Yes, I like these books.
I'm a fantasy snob. I am addicted to The Lord of the Rings. I like Harry Potter, but not nearly as much as I used to. I love The Hobbit. I am also a sci-fi fan, having seen all six Star Wars movies. (The original trilogy is clearly superior to the most recent one.)
I, of all people, should be screaming "COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT!!" on this saga. Christopher Paolini should be my Public Enemy #2 (below Stephanie Meyer). I should take one look at these books and feel like burning them. (And I am opposed to any book burning.)
But none of the above sentiments are true.
I already feel guilty enough liking these books (although I have yet to read Brisingr), and I do not want to feel guiltier still by describing the plot. So I won't. But I will say that there is one similarity after another between this series (called the Inheritance cycle) and The Lord of the Rings. Other Star Wars fans also detect similarities between Star Wars and Inheritance. I can spot a few, but the resemblance isn't quite as obvious.
Yes, there are a lot of similarities. Too many, almost everyone argues. You have your warrior Elves. You have your Orc-like Urgals. You have your warrior Dwarves. You even have your Nazgûl-like Ra'zac! No wonder everyone is crying foul on Paolini!
Yet I like the books! I, a true Ringer who almost knows more about The Lord of the Rings than about American history, like the books! Something's not right here. I don't know what it is, but something definitely isn't right.
Eragon and Eldest, the two Inheritance books I have read in their entirety, are my guilty pleasures. I almost feel like I'm reading something illegal when I read them because there are so many parallels between those books and The Lord of the Rings. But I like the books, and I am (somewhat) ashamed to say so.
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