Introduction:
The Inheritance Cycle is a four-book fantasy series by Christopher Paolini. It tells the story of Eragon, a young boy who grew up on a farm, finding a dragon egg, and starting his adventures from there.
The first book is titled Eragon, and was released in the year 2003. The second book is titled Eldest, and was published in 2005. Brisingr is the third book in this series, and it was published in 2008. Inheritance is the final book in the series, and it was published in 2011.
Apart from these books, there’s a short story collection called The Tales from Alagaesia, published in 2018.
Plot:
Eragon is a farm boy, who was out to hunt something. Instead of a prey, he discovers an egg of a dragon, without knowing. He hatches the egg, names the dragon Saphira, and is pretty amazed with the whole series of events.
Unfortunately, the evil king Galbatorix who betrayed dragons and destroyed them long ago finds out about it, and sends his minions to destroy Saphira. Eragon escapes, but his uncle dies, and his home is burned down in the process. our heroes, one human, and one reptile set out for revenge, joined by the village’s storyteller Brom, who seems more than he appears.
On their quest, they meet an antihero with a mysterious past, rescue an Elf princess, join the Varden which is the resistance against the king, learn about Eragon and his past along with his father, and face the evil king in a final battle.’
My review:
The first book is titled Eragon, introducing the world, the main character, his life, and how everything started. Though the book feels little slow-paced compare to what I usually read, I do think it does a good job of worldbuilding, and giving us the glimpses of what we can expect in the future.
However, I will never forgive Eragon for shooting a crow. True, it was feeding on a corpse, but that is a natural order of the world. He has no right to shoot that crow, a species which I shamelessly favor.
The second book’s is titled Eldest, and more worldbuilding ensues in this book. Some new characters are introduced in this one, and some shocking secrets are revealed here.
Maybe I should title this review “A Shocking Review of The Inheritance Cycle!” I’m sure the SEO gods will smile upon me.
Eragon continues to have a hard-on for the Elf Princess, (it’s in capital because I can’t remember her name) and early in the book, a sorceress tried to seduce him. Safira took an offense to that one.
Brisingr is the third book in the series, which is actually the name of fire in the ancient language of magic. this was the first spell Eragon casted back in the first book. Eragon loses his sword which he gained from Brom in the first book, and in this book, he forges a new sword. The book is very large, and that’s saying something considering the size of the first two books.
Inheritance is the final book in the series, in which all the events of the story conclude. Though I feel it does not answer all the questions raised by the first three books. Initially, this book would have been the part of the third book, but Paolini split it up because of how large the third book was.
Now, let’s answer the important question. Is the series worth reading?
Let’s get a few things out of the way first. I’m not much of a fan of a standard fantasy, where there’s a chosen one, evil is black, white is good, and every other race is just stronger, faster, and beautiful than the humans. This is the exact reason why I have avoided Lord of the Rings so far.
Which is why I have a hard time with this series. Though I said jokingly above that I don’t like Eragon because he killed a crow, the reality is, I don’t like him because he often comes off as a hard-headed idiot worse than Dresden, which is saying something. His black and white view of things doesn’t help any.
My other issue is the size. Seriously. larger book doesn’t automatically mean better or entertaining. For example, the funeral takes two whole chapters in the Eldest. Granted, the funeral was for a relatively important character, but still.
Despite these complains, I acknowledge that the series is massively popular, and receives mostly favorable reviews. As you know, I never check the reviews of the book I’m currently reading to review myself, as they can distort your opinions. But in this case, they still did not change my opinion.
In short, read it if you like standard fantasy setting, and really long books. But if you’re a fan of Dark Fantasy like me, then maybe give The Black Company Series a chance, and if you prefer progression fantasy, then Will Wight’s Cradle Series is an excellent series.
But Inheritance Cycle gets a hard pass from me, personally. Which doesn’t have much of a meaning. After all, I did read those books before I reviewed them here.
Anyway, do you agree or disagree, tell me in the comments below. You can follow me on Twitter, if you like my reviews, consider buying me a coffee, and I’ll see you in the next review.
Muse of Eagle 
I’ve always heard about Eragon but never gotten around to reading it. I learned from Reddit that this author was 15 or something when he wrote the book, which is an interesting fact of its own. I’m not one for classic fantasy though (but I’m reading Brandon Sanderson as I type this, lol). Thanks for the review. I may give it pass for now, because there are so many more fantasy books to be read!
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You might have noted my less than kind opinions about this series at the end. So keep those in mind before you get these books.
The first book is passable, but the series really takes some patience to go through after that. I do not have that kind of patience. Some fans might argue that I have reviewed other books here which are just as long, but they held my interest. This one did not.
Anyway, thanks for the comment. Don’t forget, I’ve got more books in my collection, feel free to check them out.
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