*Warning: the following essay contains spoilers of both Eragon and Eldest!*
According to Christopher Paolini, author of the bestselling Inheritance series, all fantasy is derivative. However, after reading both Eragon and Eldest, it’s plain to see that the only truly derivative work is Paolini’s own. It is not so much a book series as it is a quilt, stitched together by taking patches from other authors and filmmakers, and knitting them together. In the past when asked about his books’ similarity to such popular franchises as Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings, Paolini has countered with the “All fantasy is derivative” line, and a reference to Joseph Campbell’s famous book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, and the “Hero Cycle” written about therein. I will be examining a number of fantasy books that are most definitely not derivative, as well as comparing Eragon and Eldest to Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and The Matrix, all of which follow Campbell’s Hero Cycle.
First of all, there is the obvious question: why begin writing a book series that is already based off of an already overused mythology? Paolini began writing Eragon with prior knowledge of the Hero Cycle (or so he claims). Why start down the path so many others have gone down before? Why not use this knowledge to avoid the well-traveled path and instead branch off into a new direction? Instead of doing this, Paolini follows the Monomyth step by well-traveled step.
While there are plenty of Dungeons & Dragons, or Middle-Earth clone paperback novels filling up the shelves at any Barnes & Noble or Borders bookstore, there are also plenty of original works available on the market. Fantasy does not require Tolkien-esque elves and dwarves, or black robed bad guys, or mythic swords or magic spoken in an ancient tongue. Fantasy requires the fantastic.
Given such a vague description of fantasy, why would anyone seek to pigeonhole themselves into a world that has been visited countless times before, and visited by more talented authors than an 18-year-old who has read Lord of the Rings one too many times? Fantasy presents a literally unlimited potential to authors of the genre. Whatever your mind can conjure, can be made real within the pages of a book.
In Paolini’s world of Alagaesia, he has “created” dwarves that live in the mountains and are expert craftsman of stone, reclusive, immortal, and secretive elves that live in the forest and are masters of magic and archery, and dragons that fly and breathe fire and can communicate telepathically with their riders.
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, he had dwarves that live in the mountains and are expert craftsman of stone, reclusive, immortal, and secretive elves that live in the forest and are masters of magic and archery. In The Hobbit, there is a dragon that flies and breathes fire, though it has no rider to communicate telepathically with. Well, that’s one point for Paolini, right?
No.
In Anne McCaffery’s Dragon Riders of Pern series, the dragons in the series communicate telepathically with their riders. In Bruce Coville’s children’s story, Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, the dragon in the story, Tiamat, communicates telepathically with the title character.
In book one of the Inheritance trilogy, Eragon, and later, his brother Roran, are pursued by demonic black-robed figures known as the Ra’Zac. In Lord of the Rings, Frodo and his companions are pursed by demonic black-robed figures known as the Nazgul.
In Lord of the Rings, there is a monstrous, primitive and war-like race known as the Orcs that have an elite and much more powerful sect called the Uruk-Hai. In Inheritance, there is , primitive and war-like race known as the Urgals that have an elite and much more powerful sect called the Kull.
Then there are the names. The names of Alagaesia’s people and places are mostly taken straight from the pages of Tolkien’s work (and others) with a few letters switched around.
• Arya –Arwen, Arda
• Ardwen – Arwen
• Isenstar – Isengard
• Mithrim - Mithrim or mithril
• Eragon - Aragorn (but also almost identical to "dragon")
• Angrenost - Angrenost, the Sindarin name for Isengard
• Morgothal – Morgoth
• Elessari – Elessar
• Furnost – Fornost
• Hadarac Desert - Harad Desert
• Melian – Melian
• Vanilor – Valinor
• Eridor – Eriador
• Imiladris – Imladris
• Undin - Fundin/Udun
This is a list of only some of the similarity found in the many names that litter the pages of both Eragon and Eldest. Similarities to many other well-known fantasy works also continue in abundance. The rules of magic in Paolini’s world almost directly mirror those found in Ursula Leguin’s Earthsea series, as well as the appearance of a crow in Eldest that is disturbingly similar to a crow that also appears in Leguin’s works.
The many books that Paolini has copiously “borrowed” from, or has been “inspired” by, are original and fresh takes on the realms of fantasy. They are not overly derivative of one single work (such as Lord of the Rings), or of any groupings of work.
Furthermore, there are other authors out there that construct their worlds completely out of their own heads, with no sign of a dwarf, elf, or other stock fantasy race in sight. Clive Barker’s Abarat series is an excellent example of this.
The world of Abarat is an archipelago where each island symbolizes an hour of the day, and one island that is “out of time”. The immense variety of colorful species that populate the world serve as a testament to Barker’s vast imagination and sense of originality.
Stephen King and Peter Straub’s The Talisman is likewise a fantasy world that has no predecessor or equal. King’s Dark tower series is a mix of Tolkien’s sense of scale, and a good dose of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly thrown in for good measure, as well as King’s own sense of dark fantasy.
Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy features the standard talking animals, as well as the unfamiliar creatures called daemons, which are shape shifting counterparts to their human halves, and serve as a kind of outward reflection of their personality.
Even stories that do feature stock fantasy elements, such as Harry Potter, strive to present them in an original light. In the world of Harry potter, there are evil wizards, trolls, basilisk, unicorns, and a slew of other traditional fantasy creatures and elements, but there are also flying cars, Quidditch, a ministry of Magic, and more original and exciting ideas from author J.K. Rowling’s head that make these familiar ideas seem brand new.
The argument could be made that by fantasy being derivative, Paolini is referring to the very basic plot outlines of fantasy, the most standard being that old chestnut, “Good vs. Evil”. However, if you boil fantasy down to those over-simplified terms, we find that almost anything, from Die Hard to Conan the Barbarian to James Bond, can be labeled with that particular stamp.
Now let’s study Inheritance in light of the Hero Cycle, popularized by Joseph Campbell. In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Campbell outlines several basic “steps” that are common in many world mythologies, as well as more contemporary works of fiction.
For example, one such step Campbell identifies is “The Call to Adventure”. Basically, this is the step that takes the character from ordinary hum-drum life to the exciting world of mystery and adventure. Let’s look at this particular step as it relates to some well known works that also follow the Hero Cycle.
• Lord of the Rings- Frodo is given the One Ring, and is sought by the Nazgul. Gandalf, an ancient wizard, warns him of the impending danger. He is forced to flee the Shire and embark on his quest.
• The Matrix- Neo follows the white Rabbit and meets Trinity. Later, he is arrested by the Agents, and meets with Morpheus, a supposed terrorist in the world of the Matrix, but is in reality, a freedom fighter for the human cause.
• Star Wars- Luke comes home after chasing down R2D2, the droid sought after by the Empire. He finds that his farm is burned to the ground and his aunt and uncle have been murdered by Imperial agents. He leaves with Obi-Wan Kenobi, the last member of an ancient order of knights.
• Inheritance- Eragon comes home after flying on Saphira, the dragon sought after by the Empire. He finds that his farm is burned to the ground and his uncle has been murdered by imperial Agents. He leaves with Brom, the last member of an ancient order of dragon riders.
That sounds almost like a joke or a parody, but the duplicity between Inheritance and Star Wars is no joke. Here we can see three different ways of presenting the “Call to Adventure”. Directly contrasting Paolini’s “All fantasy is derivative” statement, we can see that lord of the Rings, The Matrix, and Star Wars, all of which follow the Hero Cycle, all have different ways of presenting the same scene. Furthermore, we can see three different depictions of the archetype of the “Mentor” character in Morpheus, Gandalf, and Obi-Wan. In Inheritance, it’s almost an exact copy of star Wars. Incredibly, the similarities continue, but let’s also continue to examine the other Monomyth followers to be fair.
Let’s look at another step in the Hero Cycle now, that of “The Belly of the Whale”, in which the protagonist is really in the thick of his adventure, past the point of no return.
• Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Ring must traverse the dangerous Mines of Moria in order to reach their destination. While in the mines, the Fellowship must do battle with hordes of goblins, and the menacing Balrog.
• The Matrix- Neo awakens in one of the Machine’s horrifying power plants, and finally comes to the realization that the Matrix is an illusion. He is “flushed” by one of the machines, and rescued by Morpheus.
• Star Wars- Luke enters an Imperial base (the Death Star), in order to a princess (Leia), who is a member of the rebel movement. He escapes with the princess with the help of rough-around-the-edges-hero, Han Solo.
• Inheritance- Eragon enters an Imperial base (Gil’ead), in order to rescue a princess (Arya), who is a member of the rebel movement. He escapes with the princess with the help of rough-around-the-edges-hero, Murtagh.
As unbelievable as it may seem, similarities such as these continue outside the scope of the Hero Cycle.
• Star Wars- The Emperor Palpatine overthrew the existing order in the universe with the help of Darth Vader, previously a Jedi Knight who betrayed the order. Luke later discovers that Vader is his father.
• Inheritance- The Emperor Galbatorix overthrew the existing order in the universe with the help of Morzan, previously a Dragon Rider who betrayed the order. Eragon later discovers that Morzan was his father.
• Star Wars- Luke inherits his father’s lightsaber, which is a blade of energy that is beyond conventional weaponry. The blade symbolizes a Jedi Knight’s status as a protector and champion.
• Inheritance- Eragon inherits his father’s Rider’s Sword, which is a blade of superior craftsmanship that is beyond conventional weaponry. The blade symbolizes a Rider’s status as a protector and champion.
• Star Wars- Lightsabers come in a variety of colors: blue and green for Jedi knights, red for the evil Sith, such as Darth Vader.
• Inheritance- Rider’s Swords come in a variety of colors, each reflecting the color of the Rider’s dragon. So far we know that there is a red sword that belonged to the evil Morzan, and are given indications that there will also be blue and green swords.
• Star Wars- Luke journeys to a distant planet in the Dagobah system to train with Yoda, the very last Jedi Knight. During his training, he discovers that his friends and the rebel movement are in peril on the cloud city of Bespin, and leaves to help them. He swears to Yoda that he will return and complete his training.
• Inheritance- Eragon journeys to the distant forest of Du Weldenvarden to train with Oromis, the very last Rider. During his training, he discovers that his friends and the rebel movement are in peril on the Burning Plains, and leaves to help them. He swears to Oromis that he will return and complete his training.
• Star Wars- the Force is a type of energy that flows through all living things, and can be called upon by Force attuned individuals (such as Jedi Knights) to complete seemingly super-natural tasks.
• Inheritance- Magic is a type of energy that flows through all living things, and can be called upon by magically inclined individuals (such as elves and Riders) to complete seemingly super-natural tasks.
Studying these other stories, it becomes clear that the only truly derivative work is the work of Paolini himself. In the Inheritance series it is possible to find traces of LeGuin, McCaffery, Tolkien, Nix, Coville, Lucas, and more, but there is very little of Paolini present in the pages of the Inheritance trilogy.
