Eragon Inheritance Cycle

I wish that I had discovered the Eragon Inheritance Cycle and begun the fascinating journey of the boy and his blue dragon when the first book came out. But maybe it was better that I first read Eragon and saw the movie right before the second book, Eldest was published. That way I didn't have to wait impatiently for the next book.

The Inheritance Cycle (which includes Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance) is the creation of a new, young and gifted author named Christopher Paolini. It is geared towards young adults, but can be enjoyed and appreciated by adults as well.

The long awaited conclusion of the Inheritance Cycle, which began with Eragon, was released on November 8, 2011. This tomme was full of twists and turns and surprises. We find out who the final dragon's egg was meant for. All secrets are revealed. I can not say more without needing to give you a spoiler alert.

What first attracted me to the books was that they were about dragons. Ever since I discovered Anne McCaffrey's, the Dragon Riders of Pern books in the 1970s, I have been hooked on dragons, telepathy and the unknown reaches of the human mind. The Eragon series has this and more. It is a hero quest story with the classic good battling evil theme that contains elements of many of my favorite authors. Besides McCaffrey, I see touches of Tolkien, Yolen, Lucas, and a few others, too. It's hard to believe that the author was only 15 years old when he wrote the first book, Eragon.

It all started with a self-published book, written by a home schooled, teenage Montana boy who lived beside the jagged Beartooth Mountains. Soon his book got the attention of publisher, Alfred A. Knopf Books For Young Readers (an imprint of Random House Children's Books) and the rest is history. Visit the Eragon website if you'd like to read more about Christopher Paolini's Story.

News About the Fourth Book

Hot off the Presses!!

Read about Inheritance Book 4 in this March 23rd, 2011 Press Release.

Old News:

Christopher Paolini has just published some information about what we're in store for in the fourth book of the Inheritance Cycle. He says that what he's written about so far involves a flaming spear, a duel to the death, magic, elves, and werecats. I sure wish that he would write faster, because all of the things he mentions sound so exciting, especially the werecats.

From the Alagäesia News, May 27, 2010

Since the New Year, I've been working with renewed determination to finish the manuscript of Book Four. The story is unfolding much as I've always imagined, but, as usual, I find myself adding scenes I hadn't anticipated when I plotted out the book. Although it's taking me longer than I'd hoped to get my vision on the page, I think it's worth it. This is going to be the most exciting and action-packed book of the entire series.

Last month I watched the Doctor Who specials from last year. Wow! For those of you who follow the travels of the Doctor, you may have caught a reference to him in Brisingr. This year brings a new actor to the role of Doctor, and I look forward to seeing how he portrays him. He has a big scarf to fill.

I recently spoke with John Jude Palencar, the cover artist for the Inheritance series. He told me that he's been painting the green dragon for the cover of the fourth book. I can't wait to see it! John is immensely talented, and I always enjoy seeing how he interprets the creatures from my world.

This is going to be a newsworthy year for the Inheritance cycle, with lots of big announcements coming up. And I'm excited to tell you that the Brisingr paperback is now in stores. As always, Alagaesia.com and Shurtugal.com will post the latest developments.

Now, back to the book for me. At the moment, I'm in the middle of a really interesting section. It contains a one-sided game of knucklebones, an evil assassin, bags of flour, a water-born battering ram, streets lined with lead, a knife in the back, and the death of a character.

Yes, I'm killing someone off. Horrible, isn't it?

May your swords stay sharp!

Christopher Paolini

Read Shurtugal.com's response to the sneak peek chapter from Book 4, here.

The first book in the cycle is entitled, Eragon, which is the namesake of the main character. It was a joy to read. Originally the series was planned as a trilogy, but soon after beginning the third book, Paolini realized that there was just too much of the story that he needed to tell, so there are to be four books in the Inheritance Cycle.

The movie which resulted from the Eragon book was a little disappointing because so much of the story was left out or changed making it hard to follow and also, making Eragon look self-centered and a little stupid. But then, I usually feel this way about most movies that are made from books. The special effects of the movie were very nice and gave you the feeling that you were riding a dragon, and it was action packed, so it is worth seeing the DVD.

My favorite part of the book, Eragon, was the relationship between Eragon and Saphira, the blue dragon, and also Brom, the old Dragon Rider. The mysterious Murtagh is also a very interesting character. The trials and tribulations of learning to become a dragon rider while half of the evil of the world is chasing you across the country is a fabulous tale. Each fact that is learned and each skill that is mastered has a bearing on what's to come later in the story, so read it well.

In Eldest, many secrets are revealed and the boys, Eragon and his cousin, Roran, become men and skilled warriors. We meet more Dwarves and Eragon develops his friendship with Orik, Hrothgar's nephew. We also learn more about Arya and the Elven city of Ellesméra. Eldest is a book that you will want to read from cover to cover, probably more than once.

The possibility of a sequel to the movie, Eragon, is still uncertain because of the poor performance of the first movie. I believe this teaser was made when the first movie was released.

Ah, Brisingr, the ancient word for fire; the special name and the first word of magic that Eragon learned. In Brisingr, Eragon struggles to keep the promises that he has made; the first of which is to rescue Roran's beloved, Katrina, from the evil King Galbatorix and the Ra'zac. But this is only the beginning of the many promises and adventures of Eragon, Saphira and Roran. In this next to last book of the cycle, Paolini does not leave you with a cliff hanger, but he certainly leaves you wanting to read more.

Shruikan is the maladjusted black dragon of the evil, self-proclaimed King of Alagäesia, the Dragon Rider, Galbatroix. He was stolen as a hatchling by the crazed Galbatroix who went mad after his first dragon was killed and the Dragon Riders would not let him impress another.

So many questions.... What will happen in Book 4?

Anne McCaffrey is my favorite author and her Dragonrider series (which at the time that I started reading it consisted of Dragonflight, Dragonquest and the White Dragon) were what started my love affair with dragons and other fantasy fiction. The Harper Hall trilogy, featuring Menolly, the harper girl and her nine fire lizards (which were written with the young adult in mind) are still favorites of mine. If you enjoyed Eragon then you should definitely read all of the Anne McCaffrey books.