cycle.
What is missing: 1. Vivid experiences of the characters. Emotions are depicted statically.
2. Expressiveness of language, linguistic means.
4. Depths of images, characters.
5. Originality, novelty, originality.
Result: average fantasy work. A beginner will like it, but an expert and a fan of fantasy will find it a bit boring.
Rating: 6
Reading the first book, you involuntarily come to the conclusion that the writer is a fan of “Star Wars”, and the second volume only confirms this guess. Poor boy Eragon (Luke) loses his uncle and goes on a journey with a strange old man (Obi-Wan), who is on the way teaches him the wisdom of the Jedi... excuse me, military and magical arts. They save a certain elven princess (Leia) and all together run together to fight against the Empire (!!!) But unfortunately, the old teacher Brom dies and in the second part the author slips the boy a new teacher -an old elf (Master Yoda), who is destined to complete his training.
“Eragon” is a fantasy retelling of the “Original Trilogy” of the great space opera. The book has absolutely no appeal and will be of interest to readers aged 10-13 and those who are not familiar with the work of George Lucas.:spy:
Rating: 3
Nog, Ruddy, old fan, elfy, So surprised by the ratings that I can’t say anything. :eek: Maybe you've re-read the classics and don't understand the beauty of this creation? :mad:
I honestly read this work after watching the film, comparing the film and the book, I realized that they don’t know how to make films. I agree, some things were borrowed from other writers, but the author was 13 years old, why not take other works as an example and add something of his own, it would still turn out better in total! Especially for non-adult readers. The works are not loaded with philosophy or design, but this book has a plot, which is completely absent from some ADULT writers! The book intrigues throughout its entire length, which is also sometimes not the case with adult writers. Paolini, already at the age of 13-15, achieved such heights that some authors do not achieve at 30! I agree, the book is aimed at a non-adult audience, I have an example, my younger brother was just visiting me... His favorite pastime was the computer... I decided to help and gave this book, and what do you think happened? I read it to such an extent that I almost called my parents names when they told me at 2 a.m. to “sleep,” I read it in 2-3 days! Then his parents thanked me for helping. So the book is 10 points, it is aimed at a young audience and should not be judged as strictly as some do; such works deserve respect, if only for the sake of our children.
Rating: 10
Fantasy - written by a teenager for children, logically cannot be in a bookstore. But the USA is a land of opportunity, so anyone can get rich there. And even before Bieber (even though he is Canadian), Christopher Paolini took advantage of this opportunity by writing a fantasy novel for children, Eragon. More precisely, his father took advantage of the opportunity, who printed his son’s work for his own money.
If children write books for children, this world will go to hell. This cannot be condoned in any way, but tolerant Western society does not understand this. Critics reservedly praised the young Paolini, pointing only to obvious shortcomings such as total plagiarism. How they do this, we don’t know, but as usual we will cut the truth and won’t give Paolini any concessions. And he didn’t even go to school. Homeschooling is a dangerous thing, no wonder the boy's father put rose-colored glasses on him.
If you want to find something new in the plot of Eragon, then you are a complete optimist. There is absolutely nothing surprising here. And, really, how can a teenager surprise? Even children. Standard story. The boy Eragon found some strange stone in the forest, which turned out to be a dragon egg. Of course, the boy lives in an empire ruled by the evil king Galbatorix (by the way, he should be an emperor, not a king) and this evil king desperately needs the boy and his hatched dragon, because the king is the Horseman (hello to the Chronicles of Pern), a very evil Horseman and he killed all the good horsemen or lured them to his side. Riders are guys riding dragons.
But Eragon suddenly has a mentor, Brom, who helps Eragon survive the death of his uncle (who was killed by the king’s evil minions) and teaches him the basics of controlling a dragon. Eragon sets out on a journey for revenge. He wants to punish his uncle’s killers, but on the way Brom begins to tell him about the rebels who are fighting the evil king and that Eragon and his dragon (more precisely, the dragoness) had better join them.
After a series of losses and making new friends, Eragon finally reaches the rebels and helps them defeat the king's army. Absolutely standard story. First we embark on a journey, meet new allies, lose old ones, and at the end an epic battle awaits us.
"Eragon" is not able to tell the reader anything interesting. The storyline is made by an ordinary botanist who does not approach his duties with soul, but was simply told that he must, so he must. Well, or he said it to himself, but it doesn’t change the essence.
There's a real problem with style. Wrote by a nerd, there’s no other way to put it. In the novel, the author devoted 600 pages and 500 pages to describing all sorts of nonsense. It feels like you're reading a gazetteer. Descriptions of the nature surrounding the heroes of the area last indefinitely and are always accompanied by comments from Brom or another more experienced character than our hero.
The names of characters and dragons, the names of rivers and cities cause a real headache. How do you like the Ramr River? And the dragon Shrukn? Or don’t you understand what is called Du Vrangr Gata? This kind of nonsense can be found in Russian fantasy. Apparently, fantasy written by children and fantasy written by a Russian-speaking author are equivalent.
And Paolini’s attempts to come up with his own language are completely crazy. Expressions like “Eka ai frikay un Shurtugal” appear every few pages. I want to exclaim: “Hey, guy! Yes, I have no idea how to read it correctly!” At least the translator could have mercy on the reader, but no, he copied it from Latin to Cyrillic!
But reading the dialogues is funny. Imagine two teenagers talking. Seriously! Any dialogue is a conversation between two teenagers. Grown people don't talk like that, let our little Italian-American friend know that.
I wrote about what I read. This is roughly how you can briefly describe the world, and the originality of Eragon. The influence of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Chronicles of Pern” is most visible. From Pern the Horsemen and their dragons, from the Lord everything else. Here we have elves and gnomes and local orcs (they are replaced here by Urgalls, the same orcs only with horns). The horsemen are written off one after another, except that they don’t have to save the planet from deadly threads.
The struggle between the rebels and the evil empire has set teeth on edge for a long time, and the all-powerful evil sorcerer-king with thirteen Nazguls is simply a mockery of the reader. That is, the fallen Horsemen. Yes, finally understand! There is no need to write “The Lord of the Rings”, it has already been written! The whole world is standard to the point of impossibility, we have already seen all this and there is no need to stuff children with this.
But Paolini described the world in great detail. In fact, this is what he did throughout the book. That’s right, why do we need to develop the plot, it’s better to write that the Ramr River flows into the Toark River, and the desert looks like a desert, and the gnomish city is so gnomish that the gnomes actually built it. Brrrrrrrrr. Of course, it's not all bad. Paolini wrote a story for each place and wrote down the history of the world itself and invented the heroes of the past, but this does not make “Eragon” cease to be a set of clichés and cliches.
By the way, there is magic here that can only be used if you know ancient words (an example of which was written above). And the ability to use it depends only on a person’s endurance. In RPG parlance, magicians now need to level up endurance rather than intelligence. Cool, yeah? No, not cool, just dark.
There are surprisingly few heroes at first. Eragon, his dragon Saphira and Brom, Eragon's new mentor. Eragon is a naive, forgetful country boy. Moreover, Paolini managed to show that Eragon is naive and forgetful at the expense of Saphira, who always reminds Eragon of important things and makes fun of his naivety. Sapphira herself is an unusually intelligible hero for Paolini’s novel. She behaves like a majestic creature, with the manners of a schoolgirl, which can be attributed to the young age of the dragoness.
Brom is an ordinary mentor, with a mysterious past (although you can quickly guess who he is to Eragon, even without reading the next novels in the series) and simply a manic desire not to tell Eragon anything. Well, God be with him.
Brom's place in the middle of the novel is taken by Murtagh, a proud but fair nobleman's son. There is also the beautiful elf Arya, who spends half the book lying unconscious. In general, a standard set of characters with the only plus being Saphira.
A children's novel - written by a child. Standard story, standard characters, standard world. Eragon is no different from its fantasy brethren that still cling to Tolkien's legacy, except that Eragon can be found in the children's section of a bookstore. If you decide to get your child hooked on fantasy, then it’s better to let him read “The Hobbit.”
Rating: 1
Very mediocre, weak, uneven and painfully uninteresting. There are a lot of blunders, too much taken “foreign” stuff, which makes your teeth creak and your hands strive to put the work away.
But... I finished reading it because of my decency and respect for the writer’s work. I don’t understand why this work was praised, but the author needs to work very hard on himself. I have no desire to read a sequel at all.
Rating: 3
The uniqueness of this work lies in the fact that it was written by a teenager. In the world of decaying capitalism, it happens that bestsellers are written not by hardened scribblers, but by amateurs. Nurses, truck drivers, jockeys. There are all sorts of schoolchildren. It is clear that the unprofessionalism of the author of the story about a boy and a dragon is striking, but almost any beginner who decides to read something in the fantasy genre can identify with Eragon. Offer him Jordan or McKillip with her “Master of Riddles,” and our neophyte will be even more frightened and decide to read something simpler. And so we give him Paolini, then some Brooks with his Shannara, then we bring him to the required condition with the help of Goodkind, and only then we hit his consciousness with Jordan. Later he himself will laugh that as a child he liked a book about Eragon, and in his third year he decided to re-read it, only to realize that there was nothing original in it...
Just don't consider this a recipe. I just started with Tolkien, with Terence Hanbury White, with Le Guin and with the Pern cycle. And at the same time, interspersed with Heinlein, Dick, and Clark. I'm an omnivore in general. Sometimes it happens not only to eat gourmet food, but also to eat Paolini instant noodles.
Rating: 7
Perhaps my opinion here is not very significant - after all, I’m only 14 years old. But I’ll say it anyway. I read Eragon a long time ago, now I’m studying the second part... In principle, I liked the first book. The plot is interesting, cute characters, and Saphira and her connection with Eragon in general a five. The film is interesting in some way, but all that remains of the book itself are horns and legs:weep: I started reading Return and realized: my view of this creation has changed. Probably the fact is that I’m also writing my own book, and at the level of a reflex I’m starting to think “Do I write better or worse?” In short, I began to find fault with all sorts of little things, to think that this word should be put here, and not another... :val: And I also completely got confused in geographical names. There are a lot of them... :roof:
Eragon's plot is amazingly twisted, I couldn't put it down. It’s just that the plot line built in this book is similar to some others, because... it is the most popular: going through a lot to victory, falling in love, losing friends, meeting new enemies, stronger than the defeated. This has long been the most popular story, and the most read. And the movie is just horribly shot. Not everyone could escape from what was written in the book. Everything has been simplified and even the chronological course of events has been changed in comparison with the book. Again, I repeat, but in the same Harry Potter it was closer to what was written on paper, so it wasn’t offensive to watch. In short, the film was shot like a movie for the Downs, although the actors played well, but, again, they are not similar to the descriptions of their portraits in the book! In general, don’t spoil the impression of the book, don’t watch the movie! They have not yet learned how to shoot fantasy epics (Potter is an exception). So, guys, pay attention to the authors and the little things, and the second book is also full of plots! Pay your dues! I am very pleased with the brainchild of the undoubtedly talented author - Christopher Paolini and am looking forward to the 3rd book...
, January 25, 2010I really liked this work, and the first book seemed to me the most successful (although the fourth has not yet been published - we’ll see what happens). This is a beautiful, sweet, maybe not quite a children's fairy tale, but it is. I also found here an interesting plot, in some ways even original (for example, the idea of the interaction of elves and people with dragons - Riders), a dynamic development of events, the absence of boring moments and a simple, accessible language and style of narration. All this leaves a pleasant impression and does not allow us to call the book “disposable” - they say, I read it and forgot. I don’t know if I will ever re-read Eragon, but I know for sure that this work will not fade from my memory.
It’s just that the characters - with the exception of Sapphira, of course, whom I love madly, :love: - seemed to me somewhat undeveloped.:frown: I lacked at least a bit of psychologism, emotionality, character and inner world remained a mystery to me, a secret with seven seals , and I hope that in the future the author will pay a little more attention to this.
And so, as I already said, I liked everything, the book plunged me into a stunning world of magic and enchantment, the atmosphere of which captured me and did not let go until the very end, I was allowed to observe interesting events at least from the outside, for which thanks to Christopher Paolini - his debut, it seems to me, was quite a success!:biggrin:
I would also like to mention the film adaptation of Eragon, which many here have already talked about. Personally, I REALLY didn't like the movie! How many mistakes, changes, I would even say how much blasphemy the creators allowed themselves!!!:dont: This outraged me extremely!:abuse: I don’t understand how Paolini could so easily agree to such a film adaptation?!:confused: Although, maybe if I watched the movie first and then read the book... But if only...
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