Star Wars by George Lucas v. The Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini

***Warning: Spoilers for Eragon and Eldest ahead. You have been warned!***

Mr. Rochester recently finished reading the first two books of the Inheritance Trilogy and he remarked how much they mirror Star Wars and LoTR.

Below is a guest posting by Mr. R which lays out the similarities of the original Star Wars and Eragon & Co. The comparisons do give away plot points of the books so please stop reading if spoilers make you cry.

Episode IV: A New Hope – vs. – Book 1: Eragon

Ben Kenobi – vs. – Brom
Old man with mysterious background takes up quiet residence within a farming town and we find out in the second installment that he is keeping an eye on the son of his best friend turned enemy.

Luke Skywalker – vs. – Eragon
Simple, young, farm boy barely out of adolescence who has no knowledge of his parents and has been raised by his uncle and aunt. Something the evil empire wants falls into his backyard and, when the empire comes looking for it and can’t find it, they kill his uncle and burn his home to the ground. The boy then leaves his home and follows the mysterious man through the empire as the old man trains him in the ways of a mysterious power.

The mentor dies. Boy meets up with loner who plays by own rules (Han Solo – Murtagh). The boy saves the princess (Arya) who had been captured by the empire. Boy joins the rebel forces. Boy is involved in huge battle in which he gives the killing blow that decides the outcome of the battle.

Episode V: Empire Strikes Back – vs. – Book 2: Eldest

Yoda – vs. – Oromis

Boy journeys to hidden place where an old teacher exists unbeknown to the empire.

Side story about a “sibling” and their struggle to escape the empire while the rebellion tries to regroup. In the end, the boy battles with another of his kind who reveals to the boy that his unknown father was the man who betrayed the old order and helped the emperor gain control.

The second in command, the right-hand man and the executor for the empire, turns out to be a blood relative of the boy. The boy is wanted captured alive to take before the Emperor but is allowed to escape the clutches of the second-in-command.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – vs. – Book 3: ???

Farm boy and “sibling” work together to recover the “sibling’s” loved one.
Defeat the empire.
Teacher dies?
Turn the second in command to the good side?

–Mr. Rochester, now do you see why I married him?