Eragon

[Marianne]

There is nothing new under the sun...only a refreshing way of repeating what we already know. That said, I bought Eragon yesterday for the grandson...but first I am going to read it. :0 Christopher Paolini( I hope that is right) self published his book(as many of us do) then after many sales it was noticed by a large publishing company(I think Random House) They published it and have sold the movie rights...so this is one of those rare instances when a self published book does well enough to attract the attention of one of the big guys. There are some good books out there that are self published. Since only 1% of the books published in a given year are written by first time novelists, the rest of the us need to get published somehow.

[Dead Riverdragon]

(I just pressed the quick reply button for this post-hoping I've not just touched some forbidden McGuffin in my technological ignorance)

I read the Eragon prologue that's been doing the rounds on the internet, and it must be far and away the most dire bit of published writing I've read. However, a friend of mine has read a bit more and reckons that overall the book's worth reading. Is the rest really so very different from the prologue? If so I wonder whether Paolini actually bothered editing the story at all, and instead the whole thing is a reflection of his development as a writer, which doesn't fill me with confidence as to his professionalism...

[I, Brian]

On the issue of dire writing - I used to make a point of visiting Waterstones and reading the first sentence/paragraph of various sff/f works. There was often a great variation in quality even among the big authors.

[knivesout]

This book certainly seems to be polarising opnions...I suspect this means I shall have to read it for myself.

[dwndrgn]

Oh yeah, I'll be reading it too, just as soon as I can get a copy on the cheap. As far as the prologue goes, I've not read it but I can say that I really don't like prologues too much. They seem to be more afterthought than anything, as if the author is saying, oh, I guess the reader can't follow the story too well - let me add something here to help them along...

In any case, I'm sure this discussion will continue as more of us read the book. Definitely not a bad thing!

[Myla Starchild]

I'd definately recommend Eragon because, while I wasn't that impressed with the first book, I think the other two in the trilogy will alow Paolini's story and writing to develop.

[Esioul]

To some extent I agree with Brian- I'm not sure I always beleive in coincidence. Mind you, he does seem to be a child prodigy, and I am probably influenced by my problem with child prodigys. I've not actually read the book so I can't really make a judgement on it, but I've had a look at the book and at the site and I didn't think it was anything original or well written enough for me to spend my money or time on. Of course, it is impressive that he's published a book at such a young age, but I do think that writing skill improves with maturity, so as others have said it will be intersting to watch him

[I, Brian]

Originally Posted by Esioul

Of course, it is impressive that he's published a book at such a young age, but I do think that writing skill improves with maturity, so as others have said it will be intersting to watch him

I actually really think it's a curse to be published so young.

He's got all sorts of things potentially working against him. For example - what sort of life experience has he got? If he were a 19-year old Bosnian who fled penniless to the USA after the Balkans War, then I'd figure his got some real life experience to work with. If he's a general middle-class suburban 19-year old then there's a very good chance that his lack of life experience is going to give his writing a very shallow feel.

At the moment he's probably revelling in the success he's having, and why not. But this success is ephemeral, and he certainly shouldn't care to wallow in any critical acclaim he may be getting because IMO critical opinion is worthless and only good for stoking egos - not creativity.

And because he has initial success he has a lot of expectation riding on his shoulders - his publishers will demand a good book a year from him. He wants to work or study in a field that interests him? Tough - he has deadlines to meet and he'd better meet them if he wants to stay in the industry. (I'm commenting on an industry POV there, btw).

I still imagine a person in that position slowly becoming disillusioned with age at what they've stepped into, and with that disillusionment comes a new cerative drive - to be different, to be ground-breaking, and to explore themes he shouldn't be able to in a commercial environment - to experiment with style and form in a way that sudden success has denied him.

All of us who are older can look back on our earlier writings and see that, although there may indeed have been great moments in them, they ultimately lacked a depth and detail that only life experience and growing understanding/observation of humanity can bring. That doesn't just take experience, but also years of practice and exploration of finding our most natural voice for what we wish to tell.

2c.

[Esioul]

The thing is, his book may seem pretty amazing because it's written by such a young person, but really that makes very little difference to the book itself. The reader doesn't really care about the age of the author, he/she cares about how good the book is, so it's probably not a good idea for him to base his success on the fact that he's young. In 10 years time it might not seem so impressive, if you see what I mean.

When I look back at stories I wrote only a year ago I realise how awful they are, which means I must be improving my writing over time. I imagine its the same for everyone, even for child prodigies.

[Dead Riverdragon]

Whether or not the story itself is any good, I find the idea that Paolini managed to get published at such a young age inspiring in itself. While I think Brian's points about the pitfalls of early success carry a lot of weight, for someone like me who is still of an age with Paolini and is yet to come up with any career aspirations beyond writing, the fact that it's at least a possibility is reassuring.

[I, Brian]

Heh, good points.

I have a nasty habit of being very cynical, so really any comments I make on the work are really just empty pontificating without my reading it. Either way, certainly a thought-provoking discussion.

[I, Brian]

Someone is certainly pushing Eragon. I received an e-mail the other day - apparently from a marketing company hired out by Random House ot push Eragon - they wante dto purchase the e-mail details of the forum membership so that everyone here could be spammed info on the Eragon website and promotional material.

Of course, I would absolutely never do that - I ought to get a privacy statement written up about this - but, either way, it shows there's some real aggression behind the marketing.

Contrast this to GRR Martin, whose reputation has built up over the years - his writing markets itself for him.

I fear the Eragon author could be headed for something of a fall.

[dwndrgn]

Well, I'll let you guys know if I like the book (as if it really matters) as I'm next in line to check it out of the library and probably should get it by next weekend.

[dwndrgn]

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Contrast this to GRR Martin, whose reputation has built up over the years - his writing markets itself for him.

So Mr. Martin did no publicity at all?

[I, Brian]

It's more that his reputation carries him. My concern is that Eragon is being overly-pushed on the market. George Martin is an example of where the work pushes the market, rather than marketing trying to push a work. It creates an awfully high set of pressures for Paolini to live up to. I'm not convinced an author that young is going to be able to deal with them, either personally or creatively. But I guess I'm simply repeating my earlier concerns.