Paolini and Plagiarism

Last week, I stopped by my favourite bookstore to pick up a copy of Eragon, a New York Times Bestseller. Being an ardent reader of fantasy novels, I thought it would be a nice little addition to my growing collection of books.

The tale is straightforward enough. It tells of a young boy who one day finds himself in charge of a dragon. All of a sudden, his life is changed. He becomes hunted, pursued by malevolent creatures and all things dangerous. With only an old storyteller to instruct him, he journeys into the world as an inexperienced farm boy striving to avenge his uncle’s death.

With not much knowledge of whence he came, and no idea where life would next take him, he finds himself pitted against evil as old as the Empire itself. It’s a tale of magic and the never ending battle of good versus evil, but with one uncertainty. Which side will Eragon choose?

Sounds interesting? That’s what I thought too, but I found the book extremely disappointing- though not for lack of drama. The emotions and actions of the characters are often exaggerated to give the story some kind of substance. But Christopher Paolini, the author of this bestseller, appears to have … borrowed heavily from a number of lesser known books.

Below I elaborate my point with an amusing passage I’ve picked out from the 16th chapter. The characters are Brom (the storyteller) and Eragon, who are trying to cross a bridge.

The Anora River flowed between them and the town, spanned by a stout bridge. As they approached it, a greasy man stepped (out) from behind a bush and barred their way. His shirt was too short and his dirty stomach spilled over a rope belt. Behind his cracked lips, his teeth looked like crumbling tombstones.

“You c’n stop right there. This’s my bridge. Gotta pay t’ get over.”
“How much?” asked Brom in a resigned voice. He pulled out a pouch and the bridge keeper brightened.
“Five crowns” he said, pulling his lips into a broad smile.
Eragon’s temper flared at the exorbitant price, and he started to complain hotly, but Brom silenced him with a quick look. The coins were wordlessly handed over. The man put them into a sack hanging from his belt.
“Thank’ee much” he said in a mocking tone and stood out of the way.
As Brom stepped forward, he stumbled and caught the bridge keeper’s arm to support himself.
“Watch y’re step” snarled the grimy man sidling away.
“Sorry” apologised Brom, and continued over the bridge with Eragon.
“Why didn’t you haggle? He skinned you alive!” exclaimed Eragon. “He probably doesn’t even own the bridge.”
“Probably” agreed Brom.
“Then why pay him?”
“Because you can’t argue with all the fools in the world. It’s easier to let them have their way, then trick them when they’re not paying attention.” Brom opened his hand, and a pile of coins glinted in the sun.
“You cut his purse!” said Eragon incredulously. Brom pocketed the money with a wink. There was a sudden howl of anguish from the other side of the river. “I’d say our friend has just discovered his loss.”

Now compare it with the original and better written passage from the 3rd chapter of The Ruby Knight by David Eddings. Our hero Sparhawk tries to cross the bridge with his travelling companions, the young boy Talen among them.

Beside the ford stood a small hut. The man who owned it was a sharp eyed fellow in a green tunic who demanded a toll to cross. Rather than argue with him, Sparhawk paid what he asked. “Tell me neighbour,” he asked when the transaction was completed “how far is the Pelosian border?”
“About five leagues” the sharp eyed man replied. “If you move along, you should reach it by afternoon.”
They splashed on across the ford. When they reached the other side, Talen rode up to Sparhawk. Here’s your money back,” the young boy said, handing over several coins.
Sparhawk gave him a startled look.
“I don’t object to paying a toll to cross a bridge” Talen sniffed. “After all, someone had to go to the expense of building it. That fellow was just taking advantage of a natural shallow place in the river. It didn’t cost him anything, so why should he make a profit from it?
“You cut his purse, then?”
“Naturally.”
“And there was more in it than just my coins?”
“A bit. Let’s call it my fee for recovering your money. After all, I deserve a profit too, don’t I?”
“You’re incorrigible.”
“I needed the practice.”
From the other side of the river came a howl of anguish.
“I’d say he just discovered his loss” observed Sparhawk.
“It does sort of sound that way, doesn’t it?

There are a number of smaller idea’s and (slightly altered) passages borrowed from other books, The Belgariad and Malloreon being the first ones to come to my mind.

The gedwey ignasia is a mark on Eragon’s right palm that marks him a Dragon Rider and it is through this that he channels his magical powers. It’s uncannily similar to the oval white mark that Garion (of The Belgariad) bears on his right palm which marks him out as special, a mark that when he channels, tingles in the same way Paolini describes characteristic of the gedwey ignasia. Perhaps Paolini felt that since he named the mark (while no term is specified for the mark in either the Belgariad or Malloreon) he can claim originality for it.

Many books dealing with magic and sorcery have rules and limitations, do’s and dont’s. It is not uncommon for a few of these Rules to be found in more than one book. Is it a pure coincidence that the all the Rules of Magic in Eragon are identical to those of The Belgariad and The Malloreon?

The perception of magic varies with different books as well. The most common form of magic written about, is the kind that necessitates incantations, wands, talismans and charms, such as you would find in the Harry Potter series. A few books portray a more sophisticated kind of magic, where one controls magic with one's mind, which is something that people find more believable. Lord of the Rings would fall into that category. But the most attractive concept of magic I've ever stumbled upon, is the "Words of Power" system, by Ursula K. Le Guin in her Earthsea Novels. Paolini seemed to have been 'inspired' by her writing, because his book seems to follow the same pattern of magic.
In Algaesia (Eragon's homeland), there once existed a language that used the 'true' name of all objects and persons. With the knowledge of the true name of an object, came the ability to control it, for good or evil. To protect themselves, most people had two names. The 'true' name which is known to few, and their ordinary name, by which the world knows them. It is also impossible to lie in this language, for the language is powerful in itself. It's definitely the most appealing form of magic I have ever come across.

I have to admit, Paolini has good taste.

Paolini also seemed to have liked Anne McCaffery's work a lot, because the telepathic link between a rider and a dragon is an idea (yes, just one) that has been lifted straight out of her Dragon Rider novels. She didn't mind though, as she mentioned on her website. She seemed flattered. Imitation, as many of her fans have pointed out, is the best form of flattery.

Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time did not pass by unnoticed. The 13 Forsworn of Algaesia are not unalike the 13 Forsaken who stalk Jordan's series of twelve.

There are several snippets that I’ve found reminiscent of other books, be it entire paragraphs, phrases or merely a few ideas. The only bits that are purely his, unfortunately, confirm my suspicion that Paolini, as a writer, has about all the talent that Tolkein had in his little toe. And I'm being nice.

Paolini has elicited mixed responses from his readers. Many people praise him saying that the book makes for a good read. This is hardly surprising, considering that he's been 'inspired' by some of the finest fantasy books written.

But then, perhaps I'm being harsh. After all, he was only 15 when he started writing his book. So perhaps we should pardon his 'imitation'. Imitation in an exam though, is unforgivable. I once heard of a 10 year old who got away scot free for 'being inspired' by another student's answer sheet during a test. Tsk. Honestly, what is the world coming to?

Scroll down to get a better look at how I spent my last geography class:

Star Wars- The Plot	Eragon- The Plot
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away . . .	A long time ago, in a land far, far, away . . .
Palpatine, an evil Sith Lord, has overthrown the galactic Republic and become emperor of the new Empire. The Jedi Knights, an ancient peacekeeping order, have been eradicated.	Galbatorix, an evil Dragon Rider has overthrown Algaesia and become King of the new Empire. The Dragon Riders, an ancient peacekeeping order, have been eradicated.
Princess Leia Organa is a member of the Rebel Alliance, a group fighting to defeat the Empire. She's on a mission involving Obi Wan Kenobi, an exiled Jedi living on Tatooine. The mission fails when her spaceship falls under attack by an Imperial star cruiser.	Princess Arya is an elf aiding the Rebelling Varden, a group fighting to defeat the Empire. She's on a mission to involving Brom, an exiled Rider living in Carvahal. The mission fails when her horse falls under attack by a group of Urgals.
Leia hides stolen schematics of the Empire's Death Star, and transports it to Tatooine.	Arya hides the stolen egg of the dragons and transports it to Carvahal.
The two droids make their way to Luke Skywalker. He decides to go to Obi Wan. After meeting him, Luke rushes home only to find his aunt and uncle murdered by Imperial storm troopers searching for the droids.	The egg makes it’s way to Eragon. He decides to go to Brom. After meeting him, Eragon rushes home only to find his uncle fatally wounded by the Ra'zac searching for the egg.
Meanwhile, Princess Leia is held captive. Darth Vader demands the location of the rebel base camp, but Leia resists....	Meanwhile, Princess Arya is held captive. Galbatorix demands the location of the rebel base camp, but Arya resists...

(plot summary courtesy of ruinedendings.com)

I've just copied and pasted the plot of Star Wars, replacing the original characters/places/ideas in violet with Paolini's mimicry in green. So perhaps the plot isn't entirely original. Take that away, and you have the words in green. But it turns out that the those aren't entirely original either.

Scroll down to see how I spent my last Sociology class.

Eragon vs. Lord of the Rings

Elessari	(Elessar)
Beor	(Beorn)
Morgothal	(Morgoth)
Isenstar	(Isengard)
Imiladris	(Imladris)
Hadarac Desert	(Harad Desert)
Mithrim	(Mithril)
Eridor	(Eriador)
Furnost	(Fornost)

Tsk tsk tsk. Paolini seems to have been a bit careless though. Here are some of the names he forgot to change. Really! Kids these days....

Melian... Melian
Angrenost... Angrenost
The Lonely Mountain... The Lonely Mountain
Valinor... Valinor
The Grey Folk... The Grey Folk

I wonder if you've noticed that Eragon (a mere mortal) who falls in love with Arya (an elfin princess) resembles Aragon (another mere mortal) who falls in love with Arwen (another elfin princess). Aragon turns out to be a king later on, and I'm willing to bet anything that Eragon has royal blood coursing through his veins.

The book is clearly written by a 15 year old. And a 15 year old who writes like a 15 year old doesn't exactly shout 'talent'. Paolini is now 22, but nothing seems to have changed. One of the most prominent discrepancies I've noticed in the book, is his writing style. It's a startling change when Eragon switches from archaic 'grown up' speech characteristic of fantasy novels set aeons ago in strange lands, to modern American 'teenage boy speak' characteristic of ... modern American teenage boys.

And it certainly is unsettling when the refined 'gentlemanly' tone of the book switches to something cruder. Just when you get used to Paolini and his mastery of flowery speech, he tries to get you interested in the body hair (or lack of it) in certain places of certain people. Save it for a Jackie Collins, but not for a fantasy novel written for children.

If you were to strip the book of its heavily borrowed material down to what is purely the work of Paolini, you will find a shaky amateur writing style, with moth-eaten characters playing highly dramatized roles, mouthing weak watery lines.

If you’re considering buying the book - don’t. It would be a far better idea to acquire the Belgariad, Malloreon or the other books by David Eddings which I seem to find traces (read ‘large amounts’) of in Paolini’s book. Edding’s is a true genius and Paolini appears to agree with me on that.

I'm not even going to attempt doing Eldest. Paolini made a big mistake when he wrote Eldest. He became a bit more original, and didn't copy as much.

This is something I really enjoyed reading.

I have to ask myself though. Who am I directing this rant and rave against? Paolini, who did a very unsuccessful job of plagiarising the work of countless other authors? His misguided parents who owned his publishing company? Or the world, who can't seem to tell tripe from talent?