Yes, I'm well aware Christopher Paolini was a youngin when he wrote this and it does show in how pretentious the writing style is. And yes, he was pretty talented for his age. That doesn't mean I need say that I enjoyed his writing.

But holy crap was this book, despite its taxing length, just so much fun! It is immediately leaps and bounds better than the bore that the first book was. So many characters had so much development in this book that despite the insufferably cheesy dialogue, I found myself rooting for them. I wouldn't necessarily say this book was jam-packed with action, but it was definitely eventful and each new discovery piqued my interest anew. The ending was also quite explosive that I can honestly say that I genuinely look forward to reading the next book.