Paolini's Writing gets Worse with Practice

[edward9]

I read the first three chapters of To Sleep in a Sea of Stars for sporking purposes. I was struck by how much worse the writing was. In terms of objective measurements like grammar and sentence structure it is worse than the Inheritance Cycle. The Inheritance Cycle seems to have had a copy editor and I cannot imagine To Sleep in a sea of Stars was copy edited. A copy editor edits into a certain style and just the use of punctuation defies any system I am familiar with. I am no expert but I have never seen punctuation patterns like that. For semi objective things like writing style and structure I think most editors and writers would find it worse than the Inheritance Cycle. As has been pointed out by others nothing of significance happens in the first three chapters other than introducing the main character.

What struck me the most is the degradation in an admittedly more subjective area. The story was really boring. I found it difficult and unpleasant to read too but it was really really boring. It was so boring I could not find much to spork. Everything is just too blah, empty, with nothing to it. It is hard to imagine so many words could say so very little. How do others find To Sleep in a Sea of Stars compares to the Inheritance Cycle? Am I the only one who thinks Paolini's technical writing skills have gotten noticeably to massively worse?

Comments

[ultimate_cheetah]

And it's gotten a lot more mean-spirited as well. I've mentioned that before, but it bears repeating. It's just so actively unpleasant.

The whole period stuff was so TMI, and creepy as hell. I mean, why did he have to go there. Every time I think "Well, even Paolini can't get any worse." I am proven wrong.

[epistler]

The handling of the Venom suit in general is just really creepy and nasty and unpleasant. By this point Paolini is basically just treating it like a cool power-up/weapon, while completely ignoring how horrible it actually comes across. He even said the book was supposed to be about bodily autonomy, and yet this thing has violated Kiragon's entire being and she doesn't even seem to notice or care beyond a brief bit of whining before she just gets over it.

And the way characters the author doesn't like are tortured and killed off is really mean-spirited and cruel, even more so than in his previous efforts. What happened to Dr Carr just came off as really unnecessarily vindictive and sadistic.

[ultimate_cheetah]

What happened to Dr Carr just came off as really unnecessarily vindictive and sadistic.

The bones sticking out of his legs were a little much. As was him being sucked out in space. And smashed against a wall. And it gets worse.

And Fizel and a bunch of others were speared like kebabs.

Didn't Chris say that he drew inspiration from real-life sources somewhere? I sometimes feel like I'm looking into the mind of a psychopath.

He even said the book was supposed to be about bodily autonomy, and yet this thing has violated Kiragon's entire being and she doesn't even seem to notice or care beyond a brief bit of whining before she just gets over it.

And then the message is later told, in one sentence. It's before the whole Staff of Blue thing, so I don't blame you if you missed it. It's when Kira is angry that she can't get drunk.

Also, the thing gives her period cramps again. That's not something to take lightly. And the doctor seems incompetent. It's either take it, or get hormone treatment. The dude doesn't even offer her a pain pill! Has women's healthcare tanked in the centuries in the future? Women do not have to experience bad pain!

With the bodily autonomy thing, just explain the "obscene embrace" think when Alan gets speared, Chris. GAAAHHH. So freeing to be joined to a dead man's body with a bunch of spikes, guys!

[epistler]

And Fizel and a bunch of others were speared like kebabs.

But Fizel totally deserved it because he was meaaaan to Kiragon.

Didn't Chris say that he drew inspiration from real-life sources somewhere? I sometimes feel like I'm looking into the mind of a psychopath.

It really is disturbing stuff, and I think half the problem is that he's using the sort of gruesome, nasty character deaths you'd normally get in a horror story, except that this book is not horror. It mostly seems to be yet another fluffy adventure story with some random graphic violence and body horror haphazardly thrown in but never really justified or followed up on.

It's when Kira is angry that she can't get drunk.

Yup, that's the brief bit of token whining I was referring to. Oh boohoo, you can't get drunk any more? How terrible, and never mind the part where this thing is INSIDE YOUR BRAIN SCREWING AROUND WITH IT. Or that it basically took your genitals away. Or that it could be mind controlling you for all you know. Arrrrgh.