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Paolini's books had no pictures and left a great deal of the appearances of characters up to the interpretation of reader. This is one fan's depiction of Murtagh with the cover of Eldest (or more accurately an illustration of Murtagh's companion Thorn) superimposed in the background.

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Christopher Paolini grew up in Montana and was homeschooled.  This picture of him was taken in his home state as a tribute to his roots some time after the success of his books, right around the time that Brisingr was realeased, about six years after he released Eragon in 2002.

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These books are Paolini’s first outing as an author. He published the first book,  Eragon at only fifteen years of age. Since then he has gained a following of avid fans that cannot get enough of his writing. Sixteen years later, fans are still asking for more stories from Alagaesia

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Paolini’s works are almost exclusively read outside of schools for a couple of reasons. Arthur Applebee wrote an article for The English Journal entitled Stability and Change in the High-School Canon. In it he took a survey of which works were most likely to be assigned reading, and to absolutely nobody’s surprise the top spots were dominated by the likes of Shakespeare and Fitzgerald. Applebee asserts that there is little change in high school canon for three reasons, and two of them apply quite well to Paolini’s books: lack of familiarity, and an uncertainty of merit.

While it is true that Paolini has topped best seller lists, so have many other works. There have been many contenders for that title. Therefore, books like Eragon have a hard time staying relevant. Nowadays, there are plenty of people who have forgotten about the book, or are unfamiliar with it. This includes teachers. It is much easier for them to fall back on classics that they themselves had to read in high school like To Kill a Mockingbird or Macbeth.

The lack of familiarity also feeds into their uncertainty of its merits. Teachers know that Steinbeck will challenge their readers to evolve their prose. What they don’t know is that Paolini will challenge them just as much. Teachers that are familiar with the text without actually reading it are prone to see it as another Lord of the Rings rip-off and assume that it has nothing to offer them or their students. This leads them to overlook it when constructing a syllabus. I would say 20/80 split when it comes to required vs recreational odds, as teachers that are part of the Inheritance cycle’s cult following are likely to assign it given the opportunity.

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Paolini’s works are best suited for children ages 12-15. The books tackle plenty of adolescent themes such as first loves, heart break, the loss of loved ones and triumph in the face of adversity. More specific examples include Eragon’s unrequited love for Arya, who spurns his advances due to age differences, or the death of Eragon’s surrogate father, his uncle Garrow, at the hands of imperial agents. These are all things that many adolescent either have experienced or will experience soon. Eragon is himself a teenager and acts accordingly. While many older readers who have forgotten that they too were teens at some point may have trouble understanding or even tolerating his actions, they make sense with the brashness that comes with being a young man.

Themes for other character arcs are present as well. The use of power comes readily to mind in the case of the dragon riders as a whole. While many of them used their powers to do good, twelve renegades were led astray by a power-hungry despot and toppled literally and entire country. That is a considerable amount of power to be held by so few people. Throughout the text are examples of what people do with their power, whether it be the King Galbatorix using his power to oppress, Nasuada using her power to liberate, or King Orrin not using his power at all, the question of power stays present in the text. This forces the reader to examine what they would do with such power, which is essential to the self-discovery that takes place in the early teen years. In short, this book makes teenagers, if subconsciously, ask themselves who they really are, making it a great read for young teens who don’t actually have an answer yet.

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Paolini, C. (2003). Eragon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Eragon is set in the fantastical land of Alagaesia and follows the title character of the story as he finds a dragon egg while out hunting. After the egg hatches, Eragon and his new friend, the dragon Saphira, must run for their lives from an empire that will make them slaves to slake the King’s bloodthirst. They travel with an old story teller named Brom and make their way to the Varden, a group of rebels sworn to topple the empire and restore freedom to Alagaesia. Shortly after Brom’s death at the hands of their pursuers, Eragon and Saphira meet Murtagh and Arya, friends who help them reach the Varden’s underground stronghold in the mountains. After they arrive, the Varden are attacked by the Empire. Eragon faces off against the enemy commander alone, and manages to defeat him, but only after sustaining a lifelong injury. The end of the book sees Eragon and Saphira deciding to travel to the land of the elves to train as a dragon and dragon rider.

Paolini, C. (2005). Eldest. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Eldest  resumes Eragon's tale shortly after the battle of the previous book. Murtagh is captured and the leader of the Varden is assassinated, leaving his teenage daughter, Nasuada, to take the reins of a young nation. Eragon goes to the land of the elves with Arya to learn how to better synergize with Saphira while his cousin whom he left in his boyhood village, Roran, notices strangers poking around the village. After these strangers, who turn out to be imperial agents take the love of his life to leverage Roran for information about Eragon’s whereabouts, Roran galvanizes the village to start their own rebellion, which ends with them fleeing to the Varden. The Varden relocates from the mountains to the neighboring country Surda and Nasuada learns how to better lead her people. When the Empire launches an invasion force to take Surda, The Varden meet his forces with Eragon and Saphira rejoining them for the battle. Murtagh reveals himself as the commanding officer of the invaders and as a new dragon rider, the King haven taken control of his actions. Eragon and Murtagh battle and Murtagh wins. However, he still cares for Eragon and leaves him alive. Meanwhile, the villagers arrive with Roran leading the charge and turn the tide of the battle. The book ends with Roran and Eragon’s reunion

Paolini, C. (2008). Brisingr. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Brisingr begins with Eragon and Roran rescuing Roran’s love, Katrina. After they return from the rescue, Roran and Katrina get married. After the wedding Roran, now a soldier in the Varden, is deployed. Eragon must leave to go and see the election of the new dwarf king, the last one having died in the previous battle with the Empire, however Saphira stays with the Varden to keep up the appearance of having Eragon there with them. Saphira rejoins Eragon for the coronation, after which the briefly visit the land of the elves to get a new dragon rider sword, Murtagh having taken Eragon’s at their encounter in Eldest. Eragon and Saphira return to the Varden, however, their elven mentor is killed in another battle, and his dragon companion, Glaedr experiences physical death while his mind is transferred into a stone he gave to Eragon and Saphira. The book ends with Eragon and Saphira revealing the death of their mentor to Nasuada.

Paolini, C. (2011). Inheritance. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

Inheritance is the final installment in the series and it starts with the Varden taking another city in the empire. The Varden march their invading force forward and Nasuada was captured by the empire. Eragon is left in charge of the Varden in her absence, during which time he performs magical surgery on a baby with a cleft palate, and Katrina and Roran have a baby girl. Eragon, Saphira, and Glaedr then travel to an island where Eragon must come to terms with who he is as a person and they find not only more dragon eggs, but more dragons like Glaedr whose minds are trapped in stones. They lend Eragon their strength and help him to defeat the King in the final battle. After the dust settles, Nasuada becomes queen, Roran, Katrina, and the rest of the villagers return to their home, and Eragon and Saphira travel to lands unknown to start a new order of dragon riders

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Book sense book of the Year (2004)

Eragon

The Book Sense pick list is a list of books recommended for independent booksellers to carry in order to diversify their stock without too much of a risk. To top such a list speaks to an author's creativity

https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/Book+Sense+Book+of+the+Year

The Quill Award (2006)

Eldest

The Quill awards act as a watch list for successful works. Books that have received the Quill award enjoy a rather sizable hike in sales

https://www.librarything.com/bookaward/Book+Sense+Book+of+the+Year

No. 1 best seller Publisher's weekly

Eragon

This award is fairly self explanatory: it sold a lot. The truth of the matter is that most critics actually lambasted Paolini's work, but the fact that he holds this position suggests that he can't hear them over all the royalty checks hitting his bank account.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/print/20040112/27265-children-s-bestsellers.html

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Paolini is an avid world builder and takes great care to put as much detail as he can into each of his tales. This map of Alagaesia was present in every book and made it possible to track Eragon and Saphira on their travels, from the isle of Vroengard in the Northwest to Farthen Dur in the Southeast

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This infamous Blockbuster was seen by many and loved by few. plagued by alterations to the story, a weak male lead, poor directing, and poor writing, this movie, released in 2006, infuriated fans of the book. Paolini stated in an interview that were there to be a reboot, he would be sure to retain more creative control