Snaga: Thank you soooo much for every thing you've said in your essay! This subject has been on my mind for a while now! I can't stand the fact that this kid out right stole everything from Lotr to Starwars to DL to THe Dragon Riders of Pern and that people have the balls to compare him with Tolkien! I'm just glad tha there's someone else out there who sees this POS book and the POS kid who wrote it for what it really is. A RIIIPPPOOFF! Thank you again and see you later!

Danni: I really enjoyed your essay.
I think everything you complained about this book is true. And everyone who deny it is just too stubborn to realize. Especially these annoying little girls on amazon are terrible. "Eragon is the best book ever." and "Everyone who gave this book only one star is only trying to spread bad mood - or maybe they are jealous because they haven't got the 'talent to write'" (oh, I'm so jealous! yeah indeed...)
Everyone has a right to express his opinion.
This essay was a great idea. You did a good job.

(P.S. English is not my mother tongue so please excuse any grammatical mistakes in there)

Joseph: I can understand your criticism. I also respect your opinions on the book. However, given the book's tremendous success and forthcoming movie (filming as we speak), it seems as if fantasy consumers(be they children or adults) are eating this up. You mentioned Paolini should have waited till he was a more mature writer to publish a book. Myself, looking at the numbers, view it as a brilliant business move on his part. I understand your preference would be drastic variety in novels. This is respectable by all means. However, a lot of people really enjoy themes such as; ordinary guy VS evil ruler, beautiful girl beats death, happy ending(nothing more nothin less). Many readers like the safe novels, where those 3 points remain the same in several novels, while surroundings, circumstances, etc. change. I understand your boredom with that, but I read that way, and I also read your way, where i like variety. I enjoyed the book myself, and was impressed by the constant action. I do agree about the LOTR names similarities. I wonder what he was thinking there. Like no one will notice? heh. That aside, however, it didn't hold much bearing on the story.

I enjoyed your essay, and I respect your preferences, i hope to hear from you! Keep up the good work. Send me a copy of your book(s) I would love to read.

P.S. Stop the hate! Congratulate Paolini on his success! Joseph

Dave Goddard: Hi, You are absolutely right of course. I think the popularity of books like this is that we public are just mugs for recycled stories. I have never understood how soap operas and Oprah can run for years either. I just don't think that the majority of people today can tackle complicated plots and unfamiliar originality (and that's the literate ones). Even Harry Potter has been rightfully described as just Billy Bunter with broomsticks. This author started well enough but lost it when the first elves appeared on page 2. Why elves??? and so soon after Peter Jackson! We do really need more mature writers to set about good escapist stories linked to some alternative reality. Terry Pratchett has succeeded and has a dedicated adult audience. Roald Dahl knew how to get kids reading while Tolkien showed what true imagination can do. Who are your favourite current authors? Who do you recommend?

Ella: Thank you for this essay. I haven't seen enough criticism of 'Eragon' on the internet, and... well. (There was almost NOTHING original in that book. Not to mention that it was incredibly boring. I couldn't get into it at all.) I wasn't aware of the information about Paolini's parents owning a publishing company, but it makes sense. Good job. I have the urge to write a rant of my own now.

Naomi: This site is immensely entertaining. I really liked the book, despite the obvious connections (I mean, there were times that I laughed out loud, for the shock of it all). I think that it just adds to the fun. I'm not looking for great writing, just entertainment, which was also provided by your essay. Thanks for writing it. I look forward to your review of the second book, after I have read it, of course.

:)

Kaen: first of all, i want to apologise for any english mistake in this comment. english is not my native lenguage.

There's a lot of things in your review that i agree: paolini is to youg and imature, what creates a lot of impossible situations. His writing style is anoying and the lenguage thing is a poor try to be like tolkien.

but I have to disagree when you talks about originality. hey, a litle justice! if you find something completly original, give you a cookie! tolkien? he praticaly copied word by word from the norse mitology =P yet, the lord of the rings is a great story. there's nothing- NOTHING- that has not been done before.

"I'm saying that it needs to not be a rehashing of overused themes that were INVENTED--not derived from mythology or legend, but INVENTED--by classic writers"

Ok, boy-who-does-his-homework, if you really invented something completly diferent, never done before, i'm really want to read. NO ONE never did, some writers (FAMOUS CLASSIC WRITERS) even like to tell everybody about wich story they used as basis, and even then the book stil is a success.

Do you ever heard about joseph campbell? well, this guy wrote a book caled the hero with thousand faces, an examination of the archetype of the hero. and you know what he says? exactly what i'm teling you, he wrote that almost all hero stories can be shown to contain at least a part of the same patterns.

so it's not just me that's saing, there's a lot of other psychological reserches (campbel's the most famous) that comprove what i'm saying.

But while i'm writing this, i really have the strong sensation that you already know all of this (or someone told you already). you seems too much inteligent no never have heard about campbell, so i'll make you a question:

Why are you sayng such nonsense? maybe you're just angry because a kid like paolini is becoming more and more famous. maybe(that's what i think) you're a litle jealous.

after all, he mixed all these sources and made a best seler, with enough prestige to reach this isolated land here i live. there's a movie coming out, and a lot of fans waiting for it. after all, i would say that he did a pretty good job for a teenager. it would have been better if he waited and worked more in the book? sure, but hopefully the next ones will be beter in this aspects.

I hope what i wrote make you think, even a litle, like what you wrote made me look back and realise some important things in eragon.

thaks

[And view the response!]

GANT:

Eragon=Luke Skywalker
Brom=Obi-Wan
Murtagh=Han Solo
Arya=Leia (both princesses)
Morzan=Vader
Galbatorix=Sidious
Oromis=Yoda

Im willing to bet that Murtagh turns out to be Eragons brother. Either that or Morzan or Galbatorix is Eragons father. In Elest, Eragon leaves his training to go fight. Now im not saying the story is EXACTLY the same, but cmon now this is sickening.

Dis: Now I know I am no longer alone in the world. Another reader who disliked Eragon.

His writing peculiarities did not bother me so much as the 'patched together' feel the story had and the fact it was about as deep as a puddle on an elementary school playground. I was also asking myself 'how in the heck did this get published?'