First off, I need to say that I immensely enjoyed the Princess Bride reference :D 
 Secondly: I loved this book. My son read it first, and he raved about how awesome it was for so long and begged me to read it, so I did, and I am glad! I got a distinct video game feel from this book, like Zelda or an RPG... the whole thing felt like I was going through a great action video game with a suspenseful plot. The characters were awesome and likeable, the environment was crystal clear, and I found myself sitting next to the CD player (I listened to the audiobook) because I wanted to finsh just one more track. 
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 SPOILER ALERT! 
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 Do not read on if you have not read the book yet!!! 
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 A lot of people had a problem with the fact that the word didn't work on Maldor (sp? remember I listened on audio.) They say that the whole book was all for naught, and that it ended up being pointless. 
 However, I firmly disagree, because the entire book, everyone described Maldor as all powerful, an extremely cunning manipulator. They said that when you thought you were opposing Maldor, you were just playing right into his hands. That would have been extremely lame conjecture had Jason been able to show up and finish off Maldor immediately after finding the word in just a few short weeks. Also, it wasn't pointless. Maldor had set up this decoy word, his most prized and cunning deception, to keep his enemies running in circles. SOMEONE had to discover that the word was a fake. It was SO IMPORTANT, and not pointless at all, that someone went through finding the word just to find out it was a fake, to break this circle of useless opposition in Maldor's enemies. It was an extreme necessity. I like how the entire book went through Jason and Rachel's experience finding the word, because it shows the torment and struggle the people have been going through for decades trying to kill the tyrant. It set up the world, and fully fleshed out a history with lots of action, suspense, and intrigue. I also feel that Mull set up Maldor in the ranks of Galbatorix and Voldemort, villains that readers felt slightly hopeless about winning against. Galbatorix and Voldemort's downfall was all the sweeter because they seemed impossible to beat. I'm looking forward to seeing Maldor's end!