Subject: Re: Inheritance by Paolini
Author:
Posted on: 2012-01-14 02:32:00 UTC
Heya! So you're Kippur. I've heard about you.
I actually like IC. Even if I never could get into it like I do with Redwall, Harry Potter, Death Note, and so forth, I still like it. I know, I know, stolen plot, major Gary Stus/Mary Sues, etcetera, and most PPCers don't approve in any way. I just have a few things to say.
On the subject of Sues/Stus- yes, yes they are. Arya, no doubt about it. Nasuada, kninda. Murtagh and Eragon aren't so bad- Murtagh is a bit more gray than good or bad, and Eragon would be a total Stu if he wasn't Too Dumb to Live. Roran is demi-Stu. He's super-strong, but there's a logical explanation of all that time spent doing farm work and, after that, helping in Horst's forge. It's not an excsue to kill around three hundred soldiers in one go, but still. Also, he's only slightly less thick than Eragon, still TDTL. Saphira, I'm not sure about. Yes, she's infintely wise, incredibly powerful, and rather emotional, but she's also so vain and proud it makes Draco Malfoy look humble. And then there's one other character we need to bring up on that charge: Angela. She's uber-powerful, probably old beyond measure, her mind is razor-sharp, and she spends a lot of her time being unbelievably badass. But she's also amoral, bats**t crazy, and isn't exactly charismatic.
On the stolen plot: I agree completely. It follows the same basic line. Poor farmboy becomes part of a long-forgotten order of badass people of various races, goes on a journey with an old dude who teaches him stuff, gains special powers, a special weapon (he even participates in the forging of Brisingr, much as Luke made his own lightsaber), and many strong allies, and eventually brings down the big bad Empire. I don't know if Paolini did that intentionally, but it seems like it. It was almost a matter of just replacing names and terms.
Urlple Prose, I didn't actually spot much of. Certainly it was there, especially when they talked about Arya, Saphira, or many Elven or Dwarvish cities. And it was horrible. But the books aren't truly riddled with it.
And yes, the Ancient Language, Dwarvish, and Urgal are cat-on-keyboard. Although that does make them unbelievably fun to try and pronounce!
The Cycle does have some small merit, basically. The books are fairly large, and an entertaining read when you can't sleep or have a long car ride (provided you're a passenger, of course!).