Low Tide

An avid movie and television viewer for many years, reviewing tv and movies on my blog seemed only natural. I've never been much of a book reader, however. I used to read books in high school; not constantly, one after another, but maybe one or two a month, in addition to class stuff. But then it just tapered off when I didn't have a library so readily at my disposal. It's not that I didn't like books, I just love seeing things on screen. Lately, however, one could say I've experienced a renaissance with books (if one was a tool), and have actively been looking for more and more books to read.

Which brings me to today's topic: Eragon, by Christopher Paolini. Cited by many as the next big thing in fantasy books, and written by a 15 year old (at least when he started), I decided to jump on this one early instead of waiting and reading it after the fact (like Harry Potter). And, I have to say, this one was.....

Decent.

There are definitely some things to like about the book. First, the dragon(s). I've read and seen very little where dragons were on the side of good, so this was a welcome change. Also, it presented a huge potential for adventure, which the first book exploited pretty well. This will only grow as Eragon's capability and expertise as a dragon rider grows, so the sequels should have plenty of excitement there. Also, the city of Troncheim (sp?) sounded spectacular. The plot was pretty good, overall. It possessed many of the elements I enjoy in fiction, issues of power and responsibility, good and evil, etc. It set up some potentially interesting interplay between the dwarves, men, and elves, and what will almost certainly be the need to unite in order to defeat Galbatorix. Also, the possibilities of dark riders - that is intriguing. And I also really enjoyed Murtagh, as he presents a nice contrast to Eragon - someone worried more about survival than honor, someone who kills without remorse. He is a friend to Eragon now, but may end up being an adversary.

Now the bad. First, some things that annoyed me, but may not be problems for others. Again, the fantasy naming thing I complained about in my Lord of the Rings post. Only, here it's worse. Not only does every place have a silly name, but every horse, and even his stupid sword. I don't care what each character calls their horses. I mean, if it's a special horse, like the greatest horse in the history of infinity, fine, give it a name. But random horse #3 can remain nameless, for all I care. But then, at least horses are living creatures, unlike the fucking sword. As far as I can remember, "Zar'roc" isn't even like a descriptive term in another language. Maybe it is, I don't know. At this point, I'd take "Sword of Elendil" or "Sword of the Flaming Donkey Balls" over just a name. That's like giving your penis a name, and only referring to it by that name. Might as well do that too. That way, after Eragon stabs Galbatorix with Zar'roc, he can whip out the Sword of the Flaming Donkey Balls and piss on his enemy's corpse. And while I'm on the subject of names, how about "Galbatorix," the vicious tyrant king? It's like a 15 year old tried to create this big evil character, then give him the evilest name he could fathom. ...Oh, wait, that's exactly what happened. Sorry, "Galbatorix" is uber-silly. Then, your main couple - "Eragon" and "Arya." Sounds a bit like "Aragorn" and "Arwen," no?

The naming issue is not a big deal, in the grand scheme of things, I guess. More of a problem for me was the structure. As far as I'm concerned, Paolini completely lacks the ability to build any dramatic tension. Which is a shame, because there are plenty of big, exciting events that happen. But they all happen suddenly, unexpectedly. There is no anticipation, no buildup, no sense of dread or anxiety over the conflict ahead. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there shouldn't be plenty of surprises and unexpected twists. But moments which, in retrospect, should have been big and momentous, come and go with little fanfare. One moment, in particular, should have been huge and devastating, and was even prophesized well in advance. Then it happens, with little or no drama, and it's like "Oh...huh. That's too bad." Even the big, climactic battle seems to catch everyone by surprise. I got to about page 400, with roughly 100 to go, and expected some buildup to a climax. Instead, he started setting up the political intrigue that I assume unfolds in the next books. Then 425 came and went, then 450, then 475, and I'm thinking "Okay, there's not much left...when is this big ending supposed to happen?" Then it did, and it was over in about 10 pages. Huh.

That's kind of the feeling I was left with. The book had so much going for it, so much going on, and I was completely underwhelmed at the end. Maybe this will come as he matures as a writer, but Paolini has to learn how to make the big moments count. When I first started reading, I was struck by the staggering number of really short chapters. It all made sense once you read them, because each chapter has a seemingly important event or issue occurring in just a few pages.

Let me put it this way. You're a surfer (Bodie, from Point Break, if that helps). You take your board and head out to the ocean. The ocean's there - its just as vast and lively as you had hoped, with plenty of waves. But once you paddle out there, you realize the waves are all really small. But you're a good sport - you diligently spend your afternoon riding them, one after another, until the sun goes down. At the end of the day, you end up looking back out at the ocean and wondering, what happened to all the massive waves, the ones that give you a real rush? That's what surfing's about, right?

Well, to me, that's what an epic fantasy story is about, the big moments. Maybe the hype created this problem for me, maybe I shouldn't have expected so much. Except that Eragon was clearly intended to be one of those fantasy epics, and despite its best efforts and potential, it fell far short. Again, the story was pretty strong, and plenty of good things happened, but it could have been presented in a far more effective manner.

Surprisingly, the movie version was pretty much the diametric opposite - it gave a few big moments, with little in between. I'd say the movie covered only about 30% of the story contained in the book. Which is sad, because the movie had the opportunity to tell the story in a much more streamlined, exciting way, and the producers straight-up skimped on it. As soon as I saw the movie was only 1 hour and 40 minutes, I knew that was probably going to happen. A really strong action movie ought to fill up a full 2 hours, and the best (Spiderman 2, Batman Begins, Star Wars Episode III, the Matrix, Pirates of the Carribean, etc.) cover 2 hours and 20 minutes. If restructured effectively, this story could easily fill that much time.

So there you go. Both versions of Eragon had incredible potential; one to tell the next great fantasy epic, and one to streamline it into an exciting movie. Each succeeded in telling a good story, but each struggled to present it in an effective manner.

Still, I'd recommend each, particularly the book. I assume the story will only get better, and the writing with it.