So a young man's uncle is killed, he leaves town with a mysterious stranger, gets a colorful sword, rescues a damsel in distress from a stronghold of the powerful enemy with the help of a dangerous rouge criminal, and ends up being the last hope, the last member of an ancient order that was destroyed through treachery and betrayal by one of their own?


That describes both Star Wars and Eragon. But Star Wars came first. So even though Star Wars might have some cliches and whatnot, it's not a direct rip-off of a very popular series.

I don't think Paolini would have been published if he wasn't a teenager and didn't have parents in the publishing industry. Which is too bad. With a decent editor, he could have turned into a decent author.