Rating: Not for me

Reading Level: High School

The darkness and deep magic continues.

Concerns:

  • A religious seance embedded with evil. A paraplegic priest is cut and participants drink his blood. It is clear the priest has mutilated himself in worship. Readers witness a young acolyte cutting off his own arm in service to the evil gods.
  • Roran and his wife are pregnant outside of marriage, and continue to sleep together before being married. They are married by Eragon in a secular ceremony.
  • A cat-like elf has a musk that is attractive to women.
  • Totem poles thought to frighten away spirits of the wild with poles with faces.
  • In the dwarf coronation ceremony there appears an apparition of a god; Eragon wonders about the existence of gods.
  • When Eragon’s mentor is attacked, he claims gods do not live forever.

Things I liked/good discussion points

  • Eragon doesn’t kill Sloan, instead he learns his true names and forces him to take asylum with the elves. How is this alike or similar to what God calls us to do with those whom have done wrong?
  • Eragon must trust Orik in the voting for king. Have you ever needed to trust a friend? Did it work out?
  • Nasuada chooses to align forces with the Urgals, but many disagree. Have you ever seen a community struggle to forgive and join with another?
  • When Eragon rejoins with Saphira he feels their greatest comfort was that they were no longer alone. “To know that you were with one who cared for you, and who understood you with every fiber of your being, and who would not abandon you in even the most desperate circumstances, that was the most precious relationship a person could have…”. How does God satisfy this for you? What would happen if you tried to satisfy this with a romantic partner, or anyone other than God?

One positive is that throughout the series there is a black female who ends up being an incredible leader. It was very refreshing to see such a positive model for young black women. (I think this character comes into the spotlight in Book 2.)

Overall, this series is not recommended because I see an increasingly unbiblical worldview, as the series goes on. Check out my reviews of the other books:

Eragon, (The Inheritance Cycle Book 1)Paolini, Christopherhttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/?p=3688
Eldest, (The Inheritance Cycle Book 2)Paolini, Christopherhttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/2025/03/29/eldest-eragon-the-inheritance-cycle-book-2-by-christopher-paolini/
Brisingr, (The Inheritance Cycle Book 3)Paolini, Christopherhttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/2025/04/07/brisingr-the-inheritance-cycle-book-3-by-christopher-paolini/
Inheritance (The Inheritance Cycle Book 4)Paolini, Christopherhttps://jesuslovesthebookworms.wordpress.com/2025/04/14/inheritance-the-inheritance-cycle-book-4/