Christopher Paolini: Copycat! Copycat!

Eragon and Star Wars.

What have they got in common?

Oh, nothing. EXCEPT THE WHOLE PLOT.

I'm not actually kidding.


When I first read Eragon, Christopher Paolini was still fifteen and I was still hooked on rubbish fantasy novels.(Which is different from now in that I'm now hooked onto good fantasy novels) I thought it was the best thing since peanut butter. My opinion on both peanut butter and Eragon have, however undergone serious changes since then.

This is a direct result of watching the first Star Wars movie, in which I had a sudden epiphany. No, not about the nature of peanut butter. About Eragon. Um, let's see:

Star Wars:

Spies for the Rebel Alliance have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star: a weaponized space station capable of annihilating an entire planet. Rebel leader Princess Leia is in possession of the plans, but her ship is captured by Imperial forces under the command of the evil lordDarth Vader. Before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory of a droid called R2-D2, along with a holographic recording. (This is what Luke finds)

Eragon:

Spies for the Varden(Rebels) have stolen a dragon egg, something that can change the course of the entire war. Rebel Leader Princess Arya is in possession of the plans, but she is captured by Imperial forces under the command of the evil Shade Durza. Before she is captured, she hides the egg by sending it to a remote part of Alagaesia, the Spine.(This is what Eragon finds)

***

Star Wars:

Ben Kenobi, who reveals himself to be Obi-Wan. He takes Luke and the droids to his home, where he tells Luke of his days as a Jedi Knight. The Jedi were the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy before being wiped out by the Empire.

Eragon:

Brom, who reveals himself to be a Dragon Rider, who were the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy before being wiped out by the Empire. 

Star Wars:

 Darth Vader, a former Jedi Knight, who turned to the "dark side of the Force". 

and

Obi-Wan asks Luke to learn the ways of the Force and join him on the trip. Luke initially refuses, offering Obi-Wan transit to a local space port. When he discovers that his home has been destroyed and his aunt and uncle were killed by Imperial stormtroopers in search of the droids, Luke agrees to join Obi-Wan and travel to Alderaan. 

Eragon:

 Galbatorix, a former Dragon Rider, who turned to the dark side.

and

Brom tells Eragon he must learn how to control his magic and to ride his dragon. Eragon initially refuses. When he discovers that his home has been destroyed and his uncle killed by Ra'zac in the pay of the Empire, Eragon agrees to join Brom and travel to the Varden. 

There are a million and one parallels I could draw, all of which just leave a bad taste in my mouth. Knowingly or unknowingly, the plot and the characters have been copied to an insane extent. They find themselves drawn to the Death Star/Gil'ead, where Leia/Arya is imprisoned. Obi-Wan/Brom dies, leaving Luke/Eragon without a mentor, Han Solo can approximate Murtagh, I believe. They rescue Leia/Arya and make their way to the Varden.

I mean, really? Would a little originality hurt? Yes, the sequels are a little more original(I hope) and would have made a little niche close to my heart if I hadn't been so appalled by this so-blatant plagiarism. I mean, what else do his books have, really? They're only slightly well-written, have characters I would be ashamed of--I mean, can't you put a little more energy into fleshing out the other characters? It took me four books to get some sense of Murtagh, Arya and the rest. And Arya wasn't even in-character in the last book. Seriously, it read like a 'what could happen' fanfiction, instead of the canon, which it is supposed to be, and the climax was so... so... anti-climatic, it was completely unsatisfying.

So why do people read it? You know what, I have no idea. I've been introduced to good fantasy, proper fantasy, as well as good fiction. I believe I finally know how to read. I'm sure a future me will disagree. After all, I thought I knew how to read every time I discovered a new genre-Enid Blyton through Hardy Boys through Children's Fantasy. But oh well.

Signing off wondering what's wrong with this world,

BdK.

PS: Name change! Yes, the Cat Barks is/was/will always be an important name for me, but I decided to do something about the (non-existent) readership of this blog. Hence, Read At Your Own Risk. Actual readers (my family) will note that the tagline is the same. Ah, Oscar Wilde's carefully polished quotes. We will never see the like.