and also

[kaydeefalls]

...in other bookish news, I read that 'Eragon' book that critics were all raving about a while back. The next great young adult fantasy, or sommat, and the second book came out last fall, and I have a bit of a thing for good YA fantasy, so I was all, hey, I should try that.

MOST DERIVATIVE CRAP EVER. Jeez. I know there's nothing new under the sun, and whatnot, but this outright STEALS from Tolkien, LeGuin, and McCaffrey, to name the most blatant ripoffs. Dude. Half of the fun of fantasy is the world-building, and when your world sounds like it came straight from a D&D game to the page...no. Just no. And for the love of god, just because Tolkien's fantasy world involved men-elves-dwarves-orc-uruks-nazgul doesn't mean you, too, need to include the exact same set of races in yours. Plus, we've got a capital city with white towers, and yes, the elves came across the sea from the west, and the hero is a MORTAL MAN in love with an ELF LADY OH NOES WOE IS ME WHAT SHALL WE DO. It's only missing the halflings and costume jewelry.

And the prose isn't great, either. It's very matter-of-fact and blandly readable, and manages to make the most elaborate action sequences sound dry as dust. The plot itself is your typical Coming Of Age archetype, with all the necessary archetypal characters -- aging mentor who kicks the bucket 3/4 of the way in, for example, and there's definitely a Luke I Am Your Father moment coming up in book 2 or 3, or rather Luke I Am Your Brother And Our Daddy Was That Uber-Evil Guy Who Is Now Alas Dead But This Knowledge Will Haunt You Anyway (seriously, I feel that the author wants to set this up to be a major plot twist, but it's blatantly obvious halfway through book 1). But, y'know, I have no problems with archetypes. They're there for a reason. But the trick is to make it all sound fresh and original again. Take Harry Potter. The basic plotline is as archetypal as you get, no surprises. And, hell, Rowling's prose ain't exactly Tolkien, either. But the world she creates around it IS original. It's fresh and funny and wonderful, and that's why I stick with the fandom and love the books and movies in spite of the inconsistencies and Ellipses Of Doom and whatnot. But Eragon? Does nothing for me. And this is a fantasy book -- all magic and battles and Good And Evil. This genre is many things, and not all good, but it's very rarely boring. But somehow, that's exactly what Eragon manages to achieve -- implacable dullness. What a waste of time.

And if this is what critics hail as "a galloping good example of its genre" (actual quote), then my fellow fantasy readers, we're in trouble.

Comments

[msilverstar]

Arghhh. I tried to read it and stopped partway, glad I'm not alone. You should post this at Amazon and warn people!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

At least you were smart enough to stop. I forced myself to get through to the bitter end.

[bunniewabbit.livejournal.com]

My daughter read that, and the sequel, and she enjoyed it. But even SHE could see how much stuff he stole from other places. Oh, well. Maybe she'll grow up and do better. :)

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

I probably wouldn't have minded it if I'd read it at your daughter's age. Thing is, though, most of my favorite YA fantasy novels? STILL fun to read, even though I've long since "outgrown" them. Heck, I still buy new Tamora Pierce books (which, if your daughter hasn't read them? She really should). That's what good YA is supposed to be. Writing for a younger audience should not imply writing badly.

[bunniewabbit.livejournal.com]

Tamora Pierce, eh? I checked our library's catalogue, and she's rather prolific, isn't she? I think I'll look for some of her older stuff and let my daughter give them a try. I'll bet she'll like them! Thank you!

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Stick with the Tortall books. The first are the Alanna books -- there are four, and the first of those has the incredibly unappealing title "Alanna: the First Adventure", which should NOT be held against it. Start there. I started reading her books at, um, age ten? I think? And I still have to reread them all once a year, even though I can practically recite them by now. Mmm.

[dreamflower]

On the other hand, it *has* spawned some extremely hilarious and vituperative reviews on LJ--yours is about the third I've come across, and each, while making exactly the same points, has been highly original and very descriptive. I have enjoyed *those* very much indeed!

So, at least it serves a purpose.

I wonder if it would be published *now* if it was new. When it first came out, it was before all the scandal about that teenaged *girl* and *her* rip-off novel. Methinks the author of "Eragon" just didn't get caught.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Heh. I'd love to read other like-minded reviews of this, because sharing the hate is almost more fun than sharing the love. ;)

I think Eragon didn't get caught because that sort of poaching is practically expected in the fantasy genre. And he didn't copy passages out of Tolkien or anything -- just the world. I dunno.

[ldmoonflower.livejournal.com]

I disapproved of it just looking at the title. I mean, seriously: "Gee, I can't think of a good name for this book, but it's got a dragon in it. Hmm, I know! I'll take the word 'dragon' and just go the next letter in the alphabet! It's BRILLIANT!"

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

Oh, believe me, that bothered the hell out of me the whole way through. (It's the main character's name, if you were wondering.)

[secondsilk.livejournal.com]

My brother's girlfriend was reading that.
I wanted to want to, but I never did.
Have you read the Charlie Bone books? I haven't, but friend said they were better than HP.
And Garth Nix's Sabriel? I read the first one, and it was nice, but I didn't feel like reading the next one.
I'm finally reading Trickster's Choice. I just randomly the other day got The Immortals out of the Library and decided that I really could read Tamora Pierce again. Her style is very familar now (having read twelve of her books already) and it's nice to read that.
And then, have you read Patricia McKillip's Riddle Master of Hed books? I think they may be my favourite fantasy books ever.

[kaydeefalls.livejournal.com]

I really like Garth Nix, and the two sequels to Sabriel are good reads. He's not my favorite, but he's definitely worthwhile.

The two Trickster books may well become my favorite Tamora Pierce books -- they combine my love of the Tortallverse with my love of spy novels, and just <3.

I've read something by McKillop -- the Forgotten Beasts of, um, something. I didn't really get into it, though. I can't remember why, it was a looong time ago. I should probably give her another go.

[secondsilk.livejournal.com]

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld? I haven't read that one, but I've read the Riddle Master trillogy three times now. And I'll probably read it again in Spring.
One of the inspirations behind it was the riddles in Lord of the Rings, and there's a university that teachers students to answer riddles.There's a little magic in the world, but the whole is mostly twists of perception, including shapeshifting.

I'm really liking Trickster's Choice. Much more than I thought I would. I think I properly fell for it, and the series again, when Aly starts to tell Daine's story to the little kids. I'd reread Wild Magic just the day before and it was thrill to know it.