Eragon or Twilight

[Schrödinger's Cat]

Which one of these books is worse? I'm having trouble answering this question. Both suck eggs more than salmonella. I'm leaning on saying Twilight simply because of the default "sparkling."

[Junius]

I really enjoyed Eragon. :confused:

I haven't read the last one yet, but the first two were quite decent - and an impressive effort for someone that age, in my opinion. I haven't read Twilight, wasn't it just released as a movie?

[Schrödinger's Cat]

Yes.

(I don't mean to offend anyone with these quotes - just pointing out some WTF moments)

[Eragon's] arms became corded, and his tanned skin rippled with lean muscles. Everything about me is turning hard, he thought dryly. (171)

"Look within yourself; you know it to be true." - (Eragon, not Star Wars, although darn close)

The long branches wept beads of moisture, translucent cabochons that reflected the rows of anxious eyes." Not even in science fiction.

"The sandstone around her nose shimmered like gilded dew, turning clear with dancing silver highlights. Eragon watched in wonder as tendrils of white diamond twisted over the tomb’ surface in a web of priceless filigree." I surely hope he's not expecting me to visualize this thesaurus of his.

"...as the clouds disgorged their load." No comment necessary.

"...a fact that he confirmed with quick thrusts of his mind." Whoa. Is this adult fiction?

“Stop daydreaming and get on my back.”

"When they finished, Eragon flopped on his blankets and groaned. He hurt everywhere -- Brom had not been gentle with his stick."

"Not again," he complained. Brom just smiled and beckoned with one hand. Eragon reluctantly got to his feet. They whirled around in a flurry of smacking wood, and he backed away with a stinging arm.

"They slid through the forms with exaggerated motions before returning to their furious battle. Eragon learned quickly, but no matter what he tried, he could not hold Brom off for more than a few blows."

[Os Cangaceiros]

Twilight is truly horrid.

A shameful attempt to make the vampire appealing to tweenage girls. :glare:

A real vampire should be a demented personification of murderous evil, with a demented sense of humor to boot.

[The Intransigent Faction]

Twilight is truly horrid.

A shameful attempt to make the vampire appealing to tweenage girls. :glare:

A real vampire should be a demented personification of murderous evil, with a demented sense of humor to boot.

There's no emoticon to show how much I agree with you.
I haven't read Eragon yet, but I'll vote for it just because I hate Twilight.

[gorillafuck]

When I was in fourth grade I loved Eragon.

And I never read Twilight because I'm not a horny 14 year old girl.

[which doctor]

http://xs133.xs.to/xs133/08470/twilight248.png

[bcbm]

I hadn't really heard of Twilight and just happened to read the ED page (http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Twilight) last night and then some of the ones that linked to it. Holy fuck. Its depressing to know that not only was such a horror picked up by a major publisher and allowed to be let loose on the world, it became mind numbingly popular. :sneaky:

[Junius]

You're referring to Encyclopedia Dramatica for an objective account of a book you haven't read...?

:confused:

[bcbm]

You're referring to Encyclopedia Dramatica for an objective account of a book you haven't read...?

:confused:


then some of the ones that linked to itWhich should've read "it linked to," which included one that quoted the book at length, several with plot summary comics and all with fairly detailed and seemingly objective reviews.

Given that they all basically backed up what ED said, I don't think its a bad link. The series is really so bad they don't need to make it up. It ends with back breaking sex and infant pedophelia for fuck's sake.

[ZeroNowhere]

They're both horrible, Eragon is slightly better.


I haven't read the last one yet, but the first two were quite decent - and an impressive effort for someone that age, in my opinion.
An impressive effort for an 18 year old? What? Try Frankenstein. For the next one, he was into his twenties.
Still, at least his dragons don't sparkle.

[Junius]

It ends with back breaking sex and infant pedophelia for fuck's sake.

I really have to read this book now. :lol:

Regardless, I'm not going to judge a book until I've actually read the thing. I used to think that Harry Potter was totally lame...but then I actually read the books and was drawn into the whole storyline, characters and the world. Why would I dismiss a book simply because its, apparently, aimed at 'horny 14 year old girls?'


An impressive effort for an 18 year old?

I'm fairly sure he was 15/16 when he started writing it, and yeah - it is an impressive effort. You simply have to have some level of talent to release a book at his age with the level of success it has had. Does it weigh up to the likes of Tolkien? Nope - what does?

[ZeroNowhere]

I'm fairly sure he was 15/16 when he started writing it, and yeah - it is an impressive effort. You simply have to have some level of talent to release a book at his age with the level of success it has had. Does it weigh up to the likes of Tolkien? Nope - what does?
Lord Dunsany? :)
Yes, he started it at 15/16, he did the final revision at 18. One would think he would improve it by then, but it still reads like an adolescent fantasy. :(

[Junius]

Lord Dunsany? :)

Never heard of him. :(

Recommend me his best work.


...but it still reads like an adolescent fantasy. :(

Which is part of the charm. ;)

Its a difference from the likes of Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule, which is fairly dark(ish) with torture and sex and love and deep ideas and all that. I'd recommend that book to anyone in here though, if they haven't already read it. :thumbup1:

[Random Precision]

I'm fairly sure he was 15/16 when he started writing it, and yeah - it is an impressive effort. You simply have to have some level of talent to release a book at his age with the level of success it has had. Does it weigh up to the likes of Tolkien? Nope - what does?

His parents own a publishing company. If I had that advantage, *my* ridiculous fantasy stories I wrote when I was 14-15 could have been published too. As for talent... well, all I can say is, look at the metaphors.

[Junius]

His parents own a publishing company

This is true, but misleading.

His parents initially published the book; Paolini International LLC. After touring ~ 130 bookshops and libraries the book came to the notice of the Alfred A. Knopf publishing company (i.e. Random House and the rest); whom made an offer to publish Eragon and the rest of the series. So, whilst it is certainly true that he had a helping hand because of his circumstances, its also true that his talent had a role in it too.


Originally posted by Random Precision
If I had that advantage, *my* ridiculous fantasy stories I wrote when I was 14-15 could have been published too.They might have been published. You wouldn't become a NY Times best selling author, however.


Originally posted by Random Precision
As for talent... well, all I can say is, look at the metaphors.Well the examples posted above aren't exactly a fair account - although fairly humorous when read out of context and with an open mind.

I'll give an example from a random page I picked:

'Lightening lanced through the sky, flickering in and out of existence. Mile-high blue bolts streaked across the horizon, followed by peals of thunder that shook the ground below. It was beautiful, but dangerously so. Here and there grass fires were ignited by strikes only to be extinguished by the rain.

The wild elements were slow to abate, but as the day passed, they wandered elsewhere. Once again the sky was revealed, and the setting sun glowed with brilliance. As beams of light tinted the colors with blazing colors, everything gained a sharp contrast; brightly lit on one side, deeply shadowed on the other. Objects had a unique sense of mass, grass stalks as sturdy as marble pillars. Ordinary things took on an unearthly beauty; Eragon felt as if he were sitting inside a painting.

Rejuvenated earth smelled freshed, clearing their minds and raising their spirits...'

Sure, there's better writing out there. Some people dislike overly metaphoric and descriptive writing (including myself). A matter of opinion, I think.

[bcbm]

Regardless, I'm not going to judge a book until I've actually read the thingI don't need to get hit by a bus to know that the experience would be unpleasant. Reviews can help one form an opinion of a book they haven't read and given that all of the reviewers saying basically the same horrible things, I don't feel any need to read the book to judge it. I did read a bit of it that someone had posted online and it certainly didn't sway my opinion in favor of the book.
Why would I dismiss a book simply because its, apparently, aimed at 'horny 14 year old girls?'You shouldn't. You should dismiss because it is horrible, trite, Mary Sue garbage for horny 14 year old girls. I mean when the actor assigned to play one of the lead roles in the film has this to say after reading it...


It was like reading her sexual fantasy, especially when she said it was based on a dream and it was like, ‘Oh I’ve had this dream about this really sexy guy,’ and she just writes this book about it. Like some things about Edward are so specific, I was just convinced, like, ‘This woman is mad. She’s completely mad and she’s in love with her own fictional creation.’ And sometimes you would feel uncomfortable reading this thing.

...your book's fucked up.

[The Douche]

I work at a hot topic. None of you can hate twilight more than me.

[Os Cangaceiros]

I work at a hot topic. None of you can hate twilight more than me.

No goth kids have come to burn it down yet?

[The Douche]

No goth kids have come to burn it down yet?

Dude, I so wish I had cable at my house so I could've seen this, my boss came in the other day cracking the fuck up talking about it cause me and him despise twilight.

[Dystisis]

Stop badmouthing crappy teenage books (yes, including Harry Potter) and read the fantasy series called A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. It is so awesome I read like 4 books (out of 6 or so) in a row, thousands of pages.

It might just become an HBO series soon, they ordered a pilot I think.

[Random Precision]

His parents initially published the book; Paolini International LLC. After touring ~ 130 bookshops and libraries the book came to the notice of the Alfred A. Knopf publishing company (i.e. Random House and the rest); whom made an offer to publish Eragon and the rest of the series. So, whilst it is certainly true that he had a helping hand because of his circumstances, its also true that his talent had a role in it too.

According to Wiki, the reason that RH noticed him was that Carl Hiassen's stepson stumbled across his book. So I'd say his success is a combination of incredibly fortunate circumstances and luck. No talent involved.


They might have been published. You wouldn't become a NY Times best selling author, however.

Well, I'd say that's a bit unfair, since you haven't read anything I wrote at that age. I've since destroyed most or all of it, but I think that a lot of it was up to Eragon standard. I even had a matching talent for horrible metaphors. The LoTR ripoffs also featured heavily in my writing- Eragon being a second degree LoTR ripoff, by way of Star Wars.

But if my parents did own a publishing company and if I had been able to finish high school by correspondence courses at 15 after being homeschooled (like this guy did), so I could focus on my "art", who knows where I might be right now.

Fortunately or unfortunately for me, my parents are not rich, did not shelter me, and have never really encouraged me to write, so I had to have a more normal adolescent experience.

As for your excerpt. I will bold the parts that make my brain hurt:


'Lightening lanced through the sky, flickering in and out of existence. Mile-high blue bolts streaked across the horizon, followed by peals of thunder that shook the ground below. It was beautiful, but dangerously so. Here and there grass fires were ignited by strikes only to be extinguished by the rain.

The wild elements were slow to abate, but as the day passed, they wandered elsewhere. Once again the sky was revealed, and the setting sun glowed with brilliance. As beams of light tinted the colors with blazing colors, everything gained a sharp contrast; brightly lit on one side, deeply shadowed on the other. Objects had a unique sense of mass, grass stalks as sturdy as marble pillars. Ordinary things took on an unearthly beauty; Eragon felt as if he were sitting inside a painting.

Rejuvenated earth smelled freshed, clearing their minds and raising their spirits...'

[ZeroNowhere]

Never heard of him. :(

Recommend me his best work.

Well, I couldn't pick out a 'best' work per se, but I'd recommend 'The King of Elfland's Daughter', and some collection of his short stories. His plays are awesome too.


Its a difference from the likes of Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule, which is fairly dark(ish) with torture and sex and love and deep ideas and all that. I'd recommend that book to anyone in here though, if they haven't already read it. :thumbup1:
I see him as more proof that Objectivists can't write. Agree to disagree? :lol:


Stop badmouthing crappy teenage books (yes, including Harry Potter) and read the fantasy series called A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. It is so awesome I read like 4 books (out of 6 or so) in a row, thousands of pages.
That it is.

[Junius]

I see him as more proof that Objectivists can't write. Agree to disagree? http://www.revleft.com/vb/../revleft/smilies2/laugh.gifHe's an Objectivist?! :eek:

[black magick hustla]

i havent read twilight but i have trolled so many vamp girls that i know for sure i would not like it.

[Bear MacMillan]

Twilight is absolute shite. The author is mormon and the underlying theme of the book is abstinance (not through actual sex, but through his wanting to drink her blood or some shit). Shit like Twilight and Anne Rice has killed any aspect of terror vampires once possesed, and now make me think of them as goths hanging out at hot topic rather than the walking dead feasting on the living.

[ZeroNowhere]

Twilight is absolute shite. The author is mormon and the underlying theme of the book is abstinance.
Ah, if only you knew... :cool:

[Schrödinger's Cat]

Stop badmouthing crappy teenage books (yes, including Harry Potter) and read the fantasy series called A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. It is so awesome I read like 4 books (out of 6 or so) in a row, thousands of pages.

It might just become an HBO series soon, they ordered a pilot I think.

Yep. A Song of Ice and Fire is excellent! And while the author isn't a socialist, he's quite "left" on social and economic policies in terms of American politics.

[Schrödinger's Cat]

He's an Objectivist?! :eek:

Yes. You don't really pick up the theme in full force until his third book. Readers are led to believe it's the fault of a particular woman for being raped because she didn't stand up for herself. And of course all the bad guys are mindless drones who fight for a more fair society while the heroes think for themselves and fight it out to be the manliest of men.

[Revy]

I liked the Harry Potter books. Though, I think J.K. Rowling was too hesitant to include more mature themes in the later books, in which Harry was older and probably wasn't thinking about just "snogging" (kissing). I'm not saying it has to be full on pornography, but I just thought it was weird how nothing sexual ever came up even though she tried to up the notch in its mature themes.

I also didn't like how she waited until after the last book to say that Dumbledore was gay, but that information is given nowhere in the books, and I think that it would have been better for one of the young characters to be gay.

But overall, I always thought the books are fantastic ever since the first one came out.

[LOLseph Stalin]

Which one of these books is worse? I'm having trouble answering this question. Both suck eggs more than salmonella. I'm leaning on saying Twilight simply because of the default "sparkling."

I can't stand Twilight. It's just another excuse for annoying fan girls, most of my friends included. Like seriously! Write a better book! The characters are flat, the plot is over-used, and give Edward fucking flaws! He's "perfect" looking, he has super speed and super strength(last time I checked those weren't abilities Vampires possessed. he's not superman), he sparkles, and most of all he doesn't die in the sun! Vampires are supposed to die in sunlight, not sparkle! Thanks for ruining Vampires for me Stephanie Meyer. I think i'm sticking to Werewolves, considering you somehow managed to make Jacob a way more likable character who HAS flaws!