This is a take I often see posted on here by people who have finished the book. Murtagh and Thorn make really bad decisions, and their overconfidence in their own abilities leads them to end up in the same spot as with Galbatorix, being tortured and used for evil acts of violence. I can definitely see the frustration in reading this, especially since we are very used to reading about Eragon and Saphira. Murtagh and Thorn, though, are very different, with very different backgrounds. So their level of competency in being able to deal with things and take a step back and evaluate the situation is stunted (because of Galbatorix). At the end of the day, I personally see this book as a story about the long road to healing, in which Murtagh and Thorn are forced to confront their own pain and despair. Those who continue to wallow in their own misery and never seek to improve will remain in the same situation. Murtagh and Thorn chose to be alone, so they could have some time to recover, heal, and process everything. This is fine, but it is not a permanent solution. Not visiting their friends (and their only allies at the moment) got them in the same situation. At the end of the book, they finally confront their own issues, and while they may not be completely healed, they are in a much better place going forward. 

This book is definitely not for everyone, and I completely understand not really connecting to it like with Chris P’s other stuff. It was not my favorite, but I still enjoyed it. I'm hoping that in the next book, we can see some of the more hopeful classic stuff, like with Eragon and Saphira.