Introduction
I'm no critic, simply a reader who doesn't quite understand why exactly they like or don't like certain works. I know one thing: if I'm reading a series for the third time, it's good enough for me.
This post isn't meant to convince anyone that the books are great or anything. After all, tastes are subjective. You won't really know if you'll like a book until you try, no matter how many good or bad reviews it has. I have a few unpopular opinions, and a few favourites not many people even heard about, so it's not a new feeling. I just want to share all these thoughts I have of the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and the criticism.
Main Issues
I'll begin with the two issues that come up most often in discussions, the first being... undeserved attention, I believe, compared to many other mediocre fantasy books. I mean, it is definitely handy if your parents can get your book published, but it also took a lot of advertising and that is not a forbidden way to promote a book, you know. There are many other things that happen that may seem unfair... But the result is that it got popular enough to be published in my country (in print to this day) and get a film. Not the best example of a film but I do owe it the reason the books appeared on my shelves in the first place - the first two were a gift from a friend who had liked the film but hadn't read them.
The second issue being the amount of clichés and similarities. Now, I admit it's one of the few fantasy series I've read, as well as the first and only high fantasy I've read, so I couldn't possibly notice any of those.
The Inheritance Cycle is often compared to the Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. I watched the latter some years ago, don't remember much, yes, I see some similarities when they point them out, but it doesn't bother me at all. It's not enough to put me off reading it. Oh, come on, I'm rereading a series that started as a parody of Harry Potter xD
As for LotR, I want to read it as soon as there's a vacant space in my tight reading schedule. If I have something to add after that, I'll update. However, what exactly does one expect from a fantasy book that follows the genre's traditions? To not have anything in common?
Writing
Now that we've dealt with those two points, could it be badly written?
I've read and liked different genres in the past, from classics to children's books. Certainly I should have something to compare it to. But perception of a writing style is also subjective: I've heard translators complain Rowling's style is boring, yet I've no problems with it, and it's one of the most successful book series ever. Only once have I read a book that painfully reminded of my own style, lacking in details, too fast-paced, consisting mainly of dialogues. And still it was interesting, because it had a mystery. So to enjoy a book, I need that and/or believable characters, style is not as important, as long as it is readable. But I don't see a problem with Paolini's writing, for the most part. It flows just like many other books I read.
I understand more now that I did in the past, I'm more curious than I used to be, so I wondered if maybe now I would see the flaws so many people talk about. But having read two of the four books by now, I don't.
So, I don't think I want to look for the flaws on purpose, either. If there's a chance I might someday stop liking Eragon's adventures, I'd better enjoy them while I can.