Inheritance is the forth and final book to Christopher Paolini’s series, The Inheritance Cycle. This series is about a 15 year old farm boy named Eragon, who finds a dragon egg that hatches to him and is given the name Sapheria. Once the evil king Galbatorix, who reigned supreme over humans with a veil of fear finds out, they are forced to flee, accompanied by the Storyteller Brom, who was once a Dragon Rider, as a guide, teacher, mentor, and more. With help of the Varden (the rebels), the Surdans, the elves, the dwarves, and the Urgals, Eragon and Saphira must fight for the freedom for Alagaesia, or hand themselves over to Galbatorix and lose it. Forever.

I first read Eragon, the first book of the Inheritance series back around 2005. To be honest, for every book I read, once I finish it, I put it down and say, “Wow.” For this book, I put it down and was speechless. Many people I know attempted to read the book but never finished it, often getting bored after the first chapter. While it was tediously long for the action to actually happen, after that was over, it was the best book I’ve ever read. The action was great, it kept you in suspense, and you always wonder what’s going to happen next. When a certain fathery character died, I cried harder then I ever did for any other book.

Skipping forward about six years later, to 2011. The last book finally came out…and I am a bit disappointed. Many things were left hanging. The romance between Eragon and the elf Arya was there for all four books…but at the end, the romance neither started nor ended. Neither of them made any moves…it ended with a kiss on the cheek before Eragon leaves on a journey where they will never meet again. I don’t know whether to call the ending good or bad…but I would say it’s an ending most reader would never expect. Or want.

While the ending was disappointing, I enjoyed the series in a whole. The world itself was very interesting and complex, and Eragon is a character whose point of view is very enjoyable to read from. I hope to see more instalments from Paolini about the Alagaesia as a whole in the future!