Inheritance Trilogy
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The Inheritance Trilogy is a fantasy trilogy about a 16-year-old boy named Eragon and his dragon Saphira, written by homeschooled author Christopher Paolini. It is set in the imaginary land of Alagaësia, which resembles Viking-era Scandinavia. Both of the first two books, Eragon and Eldest, became New York Times bestsellers.
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Background
Christopher Paolini began Eragon at the age of fifteen. The book was originally self-published in 2002, and was promoted by Paolini and his family. On a recommendation from Carl Hiaasen, Knopf Publishing Group took on Eragon and the rest of the Inheritance Trilogy; a second edition of the book appeared in 2003. (See Christopher Paolini).
Books
Eragon
The first edition of Eragon was self-published by Paolini's family in 2002; the second (Knopf) edition was published in 2003. Eragon was released in paperback in 2005.
- ISBN 0375826696 (paperback), ISBN 0375826688 (hardcover)
Eldest
Eldest was released in hardcover in 2005. It is due for paperback release in September of 2006.
- ISBN 037582670X (hardcover)
Empire
Though not yet officially confirmed, many fans believe the third book to be called Empire, in keeping with the trilogy's other titles: both have six letters and begin with the letter 'e'. Empire is due to be published in 2007.
Important People and Places
See List of characters in the Inheritance Trilogy
- Ajihad - Leader of the Varden
- Alagaësia - Land where story takes place
- Angela - Witch who helps Eragon
- Arya - The Elvish princess rescued by Eragon, and with whom he falls in love
- Brom - Former Dragon Rider and Eragon's mentor
- Dragon Riders- One-time keepers of the peace in Alagaësia
- Durza - A Shade and an evil magician
- Eragon - Main character
- Farthen Dûr - The mountain in which the Varden are hiding from the Empire
- Galbatorix - The evil king of the Empire; a Dragon Rider. He has much to answer for.
- Hrothgar- Dwarf king
- Jeod - Brom's friend in Teirm
- Murtagh - Rescues Eragon from the Ra'zac and takes him to Farthen Dûr
- Nasuada - Daughter of Ajihad and leader of the Varden
- Ra'zac - Evil creatures born to hunt humans
- Roran - Eragon's cousin
- Saphira - Eragon's dragon
- Solembum - Angela's werecat
- Urgals - A race of creatures with Orc like qualities until recently thought to be evil by Eragon.
- Varden - A group of rebels against the Empire and King Galbatorix
A Compressed Synopsis of 'Eragon'
Eragon, a 15-year-old farmboy, is shocked when a polished blue stone appears before him while he is hunting in the range of mountains near his village, known as "The Spine." Eragon takes the 'stone' back to his uncle's farm near the village of Carvahall, where he lives with his cousin Roran, as well as his aforementioned uncle, Garrow. Garrow and his late wife, Marian, raised Eragon, and very little is known of his parentage, save that his mother was named Selena, and has not been seen since shortly after Eragon's birth. Soon after Eragon returns from hunting, the 'stone' hatches, revealing a baby dragon, which Eragon names Saphira. Eragon is now the sole bearer of the ancient responsibility of the Dragon Riders, or Shur'tugal.
The Shur'tugal were destroyed long ago by a maniac named Galbatorix, whose defeat will eventually become Eragon's quest. After Eragon and Saphira have spent a short time together, during which Saphira grows in size and mental ability, Eragon's home is attacked by creatures called Ra'zac. Garrow dies as a result of wounds sustained during the attack. Eragon and a mysterious old storyteller named Brom escape with Saphira, and embark on a quest to find the Ra'zac and avenge Garrow's death. Brom teaches Eragon how fight with a sword and use magic (or gramaraye, as it is properly called). On the way, they visit the seaside city of Teirm, and Eragon has his fortune told by an herbalist named Angela. Unfortunately, a turn of events causes them to not be able to journey to the Ra'zac's base for quite some time, and they meet up with a young man named Murtagh, later revealed to be the son of Morzan; he becomes Eragon's ally. Brom is fatally wounded in an attack by the Ra'zac; in his final words, he reveals that he was a Rider before the Fall, and that he is an agent for the Varden. He also tells Eragon seven special words from the Ancient Language, but both the words and their meanings are as yet unrevealed.
Shortly afterwards, Eragon is captured and taken to prison. Murtagh comes to his rescue, and whilst pulling off an escape from Gil'ead, the indomitable duo also manage to rescue a beautiful female elf named Arya, who has been poisoned. They travel many leagues over the Hadarac Desert to find the antidote for her. They are taken in by the Varden, and Eragon is tested by the smarmy, bald-pated Twins. They ask him to perform an act of magic that is impossible at his skill level, but Arya intervenes in time to stop them from killing him. The forces of Galbatorix attack the Varden's hideout, and during the battle that follows, Eragon kills a Shade named Durza, suffering a terrible wound which will cause him endless grief during the next book. Whilst he is immersed in a healing sleep, he converses mentally with a being who calls himself "Togira Ikonoka", or the Mourning Sage. When he awakes, he decides to go with Arya and complete his training with the elves, following advice from the Mourning Sage.
A Compressed Synopsis of 'Eldest'
Following the battle of Farthen Dur, Ajihad, leader of the Varden, is killed in a sudden surprise attack by Urgals. Murtagh and the Twins disappear during the attack, and are presumed dead. After accepting joint-leadership of the Varden, along with Ajihad's daughter Nasuada, Eragon then sets out on his journey to Ellesmera, the Elf kingdom. Orik goes with him.
Much of the book is devoted to Eragon's training with the ancient Dragon Rider, Oromis, and his unsuccessful attempts at wooing the aloof Arya. While this is going on, Roran returns to Carvahall after learning of his father's death, and discovers that he's wanted by Galbatorix. Consequently, his presence is endangering the entire town, which has come under attack by the Ra'zac. He convinces most of the villagers to follow him in an attempt to reach sanctuary in Surda. Before they can make good their escape, however, Roran's sweetheart Katrina is captured by the Ra'zac. Forced to leave without her, Roran and company join up with Jeod at Teirm and set sail in pirated ships for the southern coast.
Eragon returns to the Varden to help them in the approaching battle against Galbatorix's army. Thanks to the timely arrival of Roran, Jeod, and the villagers, the battle is a victory for the Varden, but only after Eragon meets up again with a decidedly not-dead Murtagh, now a Dragonrider in Galbatorix's service, and the treacherous Twins. Murtagh and Eragon fight, and Eragon is defeated, but he manages to convince Murtagh to let him go. Murtagh then reveals that they are, in fact, brothers, Morzan being the father of both. He relieves Eragon of the sword Zar'roc, claiming it as his inheritance. The book ends with Eragon promising to accompany Roran and free Katrina.
Criticism
Since its publication, Inheritance has been criticised by many for its formulaic approach and its close imitation of several other well-known fantasy works, among them Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, George Lucas' Star Wars, Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern, and Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea.
Some of the main criticisms are:
- Brom is nearly identical in characterisation to Obi-Wan Kenobi of Star Wars or Gandalf of Lord of the Rings
- The story of men/elves making peace and uniting with dragons to form a spiritual bond between individuals after a long time of warfare as well as the one evil dragon rider, who betrays the order, is close to the world of the video "Drakan: Order of the Flame" (1999).
- Character and place names are reminiscent of those in Lord of the Rings; for example, "Eragon" for "Aragorn", "Arya" for "Arwen", "Isenstar" for "Isengard" (see Eragon: Critical reaction).
- The Ancient Language is similar in concept and usage to that of Earthsea, especially concerning "true names" (see Magic in Earthsea).
- The Star Wars theory is backed up by the fact that everything that happens to Eragon also seems to happen in Star Wars. Firstly, Eragon's uncle is killed by agents of an evil empire, just like Luke Skywalker's aunt and uncle are killed by the Galactic Empire. Eragon decides to seek revenge with the help of an old man (just as Luke did with Obi-Wan Kenobi). In both cases, the older men were once members of an organization that had been dedicated to good, but had been overthrown (in Brom's case, the Dragon Riders. In Kenobi's case, the Jedi Knights) by one of their own members who turned to the Dark Side. In both cases, the old man dies and the young man must take up the mantle of the organization. In both stories, the protaganist then goes off to train with an old master (in the Inheritance Trilogy, Eragon goes off to train with Oromis; in Star Wars, Luke trains with Yoda). Then, both protaganists abandon their training to help their friends. In Star Wars, Luke went to Cloud City to rescue Han and Leia. In Eldest, Eragon went to Surda to help the Varden defeat the Empire. Just like Luke Skywalker, Eragon is related (son) to the closest supporter of the tyrannic ruler (though in Eragon's case this person dies before the begin of the story) . Many more similarities abound, and more are likely to show up as the books progress.
Also the old king of the Broddring Kingdom was called Angrenost, the old name of Isengard from the Lord of the Rings. The name of a town in the trilogy is called Melian, which was the name of an angelic being in the Silmarillien by Tolkien. Finally, the word Furnost, a minor city in the Empire, is similar to the word Fornost, capital of the kingdom of Arnor in the Lord of the Rings.
References
- Eragon, second edition, 2003. Christopher Paolini. ISBN 0375826688
- Eldest, first edition, 2005. Christopher Paolini. ISBN 037582670X
- Christopher Paolini Q&A from Shurtugal.Com
See also
- Category:Inheritance
- Category:Inheritance characters
- List of characters in the Inheritance Trilogy (in progress)
- Category:Inheritance places