The Inheritance Cycle reading order

A plan for the whole series

5 volumes, 3,648 pages, about 65 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 3 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 5, “Murtagh” (by 89%). Plan your break after volume 4, before the series plans it for you.
• The series is still running; the last volume came out in 2023. You will wait for the next one anyway, so no need to rush.

Stages

5 stages, with 4 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around February 17, 2027, about 3 weeks later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 111 h14 daysby November 12, 2026

   • 1. Eragon2003 · 576 pages · 11 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 16, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 213 h17 daysby December 3, 2026

   • 2. Eldest2005 · 704 pages · 13 h
4. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by December 7, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 314 h19 daysby December 27, 2026

   • 3. Brisingr2008 · 784 pages · 14 h
6. Short breakAnimal Farm · George Orwell · 128 pp. · score 8.32 h, by December 31, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 416 habout 3 weeksby January 21, 2027

   • 4. Inheritance2011 · 880 pages · 16 h
8. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by January 30, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
9. 5
   Stage 513 h17 daysby February 17, 2027

   • 5. Murtagh2023 · 704 pages · 13 h
10. The end of the series

    February 17, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: it gets better. Readers scored the opening (7.5) below the ending (7.9). After the first volume you do not yet know how good this series is.

Best volume: Brisingr (8.0, 1,435 ratings). Weakest: Eragon (7.5). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 4 and 5: 89%. The series is not finished; the last volume came out in 2023. The last volume (7.9) scores close to the series average or above it.