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Inheritance

(The Inheritance Cycle #4)

Christopher Paolini (Goodreads Author)

4.09 · Rating details · 229,760 ratings · 10,369 reviews

It began with Eragon... It ends with Inheritance.

Not so very long ago, Eragon — Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider — was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaki ...more

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Hardcover, First Edition, 849 pages

Published November 8th 2011 by Alfred A. Knopf

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Average rating 4.09 ·

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· 229,760 ratings · 10,369 reviews

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Start your review of Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle, #4)

Mar 25, 2011 Mikaela added it

Shelves: hyped-up-books, borrowed-from-a-friend, frustrating-books, loveable-characters, major-disapointment, ridiculously-hot-guys, kick-ass-covers, craptastic-ending

Before I begin this, I'd like to say that it's a rant. For those of you who don't like ranting- Don't read it. I actually happened to love this book, but I'm just a tad mad at the ending at the moment.

Dear Christopher Paolini,

How. Could. You.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Aug 24, 2018 Miranda Reads rated it really liked it

Why does everything have to be so hard? [Eragon] wondered.

Because, said Saphira, everyone wants to eat, but no one wants to be eaten.

This book makes my heart happy.

Eragon has graduated from isolated farmboy to savior of the kingdom. Along the way, he's faced trials, tribulations and terror.

He's fought the shade, the Ra'zac, Murtagh and more. All that's left is to defeat King Galbatorix. Easier said than done.

The king has held his long reign through more than sheer luck. He's stock ...more

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Nov 08, 2011 Eric Allen rated it it was ok

Inheritance
Book 4 of the Inheritance Cycle
By Christopher Paolini

A Review by Eric Allen

After his early success, Christopher Paolini set to the final book of his trilogy. Unfortunately, for everyone involved, the outline he'd written for the third book wasn't going to fit in a single volume. He decided to split it in two. I have to question why, but I'll get into that later in the review. Now we've finally come to the end with the fourth and final book of the series. Was it a good ending? Well, to ...more

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May 31, 2011 Lauren Elena rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, favorites, magic, dragons

Before Reading:

I can't wait for this book to come out, but a tiny, miniscule part of me doesn't want it to come out because if it is not absolutly flipping fantastic, then I may have to kill myself. This final book needs to be better than the previous books, which is not an easy feat. Plus all the lose ends need to be tied up. I for one, am interested to see how Christopher Paolini pulls it all together.

Two things I am hoping for in Inheritance:
1. We will see some action from Galbatorix. And ...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Mara rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy

I am desperately trying to think of one concise word which sums up the sheer misery of the last five and a half days, in which I had to slog my painful way through this 849-page monstrosity. The horrors of Inheritance are so vast and so many that I am unable to; instead, I find my mind reliving the pain, the awefulness, and the absolute boredom of this book. So maybe I should give up trying to express my feelings in one word - since it apparently cannot effectively be done - and just relate to y I am desperately trying to think of one concise word which sums up the sheer misery of the last five and a half days, in which I had to slog my painful way through this 849-page monstrosity. The horrors of Inheritance are so vast and so many that I am unable to; instead, I find my mind reliving the pain, the awefulness, and the absolute boredom of this book. So maybe I should give up trying to express my feelings in one word - since it apparently cannot effectively be done - and just relate to you the attrocities which face any Reader brave enough - or dumb enough, depending on what led to such an unforunate circumstance (I was being paid) - to pick Inheritance up. One thing I will say to my fellow critics - especially those being hired to read this book: you should demand hazard payment!

Whatever small hopes I might have expressed in my review of Brisingr, they were all crushed. Character development? Ha! Plot twists? Dream on. Deepening of character relationships? If you even wanted that, then you are already way too much into this series and will probably stone me for this review. Character deaths? My mind is drawing a blank. Paolini promised surprises and unexpectedness of all kinds; the only thing that surprised me was that I managed to finish this fourth - and blessedly last - book in this torturous four-volume collection as quickly as I did. Every single thing that happens is predictable, - no psychics needed - right down to the end.

But don't despair - there are some . . . surprises. Let's start with the worst of it, shall we? Now, I have often commented about the wrongness that prevades these books - in descriptions, word choice, and events. In Eldest, we were presented with a bathing scene where our oh-so-lovable hero shamelessly eyes his now-naked teacher (who is male, by the way) from head to toe, and the Author finds it necessary to inform us helpless Readers that Oromis has absolutely no hair on any of his person. I didn't think things could get much worse than that, and it doesn't, but my goodness, does it come close. There is a certain chapter in Inheritance which I have lovingly titled "The Chest Hair Chapter." Ladies, if you were picturing Roran as a buff young man with a waxed chest, think again, because our beloved Author makes it quite clear in this section - and others - that Mr. Muscleman is as wooly as a baboon.

Descriptions only get worse. In the same chapter, Roran is attacked by an assassin, and they fall into a heap at one point, trapped under a now-collapsed tent. Rather than expressing this in somesuch words as "Roran and the assassin fell atop each other in a tangle of limbs," he instead chooses the phrase (and I quote directly): "Roran continued to hold him as the life drained out of him, their embrace as intimate as any lovers.'" I am sorry, but unless you are trying to creep your Readers out, an Author does not use such . . . wrong imagery, because the Reader's mind is going to immediately jump to unwanted thoughts. I can't tell you how much I squirmed in my chair and made faces; I even got a bad taste in my mouth and shrieked out loud in horror.

However, among all of the chaos of just plain badly-written battle scenes (where Paolini attempts to be like Michael Cadnum and throws in gore, which doesn't succeed; there is a proper way to write gory scenes, and he didn't do it), looonngggg nightly character routines (we get to read about Eragon's regular spelling sessions!), and side travels that shouldn't take as much time as they do, the Reader is finally presented with a character! Enter, Mr. Fingernails! This part, by far, outweighed even The Chest Hair Chapter when it came to over-the-top unnecessary and ultimately vomit-enducing descriptions (though the number of flared nostrils nearly did me in). Page 414-416 is entirely devoted to describing, in microscopic detail, the clean and cultivated - yes, cultivated - fingernails of a character whose name you never even find out. And I hate to say it, but those fingernails were the only thing in that entire book which had even a smidgen of personality. By the end of page 416, I knew those fingernails so well that I was inclined to give them names, and the description is so in-your-face thorough that whenever the owner of the nails walked through the door, I no longer pictured a man, but a giant fingernail with googly eyes.

And if that isn't scary enough, Inheritance abounds with monsters fit for your worst nightmares. Imagine, if you are brave enough, being attacked by . . . a giant snail!!!! No joke! Eragon is attacked by a giant snail, like the sort you find in your garden, which proves, once and for all, that Eragon really is a vegetable. If the Author inserted these snails for comic relief, it is a joke which falls flat and wastes time. It is plain stupid and adds to the length of an already-lengthy novel. But apparently Paolini has some fear of insects, because before the giant snails, he introduces us to maggots called - again, I am not joking - burrow grubs with "obscene little mouths." I'm sorry, but there simply is nothing threatening about maggots. Spiders? Yes. Or even beetles, because there are actual existing beetles which are poisonous. But maggots?!

The rest of the book is just disappointing - even for an anti-fan like myself. Anyone who was anticipating an even halfway decent stand-off between Galbatorix and Eragon will be really disappointed. Not surprisingly, the oh-so-evil King sets up a one-on-one duel between Eragon and Darth Vader - I mean, Murtagh. Also not surprising, Murtagh has a "change of heart" and does something that helps Eragon kill Galbatorix. I thought I would never say this, but for once I would have rather had a cliche hero-kills-villain death, as opposed to how Galbatorix really dies. I am sorry if I an spoiling the book for anyone, but presumebly if you're reading this, you either don't care or you've already read the book. Rather than a sword through the heart or a fireball to the head, Eragon and his accomanying Power Jellybeans kindly show Galbatorix the error in his ways, from when he stole a candycane from his baby sister at Christmas, to his tempting people to join his side with their favorite cookies. In the words of the book, Eragon "makes him understand." Galbatorix is so overcome with all the awefulness he's committed that he spontaneously combusts. What do I need to add to this? What's wrong with this picture, people?! The villain - the evilest person in the book - is killed with sad memories!!!!!

That brings up another point that plagued me throughout the book, and that is Galbatorix's supposed badness. When a country is controlled by a tyrant, there are signs of it: soldiers in cities, secret police, crushing taxes, executions, people dragged from their homes at night, furtive glances over one's shoulder, starving peasants, closed borders - just to name a few. If I walked through Alagaesia and a random citizen came up to me and said, "Hey, our king is a tyrant!" I would be flummoxed, because there seems to be no real evidence of an evil monarch. Every once in a while, the Author kind of mentions a few high taxes, just in passing, but there has never been any real indication of a controlling king. Heck, Eragon and Brom traveled the entire country in the first book with no Imperial soldiers stopping or attacking them! No bands of knights or whatever pillaging. Nothing! And I failed to see his massive evilness in Inheritance when he had occasion to talk with other characters. He, in fact, seems no more evil than the average evil person. He sits in his tower all day, twiddling his thumbs, admiring his riches, eating cookies, making the occasional threat, and watching instructional videos on his plasma-screen TV. Explain to me how that makes him the Big Cheese out of the evil people in the kingdom.

All in all, Inheritance was as I anticipated - aweful, painful, and boring. If you wanted an effective way of torturing people - well, this would be it! No one could recover from the giant snails, maggots, fingernails, and chest hair - or the fact that the book ends a good seven times. All I can say is - thank God I am done with the Inheritance Cycle for good! And I feel for anyone who had to suffer as I did through it. Thumbs up to you critics who bulldozed your way to the 849th page, and didn't cringe too badly at the ending so obvioulsy stolen from The Lord of the Rings! I take my hat off to you! ...more

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Apr 26, 2017 Charlotte May rated it it was amazing

Shelves: epic-fantasy, 500-page-plus, favourites, ya

I must admit this has been a tough series for me. I had to really push myself through them when I started out. But I am so glad I did as this final instalment was incredible! Paolini creates a deeply intricate fantasy world filled with its own politics, magic and villainy. I loved the deeper focus on all the separate characters rather than just Eragon and to see the way in which the war against tyranny affected so many others. I actually felt melancholy when I reached the end. I loved this world ...more

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Nov 10, 2011 Swankivy rated it did not like it

This is my ABRIDGED VERSION of my essay/review about Inheritance by Christopher Paolini. Read the really long version here.

So let's break format and start with what I liked.

This was my favorite of the Inheritance series. It was enough less of a chore to read than Brisingr that I very nearly considered rating this two stars out of five. But then I realized I was thinking that way based on hating it less rather than liking it more, and figured that objectively I'm afraid it still deserves a bottom ...more

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Sep 23, 2019 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it really liked it

Shelves: 21th-century, fiction, literature, young-adult, united-states, fantasy

Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle #4), Christopher Paolini

The Inheritance Cycle was originally intended to be a trilogy, but Paolini has stated that during writing, the length of Brisingr grew, and the book was split into two parts to be published separately.

Because of this, many plot elements originally intended for Brisingr are in Inheritance. Inheritance is a 2011 novel written by American author Christopher Paolini.

It is the fourth novel in The Inheritance Cycle. Inheritance starts when t Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle #4), Christopher Paolini

The Inheritance Cycle was originally intended to be a trilogy, but Paolini has stated that during writing, the length of Brisingr grew, and the book was split into two parts to be published separately.

Because of this, many plot elements originally intended for Brisingr are in Inheritance. Inheritance is a 2011 novel written by American author Christopher Paolini.

It is the fourth novel in The Inheritance Cycle. Inheritance starts when the Varden attack Belatona, a city of the Empire.

In the battle, Saphira, Eragon's dragon, is nearly killed by a Dauthdaert (death spear) called Niernen —a spear from the Dragon Wars intended to destroy magical wards and kill dragons.

Belatona is soon captured by the Varden, and an alliance is later formed between the Varden and the werecats. Inheritance starts when the Varden attack Belatona, a city of the Empire.

In the battle, Saphira, Eragon's dragon, is nearly killed by a Dauthdaert (death spear) called Niernen —a spear from the Dragon Wars intended to destroy magical wards and kill dragons.

Belatona is soon captured by the Varden, and an alliance is later formed between the Varden and the werecats. ...

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه اکتبر سال 2012میلادی

عنوان: میراث؛ نویسنده: کریستوفر پائولینی؛ مترجم: محمد نوراللهی؛ تهران بهنام: لیوسا‏‫، 1390؛ در دو جلد؛ مصور؛ فروست: سه گانه (+ 1) میراث کتاب چهارم؛ شابک دوره 9789645668790؛ شابک جلد یک 9789645668806؛ شابک جلد دو 9789645668813؛ چاپ دوم 1392؛ موضوع داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده امریکا - سده 21م

اراگون، شکارچی شبح و اژدهاسوار، تا چندی پیش، پسر کشاورزی فقیر، و «سفیرا»، اژدهایش تنها یک سنگ آبی‌رنگ، در جنگل بود.؛ حالا سرنوشت همه ی یک تمدن، بردوش آنهاست.؛ ماه‌ها آموزش، و مبارزه، پیروزی و امید، به ارمغان آورده است؛ اما خسارت‌های جانسوزی هم همراه بوده است، و هنوز نبرد نهایی در پیش است: آنها باید با «گالباتوریکس»، روبرو شوند.؛ و در آن زمان باید، به اندازه ی کافی نیرومند باشند، تا بتوانند او را شکست دهند.؛ و اگر نتوانند، هیچکس نخواهد توانست؛ چرا که فرصت دیگری به وجود نخواهد آمد، و این تنها زمانی است، که همه ی نژادها، در «آلاگیزیا» با هم متحد شده‌ اند.؛ سوار و اژدهایش، بیش از آنکه هر کسی امید داشته باشد، پیش رفته‌ اند، اما آیا می‌توانند پادشاه اهریمنی را سرنگون، و عدالت را در «آلاگیزیا» برقرار کنند؟ و اگر بتوانند بهای آن چیست؟

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 20/05/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی ...more

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Jun 24, 2014 Trina (Between Chapters) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2016, young-adult, fantasy, 2016-favorites, audiobooks

I REALLY enjoyed how the finale came about, and how everything led up to this. Everything felt well deserved, and there was plenty of closure. The climax came about in a unique and fascinating way. BUT, the first half of this book dragged on longer than it needed to in my opinion.

This is a truly epic series. If you love heroic quests with amazing dragons, interesting magic systems, and little romance, this is definitely one to check out!

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May 20, 2011 Drakonflight rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

It took me forever to read this book (it's over 800 pages) but I am finally done and ready to write a review.

Obviously, this book is the end of the Inheritance cycle. You have no idea how profoundly sad that makes me. I love this series, and some of my all-time favorite book moments occur during it. I shall never forget you . . .

Despite, how long it is, you don't really notice. Riordan paced the book perfectly, so it never feels like some new, completely unfeasible stretch is being made to end t ...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Saga rated it did not like it

Ohgods. The dreaded Green Brick's actually lurking out there now. And some incredibly masochistic part of myself desires to find out whether it's as horrible as the prequels. Oh Paolini, why do you have to insist on being the Stephanie Meyer of "high fantasy"?
...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Charlotte rated it it was ok

Shelves: didn-t-give-a-flying-meh, hard-to-tell, title-gave-plot-away

Wow. This review.......... . . . . .. . .
Let's just say, I might have been very, very tired when I wrote it, and write another review. Perhaps a more cohesive, comprehensive one. Onward!

This book was split into two because the author found he was writing too much to compress into one book. Dude, that's because there were too many battles and unnecessary bullshit going on here. They could have easily been one novel. I'm going to summarize Inheritance with one word: bloated. There is a whole chap Wow. This review.......... . . . . .. . .
Let's just say, I might have been very, very tired when I wrote it, and write another review. Perhaps a more cohesive, comprehensive one. Onward!

This book was split into two because the author found he was writing too much to compress into one book. Dude, that's because there were too many battles and unnecessary bullshit going on here. They could have easily been one novel. I'm going to summarize Inheritance with one word: bloated. There is a whole chapter about a dwarf rolling a ball of dirt together. I shit you not.

Another thing that was pretty crappy: there are far too many chapters about Roran. Roran this, Roran that. Roran fighting battles and being badass, Roran smashing people to pieces with his hammer, Roran adding absolutely nothing to the plot and taking up probably around 700 valuable pages of plot and character development. Nope. No thanks.

To elaborate on how much the ending sucked ass.... Well, it did. Paolini basically wrote himself into a corner with an invincible villain and had to undo it by having Galbatorix defeated by... being shown his feelings??

Okay.

Some more things that bothered me (I'll keep adding onto the review as I think of them): Firnen. The badass green dragon, the one who you see on the cover of this novel, so he MUST be important, right?? The badass green dragon who shows up for the last 50 pages of the novel and does absolutely NOTHING except make sweet, sweet love to Saphira while Eragon and Arya watch uncomfortably, presumably experiencing every sweet second of it through their psychic epic mind connections. So, it's kind of as if Eragon and Arya did get together, right? Once I explain the technicalities to any fangirls who haven't already figured it out, I can picture a victory celebration held by victorious shippers. On second thought, I better not explain anything. Right.

The series was no masterpiece but it was entertaining enough. This book wasn't terrible, so far as the series' standards go. By normal standards it was pretty shitty, but one thing I can comment positively on was the character development. We can see very clearly that Eragon has turned from a 15-year-old creepy hormonal small-town farmer (and also a total loser) into a regal dragon rider with far more control over every aspect of himself. That's a good thing, right? So I've fulfilled my obligations? I can go now?

Okay, review over. Bye!
...more

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Jan 09, 2014 Lazaros rated it really liked it

Shelves: magic, tear-jerkers, boy-power, fantasy, high-fantasy, adventure, young-adult, dragons

My feelings right now:

Coming to its end, this series was overall amazing and made me feel so cozy and at home that I won't ever be able to part with it.

I cannot begin to describe my love for the protagonist, Eragon, who is by far my favorite male lead character. Paolini created a character and managed to make us grasp Eragon's entity. He is not just a fictional character to me, he is more, he is real and if you try to contradict me I will hurt you. This series had so many aspects to the things ...more

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Apr 05, 2013 Jerecho rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, epic-fantasy, anything-with-dragons, fiction

The last book of the inheritance cycle....

... that because of complexity, it ended up much larger than what the author anticipated... Blah... Blah... Blah

Frustrated waiting for a sale for this one, because no matter how I count, my money is not enough...

Then one day, I passby our local bookstore, and the sales lady named Jessica called me up and says the book you want is half the price. I immediately went to the display book in order to get this book... But someone is holding it (the last stock ...more

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Jan 24, 2021 Heidi The Reader rated it really liked it

Shelves: the-numinous-book-club, young-adult, fiction, fantasy-and-sci-fi

Christopher Paolini brings his fantasy series for young adults to an end with Inheritance, the fourth and final book in The Inheritance Cycle.

Eragon, Saphira, the Varden and their various allies including elves, dwarves and urgals, make their way to Uru-baen, the capital of the evil Galbatorix's empire, in a thrilling set of battles that bring a conclusion to the struggle between the characters of this world.

If you've been following my reviews as I made my way through this series, you'll note th ...more

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Sep 15, 2016 Hasham Rasool rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: christopher-paolini, favourites, fiction, fantasy, action

'Inheritance' is the best book in 'Inheritance Cycle' series.

Overall, compare these four books, 'Eragon', 'Eldest', 'Brisingr' and Inheritance' in 'Inheritance Cycle' series the last two books were lot better than the first two books. 'Eragon' and 'Eldest' were weakness compare to 'Brisingr' and 'Inheritance'. ...more

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Mar 27, 2011 Kasey rated it it was ok

Shelves: ya, fantasy

Update:

If you would like a chapter-by-chapter commentary/sarcastic review of Eragon and Inheritance, check out "distinctvagueness" on youtube...he pretty hilarious :)

POST-RELEASE REVIEW

Well, I have to say I was extremely disappointed with this conclusion. It was by far TOO perfect and way too tidy. It was over complicated with wards, spells, ways to kill dragons, ways characters avoided death, perfect weapons, too perfect characters, anti-climatic battle with the king, and references to other bo Update:

If you would like a chapter-by-chapter commentary/sarcastic review of Eragon and Inheritance, check out "distinctvagueness" on youtube...he pretty hilarious :)

POST-RELEASE REVIEW

Well, I have to say I was extremely disappointed with this conclusion. It was by far TOO perfect and way too tidy. It was over complicated with wards, spells, ways to kill dragons, ways characters avoided death, perfect weapons, too perfect characters, anti-climatic battle with the king, and references to other books/ tv shows. Seriously? A blade that can slice through anything except the sheath it's kept in?! *cough AMBER SPYGLASS cough* And really? "Raxacori-" Yes, Paolini, I realize you are a Doctor Who fan for real now. (The reference was Raxacoricofallapatorius...an alien planet from Doctor Who series 1 (revived series))

I personally really wished Angela's past would have been revealed a bit more. You won't be disappointed with her parts in the book (my opinion, some of the best parts), but Paolini dangles this mysterious character in our face for three books and gives us NOTHING concrete at the end. There are some vague hints you can put together however you want, I just wish he would have gave us something definitive.

In my opinion, the book was okay, but not great. That's my opinion. I would, however, recommend this series because while I didn't like the last book doesn't mean you won't like it. It's a matter of opinion; I think some people will love this book, others (like me) will think it's ok but that it could have been better, and others will absolutely hate it. Grades 9+

PRE-RELEASE REVIEW

Arya BETTER NOT BE THE NEXT DRAGON RIDER!! She is too perfect already and that (being a dragon rider) is the only thing Eragon is better than her at--admit it...she's too perfect!

I think that the next dragon rider will be a character that was briefly mentioned in the past two books...and she (or he) will be on the Varden's side.

No more speculations, but all I have to say is that I can't wait for November!!! :D ...more

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Feb 18, 2018 Zenki the Pixie rated it it was ok

I love how nothing is black-and-white with Christopher Paolini. He touches every angle when it comes to narrating. Because of this, victory doesn't always mean rejoice, and defeat doesn't always mean despair. But there's a downside of him overthinking everything -- the dialogue became stilted, bland, and awkward, the elements bordered on being nonsensical, and I never thought there's such a thing as too much world-building up until The Inheritance Cycle. I'm not really difficult to please, so it ...more

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May 14, 2010 Melody marked it as to-read

Anyone else wondering why he hasn't finished the freaking book yet? ...more

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Jan 02, 2011 Cheyenne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, read-while-homeless

Old review when the prospective title was Shur'tugal:
Title fail. Brisingr was hard enough, this is suicide. Only the hardcore fans (like me) will even bother to learn how to pronounce the title. "Empire" would have been a great title.

New review:
"Inheritance" is a GREAT title :) First of all, it's a pronounceable, English word, and second, it will actually help us remember what the proper name of the series is! lol And the cover is just Gorgeous! :)

Looking forward to reading it :)
____________
Read ...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Mith rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, wizards-n-dragons, young-adult, love-the-cover, wishlist, absolutely-spiffing

It was better than I expected and then some.

The good stuff:
1. An admirable end to the ~~trilogy~~ cycle, with a fair amount of action, intrigue, magic and dragons.
2. The epic battle at Uru'baen was skillfully done and kept me at the edge of my seat.
3. Loved both Murtagh's and Nasuada's storyline.
4. Paolini's writing has picked up immensely; there was never a dull moment in the book - everybody was always on the move.
5. I'm glad the focus was more on Eragon and Saphira in the book. It was gettin ...more

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Jun 10, 2015 Colleen Houck added it

Shelves: dragons, fantasy, elves, magic, another-world, heroes-journey, villain

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 24, 2010 Morgan F marked it as didnt-finish

Shelves: fantasy, young-adult, 2011, series, adventure, dragons

What the hell is taking so long? Wasn't this gonna be part of the third book anyway?

All his die-hard 5th grade fans will have grown up and hate reading by the time this is released. ...more

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Jun 07, 2012 Werner rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Fantasy fans, especially those who like dragons

Shelves: books-barb-owns, fantasy

As the Goodreads description indicates, this concluding volume of the series sees the epic battle between good and evil, freedom and tyranny, come to its powerfully-depicted, awesome conclusion. But the struggle against Galbatorix isn't the only significant issue here, though it's certainly the central one on which everything else hangs. Win or lose, who will survive the showdown --and who won't? Can the races of Alagaesia learn to live in harmony? What is the future of magic, and of dragonkind? As the Goodreads description indicates, this concluding volume of the series sees the epic battle between good and evil, freedom and tyranny, come to its powerfully-depicted, awesome conclusion. But the struggle against Galbatorix isn't the only significant issue here, though it's certainly the central one on which everything else hangs. Win or lose, who will survive the showdown --and who won't? Can the races of Alagaesia learn to live in harmony? What is the future of magic, and of dragonkind? Are Eragon and Arya destined to be together? And have you forgotten the blood debt that Birgit thinks Roran owes her? (Paolini hasn't.) Our author wraps all these strands up here, in a grand tapestry that's as well-written and compelling in the fourth volume as it was in the first; his mastery of style, characterization and world-building has remained remarkably consistent all the way through. (As a result, many of the general comments in my reviews of earlier books in the series apply to this one as well.)

It's hard to discuss some of the specific elements here without resorting to spoilers (though readers who know much about my general tastes in fiction will garner some conclusions about the ending from the five-star rating itself! :-) ) But I can say that we get to encounter Galbatorix in person here, and he's a vivid, fully-human character, not just an embodied force of evil (although he is evil) as Sauron, for instance, is in the LOTR series. He's also the kind of tyrant who, at a conscious level, is wholly convinced that he's good for the kingdom and that his opponents are the dangerous bad guys; and he's able to articulate his attitude in rhetoric that's eerily parallel to claims we might hear from politicos who want power over us in the real world. Personally, I give Paolini high marks on both grounds. Moreover, IMO, every aspect of his plotting is excellent; it frequently surprises, and yet you feel, on reflection, that yes, this is exactly the way things needed to happen. He looks unflinchingly at the high cost that doing what's right sometimes carries, and readily affirms that it's worth paying. And he's not afraid to depart from expected convention in the realistic way that his story ends. (view spoiler)

A word can be in order here about Paolini's resolution of the debate over theism that's cropped up in places over the course of the four books, since Eragon is directly asked at one point if he believes in the gods. The conversation there arises naturally, and it's a short one (in contrast to the long lecture on the subject that we get at one point in Brisinger). While not embracing the elves' atheism, Eragon's stance remains agnostic and secular; he's not certain that the gods exist, doubts that they care about people, believes morality should be practiced for its own sake, not fear of punishment, and isn't sure he wants immortality (though, as a dragonrider, he's apt to live for centuries). Before Christian readers react too negatively to this, though, it's important to recognize that in the context of his world's pagan polytheism, these aren't unreasonable attitudes. "Gods," in Alagaesia, are entities whose existence is vouched for mostly by nothing more than ethnic traditions (which conflict with each other); they have never acted in verifiable history, never sacrificed or suffered on behalf of people, don't offer an eschatology or teleology, nor a standard for critiquing an unjust social order, and are not supported by anything resembling the body of Christian evidences that exists in the real world. None of the various cults in Alagaesia contribute constructively to the world in any obvious way (that of the priests of Helgrind is obviously pathological). And an embrace of goodness for its own sake, not from fear of punishment, is the whole goal of Christian sanctification. So as a Christian reader, I'm not offended by Eragon's self-distancing from Alagaesian religion. To be sure, Paolini as an author may have no clue (indeed, probably doesn't) that Christianity has any different characteristics than Alagaesian paganism. (We assume that everybody in "Christian" America knows what Christians basically believe; but the reality is that vast numbers of Americans have almost no knowledge of our beliefs.) But for those of us who know that it does, this is both a window into the perceptions of others and a way for us to better understand our own unique faith by contrast --thus better equipping us to communicate the difference.

Predicting what works of contemporary literature will stand the test of time is a chancy business. But I'd hazard the guess that Paolini's Inheritance Cycle will be recognized in succeeding centuries (if the world endures) as one of this century's more significant contributions to the fantasy genre. ...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Dena rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult

Final Review: I think out of all four books, I did like this one perhaps the most. It had less of Eragon moaning and complaining and more of him thinking for himself. I guess that shows he has matured? I will say that I really don't like reading about Roran. I think any plot line that contained Roran was wasted space. Sure, he is smart at war strategy, but we didn't need to read about it and it took up a large chunk in the last 3 books that really weren't necessary. And finally, (view spoiler) ...more

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Mar 26, 2011 Ashley rated it liked it

Shelves: heroes-and-villains, war, young-adult, treasure-and-adventure, fantasy

This book is an unholy mess of contradictions and swirling tide pools of unnecessary words.

So, there are one of two ways this review could go: 1) I think of every single criticism I can that bothered me while reading this book and I write them all down until the review balloons up to the size of a small baby elephant (which is a pretty big size for a review), also including the things I think it did right as well; or 2) I take the lazy way out (which may also be the more pleasant to read, depend ...more

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Apr 28, 2020 Klaus rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 11, 2011 Shelley rated it it was ok

I already knew that a person doesn't read these books for the writing, but the recap of the books, while helpful, is an example of pathetic writing. What really is the role of an editor? To make sure you don't use the same trite phrase too many times on a single page? "For the reader of this book was mightily annoyed."

I'm noticing a trend that I'm frustrated with the length of most of the books I'm reading. Maybe it's just me, or maybe authors are going completely nuts, editors aren't doing thei ...more

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Nov 21, 2020 Lee (the Book Butcher) rated it really liked it

Been waiting a long time for the completion of Eragon's story. Four books almost 3,000 pages. Inheritance did not let me down. It was a great conclusion to the series!

All your favorite characters Eragon, Roran, Arya the elf, Katrina, Elva (not an elf), Murtagh, Queen Nasuada, Blödhgarm, King Orick the dwarf (personal favorite), Angela the Herbalist and her werecat Solembaum. but that's not all, enter this world ultimate bad guy the evil king Galbatorix. who i was actually a bit disappointed with Been waiting a long time for the completion of Eragon's story. Four books almost 3,000 pages. Inheritance did not let me down. It was a great conclusion to the series!

All your favorite characters Eragon, Roran, Arya the elf, Katrina, Elva (not an elf), Murtagh, Queen Nasuada, Blödhgarm, King Orick the dwarf (personal favorite), Angela the Herbalist and her werecat Solembaum. but that's not all, enter this world ultimate bad guy the evil king Galbatorix. who i was actually a bit disappointed with more on that later. Paolini gave me what I've was begging for in the middle two books. more action, less politics, and more dragons! Telling you how many more dragons would be a spoiler ;) Almost half the book is battles with the Virden finally starting to defeat and take the cities of the empire. I'll admit it Paolini is good at character development and has expanded a character in each entry of the series. A bit like Brandon Sanderson does in the Stromlight chronicles. In inheritance it's Queen Nasuada's turn and if you did not respect her before, you will now. She is taken prisoner and brought before Galbatorix. So after my unofficial count of 2500 page the menacingly evil king controlling everything finally makes an appearance. All i can do is shrug. yeah he's powerful, demented, and has the biggest dragon ever! but also inactive and talks a lot plus his dragon is crazy as well and hates him! he's a plotter who likes explaining his plans. The easiest type of Villain to defeat! in a word a blowhard! I will rate him as a 3 out of 10 on the bad guy scale. Eragon kind of defeats him pretty easily come to think of it. to easy! Anyway Nasuada is kidnaped and her character and that of Murtagh are both developed because of the interaction. two for one. There are a few more surprises and subplots but i won't go into them here. Can't take away all your fun! But as i said Galbatorix is defeated a bit easily for my liking and when i looked i still had 100 page or so left. i could only groan! Although i do enjoy dragon mating rituals (that's a tease) as much as the next reader. I could have gone without the unnecessarily lengthily rap up. Just seemed Paolini could not let go! He felt the need to rehash the whole Sloan subplot that tanked Brisingr. just leave it be!

All in all Paolini really impressed me with Inheritance. After almost ditching the series I'm glad i stuck with it. He tied up all the lose ends even some that i did not realize were lose! ...more

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Jul 17, 2015 Mel rated it it was ok

Shelves: audiobook, read-in-2015, 2-stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. If you read past this, you will encounter very angry and unkind words said about the last part of this book. Beware if you enjoyed it, because I did not

Listen, I hate this ending for literally 100 reasons and since I am in a shit mood I will list some.

(view spoiler) If you read past this, you will encounter very angry and unkind words said about the last part of this book. Beware if you enjoyed it, because I did not

Listen, I hate this ending for literally 100 reasons and since I am in a shit mood I will list some.

(view spoiler)[
1. Arya and him don't end up together. I'm not going to be that petty person that cries and hates a book because the love interest doesn't end up together but it was so poorly handled. Eragon has had 0 reason to be happy in 4 books. He had Saphira yes but otherwise all he had was his love for Ayra that was constantly denied anytime he tried to express how he felt. Then, we get to the end of the series and it's finally possible that maybe they can be together but nope, Mr. Paolini decided that he had to create some weird situation where they won't be together. BUT to rub it in and make matters worse, the EXACT moment Eragon is being told he and Arya will not be together and that it's never going to happen, you get Saphira getting her happy moment with Arya's dragon. I just thought that was in poor taste and timing to do that.

2. That brings me to problem number 2. I know I said I had 100 reasons and I have many more but I just am so upset that I don't care enough to talk about them all, but yeah this one is my biggest problem with this ending. Saphira and Eragon are my favourite fictional relationship I've ever encountered. It beats out every mom/daughter, sibling, relationship, friendship etc relationship I've ever read about and the last 10 or so chapters of the book has 0 of it. I understand that Saphira had a male dragon and yes I can understand why Paolini chose to include the dragon sex and all that because it was important, but I never imagined that the last 100 or whatever pages (2 hours of my audiobook) was going to be Saphira spending all of her time with him and 0 time with Eragon. Saphira and Eragon moments are what made this book series for me. It's why I read it to be quite frank and the fact that this author left me off with NONE of it was actually the biggest piss off in my reading history. Don't get me started on the fact that while Eragon was trying to come to terms with leaving home, Saphira was off getting laid. It honestly undermines their entire relationship and I just could go on and on and on right now about the many reasons why it's the stupidest part of the book. And the worst is that it's not like it had a purpose. I could see it if we got to see Saphira lay eggs and stuff then MAYBE I could understand, but no, we don't. We get no purpose other than their relationship disappears, Eragon is left to deal with everything alone and they don't even SPEAK for the entire end of the book. I just think he gave up too much for this kind of ending and I am unbelievably upset that he couldn't turn to Saphira for that.

(hide spoiler)]

Disappointed would be an understatement. This is not an ending an author gives to characters he cares about. ...more

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Disappointed about Eragon and Arya?	402	2120	Nov 08, 2020 05:10PM
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Crazy for Young A...: Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle #4) by Christopher Paolini → Start Date: November 9th, 2018	11	18	Jan 24, 2019 08:53PM
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About Christopher Paolini

Christopher Paolini

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Christopher Paolini was born in Southern California and has lived most of his life in Paradise Valley, Montana. He published his first novel, Eragon, in 2003 at the age of nineteen, and quickly became a publishing phenomenon. His Inheritance Cycle—Eragon and its three sequels—have sold nearly 40 million copies worldwide. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is his first adult novel.

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“Why does everything have to be so hard? [Eragon] wondered.

Because, said Saphira, everyone wants to eat, but no one wants to be eaten.” — 175 likes

“It's impossible to go through life unscathed. Nor should you want to. By the hurts we accumulate, we measure both our follies and our accomplishments.” — 155 likes

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