Further fantasy babbling, NOT (well, hardly) Tolkien-related this time! :D

[oloriel]

Caught Eragon yesterday on TV. Just as I had gathered, it was pretty much a shameless and unoriginal re-telling of Star Wars: A New Hope in a fantasy setting and otherwise everything you'd expect from a 15-year-old LARPer who writes the background story for his very first character. Mind you, when I was 15, I'd probably have written the same story, only (I hope) with more (read: any) interesting female characters and more consistent names. -- Did I get that right or did that just come across poorly in the movie -- all the dragons are female, and all the riders are male, and the dragons die when their riders die but when the dragons die, the riders will merely (at worst) mope and guilt? Well fuck that shit!

Other than that, however, it was mostly harmless if ridiculous, so I guess I won't get angry about it. At least Paolini's dragons aren't related to the Most Noble Platypus- I guess that's something...
Which reminds me about that other recent fantasy hype I meant to rant about, but oh well.

Also, Paolini kinda poked fun at that "I totally learned to fight with my cousin! And this is why I'm an awesome swordsman!" trope common in LARP beginners' character background stories. Huzzah! I wonder whether that was on purpose or just pure chance...

The Eragon Darth Vader equivalent kinda reminded me of that Maedhros AU plotbunny I had while writing The Tempered Steel and that I'd managed to push aside. Crap, here we go again. Like I need another one!

And I guess that's all I have to say about Eragon. Must admit that I still have no interest whatsoever in reading the book trilogy in four parts. I probably will hear everything about it when Felix is 10 or so, anyway. (Oh well, it could be worse. We could be looking at Twilight...)

Comments

[yoodi.livejournal.com]

Die Fußnote fehlt? Und was ist der "other recent fantasy hype"?

Abgesehen davon, mein Urteil was Eragon betrifft, deckt sich 100% mit deinem. Und ja, ich habe ebenfalls nur den Film gesehen.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Die Fußnote fehlt, weil ich den Rant ja NICHT schreiben wollte. Mittlerweile fehlt auch das Sternchen. *unschuldig pfeif*

Naja, in den USA kam doch im April die TV-Serie zum ersten Buch von A Song of Ice and Fire raus. (Auch geiles Timing, die Tagline "Winter is Coming" zu haben und den April als Startzeit zu wählen, aber naja, von Marketing versteh ich nix.) Darauf bezog ich mich. Das Buch fand ich ja ziemlich furchtbar und eigentlich wollte ich immer mal in Worte fassen, wieso. ^^

[http://users.livejournal.com/macalla_/]

Ich fand die Bücher nicht schlecht. Aber auch nicht so gut, dass ich dringend die Serie sehen muss.
Und ich kann dir sagen, was mir fehlt: die Bücher sind absolut und vollkommen humorlos.
Aber auch Lachen und Humor sind Teil des Lebens (zum GLÜCK!!) und wenn man einfach einen Teil auslässt ist das genauso einseitig wie wenn immer alles gut ausgeht ...

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Ja, der eklatante Mangel an Humor war auch eins meiner großen Probleme. Mehr als das erste Buch wollte ich mir wie gesagt nicht antun, weil es mich so wütend gemacht hat. ^^

[jokergirl.livejournal.com]

Das würde ich gerne lesen, ich bin ja sicher mit dir einer Meinung.
Oder vielleicht sollte ich einmal meinen Rant darüber fortführen, das letzte Buch habe ich mir ja mittlerweile gespart und auch die beiden davor nur mal kapitelweise überflogen...

;)

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

I can forgive a lot of goofiness in 15-year-old writers because yes, I was 15 once and yes, my stories (if I still had them) were probably just as silly. I hope not but who knows? (The scary thing is when 15-year-old writers grow up and learn nothing, except how to create things like 'Twi-lite'. Ok, shutting up before rant starts.)

What surprises me most about "Eragon" is how it has escaped the notice of Mr. Lucas and Company for so long. The differences aren't that great. I remember when George Harrison got in trouble with "My Sweet Lord" because the judge ruled that he had 'subconsciously' plagiarized "He's So Fine".

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Yep, that's what I think. (And I think the less is said about Twatlight, the better XD).

I think the rules are stricter for music. In stories, filing off the serial numbers and changing the names is sufficient to 'scape the plagiarism rule - apparently. I'm sure Mr. Lucas is very much aware of Eragon, and if he or his lawyers had seen any chance in a lawsuit, it would've happened long ago.

[littleshebear.livejournal.com]

I tried reading the book but I couldn't get further than a few chapters. The writing is awful, the plot is basically Star Wars and the "Elvish" language just enraged me. There's a map at the front with a place called Egerion. Not like Eregion, oh no, COMPLETELY different. There are a loads of words like that, he's just pilfered the Silmarillion and swapped a few letters around.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I didn't even read the first chapters because the blurb and the map were enough to put me off. ^^ But as a kid I probably would've read it, and enjoyed it too.
I doubt he's read the Silmarillion. He openly professed that he wanted to emulate (yeah right) the Lord of the Rings (and Beowulf, IIRC), but make it better. I wish I could find the exact wording, because LOL.

[littleshebear.livejournal.com]

http://littleshebear.tumblr.com/post/13976167270/fantastiquecollective-christopher-paolini-i

[yoodi.livejournal.com]

Um es in gängigem Internetjargon auszudrücken: win.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Not the quote that I meant, but still funny!
(If it weren't so depressing.)

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

I tried to watch it with my grandson. Neither of us could. I sincerely doubt if it will be around to entertain your son in ten years. But I have been wrong before.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I'm sure the books will still be in our local library, so he'll probably read them. That is, if he grows to be the passionate reader I am (and was as soon as I'd learned my letters). ^^

[elfscribe5.livejournal.com]

Wow, that says something about the maturity of B. Fingon that he too couldn't watch Eragon. LOL.

[heartofoshun.livejournal.com]

He has good taste!

[elfscribe5.livejournal.com]

I haven't read the books but went to see Eragon in the theatre. Big mistake. As you've pointed out, it was so highly derivative of the classic fantasies, LOTR and Star Wars, etc. that I couldn't bear it and almost walked out of the theatre at one point. I mean Jeremy Irons (I think that was the actor) was such a Gandalf character. I did enjoy the eye candy provided by the actor who played Eragon and liked the animation of his dragon. And yes, maybe not bad for a 15 year old, but it's been a big best-seller and he's made megabucks with it. Goes to show that you can't go wrong underestimating popular taste.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

I know. I think it saves most of us that the stories we wrote at 15 never were published. Not that I wouldn't have wanted it at the time! But in retrospective it'd be painfully embarrassing.

Or not, as the example of Mr. Paolini suggests? After all, I doubt he'd have written three sequels if he didn't still think the first book had some merits, beyond "I was young and didn't know any better"...

[barbardin.livejournal.com]

I have to admit: The second book was quite an improvement. He did learn from some of his mistakes, it seems. That's why I kept on reading in the first place: I thought the improvement alone was noteworthy and maybe, just maybe, he would come up with a decent ending and really get the hang of it. But then part three was so bad again, it hurt. It really did. "LOOK I'M SUCH A GOOD WRITER NOW I CAN DO ALL THE TRICKS AND I LEARNED SO MUCH I HAVE SOOOOOOOO MUCH YET TO TELL, CAN'T FIT IT ALL IN ONE BOOK, OMFG!!!" Oh, please.
I had the the third book as an audiobook only and never finished it. At one point I realized I had accidently skipped two CDs - and never even noticed from the story.

[barbardin.livejournal.com]

Ich habs gelesen und ich bin nicht stolz drauf. ;) Ich hab das mal 'blind' meinem Bruder zu Weihnachten geschenkt und ER fand's toll. Es deprimiert mich ein bisschen, wenn ich drüber nachdenke, was das über meinen Bruder aussagt... öhm, anyway.

An der Stelle nur eine winzige Korrektur: Die Drachen sind nicht alle weiblich. Genau genommen ist Safira im Buch der einzige weibliche Drache und alle anderen auftauchenden (nicht in Erzählungen, sondern persönlich auftauchende..) sind männlich, zumindest bis zum dritten Band, mehr Selbstgeißelung wollte ich mir nicht zumuten, auch nicht als Hörbuch. (Denke jetzt bitte nicht schlecht von mir, ich fand's grauenvoll. ;))

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Ich war mir ja auch nicht sicher, ob das nur im Film so rüberkam - da ist halt Safira weiblich und Brom bezog sich auf seinen Drachen auch mit "sie". Welchen Geschlechts der Drache von Haudraufwienix war, konnte man ja nicht sehen XD. Aber dann kann man ja wenigstens in der Hinsicht die Feministinnenkeule wieder weglegen.

Hey, manchmal hat man solche Anwandlungen von Masochismus. Ich lese immer mal wieder gerne die Enid Blyton-Internatsstories, obwohl die ja nun auch... na sagen wir mal, Kinder ihrer Zeit und ihres Genres sind. Ich hab sogar das erste Twilight-Buch gelesen! Morbide Neugierde ist keine Schande.

[barbardin.livejournal.com]

Hehe.. stimmt. Er benennt Safira ja nach Broms Drachin, die hieß ja genau so. Hm. Aber der Drache vom Pöhsen Könich ist ein Männchen und später taucht ein alter Drachenreiter und sein männlicher Drache auf - ein Elf, der irgendwie im Krieg magisch verkrüppelt wurde, oder so. Uuuund dann gibts ja noch die 2-3 Dracheneier, die der König noch irgendwo gehortet hat, da schlüpft dann im zweiten Band auch noch ein Männchen raus.
Also die Safiras sind da wirklich in der Minderheit. ;)
Das ändert aber alles nix daran, dass es keine weiblichen Drachenreiter in der laufenden Geschichte gibt. Pft. Pack die Keule mal nicht zu weit weg.

Jetzt hör ich auch auf, hier mit Details um mich zu werfen. Aber es war gerade fast heilsam das aus dem System zu kriegen, wenn du verstehst. ;)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Im Film nennt sich Safira selbst Safira. ^^
Ich pack sie trotzdem weg, weil ich zu faul bin, mich eingehend mit den Büchern zu beschäftigen.

Verstehe ich gut - sonst hätte ich ja den Eintrag oben gar nicht erst geschrieben :D!

[barbardin.livejournal.com]

Oh, stimmt. Den Film hab ich verdrängt, den fand ich noch schlimmer als das Buch. Ich war schon beleidigt weil das Drachi Federn hatte. Pöh.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Aber wenigstens wollte das Drachi keine Milch. Man ist ja schon für Kleinigkeiten dankbar! XD

[cowboy-r.livejournal.com]

Most Noble Platypus? Perry's got Dragon relatives?

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Well, if dragons need to be breastfed (as is the case in ASoIaF), they're mammals, right? And yet they hatch from eggs. The Most Noble Platypus is one of those rare mammals that hatch from eggs, so voilà, dragon relatives. I must admit I'm not familiar with Perry, though!

[cowboy-r.livejournal.com]

Ah, I didn't get far enough in that series to know that about the dragons in it. I probably got a third of the way through the first book before hurling it from me in disgust setting it aside in favor of something I enjoyed more.

As for Perry... or should I say, "Agent P," he's part of the Phineus and Ferb Lineup:

http://youtu.be/bVPd6hf-Nlw

[cowboy-r.livejournal.com]

Hey, it comes in German, too! (http://youtu.be/TW8BPdpyafE) I am sometimes surprised by the penetration Disney has.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

We translate everything - but I'm sure Disney even comes in languages that are otherwise more likely to subtitle ^^

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

You, sir, have excellent taste.

Ah, I see! I'll probably get to know him (and the rest) better when Felix is of kiddy TV age...