Christopher James Paolini is an American author. He is best known for The Inheritance Cycle, which consists of the books Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, Inheritance, and most recently The Fork, the Witch and the Worm. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he wrote his first book.
Following his high school graduation, he started his work on what would become the novel Eragon, the first of a four-book series set in the mythical land of Alagaësia. In 2002, Eragon was published for the first time by Paolini International LLC, Paolini's parents' publishing 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." He drew the cover art for the first edition of Eragon, which featured Saphira's eye, along with the maps on the inside covers of his books. In mid-2002, the stepson of author Carl Hiaasen found Eragon in a bookstore and loved it; this led to Hiaasen bringing 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. In December 2006, Fox 2000 released the film adaptation of Eragon in theaters around the world. It received mostly negative reviews from critics, and made a combined domestic and international gross of $249,488,115 USD against a production budget of $100,000,000. Paolini's essay "It All Began with Books" was included in the April 2005 anthology Guys Write for Guys Read. 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 originally planned as a trilogy, a fourth book, Inheritance, was released on November 8, 2011 in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the EU, and India, and was subsequently translated and published in fifty-three countries. The Inheritance Cycle has sold more than 35 million copies. On December 31, 2018, The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm, the first book in a series called Tales of Alagaësia, was published and released to the public. Paolini's new science fiction novel, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, is releasing on September 15, 2020. He also plans to return to the world of Alagaësia with a fifth book when he finishes his science-fiction book.
Influences
Paolini's literary inspirations include the works of J. R. R. Tolkien and E.R. Eddison, as well as the epic poemBeowulf. Paolini said that Eragon was "specifically inspired" by Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, by 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 books include works by Jane Yolen, Philip Pullman, Terry Brooks, and Garth Nix. Nature influences much of Paolini's writing. In an interview with Philip Pullman and Tamora Pierce, Paolini said that Paradise Valley, Montana is "one of the main sources" of his inspiration. 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", to "rooms that are bigger on the inside than the outside", as well as to Raxacoricofallapatorius, the home of the Slitheen.
Reception
Paolini's books have sold very well and have topped the charts of The New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestsellers lists. The Guinness World Records recognized Christopher Paolini as the "youngest author of a bestselling book series" on January 5, 2011.
