| 'Eragon' beyond Tolkien

By MATT STARR
BLUE JEAN ONLINE
I have been hooked on medieval science fiction and fantasy ever since reading "The Lord of the Rings," but not since that trilogy have I seen such a unique and imaginative fantasy novel as I have in "Eragon." Author Christopher Paolini captures the wonderful essence of fantasy, putting on paper what others only dream of. Paolini creates a world full of such wonders that the end will leave readers wishing for the next installment.
I have to admit that when I first picked up "Eragon" and read the prologue, I thought it would be a waste of time. The first few pages were filled with elves, magic and death, and I felt that I was about to read a book by a J.R.R. Tolkien copycat. And I was right, in a sense. Throughout the book, I saw various connections between Paolini's world and Tolkien's world: Urgals to Orcs, Isenstar to Isengard, Orthiad to Orthanc, and the list goes on.
But then I realized Paolini didn't copy Tolkien's work; he simply branched off it. I also came to realize that many other authors have branched off Tolkien's work. Any Harry Potter fan will notice that those books contain many parallels to Tolkien's books. And so I must apologize to Paolini for judging his book by its cover (or rather, its first few pages). After I realized this, I immediately started over. It wouldn't be fair to the author to say that this novel is just a rip-off of "The Lord of the Rings."
When I finished the book, I knew right away that it would be a best seller. Paolini has a wonderful gift for spreading his love of fantasy to all.
XMatt Starr, 15, of Plainfield, Ill., is a teen contributor for Blue Jean Online.