Hello there!
I’m finally done with the four books of the Inheritance cycle, which I’ve read over the span of a year and I thought I’d write up a quick review about it.
Firstly, the target audience for these books are primarily kids and teenagers, but you know me, I’m a sucker for fantasy stories of any kind. It’s a shame I didn’t grow up to these books but definitely glad I gave these books a chance in adulthood!
So as you can see on the covers (which are huge spoilers btw, Paolini, what were you thinking?), the story revolves around dragons and dragon riders in the fantasy Empire of Alagaesia.
Trying to not spoil the story for you, the plot revolves around the protagonist boy-kid Eragon and his dragon Saphira, and over the four books you watch him train to be a dragon rider to defeat the evil king Galbatorix. Pretty straightforward right? Wrong. There are so many twists and turns through the story that you tend to forget where you began.
Of all the books, I absolutely loved the first one, Eragon. There’s that sweet innocence to it accompanied by the hardships that all fall on a little kid’s shoulders. This is the book where I felt the most character growth for both Eragon and Saphira which is pretty fun to read.
The second book Eldest is equally good. You have some adventures, battles, betrayals – all the action filled stuff with a surprising revelation at the end.
I was kinda disappointed with the last two books, which seemed pretty dragged. Don’t get me wrong, I like big books (and I cannot lie, iykyk), but these two felt excruciatingly detailed. If you are invested enough in the story, you will find some shocking turn of events, but I really wished the ending would be a bit more dramatic.
The good part of the series is that is gives a lot of focus on all the side characters, not just one or two, even the most trivial characters who appear for maybe a chapter or two. It throws light on their backstory, their thoughts, and their character arc makes you appreciate the story a little more.
When I think about it, 12 year old me would have enjoyed it much more and would’ve totally obsessed over it. So I would definitely recommend it to pre-teen/adolescents/young readers or to dragon fans in general!
Happy reading! 🙂