It's been eight years since fantasy author Christopher Paolini wrote the New York Times bestselling novel "Eragon."
Today, Paolini, 27, has joined the ranks of noted fantasy authors like Philip Pullman, J.R.R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling with his "Inheritance Cycle," a four-book series of young adult fantasy novels that includes the aforementioned "Eragon," "Eldest," "Brisingr" and "Inheritance," the cycle's final book, which released this Tuesday.
While the book needs no promotion – it's already topped Amazon.com's best seller list as of Thursday afternoon – Paolini is embarking on a cross-country book tour to meet fans, discuss the cycle's final installment and bid farewell to a series that's defined his young career.
"Overall, I'm just very grateful that people have enjoyed reading the series and that they've enjoyed reading it enough that I've been able to do what I love to do, which is telling stories," says Paolini. "I thought at the most, maybe my parents were going to read "Eragon" – or if I was very lucky, maybe my sister."
Paolini began penning "Eragon" when he was just 15. His parents self-published the novel in 2002, and after generating mainstream interest, the novel took off, making Paolini a New York Times bestselling author at 19.
"It was surreal. When we were self-publishing, we were seeing the excitement building among the people, but of course I was pretty much meeting every single person who bought the book," says Paolini. "When Random House picked it up, it was very strange to sort of realize that it was becoming this popular thing outside of my own personal experience, and it took a number of years for it to really sink in for me – for me to really understand its place in the culture."
The "Inheritance Cycle" has more than earned its place, having sold more than 25 million copies to date and receiving widespread acclaim in the realm of fantasy literature. Despite having embraced his novels' massive popularity, Paolini admits he's still a little awestruck at the idea of calling the genre's greatest authors his peers.
"It's a little daunting, honestly, when you write a book when you're a teenager and it comes out and you immediately get compared with people who have far more experience in the genre, but of course that's the nature of writing," he says. "But again, I feel fortunate to have been able to write these stories and that people have enjoyed them, and I hope to continue doing that in fantasy or in other genres."
And now that the "Inheritance Cycle" is finished, Paolini says he can finally branch out and explore the numerous other ideas he has waiting in the wings.
"I've spent the last 10 years thinking of other stories I'd be interested in writing, and I have about 20 to 30 complete books all plotted out," he says. "Some are fantasy, some are science fiction, some are mystery, thriller, horror, romance. I mean, you name it, I'd like to try my hand at it."
Though "Inheritance" finishes the four-book cycle, fans of the series can still expect Paolini to return to the mythical world of Alagaesia – they'll just have to be patient.
"After spending 13-some years working in this world and building the history of it and the characters and all that, I certainly don't want to abandon it entirely," says Paolini. "And in fact, I've laid the groundwork for several new stories within these books. Some of the scenes which maybe seem like they're a little tangential to the main story are actually in there for a reason, because they are the building blocks that a future book would rest upon. I think that I will go on and write some other stories for the time being, and then at some point in the future I will return to Eragon's world."
At least for now, though, the next project will have to wait. Paolini is just at the beginning of his nationwide book tour, which kicked off Tuesday in New York City. He's scheduled to make a Milwaukee stop at The Pabst Theater tomorrow, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m., where he'll sign copies of "Inheritance" and talk more about his widely successful series.
Contrary to her natural state of being, Renee Lorenz is a total optimist when it comes to Milwaukee. Since beginning her career with OnMilwaukee.com, her occasional forays into the awesomeness that is the Brew City have turned into an overwhelming desire to discover anything and everything that's new, fun or just ... "different."
Expect her random musings to cover both the new and "new-to-her" aspects of Miltown goings-on, in addition to periodically straying completely off-topic, which usually manifests itself in the form of an obscure movie reference.
