I definitely agree with this review. This is not a perfect series, but people act like this is Twilight. Especially when they act like all the examples of Greyand Gray Morality are accidental when they're clearly intentional.
I'm not sure how you can claim that the grey and gray morality is intentional when every view offered on it in the text itself takes the black and white approach, split directly according to Protagonist-Centered Morality.
As for cliches, the complaints on that front aren't about tropes being bad, it's that the books are Cliche Storms to the degree of bordering on plagiarism in a few extreme cases, most notably the xerox plot of the first book being copied point for point from Star Wars: A New Hope.
Cliches are the hammer in a writer's toolbelt. Sometimes you don't need a fancy gizmo or device, you just need to pound something in, and you'd be silly not to use the hammer for that. Inheritance's problem isn't that it uses the hammer, it's that it built its house entirely out of hammers. No nails, no glue, no mortar, nothing holding it together. Even the foundation is only relatively solid because it was taken wholecloth from other buildings. There is shockingly little originality in the series, and what scant originality there is to be found is frequently either boring (about 90% of Brisingr), stupid (the Fauxlosophic Narration in Eldest), pointless (about 90% of Brisingr, again), or some combination thereof.
Pile on top of that an unhealthy dose of purple prose, thesaurus abuse, terrible pacing, rampant inconsistencies, problematic world views, cardboard characters, deus ex machina, and the fact that the book only got published at all because of nepotism, and it's pretty easy to see why it's garnered such a hatedom, especially in its early years when it was being pushed by Knopf as the next Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter with a marketing campaign based almost entirely on the author's age instead of the quality the books themselves.
What matters in this life is much more than winning for ourselves. What really matters is helping others win, too. - F. Rogers.
Honestly, from this review it still sounds like the books are bad, just not completely terrible
This seems like a good time to elaborate, which I would already have if not for that blasted 400 word limit.
First of all, the reason I admitted to not being much of a (dedicated) literature reader is to make clear that I don't notice problems like those Wryte detailed unless they are well and truly terrible. Hence why I did state the pacing, the rather haphazard introduction of Roran's story, and the terrible page-time of Galbatorix. A lot of other things, though, fall into YMMV so squarely that they are pointless to consider until you develop your own Mileage. I'm only now getting into the plagiarism, which you can only notice if you've actually read the other stuff.
That leads to the next thing I tried to make clear. Inheritance is quite likely outclassed by a fair amount of works, some of which I read. Therefore, it isn't for literature lovers. Here's the thing though: Not everyone is into literature that much, recognizes tropes in a second (okay, this IS TV Tropes), or at worst just lives to pick things apart. There are those who use literature when wasting time or ending the day. Unfortunately, a fair few reviews hold Inheritance to such a high and unwarranted standard that they lead people to hate the series even if they would have liked it otherwise.
That said, let's get to the morality issues, because, my god, some people just miss the point by miles. Again, a few cases notwithstanding, Christopher makes QUITE clear that no outcome of the conflict will be pretty. A lot of deeds are most definitely not White, even in narrative. Heck, what I noticed the most, come Eldest, is that Grey and Grey Morality was a thing in there. Do the characters treat this like perfect Grey and Grey? They really don't. And do you know why? Because if both sides honestly believed that this trope was in play, there would be little reason for conflict. Also, how are younger characters supposed to judge Galbatorix, who has lived much longer? Do they just magically take into account factors from before they were born? Not to mention the older races, and we know what Galbatorix did to those. Also, the conflict in general. There are plenty of Grey if not White people in the empire. What is the Varden supposed to do? Avoid possible opponents because they could be innocent? And what about Roran and his defiance of awesome in Brisingr? Would you not whip him? Surely less competent people, like, say, his commander, will not think of disobeying orders or anything. I could go on and on, and sometimes this was even pointed out in the books.
Long story short, I can understand why there is a hatedom. But as Patworx said, this isn't Twilight or terrible, and most of the critics' reasons either require a specific mileage, an extremely keen eye, or reading specific works beforehand.
I read the first book more-or-less when it came out. I was younger back then, didn't read a lot and liked it. A few years later, I read Eldest in a library, and I could barely finish it. Fast forward again, and I found Inheritance in the same library. By that time, the thought continuously running through my head had literally been "why am I still reading this?"
It wasn't that I read it to pick it apart or "read specific works beforehand" (hell, I still hadn't seen original Star Wars by that time). It was that the books were simply boring, with a lot of words, characters and action sequences that added up to nothing engaging or worthwhile. It's common for fanfiction, but this a commercial book series, for which I wouldn't have paid a dime.
You could feel the author stumbling around page after page, occasionally hitting on a somewhat original element(i.e. during the bits where Nasuada is captured) but then fail to express it with any grace or economy of word. An average editorial in any newspaper will contain much better prose then what you'll see in the Inheritance Cycle.
To round it off;
There are those who use literature when wasting time or ending the day. Unfortunately, a fair few reviews hold Inheritance to such a high and unwarranted standard that they lead people to hate the series even if they would have liked it otherwise.
can just as easily be
There are those who use literature when wasting time or ending the day. Unfortunately, a fair few reviews hold Twilight to such a high and unwarranted standard that they lead people to hate the series even if they would have liked it otherwise.
Please explain to me why one is justifiable and the other is not. They're both uncreative literature utterly riddled with flaws small and large, that only succeed in being "books people read when wasting time or ending the day.", i.e. hitting the lowest bar possible for the commercial literature.
Twilight gets more hate because it's squicker for the average male internet goer, but there really isn't much of a difference. In fact, the only bit of the latter I had read was the prologue to New Moon. It obviously wasn't good enough for me to continue, but the writing was still comparable to the best of Inheritance.
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Not bad, but complicated on so many levels.
Normally, when you read a review, you expect a neutral and often fair evaluation of the review material's aspects. Be warned. Some of the evaluations here aren't written by people genuinely trying to enjoy it. As for this review, it will have to cover more than just the cycle.
Of course, I'll start with the cycle itself. Now I will admit, I don't read literature that much. That said, I acknowledge Inheritance isn't overly original. Expect clichés, and if you consider them a mortal sin, there's one reason to avoid the cycle already. If you know clichés aren't bad, you might still read the series. But it gets more complicated: Inheritance is said to lift from other works. I believe this is at least somewhat true, so if you have read those other works (most notably Star Wars), Inheritance might be a painful read.
Another problem I definitely acknowledge, looking back, is the pacing and flow. Some things just feel off, reading them. Most notably, Eldest had me confused once Roran's story came in. As for Eragon himself, a few encounters notwithstanding, it takes until about halfway through Eldest for things to happen at a regular basis. Then there is the fact that Galbatorix, as enjoyable a villain as he is, is glued to his throne and barely shows up.
Now that I am reading Inheritance, I can already say the cycle isn't a perfect read, and far from perfectly written. Not perfect isn't bad though.
It gets even more complicated. If you haven't noticed yet, the series manages to be divisive for reasons I can't fathom at times. So let's take a look at some of this, shall we?
By far the biggest things that came up are the morality issues. The series' very YMMV page claims there is a Grey and Grey Morality being painted as Black and White Morality. Let this be clear: From Eldest and on, Cristopher actually does portray Grey and Grey Morality. It's the characters and some readers who actually see Black and White, and both are expected to do that.
My verdict? If you're looking for literature to read before going to sleep (or waste time), this works. It's not great, but satisfactory. If you actually intend to spend day time, however, there are better things to do, among entertainment and among literature as well. Finally, I've influenced you enough as is, so before you pay further heed to people on the subject, read the series.