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Sep. 5th, 2009 08:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bobcatmoranOn my last trip to the library, I got my usual assortment of reading material. Among other things, I checked out Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey and Brisingr by Christopher Paolini — both books that I've been meaning to read for awhile. Now, which one has the more interesting characters? The epic fantasy novel with dragons and elves and sorcery or the nonfiction book about mountain gorillas? I think it says something about Paolini's writing that the non-anthropomorphised gorillas come off as more engaging and easier to connect to.
Granted, I didn't check out Brisingr expecting great literature. I read the first two books in the series and felt that the highest praise I could give for Eragon was that it was pretty good for being written for a fifteen year old, although obviously derivative of Star Wars, among other things. Eldest was readable but forgettable. But Brisingr is, to put it bluntly, crap. I think Paolini wants his series to be Lord of the Rings with dragons, but he's no Tolkien. Not even close. His dialogue is stilted and pretentious, his characters are flat (aside from the character that's based on his little sister — she stands out like a sore thumb), he tells rather than shows, and everything has unnecessary umlauts and accent marks. It's all of the worst fantasy clichés, packaged into 748 pages. I got to about page 150 before I had to stop. I can't remember the last time I didn't finish a book, but I. Had. To. Stop. It was just too painful to read. Somebody give this guy an editor. I don't care if his books have sold like twelve zillion copies, he still needs someone who can say, "Hey, Chris? If someone is opening a tent flap, it really doesn't make 'a sound akin to ripping cloth.'"
At first it was kind of funny. There's one place where Paolini has a character say, "Cannot we at least agree to differ on the subject?" in a stunning display of linguistic gymnastics to avoid saying, "Can't we agree to disagree?" I can understand trying to avoid a cliché phrase or trying to sound formal, but boy was that ever blatent. Amusing as it was to read Paolini's attempts at sounding EPIC! I can only take so many poorly written descriptions and so much of the Gary Stu main character being in situations that are supposed to be perilous but totally aren't because he has MAGIC that makes him way more powerful than his foes.
In conclusion, I am going exchange Brisingr for a book by Diana Wynne Jones, because she can actually write.
Granted, I didn't check out Brisingr expecting great literature. I read the first two books in the series and felt that the highest praise I could give for Eragon was that it was pretty good for being written for a fifteen year old, although obviously derivative of Star Wars, among other things. Eldest was readable but forgettable. But Brisingr is, to put it bluntly, crap. I think Paolini wants his series to be Lord of the Rings with dragons, but he's no Tolkien. Not even close. His dialogue is stilted and pretentious, his characters are flat (aside from the character that's based on his little sister — she stands out like a sore thumb), he tells rather than shows, and everything has unnecessary umlauts and accent marks. It's all of the worst fantasy clichés, packaged into 748 pages. I got to about page 150 before I had to stop. I can't remember the last time I didn't finish a book, but I. Had. To. Stop. It was just too painful to read. Somebody give this guy an editor. I don't care if his books have sold like twelve zillion copies, he still needs someone who can say, "Hey, Chris? If someone is opening a tent flap, it really doesn't make 'a sound akin to ripping cloth.'"
At first it was kind of funny. There's one place where Paolini has a character say, "Cannot we at least agree to differ on the subject?" in a stunning display of linguistic gymnastics to avoid saying, "Can't we agree to disagree?" I can understand trying to avoid a cliché phrase or trying to sound formal, but boy was that ever blatent. Amusing as it was to read Paolini's attempts at sounding EPIC! I can only take so many poorly written descriptions and so much of the Gary Stu main character being in situations that are supposed to be perilous but totally aren't because he has MAGIC that makes him way more powerful than his foes.
In conclusion, I am going exchange Brisingr for a book by Diana Wynne Jones, because she can actually write.
