So, I was a little disappointed with this third installment of Paolini's Inheritance "Cycle" now - since he changed the game and made this a 4 book series instead of 3, as it was originally intended.

The story was good and what I have come to expect from this series. But honestly, it did not have to be 748 pages long. I understand the author's desire to flesh out his characters, but the way that he kept going back and forth between the different characters I found annoying. The descriptions of the fights did not have to be as gory or detailed as he made them, nor as long as he made them. I had several guesses going throughout the book about how the plot would unfold and I ended up getting it right - though the character I thought was being set up to die did not. There are also points of the book where I can clearly see familiar plot points that I have seen in other books or series, like Star Wars or LOTR.

I also found Paolini's waxing on religion and philosophy through his main character annoying - it's as if he is trying to make this series more poignant than it is should be - because after all, it is just a good fantasy tale at its core and I feel like he should just stick to those roots.

I will be interested to see how Paolini wraps this complex story up. He has woven a lot of moving parts together and they are all pretty complex and I wonder how the climatic battle between good and evil will finally play out. I just hope I won't have to wade through another 800 some pages to get to the end.