So he wrote it when he was 15/17. So WHAT? Age is no excuse for bad writing. And believe you me, this is BAD. Is there a single major sci-fi/fantasy book/movie he didn't rip off? Paolini doesn't have an original idea of his own, and oh boy, does it ever show. He hasn't written a "groundbreaking new fantasy novel," he's regurgitated everything he's ever read/seen that he thought was "cool." Only the very young reader or the reader new to the genre could mistake this for a good book.