Eragon Eldest Brisingr - Christopher Paolini Fantasy Science Fiction
Eragon Eldest Brisingr - Fantasy Science Fiction
Eragon is a 2003 fantasy novel written by Christopher Paolini, and the first book in the Inheritance Cycle, set in the mythical world of Alagaësia. Eragon tells the story of a young farm boy named Eragon and his dragon, Saphira. In the beginning, Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the spine, a mountain chain near his home. A few days later, Eragon discovers that his stone is really a dragon egg when it hatches suddenly in the night. Eragon names his dragon Saphira, a name he learns from Brom, the village storyteller. After Saphira hatches for Eragon in the opening chapters, King Galbatorix sends his servants (including the Ra'zac, Urgals, and the shade Durza) after Eragon and Saphira, in an effort to capture or kill them. Eragon and Saphira flee their hometown of Carvahall, and embark on a number of adventures.
Eragon was the third-best-selling children's hardback book of 2003, the second-best-selling paperback of 2005, and has placed on the New York Times Best Seller List for 121 weeks. It was adapted into a feature film of the same name, released on December 15, 2006.
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Christopher Paolini (born November 17, 1983 in Southern California) is an American writer. He is best known as the author of the Inheritance Cycle, which consists of the books Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, and an as yet untitled fourth book. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he wrote his first book.
Christopher Paolini was raised in the Paradise Valley, Montana area. His family members include his parents, Kenneth Paolini and Talita Hodgkinson, and his sister, Angela Paolini. Home schooled for the duration of his education, Paolini graduated from high school at the age of 15 through a set of accredited correspondence courses from American School of Correspondence in Lansing, Illinois. Following graduation, he started his work on what would become the novel Eragon the first of a series, set in the mythical land of Alagaësia. In 2002, Eragon was published by Paolini International LLC, Paolini's parents' company. To promote the book, Paolini toured over 135 schools and libraries, discussing reading and writing, all the while dressed in "a medieval costume of red shirt, billowy black pants, lace-up boots, and a jaunty black cap." Paolini created the cover art for the first edition of Eragon, which featured Saphira's eye. He also drew the maps on the inside covers of his books.
In Summer 2002, the stepson of author Carl Hiaasen found Eragon in a bookstore and loved it, and Hiaasen brought it to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf. Knopf subsequently made an offer to publish Eragon and the rest of the Inheritance cycle. The second edition of Eragon was published by Knopf in August 2003. At the age of nineteen, Paolini became a New York Times bestselling author. Eragon has since been adapted into a film of the same name. Paolini's essay "It All Began with Books" was included in the April 2005 anthology Guys Write for Guys Read.
After an extensive United States and United Kingdom tour for Eragon that lasted into 2004, Christopher began writing his second book, Eldest, which continues the adventures of Eragon and the dragon Saphira. Upon publication of Eldest in August 2005, Christopher toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, and Italy
Eldest, the sequel to Eragon, was released August 23, 2005. The third book in the cycle, Brisingr, was released on September 20, 2008. Although the Inheritance Cycle was planned as a trilogy, the details for Brisingr had to be expanded to include a fourth book which has yet to be titled. Paolini's literary inspirations include the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, E. R. Eddison and the epic poem Beowulf. Paolini said that Eragon was "specifically inspired" by the work of Bruce Coville. Other literary influences include David Eddings, Andre Norton, Brian Jacques, Anne McCaffrey, Raymond E. Feist, Mervyn Peake, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Frank Herbert. Other favorite authors include Jane Yolen, Philip Pullman, and Garth Nix.
Nature influences much of Paolini's writing. In a three-way interview with Philip Pullman and Tamora Pierce, Paolini said that Paradise Valley, Montana is "one of the main sources" of his inspiration. In the book Eldest, Paolini described his Elves as vegetarians. When asked about his own diet, Paolini answered, "No, I am not vegetarian, although I lean in that direction." In the acknowledgments of Brisingr, Paolini acknowledged the influence of Leon and Hiroko Kapp's The Craft of the Japanese Sword for his description of the forging of Eragon's sword. Additionally, Paolini admitted he is a Doctor Who fan, which inspired his reference to the "lonely god" (the epithet given to the Doctor by the Face of Boe in season 2, episode 1, "New Earth").