This is going to seem a bit obvious as far as problems go, but the whole plot of the Inheritance Cycle makes absolutely no sense on even the most basic level. Not because of Eragon, mind you, or anything the Varden do, but because there is absolutely no reason that Galbatorix cannot simply do one simple thing to instantly win, and then get the true name of magic at his leisure.
Rather than say the thing outright, I give you this fanfic I wrote on the subject:
Once upon a time in the mystical lands of Alagasaie, there lived a group of Dragon Riders who rode to and forth, forcing people to worship Elves and bend to their will. The Dragon Riders were a bunch of jerks who had no problem mind raping old men and forcing them to never see their daughters again. They strangled innocent soldiers who were just doing their jobs for no reason, even though they weren't doing anything. Oh, and they were also pawns of the Elves, a race of sexually depraved tree huggers who would make the Night Elves of Azeroth look sane and balanced by comparison. They didn't even have the decency to wipe out the Urgals who were constantly killing innocent people.
So yeah, things pretty much sucked in Alagaysuwah.
Then one day, a young Dragon Rider named Galbatorix went into Urgal territory and decided to wipe out that warlike and brutal Urgals, and brought along some friends. It didn't quite go as planned. And by 'not quite as planned' I mean that pretty much everyone except Galbatorix got killed. This drove Galbatorix mad with grief, so he went on to create a new brand of Dishwasher soap named after him. It washed dishes like nothing else and was really affordable too. Also, the name was really catchy. Galbatorix brand dishwasher soap! Buy it today!
Where was I?
Oh yes, Galbatorix went to the riders and requested that they give him a chance to get a new Dragon. Naturally, since the Riders were a bunch of jerks, they refused this perfectly reasonable and harmless request. After all, if he wasn't worthy to have a Dragon then naturally a Dragon wouldn't hatch for him, so there was literally no way Galbatorix's request could go bad. Until, of course, the Riders found a way by flatly rejecting him, causing him to go mad with grief.
In his madness, which in no way acts as an automatic justification for irrational decisions, by the way, he saw a vision of Jesus.
'Dude,' said Jesus 'why are you working for this group of sociopathic totalitarian despots? The Jedi Order they are not.'
'…Good point.' said Galbatorix.
And just like that Galbatorix decided to overthrow the Dragon Riders. And then he overthrew the Dragon Riders. It… really wasn't very interesting, they were completely incompetent as well as evil. Look it's not worth talking about. Oh and then there were these Thirteen Foresworn Dragon Rider/Nazgul people who… killed themselves or something. Honestly, I didn't quite get it.
Anyway, so Galbatorix made himself King of the Empire rather than, y'know, Emperor. And the first thing he did was let the people of Surda secede peacefully from the Empire since he didn't like the idea of a meaningless war. And everything was good.
Until, at least, the Varden appeared.
They were less powerful than the Dragon Riders but twice as sociopathic, and they wielded a terrible power known as plot armor. With it, they intended to plunge Alawawa into a new dark age. They invited themselves into nations and then ruined their hosts economy. When Varden soldiers stole and pillaged nearby farmsteads, they were promoted rather than punished.
The stage was set for a new battle.
Then Durza, chief lieutenant of Galbatorix met the King alone and spoke. 'I have a really good plan. I'm going to take control of the Urgals, and lead them across the country to launch an all-out assault on the Varden. We will kill two birds with one stone.'
'Gracious no!' said Galbatorix 'They might get sidetracked and burn down some innocent villages along the way. No, I think it would be much simpler for all involved if I just summoned my Giant Black Dragon BFF, Shruikan to kill everything.'
'…Oh,' said Durzlet'sell lets do that.'
Thus they summoned Shruiken to kill everyone! Shruiken killed the Dwarves! And the populace rejoiced because they would no longer have to deal with irrelevant subplots! Shruikan killed the Varden! And the people rejoiced because they would no longer have their lands pillaged and looted by a group of mentally impaired thugs led by a wannabe Disney Princess. Then Galbatorix sent Shruikan to kill all the Elves! And there was much rejoicing, as people would no longer have to listen to smug atheist vegan tree hugging hippie sociopaths.
However, Galbatorix did not send Shruikan to kill Surda. He perceived that despite their foolish support for the Varden, that their leader was something approaching a rational, and intelligent human being. Consequently, he let King Orrin off with a stern warning.
And there was much rejoicing.
After that Galbatorix brought about a reign of peace and happiness. And since he was both immortal and benevolent, said reign lasted many thousands of years that saw humankind advance to become a great space faring race that traveled beyond the furthest stars.
Then someone came up with the idea for Space Marines and it all went to hell.
There was a long silence as Brom finished his story, and he paused for breath. For a long time, Eragon looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He had the distinct impression that he had just missed out on a bloody, poorly written, and incredibly tedious adventure and he wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Then something came to mind. 'How did you know about the parts you weren't there for?'
Brom blinked. 'Well… you see… uh…' he stopped, searching for something to say. 'Garrow never told you what happened to your father.'
'He told me…' Eragon paused. 'absolutely nothing, actually.'
'I am your Father!' proclaimed Brom.
'…You've been living here for as long as I can remember and you couldn't be bothered to explain this why?' asked Eragon after a moment.
'I'm kind of an irresponsible dick.' admitted Brom ruefully.
And then they were eaten by a Raz'zac.
Rather than say the thing outright, I give you this fanfic I wrote on the subject:
Once upon a time in the mystical lands of Alagasaie, there lived a group of Dragon Riders who rode to and forth, forcing people to worship Elves and bend to their will. The Dragon Riders were a bunch of jerks who had no problem mind raping old men and forcing them to never see their daughters again. They strangled innocent soldiers who were just doing their jobs for no reason, even though they weren't doing anything. Oh, and they were also pawns of the Elves, a race of sexually depraved tree huggers who would make the Night Elves of Azeroth look sane and balanced by comparison. They didn't even have the decency to wipe out the Urgals who were constantly killing innocent people.
So yeah, things pretty much sucked in Alagaysuwah.
Then one day, a young Dragon Rider named Galbatorix went into Urgal territory and decided to wipe out that warlike and brutal Urgals, and brought along some friends. It didn't quite go as planned. And by 'not quite as planned' I mean that pretty much everyone except Galbatorix got killed. This drove Galbatorix mad with grief, so he went on to create a new brand of Dishwasher soap named after him. It washed dishes like nothing else and was really affordable too. Also, the name was really catchy. Galbatorix brand dishwasher soap! Buy it today!
Where was I?
Oh yes, Galbatorix went to the riders and requested that they give him a chance to get a new Dragon. Naturally, since the Riders were a bunch of jerks, they refused this perfectly reasonable and harmless request. After all, if he wasn't worthy to have a Dragon then naturally a Dragon wouldn't hatch for him, so there was literally no way Galbatorix's request could go bad. Until, of course, the Riders found a way by flatly rejecting him, causing him to go mad with grief.
In his madness, which in no way acts as an automatic justification for irrational decisions, by the way, he saw a vision of Jesus.
'Dude,' said Jesus 'why are you working for this group of sociopathic totalitarian despots? The Jedi Order they are not.'
'…Good point.' said Galbatorix.
And just like that Galbatorix decided to overthrow the Dragon Riders. And then he overthrew the Dragon Riders. It… really wasn't very interesting, they were completely incompetent as well as evil. Look it's not worth talking about. Oh and then there were these Thirteen Foresworn Dragon Rider/Nazgul people who… killed themselves or something. Honestly, I didn't quite get it.
Anyway, so Galbatorix made himself King of the Empire rather than, y'know, Emperor. And the first thing he did was let the people of Surda secede peacefully from the Empire since he didn't like the idea of a meaningless war. And everything was good.
Until, at least, the Varden appeared.
They were less powerful than the Dragon Riders but twice as sociopathic, and they wielded a terrible power known as plot armor. With it, they intended to plunge Alawawa into a new dark age. They invited themselves into nations and then ruined their hosts economy. When Varden soldiers stole and pillaged nearby farmsteads, they were promoted rather than punished.
The stage was set for a new battle.
Then Durza, chief lieutenant of Galbatorix met the King alone and spoke. 'I have a really good plan. I'm going to take control of the Urgals, and lead them across the country to launch an all-out assault on the Varden. We will kill two birds with one stone.'
'Gracious no!' said Galbatorix 'They might get sidetracked and burn down some innocent villages along the way. No, I think it would be much simpler for all involved if I just summoned my Giant Black Dragon BFF, Shruikan to kill everything.'
'…Oh,' said Durzlet'sell lets do that.'
Thus they summoned Shruiken to kill everyone! Shruiken killed the Dwarves! And the populace rejoiced because they would no longer have to deal with irrelevant subplots! Shruikan killed the Varden! And the people rejoiced because they would no longer have their lands pillaged and looted by a group of mentally impaired thugs led by a wannabe Disney Princess. Then Galbatorix sent Shruikan to kill all the Elves! And there was much rejoicing, as people would no longer have to listen to smug atheist vegan tree hugging hippie sociopaths.
However, Galbatorix did not send Shruikan to kill Surda. He perceived that despite their foolish support for the Varden, that their leader was something approaching a rational, and intelligent human being. Consequently, he let King Orrin off with a stern warning.
And there was much rejoicing.
After that Galbatorix brought about a reign of peace and happiness. And since he was both immortal and benevolent, said reign lasted many thousands of years that saw humankind advance to become a great space faring race that traveled beyond the furthest stars.
Then someone came up with the idea for Space Marines and it all went to hell.
There was a long silence as Brom finished his story, and he paused for breath. For a long time, Eragon looked at him with a raised eyebrow. He had the distinct impression that he had just missed out on a bloody, poorly written, and incredibly tedious adventure and he wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Then something came to mind. 'How did you know about the parts you weren't there for?'
Brom blinked. 'Well… you see… uh…' he stopped, searching for something to say. 'Garrow never told you what happened to your father.'
'He told me…' Eragon paused. 'absolutely nothing, actually.'
'I am your Father!' proclaimed Brom.
'…You've been living here for as long as I can remember and you couldn't be bothered to explain this why?' asked Eragon after a moment.
'I'm kind of an irresponsible dick.' admitted Brom ruefully.
And then they were eaten by a Raz'zac.