Fear not, Mr. Lime. If it's in the blood, nothing will stop you writing anyway
Something else to bear in mind is this: Do you want to write and be published by a major publisher, or do you just want to write? Is international fame your goal, or would you be incredibly happy with a small print run from an independent press (or even Print on Demand).
If you're seeking publication, then you have to read new releases voraciously. Research doesn't hurt, either - for example, Eragon wouldn't've been touched with a shitty stick if it had gone to a slush pile somewhere. But the Paolini family were quite canny: They self-published the book, then went on a tour of the USA to promote it. And Americans can be quite suckered by a nice young child who's done something as amazing as writing a whole book by himself.
Readers are willing to overlook the flaws when there's a cute or tragic backstory to the artist. In this case the flap was all about the author being a fifteen year old boy, rather than the book being outstanding. Such a flap attracted Knopf's attention (via Carl Hiaasen - just think, if his nephew hadn't read Eragon, we could've all been saved), and lo the marketing machine kicks in.
Eragon is a triumph of marketing over content. The book has consistently achieved average reviews, mostly of the "Well, it's deeply flawed and derivative, but the author's a kid!" variety, and sales were phenomenal (and subsequently unmatched by the sequel, Eldest), mostly due to the audience curiosity about a fifteen year-old novellist.
Armed with such knowledge, would you want to write another Eragon? No. It's not a good book, and there's no way the chain of circumstances is repeatable. And that's why researching why the new books are published is just as essential as reading them.
