The Miracle of Eragon

(I've provided links to the books at the end of this post)

I just finished up the last volume in my collection of downloaded Eragon audio books (the Inheritance Trilogy). Have you read anything about this amazing fellow, Christopher Paolini? Let me give you a brief rundown about this young author:

1. Only twenty-years-old (the big kicker for me). He actually wrote (and finished) Eragon around 16 or 17 years of age.
2. Homeschooled. He taught himself everything he needed to know about writing through the following books (pulled from Barbara Frank's article):
   
   
   • Writers Inc: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning
   • Story (by Robert McKee)
   • Write Great Fiction: Characters, Emotion & Viewpoint (Orson Scott Card)


3. His best-selling novel, Eragon, made number three on the New York Times Bestseller List.
4. A movie has already been scheduled for release in 2006.

If I could sum up my feelings about this entire success story in one word, well, it would be JEALOUS.  But at the same time, I’m happy for him. If you noticed, the big kicker for me was his age. Not many people have written complete works at such a young age. There’s a good reason for that. Writing a good novel requires a deep understanding of your characters, situations that they can be in, and the world (among other things). At such a young age, you would expect Christopher to not have as much knowledge on these matters, but I’m wrong (even taking into account the lack of originality in Eragon). How he got this, I have no idea. He must have special genes.

So, what did I actually think about the Eragon audio books? Good.  I’m not going to say it’s the best I’ve read (or listened to rather), but it was an enjoyable series. Let’s just say I didn’t stop paying attention to it, put it aside, or worse, thrown it out (which I’ve done to many unfortunate choices). 

There was one thing that I didn’t like, and some people agree with this. This one thing is his partial lack of originality in Eragon. I’m not going to say I know better, but it seemed that a lot of his story, especially his characters, came from other sources (i.e., Lord of The Rings). He may have given them different names, but the characters’ behaviors, actions, tongues, and so forth seemed to have existed before.  It’s not something that threw me off, however. He, at least, didn’t make it blatant.

That’s all I wanted to share for tonight. It just goes to show you that with a little hard work, perseverance, research, and studying, you can write a novel as well. Unlike most of us, he decided to take it beyond what many are willing to do. Because of this, he’s achieved what he most desired (all before the legal drinking age). I can’t say anything other than: "congratulations!" and "awww, man! My turn!"

If you’re interested in the Eragon audio books:

Eragon: The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 1 (Unabridged)
Eldest: The Inheritance Trilogy, Book 2 (Unabridged)

Or, the traditional books:

Eragon / Eldest (Inheritance, Books 1 & 2)

Comments

[Jake Dupree]

Yo I think his books are awsome but i think it would be really awsome if someone could tel me when his thirds com'n out(email me if u know)

[Jamie Ford]

I live in Montana and he's quite the literay celeb around here. I'm happy for him. I can't help but feel that he's selling based on novelty more than ability. Everything in that genre is so derivative these days. Time will tell...

[1ConfusedWriter]

Yeah, me either Zoe. Paolini has a pretty good talent, especially for his endings. Wonder how long it'll take before the third finally comes out?

Here I am, a 29-year-old thoroughly enjoying a young-adult novel. What can I say?! Good writing is good writing.

Thanks for dropping by Zoe.

Vic

[zoe]

I know I cant believe he first wrote when he graduated of highschool so young to eragon and the eldest are great books cant wait for the third :-)

[zoe]

I know I cant believe he first wrote when he graduated of highschool so young to eragoon and the eldest are great books cant wait for the third :-)