Eragon - WoT total rip-off

[Elena]

I personnaly find Eragon etc. is very much a rip of of the WoT. What are you're opinions?

[Moseley]

I find it to be a total rip off of star wars. think about it:

its about a young farmer who doesn't have any known parents (luke skywalker), then finds out from a mysterious old man, brom aka obi-wan, that he has can be a member of a long lost order that championed for justice (jedi knights). did i mention that the one who destroyed the order used to be one of their members?

[TheDiceAgain...]

You could say that about any number of fantasy/sf novels/series. In a very real way, the Belgariad, for one, is the same story...

 

Garion (Luke) is a simple country bumpkin who lives with his Aunt (Polgara/Beru) to whom he was given as an infant, the story relly gets going when an old wizard-type guy (Begarath/Obi-Wan) shows up and one of the main antagonists (Belzedar/Vader) is an apostate from an order of people with special powers who fight for peace (Sorcerers/Jedi).

 

The stories are different, but the themes are the same.

[Gandaal]

I personnaly find Eragon etc. is very much a rip of of the WoT. What are you're opinions?

The start is a complete rip off of Wot (I fully expected the village to be in flames when he returned with his uncle), but it diverges at that point.

 

I think it rips off many different fantasy books at different points of the story (Brom is a poor mans Belgarath or Obi-Wan or Zedd or Gandalf... ect ect) and sometimes relies on the readers knowledge of other books in the genre to get by (Elves and Dwarves for example aren't very well explained in the book and if you didn't know them from other fantasy series you'd think Elves were humans with superior fighting skills who tend to live longer, while Dwarfs are just short humans who live in the mountains.

 

But I can live with that as long as it weaves a decent story.

[Zardi]

Paolini has admitted to similarities with LotR and a few other things. So, if there was a purposeful similarity to WoT in Eragon, why would he hide it? Has he even read WoT?

[Hannibal King]

He says he hasn't, I read an interview where he said his books were greatly influenced by LotR and Anne Mccaffery's books, so I don't see why he'd hide the fact of being influenced by WoT. Personally, in all fantasy no-adays I could find some similarities to Wot and LotR so I don't think it's any big deal.

[Alys Kinch]

there is a general formula to fantasy. some authors have a hard time moving on from that formula. i personally liked eragon because i looked at it objectively. he wrote the book at 17. you have to expect some standard stuff to riddle the whole thing. but that said, there were some points where i made the wrong guess about what would happen... he has started to pull away a bit with experience. he'll be really great if he continues to mature as he has.

[Hannibal King]

I dunno. I really liked Eragon, but was really let down by Eldest. I'm hoping for a good finish to the trilogy.

[Gandaal]

I dunno. I really liked Eragon, but was really let down by Eldest. I'm hoping for a good finish to the trilogy.

*minor spoilers*

 

I'm currently half way through Eldest and I'd have to agree so far. Half of the book is about his brother who's incredibly boring no matter what he happens to be doing, and in the other Eragon isn't really doing much of everything and he's surrounded by a bunch of dull characters with no personality. Paolini made a mistake when he didn't bring Angela and Solembum along to the Elves. At least they would've added some life to the journey.

[Hannibal King]

Yeah. You're right Gandaal, it's like Roran is just there to pad the book, he is incredibly boring. By the end of the book you may well be sick of Arya as well.

[Alys Kinch]

i guess i was just looking at how he was starting to make his own story rather than follow the exact mold that tends to sell books. all the way through the first book you could tell what the next set of major events would be. in the second, it wasn't as easy to do that, though it may have been a bit less exciting.

 

*spoilers*

 

it's pretty much like this: didn't you guess that brom would die soon? didn't yuo guess angela's prediction about eragon's brother? didn't you guess angela had a bigger part? that eragon would fall for the elven maiden and be rebuffed for a bit? yet it was harder to see that what's her name would be a competent leader...it was harder to see eragon's mistake with the girl. angela taking part in the war in the way she chose... that kind of thing. he's now making his own story because he doesn't need the formula anymore. though, i don't think he will have an unhappy ending. too many people want that to be satisfied. and they suck.

[Ozhammer]

I think all modern fantasy rips off from earlier ones. WoT does it as well, and at least alot of other authors dont prolong a series for the sake of making more cash like SOME authors could be guilty of. I actually like Roran's story. Hes just an average bloke trying to do his best, with out any special help. I identified with him more than any other character in those books.

[Incubate]

WWWWWWWWOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOTT

TTTTTTT!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

*jumps up on stage and does a happy jig*

 

i'm not alone in thinking that Eragon is a total rip-off of WoT!!!!!

 

I made a thread quite like this one a long time back and i got a lot of dirt for it...

 

Just so you know Elena, you are not alone!!! :D :P :D

[goldeneys]

I also saw some similarities between Eragon talking with dragons, and Perrin with the wolves, total rip off, but, I forgive him cuz he was just a lil tyke.

[Hannibal King]

I also saw some similarities between Eragon talking with dragons' date=' and Perrin with the wolves, total rip off, but, I forgive him cuz he was just a lil tyke.[/quote']

 

Oh come on goleneyes! I'll agree with some of the people on here, but this is just ridiculous. I mean, I seriously doubt that Paolini though, "Hey! I think I'll have Eragon be able to talk mentally to Saphira, just like so-and-so

did in his books." It is a natural idea that comes to mind, if you want the boy and the dragon to communicate, it's much easier to have them do it mentally rather than having a talking dragon or a dragon that is no smarter than a horse. And, Saphira actually shows a ton of intelligence, whereas, I don't think Perrin's wolves are very good thinkers or very helpful for that matter.

 

Don't get me wrong though, Perrin is my fav Character in Wot.

[The Outsider]

I also saw some similarities between Eragon talking with dragons' date=' and Perrin with the wolves, total rip off, but, I forgive him cuz he was just a lil tyke.[/quote']

 

Mercedes Lackey had her characters talking to horses mentally before RJ started publishing WOT books, so by that reasoning you must be claiming that RJ is totally ripping off Mercedes Lackey. :P

[Gandaal]

I also saw some similarities between Eragon talking with dragons' date=' and Perrin with the wolves, total rip off, but, I forgive him cuz he was just a lil tyke.[/quote']

 

Mercedes Lackey had her characters talking to horses mentally before RJ started publishing WOT books, so by that reasoning you must be claiming that RJ is totally ripping off Mercedes Lackey. :P

David Eddings did the exact same thing in the Belgariad. In fact he did it with both wolves and horses. :lol:

[The Outsider]

Of course, there was Andre Norton's The Beast Master long before any of that...

[RJJT86]

I couldn't even finish the first chapter of Eragon. I don't know why but I absolutely hate it when people who have been told to me to be absolutely amazing start their novels out the way that every other "amazing" author has started theirs.

 

Now I understand there is to be some overlap from modern authors of fantasy novels to those of the past, specifically my favorite, J.R.R. Tolkien. I'll even admit to saying that R.J. was a rip on Tolkien once, but he very quickly made his own story. I'm sure in a year or two I'll go back to Eragon, and read it through. But seriously if you're going to try and break into a series such as sci/fi or fantasy, you should really only vaguely reference past authors works like R.J. does.

 

In the first chapter of Eragon, this kid, calls what R.J. would have called a fade or Myrradal, a shade. Ohh, how original. I'm sorry I got so fed up at that point I put it down. Especially when I heard everyone say he was awesome. I myself am a writer of fantasy/fiction. Yes it's cool to base ideas off of past works, yes it's even cool to makes sly hints within the works at them, but the mark of a good author like R.J. is that they are subtle, and the only way you'll know is if you ask them.

 

So in the end I find this Chris kid to be an amazing person to mix up a bunch of things he's seen throw them onto a sheet of paper, changes the words a bit, and call it is own. No originality, no personal experience to go on, no anything, just a kid who wrote a story that combined some movies and books he liked.

 

But then again I haven't even read past the first 20 pages.

[Gandaal]

I couldn't even finish the first chapter of Eragon. I don't know why but I absolutely hate it when people who have been told to me to be absolutely amazing start their novels out the way that every other "amazing" author has started theirs.

 

Now I understand there is to be some overlap from modern authors of fantasy novels to those of the past, specifically my favorite, J.R.R. Tolkien. I'll even admit to saying that R.J. was a rip on Tolkien once, but he very quickly made his own story. I'm sure in a year or two I'll go back to Eragon, and read it through. But seriously if you're going to try and break into a series such as sci/fi or fantasy, you should really only vaguely reference past authors works like R.J. does.

 

In the first chapter of Eragon, this kid, calls what R.J. would have called a fade or Myrradal, a shade. Ohh, how original. I'm sorry I got so fed up at that point I put it down. Especially when I heard everyone say he was awesome. I myself am a writer of fantasy/fiction. Yes it's cool to base ideas off of past works, yes it's even cool to makes sly hints within the works at them, but the mark of a good author like R.J. is that they are subtle, and the only way you'll know is if you ask them.

 

So in the end I find this Chris kid to be an amazing person to mix up a bunch of things he's seen throw them onto a sheet of paper, changes the words a bit, and call it is own. No originality, no personal experience to go on, no anything, just a kid who wrote a story that combined some movies and books he liked.

 

But then again I haven't even read past the first 20 pages.

 

Yeah it starts out as a rip off of WoT, and then becomes a rip off of the Belgariad but if you accept it for what it is it's an enjoyable read. Eldest, the second book in the series, is more original (as you'd expect) but not as fun as the original.

[Werthead]

So in the end I find this Chris kid to be an amazing person to mix up a bunch of things he's seen throw them onto a sheet of paper, changes the words a bit, and call it is own. No originality, no personal experience to go on, no anything, just a kid who wrote a story that combined some movies and books he liked.

 

But then again I haven't even read past the first 20 pages.

 

Not sure about Paolini having a 'great reputation'. Pretty much every professional review and the opinion of everyone I've known who's read has ripped it apart. The best anyone's had to say about it was, "S'okay for kids."

 

You know a series is interesting when there's a website dedicated to tearing it apart. Quite funny in places.

[I Love Semirhage]

I didn't notice it first time round, but I recently reread Eragon and Eldest, and yes, the resemblance between the opening of Eragon and that of The Eye Of The World is rather striking.

 

And yes, I fully accept that Brom is a second-rate Belgarath.

 

But I still thought they were both fantastic books, film should be very good, as should the third book.

 

And I think it has managed several twists I didn't predict, the massive one at the end of Eldest being the best example.

 

I found the Roran chapters boring the first time round, but rather liked them the second, they're very dark.

 

And yes, the relationship with the dragons is very Dragons Of Pern, the Ra'zac are clearly the Seeker from The Elenium, and all fantasy opens with a young man leaving his simple yet happy country life for the wild outside world. Still think the book is great though.

 

ILS

[Nelal Hurcran]

Am I the only one that gets this?!? Perhaps it's ust because I too am not much older than he was, and I have tried to write fantasy myself. Polini isn't rippin off anybody. There are just certain aspects of any fantasy story that you can find everywhere. For example:

 

1: Young kid who don't know anyting about "Life out there" is also the only one who can save the world.

2: The kid's mentor dies to protect him.

3: The hero has some sort of special ability.

 

The list goes on and on. So, Chris wasn't trying to copy anything, there are just certain aspects that people expect in a fantasy book. I'm sure you can find people that say the WoT is a rip-off of this or that.

 

Okay, off my soap box.

[Gandaal]

Am I the only one that gets this?!? Perhaps it's ust because I too am not much older than he was, and I have tried to write fantasy myself. Polini isn't rippin off anybody. There are just certain aspects of any fantasy story that you can find everywhere. For example:

 

1: Young kid who don't know anyting about "Life out there" is also the only one who can save the world.

2: The kid's mentor dies to protect him.

3: The hero has some sort of special ability.

 

The list goes on and on. So, Chris wasn't trying to copy anything, there are just certain aspects that people expect in a fantasy book. I'm sure you can find people that say the WoT is a rip-off of this or that.

 

Okay, off my soap box.

 

Family home gets attacked by evil monsters. Father figure critically injuried. Hero drags father figure to village undergoing an ordeal to do so. Magic user convinces hero to leave village to protect the village from "evil people". Hero leaves with magic user.

 

Nope, nothing alike :D

[RJJT86]

Upon reading some of the articles at the aforementioned website it has come to my attention that yes he is "rippin off" other people's works. Not just RJ either. The fact that the plot and storylines between Inheritence and Star Wars is almost exactly the same leads me to believe that all he did was stand the card board cut outs up in his room and change their names then watched Star Wars and placed it in a Tolkiensien world.

 

Secondly the names are straight copies, minus or plus a few letters from other books. Ohh, real original. And then of course there's the fact that there is a very big different between "archetype" and the same freaking character. The characters in Paolini's books could be twins to other great characters of the stories he's copied them from. Only difference is that he can't provide the same depth that the original authors provided, so they end up 2d cutouts and not original. And archetype would yes have a similar base, but you should make him or her distinct in his own right, and Paolini's characters don't.

 

All of this information can be found on the website provided by Werthead. The articles go into greater detail than I have. But the end result is the fact that while I'm considered a fairly young writer at 20, and I write fantasy I'm appalled by how he recieved this fame without doing the work, and without the skill in writing or imaginiation to back it up. That is also explained in several articles on the website.