Brisingr

Rating: 3.5 stars
Rounded down to 3
(As true of a 3.5 stars rating as I can get. Couldn't decide whether to go up or down)

This book suffers from what each of the Inheritance cycle books suffer from... They are so bogged down in exposition and details that, to some, things feel boring. Some people did not enjoy the scenes where Eragon learns to form his own sword because of the 15-page-long-description, however, I actually did. I liked the attention to detail in the battles. It sometimes is a slog to get through, but I enjoy the worldbuilding and immersion that it creates.

Some of the plot points are typical of other words of literature. I'm trying to decide if that is actually a bad thing, since everything is derivative of other works. However, it is strange to me how obvious some of the inspiration behind the points is. Like, I know of no other work that I can point to things and say, “oh, it's [this plot point] from [movie/book]”. Perhaps that is wrong of me and I shouldn't, as the story is enjoyable enough.