Why You Should Read: Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance Cycle (Spoiler-Free)

[@mikesbookreviews]

I believe I got the audio sync issues figured out. Purchased new software. Thanks for watching, guys!

[@turtleanton6539]

Its boring with fantasy gatekeeping

[@arandomelite5448]

Here's my hot take, eragon is a beginning level of fantasy and there is nothing wrong with that. Lord of the rings is a heavy read and I guarantee it turned many of people away from fantasy.

[@mikesbookreviews]

That's probably fair.

[@pinkscampi]

Oh yes! Lord of the rings bored the pants off me. Even the movies I find dull.

[@BimBamHeidi]

You should send that hot take to Daniel Greene's community tab for his next let's debate video

[@jaygopinath1694]

@@pinkscampi Lord of the rings dull how so there masterpieces of films/books(i never rely fin the books i find it to hard to read hurts my eyes/brian) some of the best films ever made very special movies but each to there own i know some people have no imagination and are shallow the the core it just the way some people are its a shame

[@turtleanton6539]

Yes

[@dugood70]

I got OBSESSED with these when I was young. Absolutely loved them. They were my introduction to the fantasy genre as a whole. Got online, saw all the hate and felt…idk, heartbroken? Betrayed? It was really illogical but I felt like Paolini had made me complicit in a crime of plagiarism and duplicity, and I swore them off. Now, a decade or more later, I’m rereading them and even though I go through a single book in like three days, I still really enjoy them. I like the world, I like the characters, I like the lore and the story. Some of the writing is cringey, some of the plot lines seem contrived, etc etc. But I feel guilty now for having reacted the way I did when I was like 15. They’re good books. Not masterpieces, but good entry-level fantasy books. And Paolini’s new sci-fi entry doesn’t sound entry-level at all. Dude was a kid when he started Eragon. He can be forgiven, and people who trash these books can fuck off.

[@Cander617]

People are just whiney jackass's Eragon is great, it was one of my first fantasy series and has a special place in my fav fantasy books

[@noahsnyder3689]

The Inheritance Cycle was probably my favorite series as a kid and was my gateway towards reading fantasy now as an adult. I'm currently reading The last Argument of Kings as well as The Dragon Reborn and have found your videos on those two series very interesting. Keep up the good work!

[@ryansutter9434]

I loved the Inheritance Cycle as a kid/teen, and still do! I just find it funny that people criticize this series when it literally has the same problems as many other famous fantasy series. “Cough Harry Potter”. But I will say there is a lot of creativity that Paolini added to these books! It’s not ground breaking but still good fantasy!

[@IshanGuzraty31]

Harry potter is literally the series that set the stage for series like this, so the comparison isn't fair. Also, the characters are so one dimensional and plain in the Inheritance cycle, while Harry Potter is very different. Also the character arcs are much more believeable im harry potter bc there is no roran turning into an insane warrior completely randomly

[@user-jt1js5mr3f]

@@IshanGuzraty31 Harry Potter is still flawed, it doesn't matter if it, "set the stage." Though Harry Potter was only another foot step in the path started by Tolkien, so. I'd argue Star Wars and Lord of the Rings were bigger inspirations for Christopher than Harry Potter would have been. It's totally believable that someone who has done hard, physical labor all of their life, that is forced from their home, constantly fighting for survival, someone like that could absolutely experience surges of adrenaline and heightened combat. There are real life instances of similar, and that's in a real world without magic ;) There are some valid critiques of the books, sure, but that's not one of them.

[@morzansreddragon]

Despite the criticisms which I fully accept, I can't help but enjoy the series for what it is. It's plain old Good vs. Evil with heroes, mythical creatures, epic battles and awesome action. I would never hold it up to any high standards let alone huge recommendations (unless you're 14 as I was when I first read it), but I still enjoy it and have been meaning to return to it since I finished it around the time I met Paolini when he came to Australia in 2012. Edit: Paolini's writing did get better with further publications.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Folks throw around the word "traditional fantasy" with any series that doesn't have loads of sex and violence in it. But this is truly traditional dragons and shields fantasy. It could have been from the 70s-90s and I'd believe it.

[@Great_Olaf5]

Except it isn't like that. It isn't a classic good vs evil story, there are heroes of a sort, epic battles and mythical creatures, yes, but those battles aren't glorious, they're brutal, those creatures aren't just the standards, they're so unique and alien, especially the dragons and elves, let alone the werecats. Urgals have more culture than Tolkien's orcs ever did. Even the Ra'zac, the last of they're kind, have depth and nuance to them. I hear people give critiques like this, even when meant positively, and I can't help but think that I somehow read a completely different set of books than everyone else that just happened to have the same titles and author on the covers. I've read more of the classics now than I had at the tíme I réad the cycle, which is to say none, now I've read lord of the rings and parts of the silmarillion, I've read the first few wheel of time books, I've started A Wizard of Earthsea, more recent works like A Song of Ice and Fire (the first two books at any rate), and the inheritance cycle stands up among all of these excellent works.

[@danielbetancourt1483]

Totally accurate that its an echo chamber that people enter without even reading it (the hate I mean). Id assume people are just jealous he was able to write a better novel at 15 than most people could at 45.

[@matthewmckinnon9298]

This and the Ranger's Apprentice series made me fall in love with fantasy

[@Crainiac0_0]

Rangers Apprentice is so good but nobody seems to talk about it 😭

[@JonathanJust]

This series deserves a revival. If there was a movement to resurrect it, I would definitely take part. I hate how overrated the Harry Potter series became; twilight and potter fandom are rabid. The magic system and Tolkien-sequel world building deserves more credit. I agree that a movie or tv spot should go a little more grimdark since the fan base has aged. At the time that they came out I would choose this series over its competitors 5/5 times

[@mikesbookreviews]

It's like I get why some of the fantasy "snobs" don't like it, but I've seen people trash it that then give 5 star reviews to every YA Fantasy book they read and I just don't get it. Yeah, it's full of fantasy tropes, but they are done well, IMO. No idea why this gets the hate within the community that it does.

[@matthewbreytenbach4483]

Why should it become more grimdark? The Inheritance Cycle contains such concepts as people enslaved with their own names, battles in which they literally had to dismember their opponents to stop them from fighting, and court intrigue settled with a contest of self mutilation. The characters are also by and large more mature in their interactions than in some other, supposedly more "adult" works.

[@andrewcabral963]

Man Peter Jackson should make the Eragon series.

[@CharlesGouraudgaming]

I love the magic system, it's such a cool thing, and the things that Paolini does with it are super cool.

[@turtleanton6539]

These books are actually GREAT!!

[@turtleanton6539]

They are.

[@blankname5628]

@@turtleanton6539 forgot to switch accounts..? Wait a second- A year?!

[@kbg12ila]

Video title: Why you should read Inheritance Cycle. Video: There's much worse fantasy out there. Me: SOLD!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Ha!

[@boffinalexander1247]

Eragon was the first book that gave me an interest in reading as a child. From there I branched out to other series like the dresden files, Narnia, LOTR, Discworld, Foundation... . Now I read around 30 books a year. The series still holds place of honor in my collection because of being the one that started my journey. I can understand that the book isnt for everyone, we all have different interests and desires. Each of us has at least one book out there that can function as your lighthouse for a better tomorow , a window to a dreamy past or a mirror to an alternative present.

[@ShadowKaiserin]

This series is honestly my favorite. Now, some may lift their eyebrows at that, but I am a woman of simple tastes. I love this series for the same reason people hate it. I've watched Star Wars and read The Lord of the Rings and Dragonriders of Pern and all those other book series The Inheritance Cycle gets compared to. They all have pieces of what I enjoy about these books, but they don't quite do it for me. The Inheritance Cycle brings all those tropes and cliches and fantastic elements together to create a world and story that perfectly appeals to what I love about high fantasy. It is *because* The Inheritance Cycle is derivative that it is so good, in my opinion. Like making an apple pie, it's an old favorite because it tastes good!

[@SebasTian58323]

I've read all the books, and I really enjoyed them. I think they get better as they go, with genuine plot twists I didn't see coming. I guess I can get why other people might not like them, but in my opinion, they're really good, it expands on the world, characters, and Eragon grows through the books. I enjoy the magic system, the bond Eragon has with Saphira and the inheritance book is my favorite. Only question is have you read the Percy Jackson books? Rick Riordan is probably my favorite author right now and they're great.

[@kirillzakharov7336]

I first started reading the series back in 2017, at age 12. I've read all four 4 times by now. It's my favorite of all the ones I've read thus far. In my opinion, better than LOTR, Hobbit, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Chronicles of Narnia, god forbid.

[@firsttimeforge3596]

These books got me into The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit Novels as well as have a continued love for Fantasy. And i feel like these books are severely underrated.

[@eddiec2711]

Because of my job and traveling, I did this series all on audio . I loved it. Saphira is my favorite character I’m re listening to it again!!! If the narrator voice works for you go for it! Now the wheel of time I’ve done the first for in audio and I’m not into them so I’m forced to go old school📚.and that didn’t help either!!

[@mikesbookreviews]

Saphira is wonderful.

[@thomasdendtler4077]

I'm doing the exact same thing right now lol. Bout 2 thirds of the way through the audio book for Eldest. Yes, Saphira is great. I think Angela might be my favorite character though.

[@robertdullnig3625]

Saphira sounded like Cookie Monster in the audio I read. And the werecat sounded like Yoda.

[@windblownleaf6450]

C.S. Lewis: "When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty, I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

[@roryschmidt7564]

The inheritance got me into fantasy and will also be my favorite series. Your take is as fair as can be, glad you gave it an honest opinion. The idea is very basic and simple with dragons yet Paolini adds some great little additions and builds a surprising great world while sticking to the worlds rules. Since he started so young you can see how he evolves as a writer and each book is better than the last.

[@Janthdanl]

Eragon is the perfect starter fantasy novel, to understand how the flow works in good fantasy novels, LOTR is obviously legendary, but it is sooooooooo heavy and takes soooooooo long to get going so it can turn a lot of people off, the inheritance books move at a pretty great pace and it is a good way to get you into world building. I still enjoy it to this day. The side characters are really spectacular

[@jayrutt5084]

As many others have stated, this book got me into fantasy. I was around 13 when I read these and was hooked!!

[@anangryscorpion5838]

One I'll keep in my mind when I fancy a change from epic fantasy. Can be nice to read a book without having to remember 200+ things sometimes.

[@mikesbookreviews]

It's much lighter, but focusing on two main characters (Eragon & Roran) instead of an entire band of adventurers makes it a much lighter read.

[@turtleanton6539]

This is a very goodpoint 👍

[@randallhallum4967]

I haven't read anything super heavy in the fantasy genre, got halfway through LOTR a few years back and it just didn't hit the same places as Eragon for some reason, but I still haven't been able to find a series that has the magic system that Eragon does. The amount of detail Paolini put into the Ancient Language is astounding and no other system has come close. I would love to know of other stories that anyone has read that can equal that of The Inheritance Cycle.

[@belleretiredaccount]

I thought the magic system was actually one of the weakest parts because it all fell apart in the end. Also, we are told that you have to be very paticular words and grammar in the AL- spoken or thought, in order for the spells to work exactly as it should, but on top of that there's also the intent, but Paolini tells us in one of the book's appendices that we should excuse Eragon's "atrocious grammar" when all his spells work except the blessing he gave to Eva (? Can't remember if that's the name), and speaking of the blessing, his intent was to bless and not curse, so why was the girl so heavily affected by it? Unrelated, but the series lost me when Paolini decided to turn Eragon into an elf-human hybrid. I hated it so much. feel like he basically stripped Eragon of the reason why I should root for and relate to him. He literally had to change into a different species in order to win, to be respected, to make the relationship with Arya work/be possible in future books, etc. After that I just read for Galbatorix but I didn't get any of that either.

[@gatetohell9260]

I read these books when I was 12/13. I still remember I was the only one in the class to have finished the potter series, which my teacher had recommended, so she brought me this massive book the next day, I was so happy to have something long to read. When I was finishing the last two books I was already in vacation, camping with my grandparents and with nothing else to do, I read all day long and had to ask my parents to bring me the last book to read it too. I finished that one in one day, and to this day (I’m 19 now), it’s still my record reading time! Great series, so engaging, and they bring great memories

[@revan0890]

I really liked this series as a kid, but college happened and I never finished the last book.

[@mikesbookreviews]

Seems to be the case with a few folks I've met. They felt like the either "aged out" or just got tired of waiting.

[@jamieprice6076]

Doubt you’d be on the same account but give it a go

[@kimberlygibson5192]

When I first read this series, I didn't know what to expect, but as I continued to read them, I was really enjoying them. I found that I was starting to care for this boy and his dragon even though they made many mistakes in the beginning. However as their story continues, they learn so much and see so much. They discover who they are and why they became dragon and rider. Please, I encourage you to read these books. Each one gets better than the last.

[@matityaloran9157]

15:56, agreed. That was a rare saving grace of that movie

[@---jc7pi]

I loved this book when I was younger. By the time the last book came out I still read it but I had realized that it was not as good as I thought once I read more things. That said, I still have some love for it in my heart. I do actually like he defeated the big bad in the end.

[@mikesbookreviews]

That’s what most have told me. That it took so long for the last book to come out that they didn’t care anymore because they had aged.

[@carolinelovatt2310]

i read this when i was 10 and it just sucked me into reading and led me onto terry ratchet and sanderson as a teenager. It holds a special place in my heart and i can read it over and over and still love them.

[@clamg5241]

You really need to finish the whole series! It gets SO much better and even the ending of Eldest is amazing!

[@luzrivera1353]

I love them!!!!!! Disregard what everyone says the books series are great. Wonderful for first readers in fantasy. Highly recommend it.

[@estiidecriss143]

I just finished the last book, litteraly 10 minutes ago, as I write this, and I feel like I can't 'grieve' the fact that I finished the series. Especially with the special ending Paolini gave us

[@robw6143]

This has to be one of the best and well balanced reviews of this series I've seen, properly talking about books for what they are intended to be whilst mentioning the negatives as they are without getting emotionally attached to them and blowing them out of proportion like so many reviews

[@devinrichards4351]

I remember reading Eragon in fifth grade. I enjoyed it for the most part. I couldn’t get past 50 pages into eldest. Then the movie came out and it killed any interest I had in the series. Maybe I’ll give it another shot in the future.

[@clamg5241]

You really should! Once you can get a good bit into Eldest you can sort of see where the story will lead and then it takes you an entirely new direction! The journey to the elves forest takes a while but there is some good character development in there. Brisingr is in my opinion the best or second best book, followed or lead by Inheritance.

[@user-jt1js5mr3f]

I'm curious why it was hard, I can't say I've ever had that issue. I've read them all multiple times. Always a fun and easy time.

[@matityaloran9157]

5:40, Paolini said he was reading Sanderson books while writing this series so Brandon Sanderson was a thing

[@annafelka4042]

These books started my love for fantasy and gold a special nostalgia for me. I remember we were on a family cottage vacation when I was a kid and I loved reading already but hadn’t read any fantasy. I saw my cousin reading Brisingr and being a child I had never seen another child reading such a big book! I asked my cousin about the book and I told him how he wouldn’t be able to finish it it’s so big and he laughed and said he’d finish it in two days! Well as a kid I was jealous of how fast he could read (and he did finish it that fast) so I took his copy of Eragon and challenged him and I finished it in two days as well and that was it. I was hooked!

[@virtualmarvmaximus5539]

I’m a 32-year-old man and I just picked up Eragon for the first time in my life! I’ve wanted to read it for years and never have been a big reader. For someone like me that is a late bloomer when it comes to being a reader, it’s absolutely perfect! I’m holding onto every page with a childlike wonder. If ’m the only one that enjoys it. I’m fine with that. Can’t wait to get through the whole series!

[@joostz1359]

i've actually got an interesting story on how i got the first book, i was at this camping and my parents wanted to go out and eat pie at this library-brunch thing, if you bought something there you could choose a free book from there, and me being dutch i have my FCE exam this year. So as you canguess, i chose eragon from those books. since it had 500 pages and i had never read an english book before i thought i was never gonna finish it (i am pretty good at english but wasn't fermilliar with reading english books). I started reading it on the camping and got sucked into the book as i read 200 pages over the span of 3 days. I then didn't read it for a while, but just now i picked it up again and read the rest of the book in 5 days. i think it's such a cool book and i ordered eldest now and i'm looking very much forward to reading the rest of the trilogy. As for my thoughts on it, i absolutely love it and don't see why there are complaints, i hope the rest of the books are just as good as the first one.

[@lordmushy]

I love theese books, that opend my mind to reading in a difficult time of my child hood and even as an adult I have loved them. I got a signed copy of book 4 on day 1 from Barns and noble. I am getting my son to read them now and have been re reading them as well. I do not understand the hate this book gets and cannot wait untill Book 5!

[@kiannachantel6669]

I read these when I was like 13-14 and this is the greatest introduction to fantasy for a young reader to me

[@cliftonrideaux4821]

I am wo Syked for ghe show!!! This was one of if not my favorite series growing up!! And I just so happened to be rereading it when it got announced for yhr show!! IM SO EXCITED

[@darthrhaegar9558]

Hey Mike! With the new Disney+ announcement of an Eragon series in production, I'd love to see your inheritance cycle book reviews! 😀

[@berengustav7714]

Malkovich is great,but Mad King Galbatorix is the most hidden final Boss,even more the the Fire Lord from Avatar:The Last Airbender,but the movie shows his face...

[@dredbane4056]

I read these in my early pre Sanderson age. Also before I dived back into Tolkien. They were a great story. Now that I'm older and have gone through Jordan, Sanderson, Tolkien, Martin, and others its a much simpler story. But i still like it and would recommend it especially to newer readers as a stepping stone to all fantasy!

[@Mythology216]

It's funny how you said you'd like to see Disney try again with adapting Eragon. Last year, fans banded together a did a couple of tweet storms to try getting Disney to do a remake. Around November that year, Paolini announced that the tweet storms were successful and he was in talks to get a series made for Disney+, keeping him heavily involved in it.

[@theromanwanderer8923]

I just found about this books and just watched your video, and I'm 25! The coincidences are just unbelievable!

[@Nathan-tz5fr]

I think the similarities with Star Wars go beyond just using the hero's journey formula. In both stories, you have an order of magical peacekeepers who were betrayed by their own and hunted to near extinction. The betrayers then form their own evil Empire. The mentor of the hero was one of these peacekeepers and was friends with one of the betrayers. The hero lives on a farm with his uncle who is killed by agents of the evil Empire. The hero then sets off on an adventure to join a secretive resistance movement with a hidden base to revive the order of peacekeepers and defeat the Empire. These elements are not intrinsically part of the hero's journey. The hero needn't be a farmboy, for instance. There are also other elements in the later books that feel inspired by Star Wars to me, but I won't spoil them. These elements may not be unique to Star Wars either, but the concentration of them in Eragon seems too great to me to just be coincidental. Now I loved Eragon as a kid and I want to make it clear that I'm not saying he's guilty of plagiarism, or that his story is bad or lacks its own distinct elements. I'm just saying that Star Wars was clearly an inspiration beyond using the same formula. Star Wars borrows from western films, samurai films like The Hidden Fortress, Flash Gordan, and The Dam Busters mostly. I'm not aware of any notable Dune similarities beside Han Solo's reference to spice (which is just a drug in Star Wars and has nothing to do with space travel or precognition), the fact that they both coincidently have a desert planet, and that they both have a mystical mind control-using sect. A desert planet is a typical location for people looking to depict an alien world and could be attributed to other space operas like A Princess From Mars or Star Wars' western influences. The similarities between the Jedi and the Bene Gesserit seem coincidental to me. The Jedi are obviously more derivative of samurai films.

[@Ben-vl5ew]

It's probably cos Paolini was so young when he wrote the first book

[@turtleanton6539]

True! But there are more books

[@gamer46ful]

I remember in middle school when the first 2 books had dropped and I grabbed both from my school book sale. I loved the covers and I was into fantasy. I couldn't get into Lord of the Rings because it was a dense read at the time so I picked up this and I fell in love. I didn't read past book 2 but I still own book 3 when it dropped and I haven't finished it also but I'd be willing to re-read this story. For a book that was made for younger readers and written by someone young as well was really cool for me and I respected it a lot. I don't know if it'd stand the test of time but I still think it was great for what it was and the success story it really was at the time too is incredible. I don't know if it ends poorly or whatnot but I respect this story and still hold onto it as my deep gateway to bigger and larger fantasy stories beyond Harry Potter.

[@Far_a_mir]

I really appreciate you sticking up for Eragon. I feel much the same way you do about it. It isnt mind blowing, but I needed something a bit lighter after some heavier fantasy books, and I ended up really enjoying it. I dont understand the hate at all, which comes across as snobbery to me.

[@thehedgehogdriver4591]

Inheritance, Legends of Deltora, and a series I believe called Dragonling are what got me into fantasy in 3rd and 5th grade. Sure it draws from tropes and inspiration from other stories, but give Paolini some slack. He was 16 xD

[@ajpeters2912]

I couldn’t agree more YA Fantasy went down hill after Stephanie Meyer

[@Foslopac]

Everything is written for teenager girls now. Boys are left behind in YA.

[@webbiestjoe9448]

I love these books they are what got into fantasy growing up. Have you finished the series yet? If so where is the video?

[@mikesbookreviews]

Sadly, I have not. I once again got stuck on Eldest and didn't finish it. But I still intend to, for my wife's sake.

[@xagorathpt5401]

I recieved the second book at christmas and really enjoyed it and ended up reading the entire series, I really like the world building and the way that magic system works, honestly I think the easy reading is one of Paolini greatest strenghs, he described the fantastic world of alagaesia with detail but never to the point of being confusing or boring, as a teenager I was really afraid of big books and the Inheritance Cycle helped with that.

[@LivinNexus]

I really love hearing your journey with the series! 🥰 thank you for sharing this! 💕 Cheers 🍻!!!

[@matityaloran9157]

17:59, I read them and I like them

[@maddestlad3868]

I read these books sometime around middle school and I still go back and read little pieces of them today. Second only to LOTR this is my favorite magic/fantasy series

[@joshuacoons9517]

I agree with you. It is sooo infuriating. To this day and I am in my 40s. This is my favorite series. Everyone bangs on it, but everyone talks about it. Hmmmm if it was so trash why give it attention. I have read all the harry potters, Lord of the Rings (including hobbit), Star Wars, Bond and the Broken, Dune, wheel of time, songs of chaos, Dragons of Pern and none of them (in my opinion) hold a candle to inheritance Cycle. This series I still read to this day a minimum of three times a year. It is my anchor to Fantasy (especially when I read a horrible book). Some people put Fourth Wing and Iron Flame above this. You got to be kidding me. I thought those books was decent, but not on the same LV as Inheritance Cycle. I am glad someone finally says the truth about these books. I think a bunch of book tubers are just grifting for clicks and playing gate keeper just to keep getting clicks instead of giving an honest review.

[@Ulmo90]

These books were the ones getting me into fantasy when I was young, I've reread the books multiple times and I still enjoy them a lot. Have you read through the series yet? I would like to hear your thoughts on the rest of the books.

[@mikesbookreviews]

If I ever finish the series I’ll do an update.

[@tanvirahmad5893]

This is one of the reasons why I love fantasy!

[@rickwatkins6449]

The inheritance cycle is one of the greatest book series ever written

[@Yummeosbada]

I beat my head against a rock trying to read the lord of rings books. Loved the inheritance cycle tho. I had a college reading level in 7th grade and still couldn't get into LOTR. I'm 30 now, may retry it. If there are better fantasy series, please give suggestions. I've gotten through all of GOT, Inheritance Cycle, Bilbo's story, Harry Potter, some Star wars. So suggestions are welcome.

[@moviemaniacdjp]

I loved this series when I read it as a kid. On a whim I bought the audiobook of Eragon on Audible yesterday and I am loving it just as much as I did back then.

[@stranglestrong]

I still got to finish three and four. Eldest was rough to get through. Good universe building but it dragged in certain places. The first book was better paced.

[@RFazor]

Teenager writing a best selling novel series, pretty darn good... selling 35 million copies! Mike, if you havn't read it yet (I suspect you probably did), I strongly recommend Mary Shelley's The Modern Prometheus. She wrote one of the greatest novels at the ripe old age of.... 18.

[@turtleanton6539]

Frankenstein it's great

[@turtleanton6539]

Try ITOs manga version

[@matityaloran9157]

9:30, because Lucas deliberately modelled Star Wars after the Hero’s Journey

[@Karlsen1893]

Thanks for the video. Would help if the people making these reviews actually read the books, but I still enjoyed the rant.

[@SpydurPoet]

I have been meaning to read these.....

[@UtherDant]

The "romance" is poorly executed in my opinion and hard to read. I stopped half way through the 4th book just because my life got busy and I think you inspired me to finish the book.

[@FingerWigglingMadnes]

Appreciate your take! Thanks for sharing :) I don't understand the hate for these books either, great series in my opinion.

[@Jordan1842]

I read all 4 and I absolutely loved them

[@Lljm90]

Why so much hate these are my favorite fantasy books I don’t care it’s a beginner level it’s got a good story and can’t wait to introduce this to my daughter. The same with the first law trilogy it gets a lot of hate but for what there was great characters in it

[@Mosaic_Crone]

Thank you for this honest vlog. Based on this I just got them for my daughter. I have wanted to read them for years but I was waiting for my yougest to get old enough to read them along with me. (She's 11 but on a 8th grade reading level, my older 2 are 25 & 21.) I was so excited to give her this entire series this mornkng for Christmas. I found them at the Goodwill in mint condition for 50 cents each, if she doesn't like them it's no big deal price wise. And we belong to the Baltimore Faerie Faire & work FaerieCon East. I'm sure I can find another child or adult to pass them to or put them in our Ogre Trading Post.

[@mikesbookreviews]

This is so awesome to hear. The whole reason I do these videos is to hear stories like this. I really hope your daughter enjoys them!

[@effy2802]

hi did she like them? just curious

[@matityaloran9157]

9:19, even so, it was a better remake of Star Wars than anything in the Star Wars sequel trilogy

[@leannewyszkowski994]

I read these books maybe 6-7 years ago and remember liking them... I may have to do a reread though so I can make a more recently informed decision about it as a whole. I am one to take into consideration the fact that the standard formula works and that he was 15 when he wrote the first book. I look forward to seeing your reviews. On a side note, I almost feel like I should unsubscribe because I could never get into Lord of the Rings! So your references to x being like Tolkien or y being a scene straight from LOTR is so lost on me! 🙈🙈🙈 Edited to add: YA isn’t like the plague or anything. The dystopian formula like Hunger Games or Divergent can get tedious when continuously recycled, but it’s like anything else. Some stories are just better than others. Just my two cents 😂

[@mikesbookreviews]

I wouldn't say I compare everything to Lord of the Rings. Just where I was at when I first read this, I did so. As for YA, if that's someone's brand, I'm all for it. As long as folks are reading.

[@leannewyszkowski994]

I read/listen to around 300 books a year. I have eclectic tastes and am always on the hunt for new stories or series that I can lose myself in for awhile.

[@turtleanton6539]

Its alot like starwars

[@domruns9472]

I read Eragon and it fell short for me, but it was good enough to where after a few months away from the series I came back and started Eldest. I'm 70% of the way through Eldest and I see a lot of growth in his writing maturity between book 1 and 2. However I haven't seen anything good about Book 3 so I'm skeptical if I'll need another break.

[@FellsApprentice]

Book 3 and 4 are the best in the series, but I will warn you that if Paolini had done a complete stop on book 4, the ending is a heartbreaker. But he's continuing with the characters and things should progress well.

[@zipruns9990]

this man called the disney reboot 3 years ago. amazing.

[@Raudoc2k1]

Well looks like I'm late to the party here. I got introduced to this series by that travisty of a movie. Though I did watch the movie first and actually enjoyed it. During the credits I noticed that it was "Based" on a novel. Went out and got the first book and read it. When i got done I wanted to use the DVD for target practice. After finishing the first book got my hands on the second book witch was fairly new at the time and enjoyed it (though now there are some chapters that I will just skip for a lack of interest in that part of the story). The wait for the third book was hard. Knowing that (at the time) this was going to be the final book in the trilogy I was looking forward to seeing how the story would end but sad that it would be the end. Upon getting the third book and cracking open the cover and looking at the title page and seeing "Inheritance Cycle" I had a feeling something was up. After finishing the book and still not getting to see the big baddy of the story I knew that it wasn't over. That and the letter of apology from the author for having to extend the series because of a choice the main character made lengthened the book by about 100 pages. Then the long wait for the fourth book. Well worth the wait. For a series (no matter how long it is) to wrap every thing up so neatly to feel like it is a complete story arc and not leaving things unfinished or rushed to finished, (I thought the end would be right after the celebration of the end of the war not nearly 3 hours latter [I listened to the final book instead of actually reading it for the first time]) this story didn't leave me asking questions about some plot point that was forgotten about. Right now I'm just waiting for the next full novel to get released.

[@GreatOldOne9866]

Yup same, I’ve read the first two books and just lost interest. I’m not one for trashing things that people like to trash. I believe even some bad things deserve love, especially when I can tell the creators of those things were actually trying to create something they cared about. I don’t care if Inheritance is essentially Star Wars with a Lord of The Rings paint job. The books I’m writing mirror lotr, ASOIAF and a bunch of other stories. That doesn’t mean I don’t try to make my story as original as I can, because I do. Chris is not a bad writer at all. No, he’s not perfect but no one is perfect. I only lost interest because I’m not a very good reader, not a major reader anyway, something I mean to change. I’m currently reading Alien Novels based off the 1979 film and all the sequels and those so far are tons of fun. I do love Inheritance and feel like they have enough source material to make four big movies or three miniseries.

[@kharjo8099]

Can't be the only one who wants a prequel or sequel to the inheritance cycle.... like a set of books detailing the rise of the Dragonriders till Galbatorix destroys the order .

[@FellsApprentice]

Honestly Brom's systematic destruction of the Forsworn sounds like an Assassin's Creed game and I would love that story.

[@kevinbelair6739]

Hey Mike ! You never made a follow up if you went to see Christopher Paolini and your review of the other 2 and a half books !

[@lloydirving6209]

"trying to grow to 500 subscribers" wow your channel has grown a lot since this video! you are currently 500 subs away from 50k at the time of this comment, and this video wasn't even that long ago. props man, you definitely deserve it

[@turtleanton6539]

Did you ever read Dwarves by marcus heitz?

[@mikesbookreviews]

I haven't heard of them, tbh.

[@turtleanton6539]

@@mikesbookreviews you gotta get into them. Just gotta

[@Janthdanl]

I’ve never understood how eragon gets so much criticism for essentially doing the same thing the first 2 HP novels do. Using other stories structures as the basis for there’s. The final 2 books really are their own thing though and I think they’re well worth investing your time into them

[@covi_reads7398]

This series is likely what solidified my love for fantasy as a young teenager. However, I don't know why anyone would take your recommendation for the series under advisement when you DNF'd the second book.......

[@NT-yk6gk]

Keep up your work

[@mikesbookreviews]

Thanks! I love doing this, so no problems there.

[@turtleanton6539]

👏👏

[@kevinerdner7974]

Came to this channel curious if I could get into fantasy. Have sometimes struggled with,world building as Mike calls it (I did not love light bringer). This might be a good way in. Love the point about heros journey and authors borrowing from,what they love. Get tired of complaints about stealing from other works. As a horror fan I think this author and I are more ok,with borrowing. Hated Dracula but love all the Vampire novels it has inspired... Well not all. Zombies, ghosts. These are used in many new and creative ways.

[@KevenPirritano]

I haven't read this series, but I did enjoy his scfi book, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars.

[@Grimm44]

I actually like the movie it was B movie class but internationally it did make money more than in the US thinking of getting into the books now since the movie was the only one episode

[@Ben-vl5ew]

2:40 wait they are kids books?

[@mikesbookreviews]

Young Adult is what they get classified under. Similar to Harry Potter.

[@Ribshack2012]

Have you finished the books? I'm re-reading them as audiobooks since I loved these when I read them in high school/early college. Never understood the idea of calling them "children" books since they're on the same level as Harry Potter in terms of quality. Nothing amazingly groundbreaking and no really new twists on fantasy tropes, just pretty good storytelling (especially for such a young author).

[@mikesbookreviews]

Sadly, no. I still couldn’t get past Eldest.

[@Ben-vl5ew]

@@mikesbookreviews aw that sucks

[@austinblades8903]

I maintain to this day that had the Eragon movie been done right and succeeded this series would be as well known and nearly as popular as the harry potter series today. Paolina got done dirty

[@mikesbookreviews]

I really hope they'll try again on Disney+

[@Hiett1]

@@mikesbookreviews I would love to see Chris Columbus, Peter Jackson, or Speilberg take this on.

[@Hiett1]

I heard the Failed Eragon movie made some of the most horrific choices because they were desperate to avoid association with or any similarity to LOTR which came out a few years earlier and frankly raised the bar for fantasy films. Also, they hired a director that never directed before or since. Hrothgar and the "dwarves" weren't Dwarf but human sized humans, Arya the "Warrior Elf Princess" was made to look like a Human white girl who enjoyed culturally appropriating Native American culture cues rather then having Tolken-Esque elven characteristics pointed ear, angular featured elves that are ancent, wise and logical. The Urgals were tribal humans, not horned ogre people. The Raz'ac where dirt and insect constructs of Durza and not bird-like insectoid monsters and their lethrblaka parents where completely absent and angela the herbalist was a gypsy mystic stereotype not a mysterious apothecary witch and Soloumnbum the werecat companion was missing, all who held critical plot points to the series. #WerecatJustice They took the first book stripped out everything that made it intresting and removed all plot threads nessacary for any sequal that would be loyal to the source material, they basically did Paolini Dirty and he was young inexperienced and his books did not have the notoriety to grant him JK Rowling level power to veto the films choices or rights to consult.

[@83626]

In what order do i have to read the book ?

[@cams.o]

Eragon > Eldest >Brisingr >Inheritance

[@fredericchopin7797]

I literally talked to someone at a fast food restaurant for like an hour about Eragon (the book) so sad when Brom died and Murtagh disappeared (he's alive sorry spoiler) :p heheh R.I.P Garrow and Brom :'(

[@fredericchopin7797]

Murtagh becomes a Rider

[@ayanojujo2588]

Completed fan of Christopher

[@Lljm90]

It’s coming to Disney+

[@Benjamin-w41]

11:07 I completely agree.

[@LordZipThe3rd]

Re reading the series!

[@jackvelasquez9328]

Go Stros 2022 World Series Champs!!!!!

[@mikesbookreviews]

💯

[@elijahhernandez906]

Why you should read the inheritance cycle? Me: because it has dragons in it. Honestly, the dragons are what got me into fantasy lore in the first place. All thanks to Spyro.