Paolini Vs. Lucas

I’m reading Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, the fourth installment of what had originally been the Inheritance trilogy but is now the Inheritance cycle.  Paolini was fifteen when he began writing Eragon, the first book in the cycle.  It was originally a self-published effort that was picked up by Alfred A. Knopf in 2003.

I’ve enjoyed the series; book one, Eragon, book two, Eldest and book three Brisingr.  My main complaint is the amount of time between Brisingr and the final book, Inheritance:  3 years.

The books have been well crafted.  There was a movie, Eragon, based on the first book and it was awful.  It was disjointed and poorly crafted.  It failed to capture the spirit of the book.  The director, Stefen Fangmeier, seemed more concerned with cinematic effects as opposed to storytelling.

I originally bought the book for my youngest son.  We had been reading the Harry Potter series and we were waiting for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  I was cruising Barnes & Noble and I spied Eragon.  It looked like an easy read and I thought it would be a nice fill in.  It didn’t resonate with him, but it hooked me.

The cycle reminds me of Star Wars.  It’s … JRR Tolkien meets George Lucas.  The book is full of elves, dwarves and good and evil wizards.  The storyline is similar to A New Hope, Episode IV of the Star Wars saga.

I was wondering who Paolini named as influences.  I think every writer can name someone who has influenced their writing.  I was surprised to discover that he didn’t mention Lucas.  Hmm, interesting.

If you're interested in a plot summary of Eragon go to Paolini's site.

The following are details that are striking in their similarity.

The central figure in each tale is an orphaned teen on the cusp of manhood who lives with an uncle on a remote farm.  The boys come into possession of objects:  Eragon finds an egg and Luke Skywalker finds Death Star plans.  These objects are coveted by their respective evil overlord.  Possession of these items leads to the destruction of the boys' homes and the death of their uncles.  The youths flee, and their flight is assisted by wizened older men:  Brom, a weaver of tales and Obi-Wan Kenobi, a recluse, who do what they can to teach their charges the ways of an elite warrior.

Initially both stories don't give any indication that these sage men were once powerful warriors; Brom, a Dragon Rider and Obi-Wan, a Jedi Knight who were forced to live in anonymity when their respective organizations were destroyed.

Both stories had an organization that was betrayed from within and had become nothing more than a memory, the stuff of legends. 
The Dragon Riders had been an elite group of elves and humans that ensured justice is dispensed.  The Jedi Knights were a peacekeeping force.

Brom & Obi-Wan attempt to impart upon the boys the basics of their respective brotherhoods.  Brom and Obi-Wan recognize each lad has an innate ability that could allow them to become the next Dragon Rider and Jedi Knight.  Predictably, each teacher is slain before he can complete the training.

Star Wars has an older being that tries to complete Skywalker’s training after Kenobi’s death.  Likewise, Eragon’s instruction is continued by an ancient Elvin rider.  Both figures are introduced in each saga’s second installment.

It’s not my intent to be negative.  I like the series.  I think Paolini does a super job of bringing the land of Alagaësia to life.  I’m hoping he does a prequel.  We’re given a broad brushstroke regarding life prior to Eragon.  I’d like to know how the Riders rose to prominence and how Galbatorix usurped power?

These are just my random thoughts.  Anyone else care to opine?

Marines in Sci-Fi

Thursday, November 10^th was the 236^th anniversary of the founding of the United States Marine Corps.  Though it’s been several years since I was an active duty member of the Corps, I still carry that esprit de corps.  Many countries have had a military organization designated as Marines but there’s only one United States Marine Corps.

Once a Marine, always a Marine.

I remember when I enlisted, people thought I was crazy.  One of my brothers, a Vietnam era Navy veteran actually told me he’d rather have a sister in a brothel then a brother in the Marine Corps.  Nice!  Others thought that the boot camp drill instructors would beat my ass on a daily basis because of my temperament.

I will admit, the day I left for Paris Island, I was scared.  What the hell was I thinking?  The farthest I’d ever been from home was a three day school fieldtrip to Fort Ticonderoga.

I was only 19 and had been working as a Pension Trust Analyst at a large insurance company when I decided to join.  I was bored to tears so I figured, why not.  It’s not as if I gave it a whole lot of thought.  Hell, the reason I chose the USMC was because their dress uniforms were sharper than those of the other military branches.

I never said I made an informed decision.

I think joining the Marines was hardest on my mother.  One of my brothers recalled a time when a Marine recruiter called the house sometime during my Junior or Senior year of high school.

Recruiter:  May I speak with Derek, please.

Mom:  May I ask who’s calling?

Recruiter:  Staff Sergeant Somebody.  I’m a Marine Corps recruiter.

Mom:  Did he enlist?

Recruiter:  No, Ma’am.

Mom:  I’ll kill him if he did.

Click.

Needless to say, I never got another call.  To be fair, Mom had already endured the military service of three sons; each of whom served in or around Vietnam.  (She actually had someone tell her that if one of her boys was lost during the war, at least she had four others.)  Her lack of objectivity was understandable.

She had this little American flag lapel pin that she wore every day I was on active duty.  It is the same pin she donned when each of my older brothers was on active duty.

I make light of my motivation for enlisting in the Marines, but ultimately, it was an experience that shaped my character.  I learned the value of teamwork, I visited places I would never have and I met people who were very different from me.  It was a time in my life that I would gladly repeat.

Why this trip down memory lane?  I started to ponder the presence of Marines in fiction, particularly Science Fiction.  I’m most familiar with the Marines in the television series Enterprise and the most recent incarnation of Battlestar Galactica, as well as the Space Marines in the movies Aliens and Starship Troopers.

My own science fiction novel, Refuge, currently in revision, has a contingent of Marines.

Why are Marines such interesting combatants for Science Fiction writers?  I think it has to do with the mystique surrounding the Corps.  I believe there is an aura of, dare I say it, invincibility that makes the Marines an ideal and integral part of many science fiction campaigns.  And, there seems to be one constant … they are dangerous sumofabitches.

There’s a perception, by civilians at least, that a Marine is a rough, tough warrior who can be called to action at a moment’s notice.  When I was in boot camp, we were always told we were the President’s Own and did not require a declaration of war for deployment.

Maybe the mystique is greater because there are fewer Marines then sailors or airmen/women or soldiers.  The number of active duty Marines is less than any of the other branches of the military.

Writers are able to build upon an established, recognized brand.  Most people who aren’t living under a rock have a notion of what a Marine is and does.  A writer has readymade base from which to build; they need only add the weapons and armor.

For me, it was a matter of using what I knew – the readymade brand.  What do you think?

My First Blog Entry

My first blog entry, wow.  I ask myself, who wants to read what I have to write?  I don't have an answer so I'm going to forge ahead.

I’ve done some blog research (I emphasize “some”) and there are a lot of them out there.  Holy smokes!  There are opinions about everything and as my Drill Instructor used to always say, “Opinions are like –” … maybe I won’t go there, but you get the drift.

Obviously I have a geeky side, as the “Star Trek Live” picture should indicate.  I’ve worked in the aerospace industry, specifically space related systems, for a number of years and I had never visited the Kennedy Space Center.  I’ve been to Orlando numerous times, which is but a stone’s throw from Cape Canaveral.  Go figure.

So, finally, in April of this past year I made the trek.  And I enjoyed it; a piece of American history.  I only hope that it doesn’t die before we launch the next gen of space craft.

I know there are people who wonder why the need to travel into space.  Granted, I’m biased, since I owe my home and car to the space industry.  But from my perspective, the benefits have been worth the time and money.  The innovations that are a direct result of the space program are many.  Just Google space program inventions, you’ll see what I mean.

I have a wide range of interests, foremost being science fiction, so I suspect most of my posts will relate to this genre.  I’m a fan of “Star Trek” (all of them, even Enterprise, though I admit I didn’t really care for Star Trek: The Motion Picture) and “Star Gate,” especially “SG1.”

I just finished watching Green Lantern.  I liked it; I think a sequel has potential.  But then … I’m not a purist.  I thought Abrams did a terrific job with Star Trek (2009), I don’t see anything wrong with referring to science fiction as sci-fi and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the DH (though a DH should never be MVP; but that’s another argument).

See you next week, same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.