Overall, a good book. It won lots of awards and was nominated for twice as many. However, the fact that she's a first-time writer is quite apparent. Fortunately, every great writer was once a first time writer, and this was a big debut.

There are only two primary flaws, but they aren't hidden. However, I think they are ones that will have been overcome by her next release. First is her pace. This book wins the longest beginning competition. Things happen, but nothing pivotal. And second is unity. It's not a universally known term, I know, but it means cohesiveness, relevance. In this book, there's a lot of scenes that could have been either deleted, compressed, or combined to remove all the unnecessary fluff that doesn't either further the plot, develop the characters, or establish the setting. If she were to have solved this problem, she would have been well on her way to solving the first problem.

As for strengths, she has many. First is originality. Reading the description on the back, you might think it's a Harry Potter spinoff. However, if she had any inspiration from Harry Potter, it was only to have magic in familiar setting (England, only this one is in the 1800s). Her implementation of magic is quite different. Here, magicians are more like scholarly mathematicians and scientists (Mr Norrell, at least). The story as well is original. Quite often, in fantasy, writers borrow generously from past writers, but I can't spot anything here.

I definitely recommend this book. And for those of you who drop a book if you aren't hooked within the first fifty pages, be patient with this one. Look at all the awards it won and give it some of your time. The ending is satisfying.It seems that Harry Potter is having an effect on the fantasy community because until it came around it seemed as though everything was a Tolkien spinoff. Susanna Clarke has set the second milestone in fantasy originality. Since Rowling has one book left and may retire after she's done, let's hope Clarke continues to lead the way to ridding the fantasy world of their addiction to the elf-wizard-dwarf-orc-blackrider formula that is so frequently used. And let's also hope that they're more creative than Stephen R Donaldson.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

To start, a wise man said, "Omit needless words, sentences, paragraphs, pages, chapters, and books." Donaldson ignores all six rules. He is an advocate of writing pretty. Whole paragraphs and pages of it. And when he does it, he uses an extra-dictionary vocabulary. And when it's not pretty words, it's about how they turned east around the river bend, then they made camp, ate fish and chips, slept, woke up, traveled some more, made camp, ate fish and chips, slept, woke up, looked at the coquelocot sunset, and so on. Pages...no, chapters of this. Boring. And as for plot, it feels as though he made it up as he went. Nothing happens...then all of the sudden posessed bees attack!!! In one scene, he actually cheats to make the story go where he wants. He really does. In the chapter "Blood speed."

I think what it all comes down to is that his second draft is a proofread. He doesn't revise. A wise man said that a good second draft is 90% the length of the first. In other words, you write everything that comes to mind in the first draft, then get rid of everything you don't absolutely need and you smooth and balance the flow for the second draft. I'll bet you his second draft was longer than his first. And the flow isn't smooth or balanced at all. His books don't have any unity.

I talk as if I know all about writing, but it doesn't take a lot to see the flaws in Donaldson's work. He has talent. He proved it in the first trilogy, but he was in the dark when he wrote this one. I heard that the next two aren't any better, so I don't know if I'll read on. However, I'm wondering if his latest will be better because he wrote it twenty years after these ones. Maybe he's a better writer now. He has the potential.

A good sequel. I hoped to see more of the people we met in Lord Foul's Bane, but alas, forty years have passed. High Lord Prothall's long gone. Saltheart Foamfollower is missing. But Lord Morham's back and on track; Donaldson isn't dumb enough to get rid of everyone's favorite character. Covenant is himself again. Cynical and rude as ever.

And of course, Covenant was right all along. Foul wanted them to get the staff of law from Drool. However, I did like the hightened pressure in this one. There was more drive to the story. In the last one, it seemed like they were dawdling along to mount thunder and when they got there, they trotted in and got in a cat-fight with Drool. It was pretty low-key. But this one is more eventful. A LOT more happens. However, it suffers from the LOTR syndrome. In LOTR, after the fellowship split, the books were split in fourths. Each fourth was one point of view. There's no juxtaposition, which is frustrating. However, each POV was satisfyingly eventful, so if you were bored by the first one, you'll be relieved to know that Donaldson planted his feet in this one. The story gets more complex and believable. Better quality.

As for the rest of the book, I thought the whole giant thing was disappionting in a good way. We wanted to see the giants, but their eradication made the reader more involved with the story. The father-daughter-lover thing between Covenant and Elena helped drive the story. The whole time you were wondering what Covenant would do. There was some really good character development in this one with Hile Troy and Elena. And the ending was a cliff-hanger! I picked up the third book and read a chapter right after I finished Illearth War because I wanted to know what happens next.

I was relieved when we saw Morham again. It would have been terrible if they didn't have at least one person we knew and liked carry through the trilogy. And they made Morham all the cooler in this one. He's older and wiser. And, of course, Bannor is back and as tough as ever.

Overall, The Illearth War was a satisfying sequel to Lord Foul's Bane.

Alright, I thought it meant Doubting Thomas at first, too, but it doesn't. In fact, if you haven't read it, it's an epic fantasy like Tolkein's Lord of the Rings, only less epic. Overall, I was both impressed and disappointed.

Unlike most epic fantasy, he creates a new world with new races and cultures. However, in LOTR, Tolkein made his races more fascinating by developing them, balancing them; humans are power-hungry and short-lived while the elves are noble and immortal. Donaldson doesn't establish any significant differences between his races.

However, I was impressed by his writing. Unlike most metaphor-happy writers like Koontz and Bradbury, who love them so much that they put them places they shouldn't be, Donaldson sounds totally natural as if that's the way he talks. Nothing sounds forced. It rolls off the tongue.

There were two stories, one weak and one strong. First, there's the our-world Covenant and the fantasy Covenant. The our-world story was compelling because it was so original and it worked so well. However, the fantasy story where they tried to get the staff of law from Drool was slow and not very exciting or even dramatic. A wise man said, "Omit needless words from a sentence, sentences from a paragraph, paragraphs from a scene, scenes from a chapter, chapters from a book, books from a series, and series from the shelf." There are plenty of scenes Donaldson could have either skipped or shortened. He has chapters of travel where nothing happens, and if something does happen, it's either insignificant or pointless. The book is slower because of it.

In summary, I liked his protagonist and his writing, but I thought the fantasy story was slightly weak. However, I realize that this was Donaldson's debut as a writer. Therefore, I am starting his next book in the series, The Illearth War, with hopes that he improves.

This post is a spoiler, so if you haven't read both Eragon and Eldest by Christopher Paolini, then don't read this post. Also, this is a review that I have previously posted on my personal blog, What Do I Think?. This post is as much a review of the author as it is of his books.

Christopher Paolini graduated highschool at age fifteen, the age most of us begin highschool. Thus, his readers have to keep a dictionary handy if they're to follow along with his books. For instance, he says diaphonic membrane for a cloth in one scene. This only goes to show that this is an amatuer's first shot at a writing career. And he got it what he wanted. Now, the word amateur here only means inexperienced. That is exactly how we'd describe Paolini. Or better yet, that is how we excuse Eragon and Eldest, his only two books written as of yet. When I say excuse, I mean forget the flaws of an amateur and enjoy the talent of a young writer with potential. Now, I say this with the purest of intentions, though I am not reviewing his potential. I'm reviewing his blatant amatuerity. First, his amateur storytelling, and second, his amateur story, which he borrows extensively from two of fantasy's greatest epics.

As for his storytelling, he attempts to give the story a Tolkeinesque ambience, but doesn't realize that he instead mixes All-American dialogue into it except for a few instances here and there that don't fit the set precedent at all. He mixes sarcasm (American) with nobility and honor (Tolkein). Also, he attempts to create a teenage hero, something Rowling did with flying colors. However, unlike Rowling, this teenage hero might as well be thirty by the way people treat him. One of the central conflicts in the Harry Potter series is the fact that the fate of the world rests on a teenager who acts like one and is treated like one as well. Also, in Harry Potter, Rowling doesn't make Harry a superhero with powers beyond anyone else's. What makes Harry great isn't his awesome magical powers. In fact, she has Hermione there to put him to shame. Paolini, on the other hand, makes Eragon nearly invincible. Such a thing isn't necessarily a sure-failure if it is handled well. However, in this case, the power was thrust upon Eragon. If Eragon wins in the end, it won't be his fault. Harry, on the other hand, has to work at it and even then he has doubts.

Now for the best part. His borrowing. Lord of the Rings and Star Wars to a T. As I go, I will point out the similarities. The story starts with Eragon (Luke Skywalker) living in a secluded town called Carvahall (Tatooine). There's a nearby storyteller named Brom (Obi-Wan Kenobi for now) who tells crazy stories about how Galbatorix (Emperor Palpatine), a Dragon Rider (Jedi), overthrew the Dragon Riders that ruled the land and created the Empire (the Empire). Then one day an egg ends up in Eragon's hands (just like when R2-D2 ended up in Luke's hands) and the empire comes to get it and destroys Eragon's farm (Luke's moisture farm), killing his uncle Garrow (uncle Owen) while Eragon was away. He flees with Brom to chase the Razac (Nazgul; ah, now for LOTR). Brom gives Eragon Zarroc, a Rider's sword, which eventually turns out to be his father's sword (like when Obi-Wan gave Luke Vader's lightsaber). They travel for a long time (like LOTR). Meanwhile Brom (now Obi-Wan again) trains Eragon in the ways of Magic (the Force). Then Brom dies at the hand of the empire (just like Obi-Wan, Gandalf for all Frodo knows, Faria, Dumbledore, and countless others). Then Eragon meets up with Murtagh (original idea for now). They travel to the Varden (Rebel Alliance). They fight a big battle, and at the end, Eragon stabs the shade through the heart (Luke fires the proton torpedoe into the thermal exhaust port of the Death Star), instantly winning the battle. Then Eldest starts. Ajihad and Murtagh die (?). Funny a major character like Murtagh would be killed off in the first few chapters without even showing a body. Anyway, we'll skip Roran for now. I personally enjoyed the Roran side-story because it was original. Anyway, Eragon goes to Du Weldenvarden (Dagobah). By the way, the Queen's hall with the saplings for a wall and interlocked branches for a ceiling is taken directly from Stephen R. Donaldson's Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever series. There he meets Oromis (Yoda), an old high-ranked Rider that everyone thought was dead (Yoda again). Oromis trains him in the ways of Magic (Yoda; the Force). Then, Eragon becomes an elf (original idea, though I thought Paolini would have done better to stick with Star Wars). Then, at the end, with magic, he sees that the Varden is in trouble (just like Luke), and he leaves his training to go help with Oromis' permission (Obi-Wan and Yoda told Luke not to go, but it's basically the same story). He goes and he fights for the Varden against the Empire and he's nearly invincible. But all of the sudden, another rider (Jedi) appears and is stronger than Eragon. It turns out that it's Murtagh (who knew?), who betrayed Eragon (never would have guessed it, even with the prophecy). "Eragon, I am your brother!" "No! That's impossible!" It turns out that Galbatorix (Palpatine) trained Murtagh (Vader) in the ways of magic. Then, Murtagh takes Zarroc (Vader cuts off Luke's hand and his lightsaber falls into the abyss; either way, the hero loses his weapon and will get a new one specially customized for himself). Then the hero lives because of Murtagh's (Vader's) mercy as Eragon's (Luke's) brother (father).

Are you convinced? I hope so because it's true. Now, back to what I said in the beginning. Paolini has potential. Writing anything at all at such an age is an accomplishment. It's my hope that once he he finishes this trilogy, as a more seasoned writer he will write something much better.

Welcome to Shmack Reviews. On this blog, I will post a review for every book that I read. Rather than give a literary analysis, I will relate what stood out to me as I read it, whether it be criticism or praise. Everything I say is only my opinion. Anything similar to another author's work is a coincidence.

I will post a review every time I finish a book, and I will post reviews for past reads whenever I choose.

As for spoilers, I will either place the spoiler at the end of the review with sufficent warning, or I will specify at the beginning that the entire review is a spoiler.

I hope you enjoy my reviews. If you do, try reading my personal blog: What Do I Think?. You might enjoy it.