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Overall, the best of the series so far. Paolini's writing style has improved: his switches of perspective come at more appropriately cliff-hanging moments, and his use of the dragon perspective is good. He dispensed with the extra wordiness and over-wrought foreshadowing that haunted the second volume in the series. Still, when I reached the end and realized there was a fourth installment, I couldn't help but groan. The now-familiar world and characters give Paolini a lot to work with, and while there are still some cracks here and there in his world-building, his story and story-telling are entertaining. Hopefully the next volume will be as good or better and I'll look back on it as a welcome addition to the first three. Overall, a good read and a notch above the average.