Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia On Sale Now – REVIEW!

By Chris Addison November 3, 2009 Lytherus 78 Comments

Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia, the first non-Cycle book written by Christopher Paolini releases today in the United States and Canada! The book is an illustrated journey through the world of Alagaesia narrated by Eragon himself. While news and information on this book has been scarce, we can now say without a doubt that this is a truly amazing book that every true fan of Inheritance deserves! Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia is everything the Eragon movie should have been!

We got our hands on a copy of Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia and have written up a complete guide of what to expect from this stunning compilation of never-before-seen artwork and information from artists who stayed true to Alagaesia. Join us after the break for a complete overview and review of the book so you know what to expect from its contents! Don’t have a copy yet? Buy a copy from Amazon for only $16.49 (saving $8.50!) today!

Win a signed copy of Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia and the Brisingr Deluxe Edition here on Shur’tugal! Check back tomorrow, Wednesday, November 4th for details on how you can win a copy of your very own signed by Christopher Paolini himself!

Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia is a unique book unlike anything you’ve gotten your hands on before. The book’s information and narrative was written by Christopher Paolini as Eragon Shadeslayer, who put the book together as a guide to aspiring Riders in training. The narrative takes you, the fledging Rider, on a journey through Alagaesia, introducing you to the various races, nations, landmarks, magics, cultures, and more.

Each fold of the book tells a different part of the story, each accompanied by beautiful artwork that captures Alagaesia and its inhabitants perfectly. Our review is spoiler free. Below you’ll find a list of what to expect from the book!

  • The main races of Alagaesia, including illustrations, size comparisons, and guides.
  • A colored and map of Alagaesia featuring important towns, cities, and landmarks. This spread also contains illustrations and information on various Alagaesian landmarks, including Brom’s tomb, Carvahall, the Forest of Stone, and more!
  • A detailed look at the various landscapes found throughout Alagaesia which includes written explanations as well as illustrations and diagrams. Also found in this section are drawings of the various plants found throughout Alagaesia as well as information, illustrations, and size comparisons of the Menoa Tree.
  • The “Natural History” spread features beautiful illustrations of the creatures unique to the land of Alagaesia.
  • A detailed timeline of Alagaesia’s history takes up an entire spread of the book!
  • Beautiful artwork featuring Shruikan, Thorn, Saphira, and Glaedr makes up the dragon spread, which takes a look at the mysterious race of dragons.
  • The Dragon Rider spread offers us a look at the various aspects of being a Dragon Rider, including Rider swords, Vroengard, and more!
  • The Peoples spread includes many illustrations of the various races of Alagaesia, including (but not limited to) Shades, Urgals, Ra’zac, spirits, werecats, and more! This spread also discusses each race in Alagaesia.

    • Adding to the book’s guide feel is a number of pop-outs, rip-outs, loose-hanging letters, and “feel me’s”, including: two letters from Eragon; dragon’s wing; dust from the star sapphire; animal fur, and much more!

    It is overwhelmingly evident that hard work, care, dedication, and respect for Christopher’s vision went into the creation of this book. If you haven’t picked up a copy already, we highly recommend you do so soon. This amazing addition to the Inheritance world will fill a much-deserved spot on your bookshelf!

    Interested in what a spread from the book looks like? Check out our Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia sneak peek posted recently here!

    Looking to get your hands on a copy? Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia released today in the United States and Canada and can be pre-ordered through Amazon.com for only $16.49 (saving $8.50!).

    • Naroadh

      I am really trying to be patient for the last book of Eragon. When can we predict about the release of the last Book. Anyway, the story relates about our today n future.

    • baj

      I have not gotten this book just yet, but it will be on my Christmas wish list and I am very much looking forward to reading it and seeing all it has to offer. It is the perfect addition to a wonderful series of books that I have very much enjoyed ever since I got the first one. I have read the first three numerous times and have the first three audio recordings. I can hardly wait for the fourth and final book to hit the shelves, as I hope to buy one of the first copies and the audio recording as well. The Eragon series rocks!!!!

    • Orayelle

      @ Elvendlath, there’s not really anything about Arya, but there’s a lot about elves and some pretty cool illustrations of them.

    • Orayelle

      I was pretty skeptical about getting the book because I thought –like many of you– that all it would have was information I already knew, but when I got it as a birthday present I was quite satisfied. It really doesn’t have anything the book doesn’t have, but the pictures are fantabulous and I think a few of the things said give you a bit of an insight as to what’s going to happen in the next books. 🙂

    • MeghanSwiftSword

      Hahaha!:) Me too, especially considering how flippin’ big Du Weldenvarden is.:)

    • Hljodhr

      Ha ha!!! That is funny. I like that idea.

    • Evarinya

      Haha, yeah it would!
      “Umm, yes, hello??? Trees?? Could you direct me out of here?? Anyone? Hello?!?!”
      For hours and hours xD

    • Hljodhr

      I think the book said that that dude has been around since the war with the dragons. Is he even alive or is it just some sort of magic? Maybe the city doesn’t even exist untill he permits it. You will be searching around and never find it…That would be some cool magic.

    • Evarinya

      I wonder what would happen if Galby even tried to get past that Gilderien the Wise dude.. Would he like, be attacked by some invasion force of elves? Or just get hit with this really awesome magic attack!?
      Haha, that would be so cool.

    • mufajir01

      “Maybe they couldn’t get into the city because Gilderien the Wise would not permit them. Eragon showed his gedwey ignasia and Brom’s ring to get in.”

      well wouldnt Galby and the forsworn force their way into ellesmera instead of actually asking permission?

    • Jade&Ophelia

      @Everyone: Anyone see Rob’s comment?

      Rob said:

      ‘If you continue to post anything off-topic, it will be deleted and you will face a possible suspension from commenting.’

      On-topic: Okay, it does seem like the book is just telling us what we learned from the book.

      Those to spreads were awesome and all, but not the info, the pics sell me.

      Mor’ranr Lifa

    • kendy.kendy

      haha, we are all NERDS, people! It’s so cool (? JOIN US! The Nerd’s Club 🙂

    • Elvendiath

      Hi
      Is there anything about Arya int the book? I really hope there is…
      please someone,answer.
      oh, and Mike, the site is great as it is. I think we should be happy with it, and instead of complaining about what they did not do, we should say thanks for what hey DID.

    • Evarinya

      Awesome!
      Well.. we are pretty nerdy people xD
      But nerd is the new popular person these days :]

    • Theresa

      The only thing with buying it is my mom thoguth it was a waste of money and i felt like a total nerd buying it, because my friend just thought it was a big picture book with wierd words in it. I told him he’s just not cool enough to understand.

    • sirsimon

      I was thinking Briam, Eridor or Valinor, but an imaginative name like Tyrradin would be cool

    • Evarinya

      Ooh.. its gonna have to be a really cool name, cause green is just so cool a colour xD

    • kendy.kendy

      sirsimon,
      ‘Also, a golden piece of plastic, I was hoping the name of the green dragon’

      We’ll have to wait to know the name. What do you think could be the next dragon’s name? (I don’t know, there are so many names for a dragon… the name can exists, can be invented, so many!)

    • Terminator

      I doubt CP is going to give a spoiler that big away in a non-inheritance cycle book.

    • sirsimon

      How good is the artwork for the four dragons in the book?

      Also, a golden piece of plastic, I was hoping the name of the green dragon

    • Evarinya

      Neat! xD

    • RuggishBon3

      I bought the book and read it in 15 min it Has all the information that the Books have. my opinion not worth $24 but has cool picks.

    • Glorfindel

      Thank you.

    • Terminator

      I agree with Glorfindel.

    • Glorfindel

      It’s a really worn out way of saying that someone is immature.

    • Glorfindel

      Yes, pretty much. Third graders are generally about eight or nine years old.

    • ShurtugalLiam

      I understand that they’re all working very hard, and i appreciate it, and i wasnt telling mike how to run anything, just a suggestion, it is ALLOWED 😀

      and sorry to sound a bit ..”duh” but what the hell is a 3rd grader? :S im from the UK so is that like year 3 or something?

    • Glorfindel

      Guys, we’ve been through this a dozen times before. You may or may not be right about this business about the interview, (I’ll actually keep my opinions on the matter to myself this time) but I think we could agree that asking, complaining, doing whatever it is you’re doing, is not going to make it come faster. If it’s not going to speed things along, what’s the point?
      And I’ve been involved in this argument about three times already, and I refuse to get furtherly involved.
      Now, as to the book, I think it looks cool, but I really can’t justify spending the money right now.
      Does anyone know if I could get this from the library?

    • Mike

      I’m still waiting to hear back from Random House regarding international release dates for the books. You guys will be the first to know once I have a list!

    • kendy.kendy

      Mike, do you know when is the Eragon’s guide coming out to other countries? what countries? (I don’t want to hurry up you, just I want to know as soon as possible)

    • steven

      I would tell you but that realy would ruin the surprise

      Sorry

    • Hljodhr

      Hello everyone. First time on, long time reader.

      @mufajir01
      “1. In a previous interview, you mentioned that some of the forsworn were elves. If this is true, then wouldn’t they know where the Elven cities are, and since Galbatorix controls them, wouldn’t he?”
      some of us talked about this in some other comment board and we came up with the theory that not all elves now the location of every single elven city so…
      just a theory though 🙂

      Maybe they couldn’t get into the city because Gilderien the Wise would not permit them. Eragon showed his gedwey ignasia and Brom’s ring to get in.

    • Saphorn

      ARRRGHHH!!

      What’s in the back of the book?

      Is it just a joke or something?

      Or is it something exciting???

    • MeghanSwiftSword

      WOW!! Now I really need to check some of this out!! Great review!!:)

      Hahaha, love your comment on, “What the Eragon movie SHOULD have been”, Mike.:D

      Again, thanks so much for all that you do on here, Mike, Chris, and others. We really appriciate it.

      Oh, and about your earlier comment, Bobkebab, that was rude and uncalled for. Sorry, I don’t mean to nag you, but Mike and the rest of the staff work their butts off on here. You don’t just come on and tell Mike how to run his own website like you’re in charge of it. After all that he does for us fans, you could at least show him some respect and not treat him like a 3rd grader trying to run a website!!

      Sorry, but it’s the truth. You owe him an apology.

    • Bob

      @QuestRider:

      The day isn’t over 😛

      EDIT: Mike just stepped all over my comment! I feel violated!

    • Mike

      The information about the contest is coming today. Since, you know, we’re only half way through the day.

    • mufajir01

      oh sorry i did not see the earlier post adressing the issue!

    • mufajir01

      also Terminator
      it was said yesterday
      come back tomorow for more details on how to win
      but other than that i dont mind waiting cause in the end these interviews and stuff are just things to while away the time till the 4th book comes out!! 🙂

    • mufajir01

      “1. In a previous interview, you mentioned that some of the forsworn were elves. If this is true, then wouldn’t they know where the Elven cities are, and since Galbatorix controls them, wouldn’t he?”
      some of us talked about this in some other comment board and we came up with the theory that not all elves now the location of every single elven city so…
      just a theory though 🙂

    • Ganon:RiderofArgorok

      I’m not bothered about any late things such as competitions, however @Terminator: It does say on this page, and I quote, “Win a signed copy of Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia and Brisingr Deluxe Edition here on Shurt’ugal! Check back tomorrow, Wednesday, November 4th for details on how you can win a copy of your very own signed by Christopher Paolini himself!” So, it does actually say a date that it will be up. I’m not having a go, I’m not bothered that it is late, just pointing out all of the facts.

    • Terminator

      Bobkebab,
      No offense, but what do you contribute to the site? Mike and everybody are working their butts off for it.

      Also, just because they say they’re going to have a contest SOMETIME IN THE NEAR FUTURE, doesn’t mean you automatically have to assume that it’s going to be the very next day.

    • fantasyfan

      I`m from Germany. How can I get the book?
      By the way a good remake of the movie would be fantastic!!!

    • QuestRider

      Where is the info about the contest to win the signed copies? Am I missing something? O_o?

    • Bob

      Alright people. Stop trying to teach us how to run a website.

      This comments section right here is to discuss the review of Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia.

      If you continue to post anything off-topic, it will be deleted and you will face a possible suspension from commenting.

    • Higgins

      Im so going to enter that contest

    • Ganon:RiderofArgorok

      @Sirsimon: I don’t know if I’m allowed to explicitly say what it is at the back of the guide, but lets just say that it is a little piece of golden plastic ;).

    • Bobkebab

      without real warning, I meant.

    • Bobkebab

      I can certainly understand being too busy to get something done despite promises that it would be done (payment or no payment, a promise is still a promise), but there’s a neat little word that Mike might like to learn and implement in the running of the site, if he’s so busy:

      Delegate, v. To commit or entrust to another: delegate a task to a subordinate.

      Mike, staff and volunteers exist for a reason. Delegate, man! I think any one of us would gladly shoulder a part of the burden, if only to help the site deliver its content faster and more effectively.

      I also think it’s irresponsible to break a promise of a deadline with real warning, and childish to complain that people are upset when a product was not delivered as promised. They’re called ‘deadlines’, and it’s just courtesy to warn someone if a deadline has to be extended.

    • ShurtugalLiam

      Mike, i know it must be frustrating when people are impatient and what not, but gandalfthegrey does have a point. We’ve been waiting for interviews the past how long now? and all you keep saying is your busy. i understand with all the jobs etc, but instead of reading people’s replies, you could easily just “bam” the interview on here?

      and i was going to buy this guide thing, i put an order in but when i went to get it they said that they wasnt getting any in “/ so im going to order for amazon.co.uk 🙂

    • S4phir4

      No Director would start make a remake of the first film because it was so sad sad sad. there are so many poeple who wont go into the film because they know the first one

    • sirsimon

      Not to worry uk fans, it will be released on the 5th november. Me being one.

      Also, about two weeks ago, steven mentioned in the comments of a surprise at the back of the book, what is it? My instincts tell me, its an update on book four’s progress.

      And lastly, when i was watching Eragon last night, I thought to myself, lets start a petition for a eragon remake, bigger, better and more true to the novel.

    • S4phir4

      whats up with the 5 signated versions?

    • Baboo

      Michele asked: So… anything on the Forsworn in there?

      Just a little blurb in History spread, but it’s just a summary of things we already know, they joined Galby and their dragon’s names were erased.

      Overall, it’s a great immersion into the world, and a worth while pick-up, but there’s not much new info in it.

    • Chris

      You’ll have to post interview questions in a new news post. It’ll be opened when we are going to do another interview.

    • Cristina

      Wow. Going have to look at this at Wal-mart too. lol. This looks awesome! 🙂 I may buy it. But I’m REALLY waiting for the 4th book. Hurry up CP 😀

    • Evarinya

      So how do we get the chance to win a signed copy? I think I would pass out if I won xD

    • riles

      Hey Mike,

      First off I would just like to say thank you for all the hard work you put in for us readers. I know that I really appreciate.

      I have a couple questions that I’d like to get in some of the interviews if possible. Here goes:

      1. In a previous interview, you mentioned that some of the forsworn were elves. If this is true, then wouldn’t they know where the Elven cities are, and since Galbatorix controls them, wouldn’t he?

      2. What is Eragon’s current strength(without the help of Eldunarya) in comparison to some other characters, lets say Arya? Or Blodhgarm?

    • Ganon:RiderofArgorok

      For anybody in the UK, try WHSmiths. I don’t know if it was a mistake, but my girlfriend got it from there on 30.10.09, so a few days early. Anyway, great news about the interview.

    • kendy.kendy

      Mike,

      ‘With that said, I have the interview sitting in my inbox. It’ll be up this week.’

      Yeah! 😉 Thank you! wonderful..!

      ‘I also put in a request for a list of international publication dates for the Brisingr DE and Eragon’s Guide. Hopefully I’ll have those this week as well.’

      Thank you. I really want to buy it, but I’m not from the USA or UK… Do you know if the Guide would be published in other languages (I don’t mind buying it in English in my country… just a question)

      Sarah,
      ‘But they did have a copy of the Deluxe Edition of Brisingr, so I was finally able to see what Galbatorix looks like.’

      wow, I want oto buy it! but I’m not from the USA.. 🙁 ok, I’ll wait Mike’s answer to see if I can buy the book in my country..!

    • Si

      UK fans can buy it from Amazon.co.uk for a little less than £10 currently. I bought it- I’m just waiting for my copy to be delivered following Royal Mail strikes

    • Shadeslayer70

      Oh, man, i would love to win one of those signed copies, that would be so cool!
      Also I am very excited about the news on the interview! Thanks for the update Mike, can’t wait to read it!

    • Sarah

      Sad day! I went to the University bookstore again, to see if they had Eragon’s Guide, and they didn’t. But they did have a copy of the Deluxe Edition of Brisingr, so I was finally able to see what Galbatorix looks like. (If you’ll remember, I pretty much ran to the bookstore the day that the DE came out and they had ordered a bunch of copies of DE Eldest by mistake–d’oh!)

      I’m looking forward to reading the Q/A, Mike! Thanks for all that you do in putting that together.

    • alucard

      Oh wow! I;m going to try my luck on winning a copy before I go out and buy one… either way, i’m definitely getting it!

    • Mike

      @gandalfthegrey – I’ve responded about 100 times to this. Instead of pretending my replies don’t exist, I’d like if gandalfthegrey would take a minute and read the 100 things I’ve said about this in the past.

      With that said, I have the interview sitting in my inbox. It’ll be up this week.

      I also put in a request for a list of international publication dates for the Brisingr DE and Eragon’s Guide. Hopefully I’ll have those this week as well.

    • RockYourSocks

      awwww….. only usa and canda! what about the fans in the U.K.? we cant buy it 🙁

    • Michele

      So… anything on the Forsworn in there?

    • George

      Yes this is a good question. Will Eragon’s Guide to Alagaesia be published in Europe?

    • gandalfthegrey

      Is anyone else astounded that reviews and other postings keep happening on this site but yet we can’t get a post giving any kind of information/explanation about why its november and the september interview still isn’t posted? Instead of making some kind of comment about this Mike Macauley apparently decided the best way to handle the delay is to pretend it doesn’t exist. I would appreciate it if Mike Macauley would respond to this and address what is going on and I’m sure many other users of the site would as well.

    • Terminator

      @ Robert.
      Did I ever mention how much I love you guys?

    • Taslin

      Is it for everybody, or just for US residents?

    • mcc

      It certainly sounds awesome, but does anyone know if the guide and the deluxe edition of brisingr will be released in europe? There are many fans in the rest of the world who would like to see them too!

    • S4phir4

      @ Rober Cox
      what a nice thing
      how can we take part?

    • Bob

      @Terminator:

      Good thing we’re giving away 5 signed copies starting tomorrow!

    • Jade&Ophelia

      Wow, I have to get this book!

      It sounds awesome and I can’t wait to

      see what it says about the Elves (:

    • Terminator

      I wanna get it, but I’m broke! :'(

    • Bob

      @Ganon:RiderofArgorok:

      Good guess! He’s not going to give away the whole book!

    • CamillaCarlström

      Wow, I got my book in the mailbox yesterday! It’s gorgeous! Absolutly stunning! Wonderfull!

    • Ganon:RiderofArgorok

      You’ve missed out what’s on some of the other spreads :(. Is this for any reason, because youve missed of some of the best information, such as what’s on the last page of the book. Not saying in case that’s a spoiler 😉