High Quality Look at the Lethrblaka Painting

By Mike Macauley May 10, 2009 Brisingr (Book) 174 Comments

Thanks to the incredibly talented John Jude Palencar, we now have a high quality copy of the Lethrblaka painting (set to be featured as the cover for the second volume of Brisingr in Japan as well as being a fold-out poster in the upcoming Brisingr Deluxe Edition). This high quality version features the correct coloring of the painting, looking even more stunning. Be sure to continue reading for a look at the high quality scan!

Above: High quality, correct colored scan of John Jude Palencar’s “Lethrblaka” painting. Click the image for a larger copy!


Why the need for an extra book cover? Here’s our explanation from our previous post:

Because the Glaedr artwork had already been used as a book cover in Japan and other countries (including Spain), publishers commissioned Palencar to paint two new covers: a different perspective of Glaedr (facing forward) and a Lethrblaka, both pictured above. At this point in time, the Lethrblaka cover is not slated to be published on any US book covers but will appear in an exclusive fold-out poster in the Deluxe Edition of Brisingr.

Remember, you can get your hands on a poster sized (and high quality) copy of this painting by purchasing (currently available for pre-order only) the Deluxe Edition of Brisingr, on sale October 23rd!

The Lethrblaka painting scan was posted with direct permission from John Jude Palencar, illustrator of the Inheritance Cycle book covers. Copyright on the painting belongs to Palencar. You can learn more about John Jude Palencar, including copies of his many paintings, at his personal website. Please be aware that a few of Palencar’s works contain partial artistic nudity.

  • StraightUpGinger

    all GOOD authors have some sort of creativity. and it doesn’t take creativity to change a few names and some plots. on top of that i finally figured out why the 4th book is taking so long to come out, its because there’s no 4th L.O.T.R book for him to copy out of.

  • dude

    the next rider might be ayra

  • StraightToTheTruth

    @StraightUpGinger (Guest): listen, i know you may think they are similar but in all reality they are completely different in storyline. so, they have a few names that are close in pronunciation or spelling so what! aragon in L.O.T.R. is like a human swordsman or something while Eragon is a farmboy turned DRAGON RIDER!!!! there are alot of similar stories out there, that just means the authors think alike, not that one copied another!!

  • BlueHairBlondeEyes

    i totally agree with straight up ginger(love that name) christopher is such a cesspool of uncreativity J. R.R. Tolkien would be ashamed.

  • StraightUpGinger

    there’s deffinately a copy right problem here.

  • StraightUpGinger

    ok has anyone ever read or even watched lord of the rings, eragon and L.O.T.R are like the same thing. eragon-aragorn arwen-arya urgals-orks. coincidence, i think not!

  • dudeperson

    the vault of souls is probably were Galbatorix keeps all of the endurnari, The Rock of Kuthian the Gateway, and yes, it probably is ether in the spine or urubain.

  • oromismaster

    i think the rock of kuthian is morzans dragons eldunari. because people cant remember were they heard it.

  • megadragon

    i think that the vault of souls may be in the spine. hello people? ususaly anyone who goes there never returns, but ereagon just keeps going and going. maybe destiny dicataes he goes back there and finds it. why else would galbatorix send an army in there and they would all be destroyed. hes probly been trying to find the vault for years.

  • krakerjakx

    i think that the rock of kuthian is the bear statue with the ruby eyes that eragon keeps coming to in brisngr when he is in farthen dur.

  • Kain

    Yo Roran mustnt be rider. Riders live forever and Ajihad and a few others said that it was an abomination for an immortal to claim kingship over mortal man. So the new king of alagaesia is another abomination?

  • Zamani

    Please god dont let the ending kill the book like Cirqu Du Frek or whatever taht garbage novel was called

  • Justsayin

    I think the rock of kuthian is the first eragons dragon thats so big so old and seldomely moves that solembum refers to him as the rock of kuthian and inside him lies the vault of souls. I think the new rider will most likely be someone completly unexpected so i doubt roran will be a rider although he attains magic someway because in three chapters he says strena risa.

  • BookMaster

    Sigh Riley……… First, the Nazgul ARE the flying steeds from LOTR. Second That looks nothing like a Nazgul. And I dare you to find anywhere in Inheritance Chris has copied off on J. R. R. Tolkien

  • Twig

    Wow. thats all i can say. i seriously dont no what to expect but i KNOW that the vault of souls will hold a whole bunch of dragon eldunari. I also think that the title of Book 4 will be something to do with the name of the land that eragon will leave forever too. personally, i think it will be vroengard, and many people will come out to visit them often, but that’s just my opinion. anyway, i cannot wait for the book to come out!

    Twig: skinny as a twig

  • riley

    it looks just like the flying steeds the nazgul ride on in lord of the rings, which is more proof that he copied J. R. R. Tolkien.

  • BookLover

    I hope either Roran or Arya will be the next rider as they are probably the two people Eragon trusts the most in the world(apart from Saphira). Also, Grehan said that the new rider might not even want to join the Varden or the Empire and I think it that is a very sensible suggestion, as there have been some nasty surprises in the books so far. I wouldn’t really be surprised if that was the case.

  • trey

    i havent read all of the comments but i have to say that eragon has all ready left algasiea and went to surda since the varden and surda are working togerther to throw over the empire, algasiea will become surda fullfilling angelas fortune telling that eragon wont return to algasiea because it will be under a new name i cant be sure who the next rider will be but know it will be an elf the are all ready three human riders and paolini is to genius of a writer to let that redundancy continue my guess would be the elf kid faiolin (i cant remember how to spell his name) will obtain the dragon (green would be a good color but who knows maybe he gets a pink skulblaka) he is definatly the most unexpected character to get one just like murtagh was in eldest. the cover will be galbatorix’s black dragon after all he is the reason all the books written even if he didn’t show up until half way throu the story

    Atra esterní ono thelduin

  • Kaleb

    i think Katrina will be the next rider

  • adude

    new rider = 100/100 % chance of being a girl. if you recognize in the first book he has a dream of a guy and a girl leaving alagaesia with two dragons flying above there heads

  • booklover

    i think that personelly they shouldn’t leave algaesia i hate things like that but ohwell still the books r great. What if when eragon and unmentioned rider leave and go to vroenguard who knows it may not be part of alagesia its just an island outside of it

  • Lurker

    …that painting is so awesome. thats all i gotta say. *___*

  • saphirarules

    I absolutely love these books. i can not wait for the 4th one to come out. I’ve read eragon 4 times, eldest 3 times, and brisingr 4 time now goin on the 5th, lol. anyway i would like to think that eragon and saphira are going to release murtagh and thorn from galbotorixs hold, and thus have 2 riders for the varden. and i also think things will change between arya and eragon. any way got to go.

    atra gulia un ilian tauthr ono un atra ono waise skoliro fra rauthr!!!!!

  • Paoloni’sbiggestfan

    It would be really cool if the new rider was roran, elva, nuisiada, arya, or runon but that would be too predictible. I agree with kopeshko but it would be coolest if Blodgarm was the new rider. the net book was split into two so the dragon might not even hatch, but i think saphira and eragon will live, but when they have to leave aligasia and never return they die of some sickness or the new rider learns everything he can, and then pulls a galbatorix and kills them and takes saphira and Gladr’s eldurnadi. i have read brisingr 18 times an im still not bored. Christopher paoloni is my favorite auther ever. if you want a series like it try redwall or dragonlance.

    i imagined the lethrblaka as leathery brown things with birdlike heads and large beaks. i think that the vault of souls will have hundreds of eldurnadi but be conceiled by magic so ormieris cant find them, but eragon can. i think murtagh will kill galbatorix and steal the throne. I am interested in what brom said when he met eragon too. i think it might be something about the vault of souls. GO CP!!!!

  • ceaz3r

    actually, justafan, i’m working on exactly that. it would be in the format of a telivision season, with new chapters coming out every 2 weeks. it’s still in the planning stages, and don’t hold me to my word, but the idea is out there, and we agree with you.

    ps, justafan was bemoaning how shallow and generally bad the movie was.

  • luvthesebooks!

    i LUV these books! BEST EVA! been sick past 3 days, read all 3 books waiting 4 4rth 1 2 come out! cmon, cp! keep writing! no sad endings right…

    Atra esterní ono thelduin!

  • Silver

    i absolutely love these books! i cant wait to read the next book! oh i hope the next dragon is green.

  • Randomguy

    I think that murtagh will be killed by Eragon and then the next rider will be the teenager that Eragon blesses

  • Shankhadip

    I think Murtagh will sacrifice himself or there will be a way to undermine his oaths.I feel a romantic link exists between him and Nasuada and it will come out in prominence in book 4.

  • harry

    i think the vault of souls is in sharktooth on the map.its on the map.and that it holds the souls of all the dragon riders and their dragons

    and also tells eragon how to kill galbatorix and how galbatorix can kill eragon.

  • Majik757

    i think that CP has created a masterpiece. the inheritance cycle is by far the best thing that i have ever read, and i cannot wait until the next installment comes out. i also agree completely with AeternaMortis. everything he/she wrote makes perfect sense. also i think that picklefish has a great point saying that the vault of souls is actually filled wit heart of hearts. i think those of oyu who think the next rider is gonna be a dwarf or urgal doesnt know what there talkin about.

  • Shruikan

    the new rider may be dwarf or urgal because they may add that to the spell, as they did with the humans when they came to alegesia.

  • manganerd2000

    I am confused on who will be the rider and what the vault of souls is. I think roran might be the rider or(like picklefish19 said) a long lost sister of eregon. In the end i say the new rider will join up with eregon to fight galbatorix, and so will morlough. also morlough will die/sacrifice himself for eregon or the nubie rider. Never have i been so anxious for a book, paolini is the BOMB!!!

    P.s. If anyone who reads this Knows someone named nala tell her I said hi

  • Dragonfan

    Has anyone considered that Elva, the girl who Eragon unwittingly cursed, may be the next Rider? She grows at an abonormal rate, so by the time she meets the egg, she could be physically around ten years old, considereing she was about a year, maybe less, after Eragon’s failed blessing? She’s been marked by Saphira, which makes her special anyway, but perhaps this connection to a fellow dragon will set her apart from the other potential candidates. Just a theory, perhaps not a plausible one, but a theory nonetheless.

  • JustaFan

    i saw the movie when it came out. That ruined my week. it is horrible. i think they should make a redo and actually take the time to follow the book and put some thought into it. not half of what happened in the book was mentioned or followed in the movie. my worst conplaint: eragons appearance. nowhere near. and then he finds out about brom being a rider. whats up with that? its all screwed up.

  • picklefish19

    I think that the next rider will be a long lost sister of Eragon…. or Roran. I also think that the Voult of souls is a chamber filled with hearts of hearts. It also may be a place with an army of dragon souls ho can kill but not e killed except by magic.

  • Grehan

    has anyone thoght that the new rider might not want to join the varden OR the empire

  • kneebow1

    Alright im sick and tired of listening to you people talk nonsense! im not going to go into all of it but i will say one thing. i have seen many people write crap about a dwarf (orik usually) or some other dwarf or possibley an urgal or something being a rider. if you people paid attention at all you would know that it is completely impossible for anybody other than an elf or human to be a dragon rider!!! what is wrong with you?! sorry for being rude but its just so ridiculous that i couldnt help myself

  • crazyyocat

    i think that christopher should end the cycle at four books then write about algasiea in the future a hundred years from then and how new creatures have come and new troubles arise

  • AeternaMortis

    Its a cool painting, and its pretty close to what I imagined in the book. The only difference is that it looks a little more reptilian than I thought it would. (I imagined a single headed Cerberus with bat wings and the head of a Pteranodon) In any case, I am one of the many who support Arya as the next rider. Her being the rider would give the books a sense of poetic symmetry. Her skill with magic and the blade entails that she needs very little training, (Eragon still has to tell her how to draw energy from her surroundings), and Eragon’s relationship with her would be able to grow if the future male green dragon gets involved with Saphira. This is one of the few endings for the book that would be happy. As we have already established that Eragon will leave Alagaesia forever, it only makes sense that he should have a companion with him (other than Saphira). Hence, the vision where Eragon sees two people sailing away on a boat with two Dragons in the sky. The two people will be Eragon and Arya, the Dragons will be Saphira and the currently unhatched male Dragon. As for the man standing alone on the shore, that would be Roran, stricken with grief at the loss of his brother and friend. It all makes perfect sense. Besides, this would also allow the race of Dragons to survive, as Saphira must mate with someone to save her race. Thorn and Shruikan aren’t exactly top candidates, which leaves only the unhatched male Dragon. Since this Dragon will only hatch for its destined Rider, that means that for Saphira to eventually mate with this Dragon, Eragon will become emotionally involved with the male Dragon’s Rider. The only person that Eragon is emotionally involved with is (drumroll here) Arya. The only way that anyone else besides Arya will become the next Rider is if Paolini purposefully ignores his foreshadowing for the sole purpose of being unpredictable. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of person that would make drastic changes to his saga simply to avoid having people tell him that they “saw it coming.” That being said, Arya will be the next Rider and I challenge anyone to create a more well reasoned argument for a different candidate than the one that I have created here.

    Atra esterni ono thelduin.

  • Starflecher

    MUST KNOW ANCIENT LANGUAGE! I have noticed that whenever Eragon and Arya talk to each other in the ancient language, Paolini never mentions exactly what they say, so if you are trying to confuse somebody, you always are missing a few words from the ancient languange. Also i completely agree with Jade about the last egg being green because i have had dreams about the last book being green. I completely think that Arya would be a likely candidate for the next dragon rider but i doubt it will be her. Paolini always does something in his books that either breaks your heart ( like when Oromis and Glaedr died which I totally saw it coming but i still cried about anyway) or surprises you so i think it would most likely be Orik, or Horst or an Urgal or something crazy like that. Or it could possibly be another character unintroduced altogether. I just hope its a woman about Eragons age so that if things DONT work out with Arya he could always have a better suited candidate. I really feel bad for him because Arya keeps regecting him. Another huge surprise would be if the new rider completely hated being one. Well we’ll just have to wait and see!

  • EragonCrazy

    Its a very good drawing but i kinda imagined Lethrblaka’s looking like black griffins. -__-
    i cant wait until book four is out! im practically dying to read it!! ive read eragon,eldest, and brisingr about 8 times each and now im even starting to dream of them. -___-”
    i kinda think Arya would be the next dragon rider but as someone already mentioned its too obvious. and nothing christopher writes is obvious. its always a big surprise. thats why i think it might be Nasauda. (forgive me if i hav spelled her name wrong) i just hope Murtagh and Thorn dont end up dying or something. id hate having to cry again like i did when oromis and glaeder died. Does anyone have an idea when book four is supposed to come out? IM DYING FOR A HINT!!

  • BADGER

    I saw the lethrblaka as sort of grey humans with a birds heads, talons instead of feet and wings instead of arms. i know it is predictable but i think it would be cool if it was arya who got the dragon

  • halofreak

    a big question comes to mind after reading the third book 3 times. Were all the dragon riders male? they never speak of a female dragon rider. also i would seem to make sense that Orik would become the next dragon riders, after his speech during the clan meet in farthen dur.

  • wolf

    i think arya should be the new rider and roran be able to use magic and arya and eragon get married if any1 agrees with me send me a email 2 [email protected]

  • Kopeshko

    I think a really anti-climactic ending would consist of the last egg being smashed or having the dragon serve Galbatorix. Although if Paolini wanted to extend the series into 5 books that would be the way to do it. He could also have Saphira and the youngling mate and then have Saphira die almost just after a new egg has been “made”.

  • Dellia,riderofLadsvein

    I was thinking of Nolfravel being the next dragon rider, I mean, you have to find some way for birgit not to kill roran. And when will Verongard come in to the books?

  • Zai

    That isn’t how I pictured the Lethrblaka, but it’s an interesting take on it. I pictured it to be a much larger black, shiny
    Roran’s son could be the next possible dragon rider… or Elva could be the new dragon rider… Imagine that.

  • Stormcleaver

    Hmm. I just had an idea no one else has mentioned. What about…. Rhunon as the dragon rider?? Would make sooo much sense seeing as she is practically ancient and wise AND she witnessed the binding of dragon and elves or humans forget which. But would make a ton of sense shes a woman an incredible swordssmith and very powerful.

    On a different topic would be cool to see if Paloini reveals to us what Brom told Eragon in the ancient language as he dies. Was never brought up again but Brom told him something in the ancient language then what they meant. Never mentioned again. Cmmmoooon fourth book!

  • alfragretlam

    I think that the new rider could possibly be Vanir Because it would be a total surprise and would make for an interesting training with Eragon as his master but i’m not sure.

    Elrun!

  • karen

    I am a 60 year old woman, who has had her heart captured by these books. I cried my heart out when Glaedr gave his heart of hearts to Aragon and Saphira. Also when Oromis and Glaedr died. I cried and assured them there was more, our souls continued and they would be reunited in eternty.

    Christopher your writing is excellent as you probably know. You capture the hearts of the young and the old with your books. You make it feel real and that is no easy task. I never thought I would enjoy fantasy novels so much. I couldn’t get into Harry Potter, though my children and grandchildren did. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe were my first love, until now. Keep writing I look forward to reading future novels by Christopher Paolini.

    Thank you!

  • foreverineternity

    Interesting how this has come to be. Durza when portrayed in the movie Eragon (which doesn’t do the book justice) is exactly how I envisioned him in the book. The Lethrblaka is more or less how I pictured it as well.

    The next dragon rider will most likely be Arya or it could be that the next rider is just discussed briefly in the end of book 4 as the rider in which Eragon will train to carry on the legacy of the Dragon Riders. However, Arya would be a very good candidate for obiously the reasons discussed but also for fan appeal. Christopher has to make the next dragon rider appeal to his audience. Therefore, it will either be Arya or someone else whom fans like very much.

    It appears that either Arya, Angella, or it could be a male dragon rider that gets the dragon. We will just have to wait and see in book 4

  • Yodablows

    I think that the next rider WILL NOT be Arya. This would be because Arya is such an obvious choice to become the next dragon rider there would be no supprise. I personally think that the next rider will be Angela. I think this because she is already trained with a blade and with some magic. Also she is wise and has her mysterious compainion, solebum. I know that my theory has flaws in it but it is alot less obvious then Arya, but yet it is still reasonable.

    May the stars watch over you.

  • Windfox13

    Okay just to clear somethings up. I don’t think Katrina and Roran will become the next dragon rider. First of all it would make one of them immortal so then they would get to watch the other grow old and die which would kind of be harsh. As for the fact of the dragon egg I think we can all agree that it is green and that Arya should rightfully be the next dragon rider because first and foremost a Rider’s majic is usually the color of their dragon. Eragon’s arrow turned blue with fire in Yazuac and Murtagh summoned a red bolt of energy when he killed Hrothgar therefore it would make sense that since Arya’s majic is green( she summons a green werelight in Eldest on their way to Ellesmera) she would be the new dragon rider. Plus her background of being an elf, her majic skills, eragon having a crush on her, and her experience with dragons would help

  • Masse

    I pictured the Lethrblaka looking more like a demon possessed bug, at least from the description of the larva’s mouth parts. This thing looks more like a Native American take on a phoenix or something. Oh, and whoever thinks that Twight and Eragon should be mentioned in the same sentence (God forgive me for I have sinned) is a moron.

  • Negin

    I have to agree with leonDB…if Paolini extends the Inheritance Cycle into five books, I’m going to go out and kill somebody. And then he’ll have to deal with the fact that he caused a homicide.

    But I’d love to read more Alagaësia based works – or any other fantasy works he might write in the future.

  • dimitris

    i was thiking that letherblanka were like huge black horses with big legs and wings and beak

    i cant wait for the fourth book and in greece is coming 2-3 months after it gets published abroad and i think that the egg might not hatch untill the end then eragon will have all the time to train the new rider or arya will be the new dragon rider (i doubt that a bit)

  • Jade

    the drawings great! i think that the next dragon the last egg will be green! who agrees?

  • crimsonrider

    The Inheratince siries is the best set of books ive ever read it waws ausome

  • Silvertounge79

    Someone commented that the Inheritance cycle is the awesomest they have ever read besides twighlight. I don’t mean to sound like a prude but except for the success twighlight has miraculously received, Inheritance is leaps and bounds ahead of Twighlight. The writing is more complex, and clearly thought out. Twighlight is at best a poor attempt at a Vampire novel. If you want a good vamp story read Dracula, or Le’Stat.

    As for the Lethrblaka painting, it is menacing but I don’t really see it as ancient evil spawned from all the hate and misery of the world. It makes me think more of those predator birds/dragons that Eragon encountered in the Beors. Still cool though.

  • stupidman

    i reckon maybe it could be rorans son

    you know, how katrinas pregnant and all.

  • leonDB

    I agree that Arya should be the next rider. She is very strong and won’t require training, other then what Saphira can provide for the new dragon. I do wish that Murtagh and Thorn would overcome Galby’s machinations!

    I have to disagree about Paolini writing more then one more book on the Inheritence Cycle. I want the fourth to be the last in this saga. I would love to read more of his work though, and prequel tales of the fall would be great, as well as Brom’s tale, and a starting point of magic and dragons in Alagaesia. He could write so much more on these subjects!

  • micah

    i dont think that this will be the cover to book 4 because the lethrblaka are dead.(who thinks it would be cool if the next dragon would be able to use magic at will and not only when the inspiration strikes them?)

  • Aurora

    I think this series is the awesomest ive ever read including twilight. chris paolini shoulld definitely write another series with dragons and magic. his writing is the bomb!

  • adsta998

    i think the lethrblaka looks a little bit too much like a dragon… nice drawing though

  • Awesomeness396

    i am sooo looking forward to the next booooookkkkk!!!! When is it supposed to come out?

  • kai

    katrina will get it, but roran wil be a regular magicion, he might even be so connected to her that he will get the boost of power from her dragon

  • Yeah…

    I seen the movie before I read the book and my first thought was that it’s probably a really good book. And it is. As far as who gets the last egg, I’m pretty sure it will be Roran. He expressed an interest in magic in Brisingr and he also attempted to lift a pebble like Eragon did during his training with Brom. What about the blessing in Brisingr that Eragon gave the the unnamed? Will they be significant in the next book? Or will be the next ride be a descendant of another rider or foresworn? After all, it is the inheritance cycle.

  • Edoc’sil

    i dont think thet roran will be the next dragon rider because the training he would have to go through would be really short plus it would be the same thing eragon did; and would make rorans accomplishments that hes already done not that important. arya would be a good rider because she is already powerful magic wise, she has had the right training, and shes an elf. the picture is cool but i always thought of the letherblaka as a batlike creature that had a long sharp beak with no teath and realy long sharp claws

  • Dragonriderstorm

    the cover is sick and btw arya should be the next dragon rider cause shes perfect for the role!!!!!!!!! and roran coulld;nt because hes likely not to listen to eragon and get himself killed at some point. going off topic wouldn’t it be cool if eragon released a spell that didnt resurect the old riders but allowed him to speak to them so that he can learn old rider secrets??

  • Jade

    i think that Arya will be the next rider! it would be bad for Roran to get it because he just want to settle down, but being a rider he will out live his love and his child. if he became a rider he would allways have to do what the people want! oirk could not be a rider either because he is the dwaf king and the other dawfs would not accsept it! remember how they reacted when eragon first arived at farthen dur.

    dont mind the spelling

  • ERAGONLOVER/CIARA11

    yeah i pictured it to be scarier and like dark gray

  • PLEASE

    PLEASE MAKE MORE THAN 4 BOOKS PLEASE JUST KEEP MAKING BOOKS YOUR BOOKS AR TOO GOOD TO STOP READING PLEEEEEEEEEEASE!!!!!!

  • shruikankiller

    i thought of urgals as umm you know the tuaren in world of war craft kinda like that i guess.

  • JoshAllen

    To Shadow67 :
    Orik would be an amazing rider but in the books it states that there can not be a dwarf rider as they are not included in the magic that binds dragon and rider together… nice idea though :/ I always picture’d a Lethrblaka as a mix between the creature from the films that Durza rides and a massive muscular black lizard with wings 🙂

  • eragon123554

    nice pic! ..actually a very good one!

  • Archer

    Well I always thought that the Lethrblaka looked like a rotsucker from the edge chronicles.

  • KevMo

    The picture is a good one i will give you that. it is very well drawn. the only problem i have with it is that i looks too much like a dragon instead of a bat like they are described in the books. i think they should look more like what Durza rode on in the Eragon movie. that’s what i think of when i picture the Lethrblaka

  • jdog42

    i would like it if john jude palencar could make a picture of shruikan for us seing as greeni will be on the cover of book 4

  • shadow76

    1) dan, yes if another dragon picks that person to be their rider too

    2) movie sucked in comparison, they turned an amazing book into a \”good\” movie, fuckin 21st century fox…

    3) i pictured the lethrblaka as like a demon ostrich thing, nothing like this

    4) movie interpretation of urgals SUCKED, i pictured them as like little black skinned versions of pan(from hercules)

    5)cant wait for book 4

    6) i think either the green dragon or galbatorix\’s black dragon will be the cover for the 4th book

    7) it is definitely going to be Orik, Arya, or Roran…(most likely Orik, there are 3 human riders, there WAS one elf rider, and the dwarves and dragons just made peace with each other, and in the book the dwarves complain that there was never any dwarven rider, so my money is on orik)

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  • CharlieParks

    I always imagined the Lethrblaka being like a shadow bird or a fell beast (Lord Of The Rings) though one that stuck in my mind was a Dinosoar Bat mix

  • Dan

    I thought that the next rider would have to be a girl because all the riders we have learned about so far have been men. And for Arya to be a rider would be sort of predictable. But it would still make a fantastic story.

  • neoblod

    well kp im not sure on that one.

  • neoblod

    I just always pictured as a griffin-like giant bat.(but uglier)

  • kp96

    its a great pic…and for some reason i hav a deep feeling that roran will get the last dragon egg………any 1 agree??

  • Logan

    I always imagined the Lethrblaka as a modified version of the “Brain Bug” from Starship Troopers… this isn’t bad, but it looks much to lithe and dragonic to be insectid… I do not come here often so if u reply please reply here –> [email protected]

  • Dan

    Anybody think it would have been cooler if the shade summoned at the end of brisingr had been on the varden’s side

    P.S. can somebody have another dragon hatch for them if their true name changes?

  • Rough

    i think that fox 21 was the falt of the movie being a total ripoff

    but still the story book is awesome

    i am dieing to get the 4th ook

  • drstinkink

    Lethrblaka…

    They look very, very much like the Nazgul. More proof that Paolini has plagiarized LotR

  • Insurrbution

    PLEASE let this be the book cover for Book 4! 😀
    I noticed that pattern : Deluxe Eragon had a psoter of Thorn, Thorn was book 2 cover. Deluxe Eldest had a poster of Glaedr, Glaedr was book 3 cover. Deluxe Brisingr has a poster of this guy….

  • Brilliance

    You know why the movie was bad? It actually wasn’t the director’s fault. If you watch the special features, the original concept art was almost exact for nearly everything. The problem was that they showed it to 20th Century Fox and they refused to give them the amount of money to do that. So, the director had to improvise. Blame 20th Century Fox. They didn’t want to spend the right amount of money to do it right!

  • Slightlyoffensive

    The movie was just bad. I know animals growing in movies is hard to interpret without just flashing forward but come on a cloud. Pretty much a disappointment.

  • Crazyfanreader

    I always thought that Lethrblaka will look like a dragon-like beetle but it half of what i imagined but its still got scary and cool looks ^-^

  • Xelba

    I agree, sorymybad. In the movie, they didn’t even have horns or anything.

  • sorymybad

    can CP PLEASE get a painting of A urgal or kull PLEASE cos the ones in the movie seemed to be a terrible interpretation of them…

  • mrmoocow1011

    i want a picture of the ra’zac. because i dont think that the movie did a good job of making them. theyre supposed to be in cloaks….and have beaks

  • evilgenius

    its kinda different dan i imagined it….actually very different….i dont like it very much………hmmmm

  • Bec

    If I met him on the road or something…I would be SO scared.

  • goodgod.

    your books leave so little to the imagination as is…. fire this fail of an artist and finish the series. this painting is mad bad. yuck.

  • EldunariKeeper

    Damn scarry! Ant the begining I tought it was looking a bit undead, skinny and big crystalin eyes… But even like this, is still damn scarry!!!

  • caboose292

    i kinda imagined it as a mix between the threshyls from Harry Potter and the Frost Wyrm from Wrath of the Lich King. And for those who were expecting a beak, if you look carefully on the nose it has a beak just with teeth bared.

  • Keegan

    I kind of envisioned the Lethrblaka to be kind of like mules or donkeys, but just a bit larger, with pegasi like wings.

  • eragonthe3rd

    i though it would be kinda wider but other than that it looks good ^_^

  • TheCrimsoniKing

    It looks almost exactly as I imagined it, just… Oh, I don’t know, there is something different about it, maybe the picture doesn’t show the reflectance I remember or something, either way, pretty much as I imagined it

  • draumrkopa5

    yeah…….i always pictured it having a beak like the Ra’zac and a shorter head

  • Xelba

    Does anyone here think it looks exactly like they pictured it? I’m just wondering, because it seems no one pictured it exactly the same way as someone else.

  • cody990

    First of all i wanna say the pic is excelllent the way it is. But I imagined the lethrblaka as more serpentine. I thought its wings were like bats wings or somethiong like that. Also I imagined a beak, and not as long of a head.

  • roflcopterguy

    i didnt think it would have such a long neck. it kinda reminds me of a swan. i thought of it more of a dog-headed cerberus kind of monster with batty wings and a fur more than a scale thing going with its body. but this is alright i guess

  • Siera

    Great drawing
    I didn’t picture the letherblaka looking so…’Graceful?’ i don’t know if thats the word… I imagined it as a a fatish monster with harry/hairless skin, with a big head, and batlike grey/brown wings. It had bigish feet, a wide mouth with small pointed teeth, a baldish head, and eyes kinda like a furby. Does anyone else picture it like this?

  • MrsDestiny

    To be honest,it is not as pretty as the cover of the Brisingr in Greece as I found it(bought it right today).At a first look I thought that it was an alien or something like that.Also,I couldn’t find the eyes or better I could but I didn’t think that they were eyes.No way it is compared with the other dragon in the cover.

  • bobrus

    i thought it had a dogs head or did i just completely misread it?

  • #1inheritencecyclefan!

    i expected to look like a small dragon, but skinnier not as muscular and not as pretty as a dragon.by the way i am 10 and have read eragon,eldest and brisingr. i cried when i heard book 4 was coming out late 2009 or early 2010.i was devastated!i will get book 4 when it comes out.

    kylee

  • nightstalkergirl

    To Cpt.HollyShort: I know where you got that name and I wouldn’t want to get in that thing’s way either.

    To Xelba: Yes, I pictured it kind of like a pittbull wih wings.

    I also didn’t picture it so, well, pointy and pterydactel-ish. Mine was more muscular. But everyone’s entitled to his/her opinion. But I still think J.J.P. is a wicked good artist. I couldn’t draw that if my life depended on it!!

  • Keshine

    I thought it would have looked more like the leathery Nazgul mounts from LOTR but with a beak and a couple other differences. But still great art.

  • Xelba

    What are all of those circles and ovals on its wings? I thought it had leathery wings.

  • dragondragondragon

    I imagined them a bit…no A LOT differently…Still, another amazing work by John (he never dissapoints me), and, hey, we all have different views 🙂

  • havanajoe

    I dont know it really doesn’t look at all like I pictured, the skin isn’t even gray, and what happened to the beak? Also the eyes aren’t big black buldgy and lidless. But it is cool.

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    thought it’d look way better.. this is a bit jurassic park and kinda disappointing, its like a terradactyl with spikes coming from its face.

  • Skulblakahh

    Oh cool! What if that’s the covar picture of Book IV?

  • samtheslayer

    it looks cool but i thought it would look more bird-like . i pictured it with the face and body hooded and the “beak” sticking out. but i still like it .

  • Xelba

    I agree.

  • Caitlin

    I think this looks pretty amazing.. I pictured the Lethrblaka to be hunched, with a sort of blunt face and a thin sharp beak.. but I really like the painting, very good.

  • Xelba

    Though it’s probably not what most of us pictured, Palencar at least made it look thoroughly evil. It fits the part.

  • urmom

    i kinda imagined it like a gray chinese dragon. not a bird thingy. oh well, thats just my perspective

  • Xelba

    Hmmm…

    I pictured the lethrblaka differently. Sort of like a hairless pit bull with wings, but sort of different. What about you guys?

  • DarkBrisingr

    Does anyone think that the head should have been a little bit more “beaky”. It looks a little to much like a messed up dinosaur. I was hoping for something a little more musceled and “smooth”

  • percy170107

    ok ive either missed it or everyone else has forgotten in the idea that why the hell make a Lethrblaka the cover picture, no offense to anyone but it makes no sense. It makes sense to maybe have Shruikan or dependin on what happens the last egg hatches and have another dragon but the Lethrblaka are briefly mentioned in Eldest and die very early on in Brisingr like i might be missing somethin here but why use the Lethrblaka when there is Shruikan and possibly another dragon to have. otherwise why have used Thorn for Eldest and not Glaedr?

  • All.Hail.Emperor.Murtagh

    Daniel:

    No, no, no, no, no, you misunderstood what I said. When I said, “second volume” I was talking about how Brisingr would be published in countries like Japan that split long books in two. There will be two volumes of Brisingr there, and thus, I’m wondering if the Lethrblaka would be on the first or the second, since it would only make sense to have it on the first. I am well aware that the Brisingr Deluxe Edition will still have a picture of Glaedr and the Lethrblaka will be included as a fold-out poster. I wasn’t talking about Brisingr in the US.

    What concerns me is if the covers on the books are improperly matched. For example, in Eldest, I know that one of the two volumes published in certain countries was of Thorn and the other of Glaedr. It wouldn’t have made any sense to put Thorn on the first volume, since he only appeared in the second half.

    Likewise, with Brisingr, the Lethrblaka were present in the first half of the book and not the second half, and Glaedr did not appear until the second half. The Japanese are probably going to think, “Huh? Did they get the covers mixed up?”

  • alucard

    Maybe the Lethrblaka wasn’t painted black because its difficult to show contrast on very dark paintings. Then again maybe I’m dead wrong and it’s purplish-yellow just because Palencar pictured it that way.

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Mate, sometimes mine don’t resemble humans either, the closest to a human that I can draw is a werewolf.

    Haha, I never said he was bad, I like his dragons.

  • CaptainHollyShort

    Ha, at least you can draw something that even resembles a human! I struggle with stick figures! Anything beyond 2 dimensions is out of my range of ability. Compared to my awful skill, JJP is a flippin’ genius!

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    How do you know? I don’t think I ever posted a human in the fan art.

  • Daniel

    Extremely freaky, Padfoot. 😉

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Hahaha, good times, good times! ;D

    I should not say anything about someone else’s drawings, my humans look freaky.

  • CaptainHollyShort

    Hey, Padfoot! Yes of course I remember you. *Sigh*, that was back in the day… the pre-book 3’s release era… good times. 🙂

    Now that you all mention it, it does look a lot like a pterodactyl! I still like it though. Really creepy. I’d rather not get in the way of one of those things… At least, not without my neutrino… lol

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Hello, CaptainHollyShort, remember me? ;D

    Yeah, it does make a good pterodactyl! But everyone has their own opinions.

  • go.percy.jackson.

    I really don’t like it. Yes, it’s cool, but it doesn’t match the description of the Lethrblaka that Paolini gave. At all.

    It makes a scary pterodactyl though. 😉

  • CaptainHollyShort

    Sweet!! Looks awesome!! Haven’t been on Shurtugal.com in ages… Looks like I’ve missed a lot! Can’t wait until book 4 comes out!!
    -Captain Holly Short 🙂

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    I stink at math, I am going to just going to take your word on that.

  • Daniel

    That would mean that the Lethrblaka is at least 55′ long.

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Hello, Glorfindel! I was just listening to the Lord of the Rings audioradio thing when Glorfindel was saving Frodo! ;D

    I think it said that, but we do not know how large the drawn letherblaka is suppose to be, so it might be seven feet.

  • Glorfindel

    I thought it was supposed to have a beak “seven feet long”.

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Everyone has their own ways of imagining something.

  • AuroraVail

    Cool Picture! I thought it would be more like a black dark only-half-dead type thing, but the purple-grey-gold thing works great! And it still looks like a Beastie. ^_^

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Uh huh.

  • Daniel

    It is much better.

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Hello, Daniel.

    I like this color better than the other one though.

  • Daniel

    All.Hail.Emperor.Murtagh,

    I said that I thought it would be great if the Lethrblaka was on the cover of the Deluxe Edition of Brisingr. That is most likely where the confusion came from. The article says, “At this point in time, the Lethrblaka cover is not slated to be published on any US book covers but will appear in an exclusive fold-out poster in the Deluxe Edition of Brisingr.”

  • Burstinintothaunderground

    I coulda sworn it was a black steed with wings with that kinda head, not similar to a dragon – but with more prominant big black beetle eyes and diseased flesh.

    Loved Brisingr keep em rolling

  • blue2282

    I said it once I will say it again. I have always thought of it looking like some ginormous chicken. Seriously.

  • All.Hail.Emperor.Murtagh

    Is it confirmed that this artwork will be on the second volume of Brisingr? That really doesn’t make sense, for Glaedr to be on the first one and the Lethrblaka on the second. Glaedr only appears in the second half of the book, and the Lethrblaka are only in the first half.

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Yeah.

  • Daniel

    They always sounded like long, bony bettles to me.

  • moirae

    that is nothing like what was written >.> even though the rest of the body isn’t seen, it’s obvious that even the body structure doesn’t seem right – is a snake with or something? because i don’t see any other reason why its wings would be connected to its neck.

  • deathone

    i all ways thought they looked like big betals(sorry i have really bad spelling)

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    I never thought of them having fur, because then their names meaning would not be right, Leather-flapper.

  • ILikePizza

    I’ve always pictured lethrblaka looking more like oversized fuzzie bats. =P

  • PadfootUnewraithSlayer

    Haha. Intersting.

    Hello, Daniel! *Ganga eom Shur’tugal, please!*

  • Daniel

    They look like warts.

  • Jack

    Are those teeth marks in its chest?

  • MeghanSwiftSword

    @ William

    I agree with you on the colors; a purple Lethrblaka just isn’t right.:)

  • William

    I like the colors much more than the old one. The lethrblaka looked a little wierd when it was violet.

  • MeghanSwiftSword

    MUCH better. At least this one has grayish skin(though it still isn’t supposed to have scales or teeth). It looks way way way better.

  • All.Hail.Emperor.Murtagh

    This coloring is slightly better than the purple one, but I still think the Lethrblaka would look better being (almost) completely black.

  • alucard

    I want to see the final entries!
    Also, I think this version looks brighter and less evil. Still a great piece of art. Way to go, Mr. Palencar!

  • Ruydragon

    Oh yeah, what did happen to the beyond the borders contest? was it worth entering? You Shurty staff members may be chuckling about this, but I am (as well as other people) are concerned to know what’s going on.

  • Ruydragon

    EEK! Looks scarier than the first picture posted. A Lethrblaka is supposed to be scary. I would like to see Palencar draw Shruikan.

  • Saphira

    OK i know that i haven’t commented on here in forever. But, as i have said a hundred times before, I am upset because it has been almost 2 YEARS since the beyond the borders contest!!

    Because it has been SUCH A LONG TIME I am protesting by not commenting on anything this site posts until they tell us the winners of the beyond the borders contest OR until the day the 4th Inheritance book comes out.

    You know, it would be nice if you would at least be honest and tell us that you are NEVER going to tell us the winners.

    Also you said everyone who entered will be getting a small prize a few months ago. Is that true? Or are you just trying to keep us calm?

    So here is my last and final comment until you tell us the winners of the beyond the borders contest OR until the day the 4th Inheritance book comes out.

    By the way, I like the Lethrblaka Painting. Its really cool.

  • Daniel

    It would have been awesome if the Lethrblaka picture was on the cover of the Brisingr Deluxe Edition. Oh well…

  • Daniel

    That looks much better than the other image. 🙂

  • Shayzlan2

    Yes Silver Hand. I like your impossed idea of the lethrblaka looking similar to the Pteranodon. I also quoted that it reminded me of a dinosaur. It is different than what I first thought it to look of, but I think this picture of the lethrblaka does it justice. All and all, I think this is a great painting or the lethrblaka, and I like it.

    Se Van-Yali Skolir Ono, Un Sit-ja Ramr!

  • silverhand0688

    This Lethblaks reminds me of Pteranodon(dinosaur) somehow. But I really like it.

  • Jack

    Now, THAT looks more like it.