Eragon and Eldest

These are the first two books of the Inheritance trilogy by Christopher Paolini. The final addition to this trilogy is set for release on September 20, 2008 at 12:01 am.

From reading the cover of Eldest, I learned that Paolini started writing the series when he was just 15 years old. I can tell you that it shows. Personally, while reading Eragon, I found the lack of variety in sentence structure a little annoying. However, in Eldest, it is apparent that Paolini matured a lot as a writer, though the novel is still far from being a difficult read.

As far as plot goes, this is a fairly enjoyable story. Critics have suggested that it borrows too much from other fantasy and science fiction, but in my own experience, this can be said of pretty much any piece of literature. If you read enough, you see similarities. But enough with critics, I found most of the story surprising and enjoyable.

In terms of literary depth, I'm going to be a jerk and say it is at a level even below Harry Potter (which itself is close to zero.) A person could claim themes about the importance of friendship and loyalty, but really there is nothing here greater than what can be found in a newspaper article. The popularity of this series is a result purely of it being a fun and easy read.