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The Thrifty Reader

The Inheritance Cycle books in order

The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini has 5 books, published 2003–2023. Reading all of them takes about 66 hours (3,610 pages). 4 can be borrowed free from Open Library.

1Eragon 2Eldest 3Brisingr 4Inheritance 5Murtagh
Spines are sized by page count. The orange dot marks a free ebook.

Reading order

  1. Book 1 · 2003

    Eragon

    576 pages, about 11 hours 3.8★ (232)

    BORROW FREE

  2. Book 2 · 2005

    Eldest

    705 pages, about 13 hours 4.1★ (81)

    BORROW FREE

  3. Book 3 · 2008

    Brisingr

    784 pages, about 14 hours 3.8★ (84)

    BORROW FREE

  4. Book 4 · 2011

    Inheritance

    849 pages, about 16 hours 3.7★ (58)

    BORROW FREE

  5. Book 5 · 2023

    Murtagh

    696 pages, about 13 hours 4.4★ (5)

Questions people ask

How many The Inheritance Cycle books are there?

There are 5 books in the series, published 2003–2023.

Which The Inheritance Cycle book should I read first?

Start with Eragon (2003), book 1. The list above is the reading order.

How long does it take to read the whole series?

About 66 hours at an average pace of 250 words a minute, or 3,610 pages in total. The longest book is Inheritance at 849 pages.

Can I read The Inheritance Cycle for free?

4 books can be borrowed free from Open Library with a free account. The book pages have the links.