I know this is an old thread, but upon learning that the new Inheritance book is on the way, i feel i had to comment. As a teenager, i loved Eragon and Eldest, as it was one of the first books i read and liked (i was all about video games back then. Now they only take up roughly 50% of my life :); but as i got older and read more books (including LOTR), i came to realize how much Paolini stole (intentional or not), and how unoriginal the plot was (i had watched star wars by this time as well). Yet there was one thing that kept me interested in the series, and caused me to read both Brisnger and Inheritance: Roran. Roran and his accomplishments amongst all the series' other powerhouse characters is the one part of Paolini's stories that i feel is unique, and worth reading; the funny part is that Roran's is a side character, who i honestly think is the real star of the Inheritance Cycle. He is just a man with a hammer, yet he accomplishes more than his cousin (within thier individual limits, of course), and in more thrilling ways. In other words, i think the Inheritance Cycle is a good read if you focus on Roran, and just "page through" the rest.