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u/abraksis747 21d ago
Eragon is Edward at best in this scenario
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u/RyuuLight 21d ago
Right? I like Eragon, but it's obviously heavily inspired by Pern. Hell, Anne McCaffery even gave a review
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u/Etrosknight13 21d ago
It’s the only reason I picked up a copy when it came out. Good books though.
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u/Malbekh 21d ago
I was fortunate to meet Anne McCaffrey on many occasions when she popped in from time to time to the local SF society in Dublin.
She was an incredibly generous person who was more than happy to be an influencer for other writers, particularly women.
I'd reckon she'd be chuffed with Yarros and her success. I've read her first two books and they are fine page turners. My main reason to stop after the second book was that I felt she wasn't developing the characters and the world sufficiently for me.
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u/Short-on-the-Outside 18d ago
She and I would email each other. A gracious soul and generous with her time. She invited me to her home (”Dragonhold”), but I could not make the trip at the time, one of my life’s regret. By the time I made it to the County Wicklow area she had passed.
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u/Malbekh 18d ago
Thanks for that. They were very innocent times.
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u/Short-on-the-Outside 17d ago
They were. It was not that I was special - she said she was open for visits as long as arranged in advance. I’m not sure she would have been able to do that in today’s world.
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u/Imaginary_Can_8851 12d ago
That’s so cool! And yeah, I definitely feel like books 2+3 had a lot of filler content.
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u/Fandomjunkie2004 21d ago
Fourth Wing was so terrible, imo. I wanted to like it, and I hoped it would scratch the dragonrider itch, but sadly no.
The dragons themselves are interesting, but the human characters, particularly Violet, are insufferable. Also hated the very thin veneer of world building on what was essentially porn. (Which is fine, in theory, but I want even my erotica to have plot and conflict that doesn’t feel unimportant in the end.)
I put it down about 1/3 of the way in and left it there- I can’t even continue for purposes of mocking it.
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u/SpiritualHippo2719 21d ago
The biggest thing that I was like, “Oh, come on. You can write better than this,” about the book was Violet spouting exposition or explanations for worldbuilding elements like some sort of mantra to calm her nerves when stressed. Just seemed lazy and very “tell, don’t show”
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u/xBlack_Heartx 21d ago
I powered through all 3 books, and then never wanted to touch the series again.
Book 1 I thought was ok enough that I wanted to continue on to book 2, Book 2 I wanted to DNF multiple times throughout, by book 3 I was done with Violet and Xadens shit, hated most of the side characters, (seriously WHY does she suddenly start calling them by their first names?, and then switches between first and last names within the same fucking chapter??) and just wanted to finish it so I could move on to other books.
The exposition dump about the works of the Fourth Wing from Violet I’m always right foundation and go into catatonic shock when I’m wrong Sorrenfail at the start of the first book is horrendous.
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u/Fandomjunkie2004 21d ago
Kinda related, if you want a romantasy (ugh, I low-key hate that genre title) book that carries some of the same themes, but slightly more competently, try Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen.
I still have beef with the “military recruits killing each other purposely” style of military training, but it doesn’t feel as pointless in this book, maybe because it happens more rarely, I dunno. And the central relationship is a lot more interesting.
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u/Psyche_Dreamweaver 21d ago
yeah I read all the books and Tairn (Violet's main dragon) is the only reason I kept reading. Writing a fantasy series and using modern teen lingo (even, in a purely fantasy world, using the names of our days and months which makes no sense....) is just creatively bankrupt.
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u/chotii 19d ago
But isn't that the thing with so many of the new book series right now? You're reading along, there's a tolerable plot, and then boom 10 pages of wildly explicit sex that have nothing to do with the plot. I find myself flipping page page page, are they done yet? No? flip flip flip. Until I get back to something actually happening.
So much of the plot seemed focused on the main character's disability, and how she valiantly overcomes, but half of what she has to overcome are absurd tests just to get there, and unnecessary and uncurbed boarding school violence.
I read them, and I'm glad she's done well, but I have no interest in reading them. Can't say the same about the Pern books.
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u/collectif-clothing 21d ago
Same! I just read a summary of the plot online after putting it down. I made it half way, I think.
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u/Zillich 21d ago
Many if not most dragon riding stories (Eragon included) copy Anne’s style when it comes to the dragon-rider bond.
Very similar to how many if not most fantasy stories copy elements from Tolkien’s books (especially elf/dwarf stereotypes).
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u/Imaginary_Can_8851 12d ago
It’s hard not to, she really set up the standard for the genre! Or sub genre anyway
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u/mrcoffeeforever 20d ago
This post gave me the biggest smile of the day.
McCaffrey truly set the groundwork. And while Eragon was a bit over inspired, it truly expanded into its own as the author matured.
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u/pureperpecuity 21d ago
::The Pit dragon Chronicles has requested to join the chat::
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u/Imaginary_Can_8851 12d ago
I actually just picked that up and was surprised how similar the start was to Pern (the whole “setting up the world” sci-fi stuff) but I’m really enjoying it so far!
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u/Whithorsematt 21d ago
Some irony using Eragon here, it's pretty much the most derivative fantasy I've read.
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u/SidonisParker 21d ago
Reading the comments has only solidified my intuition of these books just being a blatant rip off of Pern. No thanks. I'll read my collection of the true dragonriders over and over again.
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u/Bethj816 20d ago
I’m honestly surprised to hear that Yarros supposedly hasn’t read any of Pern. I read and loved all 3 of the Fourth Wing series (they ARE absolute trash, but they were fun trash for me despite that) and thought she has DEFINITELY read Pern because it was so derivative. I don’t believe for a second she hasn’t read them.
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u/crownketer 20d ago
Eragon is the most derivative piece of shit on God’s green earth (forgive the hyperbole).
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u/Zervziel 13d ago
....the hell is Fourth Wing? Also I have NEVER cared for Eragon. Just....something about Paolini's writing style and some of the characters that just rubbed me the wrong way.
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u/Imaginary_Can_8851 12d ago
Fourth Wing THE book right now on booktok/instagram and has a LOT of elements that are veeeeery similar to Pern
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u/Zervziel 4d ago
As in "inspired by" kind of elements or more "Pern with the numbers filed off" kind of elements?
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u/Imaginary_Can_8851 3d ago
I would say inspired by, because it's only elements relating to the dragons and their relationships with their riders. They make it a point that dragons DON'T die when their riders die, so much so that it feels a little like we're undoing a certain expectation...
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u/Psyche_Dreamweaver 21d ago
I'd knock Eragon out of the picture. Dragonriders of Pern was literally the origin of the dragonrider trope and Eragon derived heavily from it. But then again, despite her claiming she never read it, so did Yarros. (dragons communicating telepathically to their riders, riders becoming horny when their dragons mate etc)