Eragon is the first book in the
Inheritance Cycle by
Christopher Paolini, who began writing the book at the age of 15. After writing the first draft for a year, he spent a second year rewriting it and fleshing out the story and characters. Paolini's parents saw the final manuscript and decided to
self-publish Eragon. Paolini spent a year traveling around the United States promoting the novel. By chance, the book was discovered by
Carl Hiaasen, who got it re-published by
Alfred A. Knopf. The re-published version was released on August 26, 2003.
The book tells the story of a young farm boy named Eragon, who finds a mysterious stone in the mountains. A dragon he later names Saphira hatches from the stone, which was really an egg. When the evil King Galbatorix finds out about Eragon and his dragon, he sends his servants, the Ra'zac, after them in an effort to capture them. Eragon and Saphira are forced to flee from their hometown, and decide to search for the Varden, a group of rebels who want to see the downfall of Galbatorix.
Critiques of Eragon often pointed out the similarities to other works such as The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars. Reviews also called the book a notable achievement for such a young author as Paolini. 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 Best Seller list for 121 weeks. Eragon was adapted into a feature film of the same name that was released on December 15, 2006. It was directed by Stefen Fangmeier and written by Peter Buchman. The film starred Ed Speleers in the role of Eragon.
Background
Origins and publication
Christopher Paolini started reading fantasy books when he was ten years old, but was "frustrated" by the "absence of quality writing". At the age of fourteen, Paolini started writing the first novel in a series of four books, but he could not get beyond a few pages because he had "no idea" where he was going. He began reading everything he could about the "art of writing", and then plotted the whole
Inheritance Cycle book series. After a month of planning out the series, he started writing the draft of
Eragon by hand. It was finished a year later, and Paolini began writing the "real" version of the book. After another year of editing, Paolini's parents saw the final manuscript. They immediately saw its potential and decided to
self publish the book. They had
Eragon printed through
Lightning Source, a
print on demand company that is a subsidiary of
Ingram, a major book wholesaler. "This meant that even though
Eragon was self-published, it was available in any quantity, at any time, and, because of Lightning Source's connection with Ingram, in all bookstores in the United States, including online booksellers," Paolini said.
Paolini and his family toured across the United States to promote the book. Over 135 talks were given at bookshops, libraries, and schools, many with Paolini dressed up in a medieval costume; but the book did not receive much attention. Paolini said he "would stand behind a table in my costume talking all day without a break – and would sell maybe forty books in eight hours if I did really well. [...] It was a very stressful experience. I couldn't have gone on for very much longer."
Inspiration and influences
, the author of the fantasy book series
His Dark Materials.]]
Paolini cites old
myths,
folk tales, medieval stories, the
epic poem Beowulf, and authors
J.R.R. Tolkien and
Eric Rücker Eddison as his biggest influences in writing. Other literary influences include
David Eddings,
Andre Norton,
Brian Jacques,
Anne McCaffrey,
Raymond E. Feist,
Mervyn Peake,
Ursula K. Le Guin, and
Frank Herbert. Paolini has also received inspiration from the two authors
Philip Pullman and
Garth Nix. In
Eragon, Paolini "deliberately" included the "archetypal ingredients" of a fantasy book – a quest, a journey of experience, revenge, romance, betrayal, and a "special" sword. He added that he was "really lucky" with the name
Eragon, "because it's just dragon with one letter changed." He thought the name fit the book perfectly, but some of the other names caused him "real headaches".
Paolini chose to have Eragon mature throughout the book because "for one thing, it's one of the archetypal fantasy elements". He thought Eragon's growth and maturation throughout the book "sort of mirrored my own growing abilities as a writer and as a person, too. So it was a very personal choice for that book." The book has been compared to other books of fantasy genre such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. Reviews have also felt that the plot genre is too similar to those other fantasy novels. School Library Journal wrote that Eragon is "overly simplistic in its resolution of plot issues". Common Sense Media called Eragon's dialogue "long-winded" and "clichéd", with a plot "straight out of Star Wars by way of The Lord of the Rings, with bits of other great fantasies thrown in here and there." The website did concede that the book is a notable achievement for such a young author, and that it would be "appreciated" by younger fans.
Favorable reviews of Eragon often focused on the book's characters and plot. IGN's Matt Casamassina called the book "entertaining", and added that "Paolini demonstrates that he understands how to hold the reader's eyes and this is what ultimately separates Eragon from countless other me-too fantasy novels." Chris Lawrence of About.com thought the book had all the "traditional ingredients" that make a fantasy novel "enjoyable". The book was a "fun read" for him because it is "quick and exciting" and "packed" with action and magic. Lawrence concluded his review by giving the book a rating of 3.8/5, commenting that "the characters are interesting, the plot is engrossing, and you know the good guy will win in the end."
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 Best Seller list for 121 weeks. In 2006, the novel was awarded with a Nene Award by the children of Hawaii. It won the Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award the same year.
Film adaptation
A
film adaption of Eragon was released in the United States on December 15, 2006. Plans to create the film were first announced in February 2004, when
20th Century Fox purchased the rights to
Eragon. The film was directed by first-timer
Stefen Fangmeier, and written by Peter Buchman.
Edward Speleers was selected for the role of Eragon. Over the following months,
Jeremy Irons,
John Malkovich,
Chris Egan and
Djimon Hounsou were all confirmed as joining the cast. Principal photography for the film took place in
Hungary and
Slovakia.
The film received mostly negative reviews, garnering a 15% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes; the tenth worst of 2006. The Seattle Times described it as "technically accomplished, but fairly lifeless and at times a bit silly". The Hollywood Reporter said the world of Eragon was "without much texture or depth". The story was labelled "derivative" by The Washington Post, and "generic" by the Las Vegas Weekly.
Newsday stressed this point further, asserting that only "nine-year-olds with no knowledge whatsoever of any of the six Star Wars movies" would find the film original.
The acting was called "lame" by the Washington Post, The dialogue was also criticized: MSNBC labelled it "silly"; the Las Vegas Weekly called it "wooden". and "the stuff boys' fantasies are made of". The CGI work was called "imaginative" and Saphira was called a "magnificent creation". Paolini stated he enjoyed the film, particularly praising the performances of Jeremy Irons and Ed Speleers.
Eragon grossed approximately $75 million in the United States and $173.9 million elsewhere, totaling $249 million worldwide. Eragon is the thirteenth highest grossing fantasy-live action film within the United States; twenty-first when adjusted for inflation. It is the highest grossing film with a dragon at its focal point, and the second highest grossing film of the sword and sorcery subgenre. Eragon was in release for seventeen weeks in the United States, opening on December 15, 2006 and closing on April 9, 2007. It opened in 3020 theaters, earning $8.7 million on opening day and $23.2 million across opening weekend, ranking second behind The Pursuit of Happyness. Eragon’s $75 million total United States gross was the thirty-first highest for 2006. The film earned $150 million in its opening weekend across 76 overseas markets, making it the #1 film worldwide. The film’s $249 million total worldwide gross was the sixteenth highest for 2006.
References
External links
Eragon at the official website
Eragon at the Inheritance Cycle Wikia
Category:2003 novels
Category:Young adult novels
Category:Inheritance Cycle
Category:Fantasy novels
Category:Debut novels
Category:American novels adapted into films
Category:21st-century American novels
Category:Novels by Christopher Paolini
