Christopher Paolini Books in Order

This reading order guide provides the complete list of Christopher Paolini books in order, from the very first to the latest, so you won’t miss anything!

Christopher Paolini is a name that comes to the minds of fans and readers of young adult fantasy fiction. Namely, for the creation of the popular Inheritance Cycle, he has charmed the readers all over the world with the stories of dragons, heroic wars, and magical lands. But before becoming a New York Times bestselling author, he was just a child with an extraordinarily creative mind, living in the tranquil and stunning area of Paradise Valley, Montana.

Christopher was fortunate to be the son of parents who were creative and encouraging. His mother, Talita Hodgkinson, and his father, Kenneth Paolini, decided that their children, Angela and Christopher, should be educated at home. The nature around and literature as the nurturing medium, young Christopher was encouraged to be innovative and big in his dreams. Actually, his early educational experiences were so thorough that he managed to finish high school by the age of fifteen through various correspondence courses. Thus, he was given an amount of time and space to follow his passion for writing, which he considered his greatest one.

His fondness for the fantasy genre was evident from the very beginning. Young Christopher, as a result of learning from the great authors J.R.R. Tolkien and E.R. Eddison, made short work of consuming the fantasies packed with magic, non-existing creatures, and the narrator’s brave quests. And it was not only the old literature that shaped his thinking. The work of contemporary fantasy writers like Bruce Coville had a big effect on him, and he eventually started the first novel of Eragon. Besides that, he was also motivated by Frank Herbert, particularly when he was picturing a planet where dragons, elves, and old languages lived side by side.

Christopher was 13-19 years old when he started creating a novel that would ultimately change his life. At the age of 14, he decided to write what he believed would be a 3-part fantasy series. As part of this process, he spent a few months composing the story, creating characters and inventing the fantasy world of Alagaësia, and even a lot of these locations he made by his own drawing. Gradually, he mixed the common features of fantasy – revenge, love, betrayal, magic and friendship – into a plot which he wished would engage his readers.

The first version of Eragon was only a rough concept but it took about a year to develop a story and details around it. He, together with his parents who were the first editors, reworked and polished their shared idea to the point that they could finally share it with the world. Although they didn’t wait for a publishing deal, the Paolini family nevertheless chose to release the book by themselves. Christopher was very energetic in promoting Eragon, he visited not only schools but also libraries where he was dressed in a medieval costume, and he was equipped with a red shirt, black pants, and leather boots. He was very active, not just in writing and sharing his story as a young author, but also in book signing activities.

His perseverance yielded to success but none expected the success to come in such a way. One of the readers he met was the stepson of bestselling author Carl Hiaasen, who not only got hooked on the book but also shared it with his stepfather. Hiaasen impressed, passed it on to his publisher at Alfred A. Knopf. The following year, a new edition of Eragon was published with a professionally designed cover and wide distribution. In this way, the young author, Christopher got his chance and made it count. He had by then become a bestselling author at the age of 19.

As a matter of fact, Christopher did not stop with the first book and wrote further in 2005 Eldest, in 2008 Brisingr, and finally in 2011 Inheritance. While a trilogy was initially intended, it soon became a four-book saga due to the growth of the story. The series, referred to as The Inheritance Cycle, has sold more than 33 million copies globally and has become a worldwide success. Readers were completely thrilled by not only the vast fantasy world but also the development of the character, Eragon, once a farm boy whose life changed after finding a dragon egg and soon rewriting the fate of the whole empire.

Paolini’s writing is filled with various types of influences, both from the literature and the culture. One of such instances is the concept of Eragon’s sword which was inspired by the book The Craft of the Japanese Sword by Hiroko Kapp. Loving Doctor Who as much as he did, he also dropped a few sci-fi Easter eggs in his work to lure genre fans who might not have been familiar with the series.

The year 2006 marked the film adaptation of Eragon. While critics’ reactions to the movie were quite varied, a number of fans were still happy to have the chance of visually experiencing Alagaësia. Paolini himself stated that only some parts of the adaptation he liked and praised the actors’ performances, particularly those of Jeremy Irons and Ed Speleers. The film went on to make more than $170 million worldwide and is now one of the installments in the franchise’s history.

In spite of the allegations that his books are just another typical fantasy saga, Paolini has never denied that he drew inspiration from his predecessors. More so, he has quite a lot of them. Not only that but he has been very modest about the literature, narrative, and personal experiences that helped him define his voice. Moreover, if he had been an adult then, he would have been less of a wonder than he is regarding Eragon.

Christopher Paolini is a prolific author who has not limited his writing abilities to only one genre but rather keeps diversifying his work. He has chosen fiction, not fantasy, for his recent project and already has fans of that genre applauding his versatility. The science fiction novel that he published in 2020, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, was the first of many future works intended for completely different audiences and marked a turning point in his career.