It’s interesting

“Eragon” is an archetypal hero story, filled with exciting action, dangerous villains, and fantastic locations…

There are dragons and elves, sword fights and unexpected revelations, and of course, a beautiful maiden who’s more than capable of taking care of herself. Within the pages of the book is a whole land, Alagaësia, for you to explore. You may take fancy to Tronjheim, the city-mountain the dwarves have built, or perhaps the mysterious forest Du Weldenvarden. Either way, there are more than enough marvels here for even the most accustomed reader of fantasy. And they were all brought to life by a nineteen-year-old boy – CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI. Christopher Paolini was born on November 17, 1983 in Southern California. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana with his parents and younger sister, Angela. They have two pets, Otis, a black and white cat, and Annie, a frisky cocker/Australian shepherd mix. Christopher was homeschooled by his parents.

The inspiration
He made frequent trips to the library and read widely. Some of his favorite books were Bruce Colville’s “Jeremy Thatcher. Dragon Hatcher“, Frank Herbert’s “Dune“, Raymond E. Feist’s “Magician“, and Philip Pullman’s “His Dark Materials“, as well as books by Anne McCaffrey, Jane Yolen, Brian Jacques, E.R. Eddison, David Eddings, and Ursula Le Guin.
Christopher grew up listening to a variety of music, but classical music fired his imagination and helped him write. He often listened to Mahler, Beethoven, and Wagner while writing “Eragon”. The final battle of “Eragon” was written while listening to “Carmina Burana”, by Carl Orff.

The story
The story of “Eragon” began as the daydreams of a teen. Christopher’s love for the magic of stories led him to craft a novel that he would enjoy reading. The project began as a hobby; he never intended to be published. He took a month to plot out the entire trilogy, then sat on the sofa and began writing in a notebook. When he reached sixty pages, he gained enough confidence to transfer the work to his computer, where most of “Eragon” was written, although he sometimes found that the story flowed better when he wrote by hand. All the characters in “Eragon” are from Christopher’s imagination except Angela the herbalist, who is loosely based on his sister.

The editorial
It took him a year to write the first draft of “Eragon”. He took a second year to revise the book and then gave it to his parents to read. The family decided to self-publish the book and so a third year was spent with another round of edits, designing a cover, typesetting the manuscript, and creating marketing materials. During this time Christopher drew the map for “Eragon”, as well as the dragon eye that appears inside the hardcover edition. Finally, the manuscript was sent to press, and the first books arrived.
The Paolini family spent the next year promoting the book themselves. Beginning with talks at the local library and high school, they then traveled across the U.S. In summer 2002, author Carl Hiaasen, whose stepson had bought and read a copy of the self-published book while on vacation in Montana, brought “Eragon” to the attention of his publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, who subsequently acquired the rights to publish “Eragon” and the rest of the Inheritance trilogy.

On writing
“Writing is the heart and soul of my being. It is the means through which I bring my stories to life. There is nothing like putting words on a page and knowing that they will summon certain emotions and reactions from the reader”. – says the author.

Improve your vocabulary!

villain – złoczyńca, przestępca
dragon – smok
elves – elfy
maiden – panna
capable of (+ czasownik z -ing) – zdolny do czegoś
dwarves – krasnoludek
marvel – cud
to plot – nanieść
subsequently – później
summon – wzywać