 Knopf edition cover by John Jude Palencar, featuring the teal dragon Saphira | |
| Author | Christopher Paolini |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | John Jude Palencar |
| Cover artist | John Jude Palencar |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Inheritance Cycle |
| Genre | Young adult Fantasy Dystopian Bildungsroman |
| Publisher | Paolini LLC (first edition), Alfred A. Knopf |
Publication date | 2002 (first edition), August 26, 2003 (Knopf) |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) and audio-CD |
| Pages | 509 (Knopf) 544 (Paolini LLC) |
| ISBN | 0-375-82668-8 (First Knopf edition) ISBN 0-9666213-3-6 (Paolini LLC) |
| OCLC | 52251450 |
| [Fic] 21 | |
| LC Class | PZ7.P19535 Er 2003 |
| Followed by | Eldest |
| Copies sold: 24.55 million[citation needed] | |
Eragon is the first book in The Inheritance Cycle by American fantasy writer Christopher Paolini. Paolini, born in 1983, began writing the novel after graduating from home school at the age of fifteen.[1] After writing the first draft for a year, Paolini spent a second year rewriting and fleshing out the story and characters. His parents saw the final manuscript and in 2001 decided to self-publish Eragon;[2] Paolini spent a year traveling around the United States promoting the novel. The book was discovered by novelist Carl Hiaasen, who brought it to the attention of Alfred A. Knopf. The re-published version was released on August 26, 2003.
The book tells the story of a farm boy named Eragon, who finds a mysterious stone in the mountains. The stone is revealed to be a dragon egg, and a dragon whose name is Saphira hatches from it. When the evil King Galbatorix finds out about the egg, he sends monstrous servants to acquire it, making Eragon and Saphira flee from their hometown with a storyteller named Brom. Brom, an old member of an extinct group of Dragon Riders, teaches Eragon about the ways of the Rider.
Eragon was the third-best-selling children's hardback book of 2003, and the second-best-selling paperback of 2005. It placed on the New York Times Children's Books Best Seller list for 121 weeks and was adapted as a feature film of the same name that was released on December 15, 2006.
- ^ Paolini, Christopher (2008). Brisingr, or, The seven promises of Eragon Shadeslayer and Saphira Bjartskular (1st ed.). New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Back Cover. ISBN 978-0-375-82672-6. OCLC 182526089.
- ^ "About the Author". Alagaesia.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-14. Retrieved 2017-03-23.