Paolini Power

This week I finished book 3, Brisingr, of Christopher Paolini's series dubbed The Inheritance Cycle. I was completely shocked to flip open to the dust jacket after I finished the book to see the author's VERY young face staring back at me! Christopher Paolini became a New York Times bestselling author at 19. Which wasn't that long ago. AND the first book of the series was started when he was just 15 years old.
Anyway, enough astonishment... how are the books?

I think they're great. Very reminiscent of Tolkien... almost overly much so, with elves, dwarves, nasty Urgals and other beasts, intricate histories of the races including their own languages, cultures, and religions, and the over-whelmingly and seemingly invincible evil nemesis ruling with an iron fist. And yet not like Tolkien: the action is faster for one thing (although I suppose it would be a feat to make it slower than Tolkien).

The characters are incredibly interesting to follow in terms of character development, minor characters as well as the major characters. Little details take this book from being a good fantasy to being a poignant, engrossing world. Paolini creates sympathy (for my part, at least) on the part of some of the antagonists, and doesn't shy away from protagonists having weaknesses and ugly facets to their personalities. Neither does he shy away from the ethical dilemmas of war, nor from the trauma that change can bring.

The strength of his books lies in the intricate characters and interesting plot, along with an ability to make the world, the story, the shape of the occurences feel very epic. Paolini's writing itself is not particularly well-crafted, but I rarely find that the craftsmanship detracts from the action and the plot - which is in itself no mean feat.

Cons? Well I was very annoyed to realize that the Trilogy is not, in fact, a trilogy. And that I will have to wait for the last book, which is not yet published. However, I think that was a good decision for him to expand the series to four books. Three books would not have done this world and this series justice.
... any other cons? I don't know if it means anything, but the main character is not my favorite character... you know how sometimes a character can be too good? Like Mellie from Gone With the Wind? Margaret Mitchell initially had Melanie slated to be the main character... but if you've read the book, you can see why Scarlett O'Hara is so much more interesting! Thankfully, Eragon is MUCH more interesting than the character of Mellie...

All minor cons aside... I can't wait to read Book #4!