Inheritance Cycle - Review (Why I Did Not Finish)

Why I did not finish reading the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. The fantasy series that pulls, from many many previous fantasy epics.

Twitter: @DanielBGreene
Instagram: dgreene101

Intro Music Supplied by Starless. Do yourself a favor and check them out!
Twitter: @DanielBGreene
Instagram: dgreene101

Intro Music Supplied by Starless. Do yourself a favor and check them out!

WoT Artists to check out!:
Edsel Arnold
Paul Bielaczyc
Ariel Burgess
Seamas Gallagher
Joe O’Hara
Amy Romanczuk
Jeremy Saliba

[DanielGreeneReviews]

What did you think of the Inheritance Cycle as a whole?

[thFlame]

I’m really surprised so many people didn’t like it. I loved all these books.

[austinmorgan]

Back when i was a young new fantasy reader without knowledge of tropes, the end of Eldest blew my mind

Inheritance is my "guilty" pleasure series. I know its not original or trendsetting but i still love it.

[steeldragon]

the thing that the Inheritance cycle does that "brings something to the table" for me is how it makes the magic seem something very REAL, in a way magical without it being magical. What I mean by that is that magic is usually what we use to label something we don't know or can explain. YET the magic in the book is SO WELL EXPLAINED has rules that make sense and follows them and does not make someone UBER OP just because they have magic AND does not establish a thought with people on "why not just do X with magic to solve the problem?" magic is a tool and not a solution in this universe, this is also not including how well the land of Alagasia is SO well written and makes a very real land. where in other books you can skip through half the land and not even care or notice

[Brapgod]

I don’t care what anyone says, The Inheritance cycle will always have a close place in my heart. It was actually the first book series that I read from start to finish.

[FuzzyDreamin]

I enjoyed the book - the dragons, the magic, the characters - especially the last book... Until the ending. The ending left you wondering where the next chapters where.

[Rashadmcka]

Inheritance Cycle will always have a special place in my heart. It's the series I truly began to understand what fantasy actually was. I tried reading it again and have many issues with it but I can't help but kind of still enjoy the world that was created. I will read the next books in the world, but I won't reread the series to remember plot points or anything.
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Also, it may have been first series I read, where the main antagonist is defeated so early in the last book, where the rest is "closing action". Another thing that caught me by surprise was that the male protagonist doesn't really "get the girl' at the end, I remember being kinda upset about that in my teens lol. This is the one aspect that actually aged well with my now more mature (hopefully) mindset.

[deverd]

I think that the best character was Roran he is both the most relatable and also the most badass

[jmjw]

honestly, originality doesn't make a book good or bad. It's how the author makes it interesting that matters

[darmokandjalad]

And now he’s interviewing Paolini himself! Daniel’s channel has grown a ton over the year.

[geekygamez]

I feel like the p.o.v. should’ve changed from eragon to Murtagh. It would be something new to the series, where we get to read what he had to endure rather than him telling Eragon. Because Eragon became a one-sided character while Murtagh was clearly two-sided...

Love your videos by the way...it took me a while to finish the series and I plan on re-reading it. lol.

[dominicsinableng]

I actually read all 4 books and through books 1-3, I was curious to see if Paolini would be able to pull it off. Needless to say, I actually personally liked it. I always wondered how the main enemy would be defeated and definitely did NOT see the manner in which Eragon did it coming.

[dreamer]

Fair enough Daniel, I'm not going to claim that the Inheritance Cycle is great literature, and I understand some of the criticisms about how derivative the series is, but I do think that, on the whole, it's treated a little unfairly. Particularly, I think that Paolini's world-building skills and visual writing are quite underestimated.

For me, especially at the age I was when I read them, this more than made up for the dialogue, which was admittedly clunky at times; I've not since met, in fantasy literature (and I've read, and love, WoT, the Dark Tower, LotR) a world that felt so truly real, lived-in, and yet also had some of the otherworldly grandeur and mystery that, for example, Tolkien manages so well. 

Tolkien, of course, did it first, and had a vastly better grasp of language. He infused Middle Earth with a spirituality and moral authority, and his writing with a gravitas, that Paolini's world and writing undoubtedly lacked; nevertheless, Paolini's series has left me with some of the most unforgettable images and ideas I've gained from a fantasy world (A dwarven city-mountain in the colossal extinct crater of a volcano(!); the wonderful descriptions of the elves' forest and cities; the dragons themselves, the Beor mountains etc. etc...)

The series does also touch on important themes, and prompts self-reflection in the way you described enjoying in more modern fantasy; while the themes are not explored in great depth necessarily, they are definitely there, and not hard to find. There are ideas of responsibility; the pressure of being a figurehead; the implications of power; the difficulties of supranational governance and law enforcement (issues dragon riders and the UN have in common!); and the overcoming of personal hatred and prejudice. Couple all this with a truly thrilling hero's journey, a magnificent magic system, well fleshed-out cultures, (particularly among the elves and the dwarves), and some terrific scenery, and while the characters, prose and dialogue may leave somewhat to be desired in the mature reader, there is still a lot that is unique, a lot to love, and a lot that is gripping in the series.

[judewilt]

*Talks about the Inheritance Cycle* “didn’t read the last book, forget what it’s called.”

[ebnovels]

I’d be very interested in reading a new series by Paolini. I never finished the Inheritance Cycle myself as I found I grew a bit bored with the story, but similarly to you, I think that was because I sort of outgrew the series before it was complete.

That said, great review. Idk that I ever realized Paolini was so young when he wrote Eragon 🤔

[guythe]

It's not ideal, has flaws and not particularly orginal, but anyway, it's a wonderful piece of fantasy literature made for young adults and every lover of the genre. One of my all time faves forever.

[shapescolours]

I really like The Inheritance Cycle. At the end of the day its teen fantasy so you have to look at it as such and he was so young when he wrote them! I really enjoy them for what they are. I don’t think something has to be trend setting and groundbreaking for it to be enjoyable.

[gekkenhuisje]

I don't know if you found out about this or not, but Christopher Paolini also finished the second draft of his huge Sci-Fi novel called TSiaSoS (title still top secret). Paolini's currently working on incorporating feedback from his editor on the book, so I imagine that Sci-Fi book should be out soon as well.

[_baert]

Even his new book title reminds me of something else. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!

[DrewWutsit]

They could make a great movie from the books and i hope they erase the first attempt from people's memory by creating as beautifully crafted a movie as we thought the first book was when we first laid our eyes upon it