The Inheritance Cycle (Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance)

These books by Christopher Paolini are possibly the best books in the entire millennium. They are for around 10-11+ as they are very thick!!! The four-volume series follows Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, as they seek to rescue the land of Alagaesia from the tyranny of the evil king Galbatoriax and get revenge for his uncle Garrow's death at the hands of Galbatoriax's servants, the foul Ra'zac. Also, later in the series, Eragon gets caught up in the struggle for power as all three sections of the Varden (the rebel group) try to take control. Can one simple farm boy unite the rebel forces and save Alagaesia from Galbatoriax's cruel reign???

These books are so vivid that you can lose yourself in them entirely and forget anything else exists. The story is unpredictable and the suspense builds until you are so tense that you can't put it down. At one point, I was holding my breath and I didn't even notice it, I was so lost in the story. There are many unsolved mysteries in it as well so you are desperate to keep reading to find out the answers. Trust me, you will love these books!!!

Inheritance is a fantasy series that I favour above all other books because it not only portrays the life of the hero as a hero, but also his personal life and inner struggles as he must bear all the responsibility of being a hero on his shoulders and try not to let everyone down. I would compare these books to Cressida Cowell's How to Train your Dragon series (see my 'Best Books Ever' blog) because in them, Hiccup, the hero, has to try not to disappoint all of those who hail him as a future king. The reason I enjoy these is because they are fantasy books but they are so down-to-earth that you can imagine them very vividly as happening in real life. You can easily identify with the hero's struggles. The books are so well written that you can put yourself in the hero's shoes and it almost seems like it is happening to you.

In addition to this original series, there is a new book with tales from Alagaesia in 'The Fork, The Witch And The Worm' and an extremely detailed 'Official Eragon Colouring Book.' Check out his out-of-this-world colouring videos on his website www.paolini.net. The Inheritance books are un-put-down-able and I promise that you will want to read them again and again!!! ; )