So, I've been here and there, and have seen and read some examples of Paolini's "influenced" writing. I'm wondering if there is a BIG LIST OF DOOM that has every example of his "influenced" writing, and if not... why not?

There used to be on anti-shrutagul I think. But it’s evaporated now so we’ll have to ask slyshy if he has their old content.

Eh, like we were using it.

:P

Well basically everyone since Tolkien has ripped him off, and he himself was arguably ripping off various mythologies, which were probably ripping off older mythologies.

anti-shrutagul had an excellent article comparing, point by point, the plot of Eragon to the plot of Star wars. I’l do my best to reproduce it.

The story opens with the henchmen of the evil empire attacking a rebel princess because she carries an item of great importance to her cause. Just before the empire captures this princess, . An anonymous, orphaned farmboy (who lives with his uncle) discovers the item, which brings the forces of the empire down upon him. The empire kills the farmboy’s relatives, and the farboy himself barely escapes with his life. Shortly thereafter, he meets up with a wise mentor (who happens to be a one of the warriors who protected truth and justice in the days before the empire) who goes on the run with our farmboy, teaching him to use his mystical power and become a warrior. Along the way, they get a noble rogue to join them. The mentor dies to save the farmboy. The farmboy and the rogue rescue the princess from the empires clutches. They then go to the rebel headquarters. The Empire’s forces follow them. There is a great battle, in which the farmboy deliver a crucial blow, allowing the rebels to be victorious.

Star wars or Eragon>?

There’s a new kid in school, and while settling in doesn’t take too much in the way of effort, there is one classmate who is acting…strangely. Said student gets uncomfortable when around New Kid, tries to keep some distance from NK, tells NK to stay away and even runs away a few times when NK approaches or tries to talk.
New Kid is concerned about this, and after a few misunderstandings and wild guesses (and some research on New Kid’s part) the truth comes out; the other student is a vampire! But unlike the traditional vampire, this bloodsucker doesn’t seem to need to drink human blood, and can walk in the sunlight without burning.
However, some special quality of New Kid causes an instinctive reaction in Vampire, which is why Vampire had been running away from NK in the beginning of the story. They manage to find ways around this, and from here, a strange kind of relationship forms (though this does not stop the suggestions that NK should stay away). New Kid even gets to meet Vampire’s family, who are mostly accepting of the two being together, with some exceptions.
But then some evil vampires show up! Near the end of the story, they kidnap one of the two through deception, but fortunately said character is rescued by the other character with some help from the home team family of vampires, leading to the (mostly) happy ending.

Twilight or Karin (a manga)?

It is a book in which one man, living in a totalitarian society a number of years in the future, gradually finds himself rebelling against the dehumanising forces of an omnipotent, omniscient dictator. Encouraged by a woman who seems to represent the political and sexual freedom of the pre-revolutionary era (and with whom he sleeps in an ancient house that is one of the few manifestations of a former world), he writes down his thoughts of rebellion – perhaps rather imprudently – as a 24-hour clock ticks in his grim, lonely flat. In the end, the system discovers both the man and the woman, and after a period of physical and mental trauma the protagonist discovers he loves the state that has oppressed him throughout, and betrays his fellow rebels. The story is intended as a warning against and a prediction of the natural conclusions of totalitarianism.

1984 or We, a novel written by Yevgeny Zamyatin?

Jist pointing it out.

Similarities do crop up by accident. It’s a matter of figuring out whether someone was inspired by the proceeding work or not. It seems highly likely that Paolini was inspired by the huge amounts of fantasy he read as a kid.

Orwell was also inspired by Brave New World, interestingly enough, and that he did deny.

I read it in the introduction to the copy of Brave New World I had. Huxley was Orwell’s teacher at Eton (a prep school) and they wrote each other pretty often.

The sporkings guy pointed this out from brinsinger.

After this, there’s a paragraph that looks like the one in Harry Potter when Harry picks out his wand.
Plucking a sword from the rack, Fredric handed it to Eragon. Eragon tilted the tip of the sword up and down, then shook his head; the shape of the hilt was wrong for his hand. The weapon master did not seem disappointed. To the contrary, Eragon’s rejection seemed to invigorate him, as if he relished the challenge Eragon posed. He presented another sword to Eragon, and again Eragon shook his head; the balance was too far forward for his liking.
Homage or not, it’s a bit too eerily similar for me. Too close to plagiarism.

I’d like to point out that there are a LOT of ways you can do a sword choosing scene. Heck there’s always “watery tarts lying in ponds distributing swords” which also doubles as a “basis for a system of governance.” To counter swenson, let’s take a look at how the basic plot of Eragon could have been edited:

Why is Eragon a “poor” farmboy? Why not from a middle class or rich merchant family?
Why kill Brom in the first book? Paolini himself said he wanted to show more of Brom so why not keep the old guy around?
Why does Galbatorix have his sole remaining family attacked and killed? Why not lavish them with goods and try to bribe the boy into joining him? (or just BUY the egg back)
Why does Galbatorix have to be a former rider? (ala Vadar or the Emperor) Why not someone who just jealous of the status and power of the dragon riders and set out to usurp them?

Stories are like cake. The might have the same ingredients, but you can still add in your own touches to make your cake unique.

Well, about Galby being a Rider, in CP’s world the Riders are superpowered, so I doubt anyone else could beat them.

Very true, which is why Galby not being a rider would have opened up so many more story possibilities. Is he just a very sharp tactical mind that exploited the riders’ weaknesses? (the “batman” plot) Perhaps he was a powerful wizard that tapped into some unknown power. What if Galby was, in fact, a wild dragon that didn’t like the treaty and wanted to break his people free of the rider’s yoke?

Or a Shade? They’re said to be ridiculously powerful themselves. It would have been nice for him to give his own, more original race a larger part.

This just made me laugh and think about Eragon.