Children's Book and Media Review Volume 33 Issue 4 Article 13 2013 Inheritance by Christopher Paolini Brandon Holst [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Holst, Brandon (2013) "Inheritance by Christopher Paolini," Children's Book and Media Review: Vol. 33 : Iss. 4 , Article 13. Available at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cbmr/vol33/iss4/13 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Children's Book and Media Review by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. Holst: Inheritance by Christopher Paolini Author: Paolini, Christopher Title: Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle #4) Year of Publication: 2011 Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers ISBN: 9780375856112 Number of Pages: 860 Rating: Significant Shortcomings Reading/Interest Level: Young Adult Keywords: Dragons; High Fantasy; Fantasy; Magic; Novels Review: Eragon is the last dragon rider, and Saphira is his dragon. Eragon allies himself with the elves, dwarfs, urgals, and the last free humans in an effort to overthrow the evil Galbatorix and the empire he has created. Eragon finishes his quest to find sufficient power to destroy Galbatorix by going to the Vault of Souls and speaking with the long-lost dragons. When Eragon confronts Galbatorix, he wins the conflict by showing all the sorrow, grief, and agony Galbatorix has caused for the people of Alagaësia. After defeating Galbatorix, Eragon leaves Alagaësia to find a place where dragon riders can reside without disrupting other nations. The Inheritance Cycle showed great promise in the first two books, Eragon and Eldest, but died off with this, the last installment in the series. More than 500 pages of the book are spent detailing trivial adventures that do not move the plot forward. These adventures could have been left in the background, which would have simply made the reader feel more involved with the story. Paolini uses so much detail that the main plot is completely lost, and the resolution of the book feels rushed—as if Paolini were simply cramming in answers to all the questions brought up throughout the series. Sadly the excessive details, random side stories, and rush to the end prevent the reader from staying focused on the main plot, making this a hard book to read. Reviewer: Brandon Holst TEXT © The Children’s Book and Play Review 2013 Published by BYU ScholarsArchive, 2013 1.