First of all, I'm giving the series as a whole five stars. I loved it right to the end, even through the extended wait time for the fourth installment. 
 I have tried to find something critical to say about this book, but I'm finding it pretty hard to do. Could the story have been told in under 800 pages? Most definitely, but it wouldn't have been nearly as eloquent. 
 The characters have changed so much from the beginning of the series, which is really what they should be doing, right? I almost felt like I was watching members of my family grow up, through the reading of four immense books. The character development was superb! 
 And, again on the plus side, the plot was so detailed that I never had a chance to even guess how it would play out. I was pretty much surprised for most of the conclusion. There are a few loose threads, but I suspect they could easily be picked up at any point in time as a spinoff book. 
 Although I would have easily recommended Eragon for younger teen readers, the books have gotten increasingly gory and violent. The final battle was over 100 pages of death and destruction, so I certainly wouldn't encourage the younger readers to delve into this, unless they possess a cast-iron will and stomach - and very flexible parents.