The Inheritance Series

[Evangeline]

So I just finished reading Inheritance. So many words, gah.... Simply put, I can't believe it's over.

[emeraldbunni]

Fwah i love this series!! you all know that the 4th book is already out? READ IT!! anyways i think Paolini should write another book .. like maybe another series or something on how the world changed and what will happen and about riders and the elves. i would so read it!

[auroshen]

This book is too epic... I got yelled at a bunch of times at school for having my nose in Inheritance when I was supposed to be working. Also, AWESOME COVER ARTTT

[Dragonwing1234]

Just finished the last book..so many things...o.o

 

SPOILER ALERT, STAY BACK.

 

I can't believe that he made Eragon leave Alagaesia. For eternity. It's really sad when he has to leave. He had to leave everything he knew..I really want Christopher P. To write something about Eragon's life with the dragon eggs!

 

And Arya becoming Fernin's Rider? Totally expected.

Edited February 18, 2012 by Dragonwing1234

[Stromboli]

I can't believe that he made Eragon leave Alagaesia. For eternity. It's really sad when he has to leave. He had to leave everything he knew..I really want Christopher P. To write something about Eragon's life with the dragon eggs!

Wasn't that prophecied in, like, the first book?

I'd have been annoyed if he didn't. At least that bit of continuity was sustained.

[Dragonwing1234]

Wasn't that prophecied in, like, the first book?

I'd have been annoyed if he didn't. At least that bit of continuity was sustained.

Yes, it was. It was told from the fortune Angela gave him. It's good he thought about the prophecy. It would be bad if he forgot about it. O.o I still think it's sad he had to leave.

[soupnazi]

From what I've heard, though, didn't Eragon leave for the sole reason that it was foretold?

[Dragonwing1234]

From what I've heard, though, didn't Eragon leave for the sole reason that it was foretold?

He left because he had to keep the Eldunari and dragon eggs in a place where no can steal them and in a place where it doesn't seem the elves/dwarves/humans/Urgals have them in possession. It was foretold that he would leave and never return.

[soupnazi]

He left because he had to keep the Eldunari and dragon eggs in a place where no can steal them and in a place where it doesn't seem the elves/dwarves/humans/Urgals have them in possession. It was foretold that he would leave and never return.

Could you elaborate that a little bit? I'm not sure why the eggs have to be away from anything... did he take them with him? So he took them away, when they're needed in Alawhatsit?

[PointOfOrigin]

I haven't read the last one... but WHAT?!?!?

 

If he left with the eggs, how are they going to hatch for the new riders? Those eggs should only hatch if their rider was close, and moving them out of people's reach does not help at all.

 

You know what? I think Paolini has written himself in corner with that prophecy, and took first half-assed excuse to make it happen. After all, there has to be some angst, doesn't it?

 

Alright, books in general... I don't care that much about writting style, but his style is really heavy with descriptions ( and big number of them is useless ). He is trying so hard ( or using his thesaurus to much, I guess) to make... Well, let's say unusual descriptions, that we get things like this:

 

 

Eragon and the other warriors watched with awe as she fit the tips of her claws into the mortared grooves between the stones and, snarling from the effort, tore the building apart until she exposed the terrified soldiers, whom she killed like a terrier kills rats.

 

 

Last I heard, cats were catching mices, not dogs. Does terrier even exist in his world? Really, little pearls of wisdom like that one are the only fun part about the books.

 

The idea was a good one, and there are some interesting things (like old language and magic laws, for example), but it's ruined with C&P plot. Not to mention it's predictable. When I read first book I was ten, and even then I knew Murtagh was his brother and that he would get a red dragon. I also knew that Arja would be third rider and that she would probably get green dragon ( since he used just basic colors ). And don't get me started at princes part.

 

There is some characterization going on ( unlike Twilight ) which gives him a small plus, but... Eragon starts as a fairly simpatethic character, and by the third book, he is an idiot that does things much worse than anything Galby did on screen. He takes the right to decide about people's lives in his hands, and once he discovers Sloan's true name, he uses it to control him. And he never gets called on it, has a talent for everything ( GARY STU ).

 

Galbatorix would be proud. Don't even get him started on Roran. It's sad when even Murtagh, who is at that point a bad guy, is more simpatethic than the hero. Saphira's POV is interesting, and I kind of like her because of her hollier then thou attitude.

 

Elfs are also, just a big race of Stues. Dwarwes are interesting, but he never took time with them, like he did with elves. Gues we know, who his favorites are, huh?

 

Summed up, this books are a trainwreck. What really gets me the most is that they could've been good. Had Paolini waited little longer and took some time to mature, learned his tropes, avoided cliches and done something about that writting style of his I would probably enjoy them. As it is, I will read the forth part just because when I start something I finish it.

Edited February 20, 2012 by PointOfOrigin

[Dragonwing1234]

If he left with the eggs, how are they going to hatch for the new riders? Those eggs should only hatch if their rider was close, and moving them out of people's reach does not help at all.

He leaves some eggs for the elves, dwarves, and Urgals.

 

There was a lot of eggs hidden on Vroengard, at least 200. Of course, all those eggs won't be for Riders only. So he took those away from Alagaesia.

 

Could you elaborate that a little bit? I'm not sure why the eggs have to be away from anything... did he take them with him? So he took them away, when they're needed in Alawhatsit?

 

If he raised the dragons and kept the Eldunari in the Beor Mountains, it could disturb the neighboring dwarves and some might want to take the Eldunari for more power. Or steal the eggs.

Raise it in Du Weldenvarden, the same problem with elves.

In Uraebaen(how do you spell it?), the same problem with humans.

In all the places, it might seem one of the species, elves, dwarves, and humans, have the dragons in their possession.

Lastly, the Hadarac Desert is too hard to raise them.

 

Yes, he was needed in Alagaesia/in helping Nasuada, but he head to leave to take care of the dragons, or else they might die without help.

 

 

 

For more details, you need to look at the book.

[Richied97]

I finished this series about a few weeks ago

[soupnazi]

If he raised the dragons and kept the Eldunari in the Beor Mountains, it could disturb the neighboring dwarves and some might want to take the Eldunari for more power. Or steal the eggs.

Raise it in Du Weldenvarden, the same problem with elves.

In Uraebaen(how do you spell it?), the same problem with humans.

In all the places, it might seem one of the species, elves, dwarves, and humans, have the dragons in their possession.

Lastly, the Hadarac Desert is too hard to raise them.

Okay, I'd just like to ask one final question: why was Eragon the only one who could raise the eggs?

[DragonNighthowler]

You know what? I think Paolini has written himself in corner with that prophecy, and took first half-assed excuse to make it happen. After all, there has to be some angst, doesn't it?

 

Agreed. That's why any good writer should know in advance where the story is going. Paolini started at 15 writing a fanfic and has been unable to develop from there.

 

Alright, books in general... I don't care that much about writting style, but his style is really heavy with descriptions ( and big number of them is useless ). He is trying so hard ( or using his thesaurus to much, I guess) to make... Well, let's say unusual descriptions, that we get things like this:

 

Been said a thousand times. Show, don't tell. Paolini has been increasingly growing into more descriptions to the point his books could be edited into a fourth of its size by just deleting all the dribble.

He also seems to think his readers are a bunch of braindead idiots incapable of imagining anything, and thus need everything explained. What such a heavily descriptive writing style does is not evoque imagery, but rather slow down pace and take away interest in the books. There are just some parts that don't need explanation, do not spend 25 pages teaching me about sword forging. I couldn't care less.

If it can be done in one paragraph, by all means, do it.

 

Last I heard, cats were catching mices, not dogs. Does terrier even exist in his world? Really, little pearls of wisdom like that one are the only fun part about the books.

 

Some terriers do hunt rats, but the description itself is beyond pointless. I'm getting a clear idea of what the dragon is doing, I do not need a comparison adding more pages to the book. He abuses comparisons as well, and some don't even make sense.

 

The idea was a good one, and there are some interesting things (like old language and magic laws, for example)

 

Tolkien was a linguist. Paolini isn't. Creating a language isn't about throwing in a bunch of letters and making it look fancy or weird. In fact, you're doing something very wrong when pronouncing your language is harder than speaking german.

Not to mention, it is annoying to have to go back to the glossary every conversation with different races to know what they're saying. Isn't it simpler to just saying; "They spoke in their language and Mr X understood nothing"?

Again, cutting down the pace and being very, very annoying. Not a good way to work.

 

but it's ruined with C&P plot. Not to mention it's predictable. When I read first book I was ten, and even then I knew Murtagh was his brother and that he would get a red dragon. I also knew that Arja would be third rider and that she would probably get green dragon ( since he used just basic colors ). And don't get me started at princes part.

 

Plot? He forgot about the plot after the first book and has been dancing back and forth with no real direction. There were some subplots that might have been interesting, but he swept them off in few paragraphs and gave us a bunch of political dribble he knows nothing about.

He, as an author, keeps throwing in opinions and stuff, decorating them with fancy words to make himself look literate, and he simply doesn't have a clue about half of the things he's speaking about. As a political scientist myself, his political affairs were laughable.

 

There is some characterization going on ( unlike Twilight ) which gives him a small plus, but... Eragon starts as a fairly simpatethic character, and by the third book, he is an idiot that does things much worse than anything Galby did on screen. He takes the right to decide about people's lives in his hands, and once he discovers Sloan's true name, he uses it to control him. And he never gets called on it, has a talent for everything ( GARY STU ).

 

There is some characterization. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to keep it consistent and his main characters are cardboard cuts from your archetypical Sue/Stu. There is more going on there than in Twilight, but it is still very bland.

Look at the richness in Harry Potter, or Dresden Files, or Game of Thrones. Eragon is not even a shadow to them in characterization.

 

As for Eragon's personality, I maintain my theory that he's a terrorist attacking a thriving and peaceful empire.

 

Summed up, this books are a trainwreck. What really gets me the most is that they could've been good. Had Paolini waited little longer and took some time to mature, learned his tropes, avoided cliches and done something about that writting style of his I would probably enjoy them. As it is, I will read the forth part just because when I start something I finish it.

 

He's 28. He's older than me!

People keep calling him a prodigy child forgetting that he was born in 1983, he's a child no more. His writing is exactly the same as mine was when I was 15. The difference is I'm not stuck in the style I had when I was 15 and I thought quantity made quality. He is, and that's very wrong.

There is some potential down there, but he needs to get off his high horse and read some real criticism.

 

If he raised the dragons and kept the Eldunari in the Beor Mountains, it could disturb the neighboring dwarves and some might want to take the Eldunari for more power. Or steal the eggs.

Raise it in Du Weldenvarden, the same problem with elves.

In Uraebaen(how do you spell it?), the same problem with humans.

In all the places, it might seem one of the species, elves, dwarves, and humans, have the dragons in their possession.

Lastly, the Hadarac Desert is too hard to raise them.

 

Sorry, but that doesn't make any sense. By that logic, they shouldn't even have steel and horses, thus they be used for warfare.

Again, he needed a way out of his prophecy and that one was as good as any, but it seems forced and thrown in at the last minute. Should have been easier to just drive the dragons extinct and forget all about that crazy heart stone thing deus-ex-machina he threw in in Brisingr.

He's pushed himself against a corner for not planning properly.

Edited February 21, 2012 by DragonNighthowler

[hazeh]

I only really bothered to read the last couple posts in this thread, and I have to say I'm a little surprised. Recently I reread the first book and spent a little time on Eldest before I dove into the fourth one.

And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth one. I was so amazed how Paolini's writing matured, and I could tell after reading the first. The fourth book was far more interesting and attention-grabbing than the first two, in my opinion. There were some twists that I didn't even expect and I was actually happy that I suspected Arya was the rider, because I picked up on the foreshadowing at the very beginning of the book. I had somewhat suspected it in the earlier books, but there wasn't much of any hints other than it seemed like a logical move on his part.

I don't get what's so bad about the fact that he's a heavy description user. I love description. I love that a writter is able to put into words the images going through his mind so that I can get every detail the way he's trying to convey it. Reading books like his isn't so I can imagine my own little world, it's so I can be emersed into the one that he created and chose to share with us. In the last book he did a fantastic job of tying together detail and fluency.

 

The Eragon's series is a cliche story. BIG DEAL. He puts his own creative spin on it and is enjoyable to a lot of people. I write my own stories that have a lot of "cliche" parts to them and I don't care. Being able to customize those things are what make them enjoyable to some people. It's a series meant to be enjoyed for what is being told, not for nitpicking every single detail and getting all riled because it's not a philosophical masterpiece.

[DragonNighthowler]

I only really bothered to read the last couple posts in this thread, and I have to say I'm a little surprised. Recently I reread the first book and spent a little time on Eldest before I dove into the fourth one.

And I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the fourth one. I was so amazed how Paolini's writing matured, and I could tell after reading the first. The fourth book was far more interesting and attention-grabbing than the first two, in my opinion. There were some twists that I didn't even expect and I was actually happy that I suspected Arya was the rider, because I picked up on the foreshadowing at the very beginning of the book. I had somewhat suspected it in the earlier books, but there wasn't much of any hints other than it seemed like a logical move on his part.

I don't get what's so bad about the fact that he's a heavy description user. I love description. I love that a writter is able to put into words the images going through his mind so that I can get every detail the way he's trying to convey it. Reading books like his isn't so I can imagine my own little world, it's so I can be emersed into the one that he created and chose to share with us. In the last book he did a fantastic job of tying together detail and fluency.

 

The Eragon's series is a cliche story. BIG DEAL. He puts his own creative spin on it and is enjoyable to a lot of people. I write my own stories that have a lot of "cliche" parts to them and I don't care. Being able to customize those things are what make them enjoyable to some people. It's a series meant to be enjoyed for what is being told, not for nitpicking every single detail and getting all riled because it's not a philosophical masterpiece.

It's a different way of enjoying books. I love reading through lines.

 

As for the philosophical masterpiece part, I really do wish Paolini didn't voice his RL opinion so much in his books. That is something that troubles me about books.

Jim Butcher does it sometimes too, but Paolini has a tendency to overdoing it way too much. There were points of the books I was unsure whether it was supposed to be a fantasy adventure or a vegan extremist pamphlet on the evils of eating meat.

 

That said, I find philosophical masterpieces kind of boring.

[PointOfOrigin]

Thanks DragonNighthowler! I was trying to say same things, but I was never that good at expressing myself. wink.gif

 

 

Tolkien was a linguist. Paolini isn't. Creating a language isn't about throwing in a bunch of letters and making it look fancy or weird. In fact, you're doing something very wrong when pronouncing your language is harder than speaking german.

Not to mention, it is annoying to have to go back to the glossary every conversation with different races to know what they're saying. Isn't it simpler to just saying; "They spoke in their language and Mr X understood nothing"?

 

I never thought he did good job at creating a language, merely that some things could be expanded upon. Take for example "no lying" thing. He could have expanded so much upon it (imagine a hero that lied all the time. And then he has to start using old language. Fun, yes?). And it just ends up as a plot device, that is remembered every now and then.

And there was a ton of more elegant solutions than the glossary. He could even put it down in the footnootes.

 

 

 

He's 28. He's older than me!

People keep calling him a prodigy child forgetting that he was born in 1983, he's a child no more. His writing is exactly the same as mine was when I was 15. The difference is I'm not stuck in the style I had when I was 15 and I thought quantity made quality. He is, and that's very wrong.

There is some potential down there, but he needs to get off his high horse and read some real criticism.

 

I tend to forget he is that old .png But, I really just refered to the time when he published the first book.

And his style does change. It gets worse.

 

There were some twists that I didn't even expect and I was actually happy that I suspected Arya was the rider, because I picked up on the foreshadowing at the very beginning of the book. I had somewhat suspected it in the earlier books, but there wasn't much of any hints other than it seemed like a logical move on his part.

 

 

What foreshadowing? I haven't read the last book, but in the first 3 there wasn't any foresgadowing except for the green flames thing.

 

...

 

I just realised something. Arja is curently the only available dragon rider, due to Eragon's trip and Murtagh's heroic BSOD. As an dragon rider that is supposed to be neutral when it comes to races, and make sure there is justice, there is no way she could be an elf queen. If she is a queen, then her people should come first to her, meaning that she can't be unbiased when it comes to events happening in Alegesia. Her duties clash, and she just has to give up one of them. Since a bond with a dragon is a life comitment, that can't be cut or abandonned, moral thing to do would be to abdicate the throne. And don't forget that she hasn't gone through her training as a dragon rider. Yes, she knows magic, swordplay and everything else, but there were secret techniques passed only from rider to rider, and dragon to dragon. And don't forget that her dragon also isn't trained. There are some things that even their riders don't know about, and Saphira is the only one who could teach him that.

Logical thing to do: Arja abdicates, gets trained by Eragon (it shouldn't take long since she knows all the major things better than him) and after that she helps dragon riders to get on their feets.

What we get? Her staying behind him, after we find out they love each other, so that we could get a bittersweet ending.

 

 

The Eragon's series is a cliche story. BIG DEAL. He puts his own creative spin on it and is enjoyable to a lot of people. I write my own stories that have a lot of "cliche" parts to them and I don't care. Being able to customize those things are what make them enjoyable to some people. It's a series meant to be enjoyed for what is being told, not for nitpicking every single detail and getting all riled because it's not a philosophical masterpiece.

 

 

It's not the cliche part, or bad writting or anything else that gets me. It's the fact that all of that is pilled in one book.

 

 

If he raised the dragons and kept the Eldunari in the Beor Mountains, it could disturb the neighboring dwarves and some might want to take the Eldunari for more power. Or steal the eggs.

Raise it in Du Weldenvarden, the same problem with elves.

In Uraebaen(how do you spell it?), the same problem with humans.

In all the places, it might seem one of the species, elves, dwarves, and humans, have the dragons in their possession.

 

 

 

Have to agree with Nighthowler: it doesn't make any sense. If that kind of thing never happened before Galby killed of old dragon riders, I doubt it could happen now. And what about Doru Ariba? Why the eggs couldn't stay there? Dragon riders owned that place, and since they are supposed to be neutral watchers, shouldn't that place also be neutral? Organising a guard sworn in old language shouldn't be a hard thing, especially if Eragon and Saphira stayed there. Who would have the guts to attack an island guarded by their hero and a dragon? And, if some of the eggs stayed in the possesion of other races they could be stolen just as easily. In fact, it would be much easier without a dragon that kept an eye on them.

 

The most logical outcome would be to guard eggs and eldunaris at the island. Eldunaris could be even kept at the Utgard, considering that not even one person who can reach them had any ulterior motives for using them. Aniways, for people who wanted to try their luck at getting a dragon, organising a ship once a week wouldn't be a problem. They would get their try, under the watch of guards who swore in the old language to guard the eggs. There. Much easier and more logical than canon.

 

 

 

 

There was a lot of eggs hidden on Vroengard, at least 200. Of course, all those eggs won't be for Riders only. So he took those away from Alagaesia.

 

Those eggs can be only for riders. If any of them were "wild" eggs, they would have already hatched in the past 100 years. Since they didn't it means all of them had a spell cast on them (the one that prevents them from hatching, until they find their rider).

Lastly, the Hadarac Desert is too hard to raise them.

 

... We are talking about dragons here. There is nothing big enough to get them in the desert. Before Galby came on throne, old dragons were dying, mating and laying their eggs there. Saphira herself, thinks she was made for desert. Not even humans would have problems there, with a little help from magic. And those dragons do not need anibody to take care about them. Saphira was able to catch little birds and other little creatueres when she was two days old and tyed to a tree.

 

Again, just the excuse, to make that prophecy happen. People just don't get that they should first write book and then throw that prophecy down. Otherwise, their writting gets limited by something that wasn't even that much important and that was throwed in just for the kicks, since every hero needs to have one about them.

Edited February 21, 2012 by PointOfOrigin

[Dragonwing1234]

Doru Araeba had monsters that could harm them. A rider, a long time ago, cast a spell on it to protect the island, releasing all his, magic energy, making new creatures develop on the place.

 

Eragon raises them because he has a dragon himself and has experience. Blodgharm and some other elves also went to help raise them, too.

 

 

There was a spell cast on the eggs (which were hidden on Vroengard) that would not let them hatch.

 

They are trying to revive the dragon race, wild and tamed too.

 

I can't explain it all, especially since some of my knowledge is spotty . DX You'll have to read the part after Galby died in order to get it.

Edited February 21, 2012 by Dragonwing1234

[PointOfOrigin]

When I first commented, I planed to live my opinion on just the first 3 books. Somehow I ended focusing mostly on the plot holes in the 4th book. Since I haven't read it, and what I said comes mostly from exerpts and what I heard, I think for now I will drop this.

 

So, with that said, does anyone have a pdf version, knows a site from which I can download it or read online? I planed on waitting till books got translated, but I hate waitting to read sequels of anything that I started to read.

[soupnazi]

Doru Araeba had monsters that could harm them. A rider, a long time ago, cast a spell on it to protect the island, releasing all his, magic energy, making new creatures develop on the place.

 

Eragon raises them because he has a dragon himself and has experience. Blodgharm and some other elves also went to help raise them, too.

 

 

There was a spell cast on the eggs (which were hidden on Vroengard) that would not let them hatch.

 

They are trying to revive the dragon race, wild and tamed too.

 

I can't explain it all, especially since some of my knowledge is spotty . DX You'll have to read the part after Galby died in order to get it.

...Is this in reply to me?

[Dragonwing1234]

...Is this in reply to me?

Partly. Too lazy to quote everything.

 

[soupnazi]

Partly. Too lazy to quote everything.

Oh, okay.

 

So what prevented Eragon from leaving instructions to all the species and giving them eggs, or having elves with knowledge (or that wanted to help) go to the different species' territories and helping? Seems like splitting up 200 eggs among a bunch of people is smarter than having one person raise them.

[Alpha Gryph]

I've been avoiding reading too many of the latest posts here, since I have yet to read the fourth book (got it for Christmas )

 

But I had to read through the first three to remember everything that's going on. I'm halfway through Brisingr at the moment. I like to take my time and draw things out with anything I do (just like a dwarf, eh?).

 

Seeing mixed opinions about the final book though, so I am quite curious~

[Nectaris]

Personally, I couldn't even force myself to read through the third book. I so hated his decision with Sloan, and his weeping over little critters while letting slaves be eaten. Combine all that with the useless drivel in it I couldn't finish the book, and it is rare for me not to finish a series.

[Ramica]

When you never end reading the 4 eragon books how can you say there are better dragon books? I never forming myself an opinion over an book where I don`t know the end.

One does not need to read ALL the books to know what is better. When I first started reading Anne McCaffery's Pern series I read one book enjoyed it, found more enjoyed them found a few I didn't like as much but still enjoyed the series.

 

For the Enchanted Forest trilogy loved it from the first book.

 

I am willing to give a writer a chance Inheritance was originally to be a trilogy - I read the first book and found it to be ripped off of many fantasy books/movies I loved and cared for. I did not gain any feeling for the characters but I told myself this is just an introduction perhaps C.P will branch out and flourish more in the second book read about half to 3/4 of it and said nope. No go.

 

When it is suppose to be three books - not four, five,six or however many books and the first two don't get your interest how will the third?