Random House has sent us an official video of Christopher Paolini writing the final words of Inheritance (Book 4) — “THE END”, in case you were wondering — and follows the author as he packs his massive manuscript into a suitcase and officially delivers the completed manuscript to his editor Michelle Frey at the Random House offices in New York City!
This is a very exciting moment for Christopher, Random House, and the entire Inheritance community. It represents over a decade worth of work and waiting — all there in the manuscript. We’ll be reading it soon in November!
This video’s most exciting (and untouched) reveal is Book 4’s official subtitle, revealed when the video shows the front of the manuscript: “INHERITANCE or The Vault of Souls“. This is a huge revelation — we knew that Brisingr and Inheritance each had their own subtitles, but Christopher had not announced the subtitle of the final book until today. Its subtitle – The Vault of Souls – seems to indicate that the Vault of Souls may actually be more important than we had anticipated!
We want to hear your thoughts on the exciting video and the huge subtitle news in the comments! What do you think this means for Vault of Souls theories? Are you shocked that it has a place as the subtitle? Do you think that a majority of Book 4’s plot will revolve around the Vault of Souls? Voice your thoughts in the comments!
(Note to Inheritance Book Club Podcast listeners: In light of this huge news we will be delaying episode two until tomorrow (Friday). The episode is recorded and it’s a great one — we just don’t want it lost in today’s exciting news!)
….continuation … even if roran was going to get crushed by the wall wouldn’t greenie or saphira be there to save him or it may be that a random door was there and roran stepped there and survived and there is the fact that the elves that guard eragon and eragon himself is magical. even then this just may be the prologue to keep the readers on edge
im so excited I don’t know what I’m gonna do until 11-8-11 there are many things we have to remember from the other books, remember that eragon has to give the mona tree something and that could mean a whole lot like havng to leave algiasa ( sorry for not spelling correctly) and if he does leave he could mean that he could go to the home of the elves or the home of the dragon riders. then there is the fact that there has to be another rider and Christopher said that it was someone in the whole book that leades to roran,arya,and katrina it would probably be someone that we don’t expect like horsts sons or someone else from carvahall. then there is the epic romance angela was talking about I haven’t read the books in a long time but wasn’t angela kind of wary to tell eragon this part and if she was then it could be herself does anyone really know her history except the werecats maybe she is royal blood like halfpaws daughter or something the only other person would be arya but if she is the next dragon rider teachers and students can’t have a relationship
I’m lovin’ the rug his suitcase was on.
I’m lovin’ the rug his suitcase was on.
I think that: THE ENTIRE FATE OF ALAGAESIA DEPENDS ON ERAGON/SAPHIRA/ARYA/GREENI/THE VAULT OF SOULS.
Wouldn’t it suck if he forgot to hit save?
ya then he would have to rewite the wole book all over agen.
ya then he would have to rewite the wole book all over agen.
Ugh, don’t scare me like that! I’ve been waiting forever for this book to come out.
he already printed it out, so even if that happened he’d just need to scan every page then it would be fine. and considering how long this took to write, I would hope he saved multiple times
Anybody notice Zar’roc on the wall?
I did!!!
I love CP’s face when he actually realized that he’s finished. I started laughing giddily because, his excitement was so contagious. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! It’s actually done!!!!!!!!!
since there are too many theories to sift through…i am not sure if this has already been said but here goes…people are always mentioning that the green sword Tamerlein will be used by the next rider, which is theorized to be Arya…but everyone seems to be forgetting one thing, what type of warfare that Tamerlein was crafted for. let us compare Arya’s sword and her fighting style to that of Tamerlien. her sword is a slimmer more elegant sword made for the more intricate fighting style of swordsmanship, whereas Tamerlein was crafted for “a style that relied more on cutting and slashing than the faster, more elegant techniques” to quote the book directly. with this in mind we can consider one other person to recieve the last egg, Roran. his fighting style is very similar to that of Tamerlein due to the fact that he uses a hammer to fight with. it is very plausible that he may be the next Dragon Rider in this next generation.
since there are too many theories to sift through…i am not sure if this has already been said but here goes…people are always mentioning that the green sword Tamerlein will be used by the next rider, which is theorized to be Arya…but everyone seems to be forgetting one thing, what type of warfare that Tamerlein was crafted for. let us compare Arya’s sword and her fighting style to that of Tamerlien. her sword is a slimmer more elegant sword made for the more intricate fighting style of swordsmanship, whereas Tamerlein was crafted for “a style that relied more on cutting and slashing than the faster, more elegant techniques” to quote the book directly. with this in mind we can consider one other person to recieve the last egg, Roran. his fighting style is very similar to that of Tamerlein due to the fact that he uses a hammer to fight with. it is very plausible that he may be the next Dragon Rider in this next generation.
nice theory!!! so I guess it’s kind of neck and neck when you put in perspective between Arya and Roran… arya being a neck ahead I think. But a great theory that I never thought of before!!!
There is a lot of more ore for the dragon rider swords so it should be easy to make a new one for arya.
ok so my opinion is that the vault of souls is in fact quite important… It most likely holds the key to hundreds of dragon eldunari which Eragon will most likely be granted to use to beat Galbatorix—-just a thought
When will be launched the film – continuation of Eragon? Please, they make the continuation of the Film, is pretty!
I do not think they are going to make a continuation of Eragon… do you mean a movie adaptation of Eldest? They kinda messed up the film version of Eragon, so…
Unless they remake Eragon, I don’t think there is going to be an Eldest movie.
good point.
i don’t believe it will be, as there were many things left unsaid in that movie. to name but a few, elva, the twins, and solembum. all these were keys facts of the book that the movie simply cut out and i do not believe that the producers of the movie can make an appropriate comeback without making an entirely new Eragon movie
That movie left out Katrina, Angela and Solembum (in their full extent of awesomeness), Elesmera, Elva, the Twins, Eragon’s scar, and The Cripple who is Whole vision at the end. They wouldn’t be able to make an Eldest movie. It’s really not possible. Sorry. But that was a couple of years ago so, I’m hoping for a remake of Eragon, someday.
it is not possible to make a movie of Eldest without remaking Eragon. the most pressing reasons are these; at the end of the eragon movie, they’re already headed to Elesmera, but Ajihad is not dead, Murtagh has not been captured by the empire, no mention of Elva, Hrothgar has not been introduced, Eragon is not part of Durgrimst Ingeitum, and the Ra’zac are dead. some problems are potentially fixable, but these are not. I find it ironic that C.P. originally wanted to make the Inheritance cycle a movie series, and when it did become a movie, it was a fail.
Wow!!!!!
-_-
I just saw CP type “THE END”
-_-
YEEY IT’S DONE!!! I can’t wait to read it… I just love it!!!!
YEEY IT’S DONE!!! I can’t wait to read it… I just love it!!!!
eep!!
yay gonna fall off my chair!!!!
omg soo excited the date has been put on my calender!!!!!
i am going off the rails on a crazy train.
i am going off the rails on a crazy train.
i am going off the rails on a crazy train.
that girl at the end of the video totally has the hots for Christopher.
if you think about it eragon has had a fascination with sorcery since the beginning. i believe the vault of souls has a lot to do with human, elf and dwarf souls. he is going to go to the ROK and speak his name then the vault of souls will open up to him. he will not only gain power from the people in the vault but knowledge too. he can talk to brom again and his mother maybe past dragon riders. and they will all lend eragon power to over throw galbatorix. it might not be a power he can keep forever but a power he can use temporarily to accomplish his goal.
it says 11/8/11 not 8/11/11 is gona come out on August?
november 8 2011
americans put the month first, not the day
Hey, what hour does the book come out on?
Does it come out at 00:00am on the 8th?
i am counting the days till the book comes out.
Me to, I think we all are:)
tall me about it i pre-ordered my copey of the 4th book back in march.
My facebook statuses and my screensaver are now, officially, a count down to book 4. bahaha ;D
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE LAST BOOK!
I always thought the vault of souls would be important! What a better way to defeat galbatorixthen to open the vault of soulds and release all the captured dragon souls from their eldunari!
Okay, so I went back to check the subtitle of Brisingr – and I can’t remember all seven promises. Its bothering me! So I have: Promise to Roran to save Katrina, Fealty to Nasuada, Avenge Hrothgar for Orik, Revisit Oromis and Glaedr, and I think something with Islanzadi. What are the other ones?
Jeod can ride Saphira, fix Isidar Mithrim, and to remove the curse from Elva.
Oh that’s right, thanks!
I also noticed that in the actual third book itself “Brisingr” there were exactly seven promises that either he fulfilled or made in that one book. Some of them are really small so you will have to pay attention. For instance at Roran’s and Katrina’s wedding he promises that if they call him using the rings then he will come to their aid! Good luck finding them all!
True that, I didn’t even notice. Man, this guy has got to stop making promises.
Your Highness Paolini,
Finally you finish one of the most amazing stories ever told. We share your glee!
Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass!
Oooooh! I didn’t notice the subtitle when I first watched the video, but now I’m even more excited for Inheritance! I hope England is included in the book tour!!!!
HE SAID BOOK TOUR! YAY!
Hey Mike can you ask CP if Alagaesians speak english or do they speak another language thats converted in english?
They speak another language which is converted to English.
ahhh ok can u post a link to the sword that u gave CP?
Does anyone think that Christopher will have an epilogue in inheritance like what J. K. Rowling did with harry potter?
I doubt it.
how do know?
no. that’s why he may write book 5.
EEEEEEEE!!!!!!! So super excited!!!!! And I love C.P.’s excitement over it, that was awesome to see :0)
AWWWW!! I can’t wait!! It is going to be soooo good!!!!
Good post.
Omg, CP looks so cute when the reality hits him that he actually just finished writing Inheritance. So adorable!!
Hey Mike or anyone, can you please post information about this book tour!!!! That sounds soooo exciting and I want to know the places and the dates. I really hope it is in more places than the US. Come to Canada (Toronto, specifically)!!!
It’s not announced yet
Does anyone know how soon we can find out? I would love to go and meet him and get my books signed.
The book tour is still many months away. They won’t announce dates until it gets much closer — likely September or October.
I am jumping in my seat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I totally don’t know how I’m gonna be able to wait for 11-8-11!!!!!!!!!
ARHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Vault of Souls…..hmmm…..sounds totally epic.
Can’t wait!! Am dying to this book!
Mike… Was wondering if you could pose a question to CP for me… With the previous books we know they have gone through a vigerous cutting and changing system before they are published will we, the loyal fans, have the opportunity to read a copy of the uncut manuscript?
I think it would be a great thing to read.
Cheers
Editing mostly involves fixing grammar/spelling mistakes and re-arranging odd sentences to make them sound better. In most cases no substance is lost. Christopher has in the past released the cut materials (through the Deluxe Editions), so seeing the manuscripts would be almost no different than what you see published, minus some grammar changes.
With that said, it’s very unlikely he’d ever release an unedited copy of the book (for the above reasons).
I love how excited CP is in the video!
I have to ask, though … did he *really* pack that huge manuscript in his suitcase and deliver it to his editor as such?
🙂
i would think that he would put it on a USB drive or something, not on actual paper.
Think about the significance of it: he typed the LAST WORDS IN THE ENTIRE INHERITANCE CYCLE! He delivered the FINAL MANUSCRIPT OF THE SERIES. It’s momentous enough to hand in a hard copy
Fun fact: Michelle (Christopher’s editor, also my editor for the Almanac) much prefers editing by hand. This is why there’s a physical manuscript, not one on a USB drive.
Actually, I really get that. As convenient as the computer is, it’s much easier to mark things on paper (and less easy to let your eyes glide over mistakes).
Still, all of those pages loose in a suitcase? Wouldn’t they get a bit jumbled? 🙂
I think that CP put the manuscript in the suitcase like that for the enjoyment of the people watching. If you notice, the manuscript is still in pristine condition when he gives it to his editor.
Yeah, tone doesn’t come off well when you’re typing. I was trying to be … cheeky. That’s what the smiley face was for.
🙂
im so e-excited yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh now november
im so e-excited yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh now november
I. Can. Not. Express. The. Epic. Feeling. I. Am. Having. Right. At. This. Moment. Can’t I get a hug, too? Oh well, great job Christopher! I can wait!
I hope Inheritance stays at that length! I love long books, lol!
I hope Inheritance stays at that length! I love long books, lol!
I hope Inheritance stays at that length! I love long books, lol!
does it occur to anyone that the green dragon might not hatch for anyone?
Awwwwww! That would be unfortunate, but definitely a good point. Thanks for sharing!
And if it does hatch who will it hatch for? ive been reading some of the comments above and I still think its asking a bit much to say that Brom will be Resurected. For one I dont believe he would want to come back. From the final chapter in Brisingr im very interested in the werecats and what part they will play in the book. I believe the last egg will hatch for one of three people Roran, Arya, or a Dwarf. ive been wondering about these places of Natural magic that you hear of in Eragon, would it be possible for Eragon to tap into these places to gain more power? And if the elves are attacked. with the Menoa Tree defend it and how?
This is so exciting!!!
I wonder when this video was recorded? How long does it take to edit a book?
Book editing process takes at least three or four months! The book usually goes back and forth several times between the writer and editor before it’s ready for the public.
I hope it gets relased early!(like 100 days earlier 😉 )
Wow… Just wow…
Wow… Just wow…
Wow… Just wow…
hmmm
that has to be the biggest book i am ever gonna read! the bigger it is, the longer it takes for me to read! its amazing. i am dying with exitement. I feel like singing.
One of my favorite theories involving the Vault of souls is this:
“Listen closely and I will tell you two things. When the time comes and you need a weapon, look under the roots of the Menoa tree. Then, when all seems lost and your power is insufficient, go to the Rock of Kuthian and speak your name to open the Vault of Souls.”— SolembumThe Rock of Kuthian is a very relevant thing that tends to get overlooked when thinking of the vault of souls. In my oppinion the Rock of Kuthian is probably more important and has much more room for discussion. When Eragon asks Oromis and Arya about the Rock of Kuthian, they both respond similarly, “It sounds like something I’ve heard in a half forgotten dream” or along those lines. Now lets go back to the Banishing of Names. When the dragons found out that 13 of their own had betrayed them, they all banded together and casted one of the most powerful spells ever casted, subsequently stripping the dragons of their names. Now, what if this Rock of Kuthian has something to do with a dragon of the Forsworn. Whether he died there/lived there/stored secrets or his eldunari there. Now, what this has to do with his name or power, i don’t know. But, just food for thought 🙂
hmm. My “enter button”s got ignored. sorry about that
i really like this theory it has never even crossed my mind. Heck every one of these discussion boards are blowing my mind. I’m very excited for the book release and to see who’s theories were right.
I’ve thought about that myself, but I keep running into the same problem. If the ROK has something to do with a dragon who’s name was banished, then Eragon wouldn’t remember the name either. As soon as Solembum said it (who also wouldn’t be able to remember it, by the way), Eragon would have forgotten it.
No, the dragons themselves were stipped of their names. if the rock was named before the banishing, then the rock would have kept its name! Therefore eragon could remember the name because it was the name if a rock.
It’s a good theory, but I’ve thought of something else that i’m surprised no one else thought of. It’s called the Rock of KUTHIAN, so, who/what is Kuthian? A rider? An elf? A dragon? A place? One of the Grey folk? Maybe even a god, the only one that really exists in Alagaesia? The rock itself probably dosen’t have that much importance as comparedto who/what it is named after. I really hope this gets explained in the final book.
Wow…I can’t imagine writing the final words of a series…He looked almost shocked at first. I hope the book is a big as it appears; I want as much reading as I can get. I’m so excited to read it.
Does he have a schedule for his book tour? I want to know if/when he’ll be in my area. I have an autographed picture from him, in reply to a fan letter I sent. I know he probably sends one to every reply, but it still made me feel so totally special. I framed it. 🙂
Most authors don’t reply personally to fan mail. I think it’s great that Christopher does.
I am so excited that I am seriously crying right now!
I’d assumed he had finished it before they announced the books release date.
It’s nice to know they didn’t wait until he was finished to publicly announce everything. Don’t think I could have waited 🙂
Wow. Thats all i have to say
Fantastic to watch.
Reading all these comments has really raised my excitement for Inheritance. I didn’t even pay attention to the relative size of the manuscript, but now I realize it was pretty big! I don’t mind waiting anymore because now we actually have a day to look forward to. Before it was much harder because we had absolutely no idea when Book 4 would come out.
Also, this is sort of unrelated but, I totally think the Menoa tree took Eragon’s virginity. -__-Jk, jk. I just really had to throw that out there.
I think so too, but i am hoping that it isn’t true. that would really suck.
Either that, or Eragon can’t have children anymore.
holy crap! I nearly keeled over when I saw that big stack of papers!!
As to the question I believe that it doesn’t mean that the VOS will play any special role-or at least any role more special than we already thought- because if you remember BRISINGR had as a subtitle THE SEVEN PROMISES OF ERAGON SHADESLAYER AND SAPHIRA BJARTSKULAR(did I spell that correctly?) and it didn’t mean anything special
As to the question I believe that it doesn’t mean that the VOS will play any special role-or at least any role more special than we already thought- because if you remember BRISINGR had as a subtitle THE SEVEN PROMISES OF ERAGON SHADESLAYER AND SAPHIRA BJARTSKULAR(did I spell that correctly?) and it didn’t mean anything special
I’ve been waiting so long for this day to come that i cant believe its here. i dont think i can make it until November. At least he’s finished!!!!!! WEE
YYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAYYYY CP!!!!!!!!! EEEEEEEKKKKK!!!
Great only 5 more months of trying not to drool for it…..
I wish i could have that stack of paper damn ittt!!!!!!!!
you distract rndom house admin and ill grab the manuscript and run!!!
And I’l hyptnotise all the people so they don’t remember us and disable the alarms
and then i’ll take out the three of you so i can read it first!
And before u come and try to take it. then its already gone from random house and i have it ibm my house 😉
Why don’t we wait until they have typed it up and then print it like 20 times for all of us?
And then leek it on facebook or wikipedia for the whole world to see 😉
Thats gona cost CP a lot and we dont want that becuase he wont write other books
Who cares? It’s INHERITANCE or VAULT OF SOULS FFS!
Im in
After 9 years, Christopher Paolini has finished The Inheritance Cycle! I told Christopher when we talked back in 2002 that he would be on the NYT Bestsellers List. 25 million copies and 4 books later, it appears I was right! Yay, Christopher!
Anyone knows the number of the pages that the book will have?
No, but I think it’s going to be pretty big. I mean, just look at that huge pile of paper. 😀
I know!! It was like a foot deep!!!
I hope it will be even longer than Brisingr. 🙂 Loads of reading!
I wish the book is as thick as the papers!
Haha, maybe that’s a little too big. I love big books but you need to be able to hold it to read it and you really couldn’t take it with you anywhere. A book in that size would be really difficult to read. But I still hope it’s going to be big. Loads and loads of exiting adventures! 😀
They can allways make super thin pages 😛
P.S. pause the video at 45secs to see a huge grin on christophers face:)
We can always hope, right? ^^
Haha, someone’s happy. 🙂
C.P. said it would be around the length of Brisingr, which was 750 pages not counting the Glossary. What kind of worries me is that when C.P. was explaining why he was splitting the third books into two books, was that if it had been released as one single book (rumored to be titled Empire), the book would have had to been 2000 pages long. Brisingr and Inheritance put together would total somewhere from 1400 to 1600 pages. What happened to those missing pages?!?!
The awesomest thing about this? The book is out in time for my birthday :3
I can’t wait to see how this unfolds…i’m actually wondering if the vault of souls is on Vroengard. The former seat of the Rider’s power has recieved relatively little attention and “vault of souls” could be a reference to the fact that it has been described as huanted before.
The main thing though- Cannot wait until i can finally stop theorising and read! 😀
Mine also…. best birthday present EVER!!!!! I am soooo excited!!
I have just finished reading all three books for the 4th time. I am absolutely GIDDY with excitement to just know when we will finally get to read more, very excited also that the manuscript looked so large. = )
I am NOT going to wait for 20 days after it comes out to get it for my birthday, I would have to be crazy to do that!!!!
No, a few hours after the book comes out, I am going to see what happens on wikipedia. Then on November 10th ,when my book arrives, I am not going to put it down until I am finished, even if it means that I have to stay up the whole night.
Those were a LOT of pages!!!!!
I’m so happy that it’s really big, the more the better. 😀
I literally pooped my mind pants when I saw this.
….
Okay, I’m done.
Ewwwwwwwwww!!!!
Ewwwwwwwwww!!!!
Wow this is so cool. Had a big smile on my face through the entire video. 🙂
And this is not the only cool thing that has happened today. Got to see the swedish cover and titel of the book too. So awsome since that’s the actual book I’m gonna be reading later on. You guys should really check up the book’s cover, if you find it. Not my favorite one of all of the swedish Inheritance-cycle covers, but still awsome. They even have the translated “back of the book” finished. I think they really started to line up for the future release. 🙂
I love how happily excited Chris is 🙂
I JUST FINISHED BRISINGR!!!!! 🙂
Well done!
Christopher has a cute smile.
The vault of souls is where Galby keeps his stash of Eldunari. Eragon and Galby are having a fight to the death near them and Eragon goes down. About to die, Eragon reflects on his life and discovers his true name. When the dragons in the Eldunari sense this and realize who he is and the hope he represents, they find the power to break open the vault and take down Galby. Eragon can’t risk keeping all that power stored in Alagaesia so he takes them and leaves Alagaesia forever to protect them somewhere else. Some elves go with him to make sure he’s safe. — I really hope this isn’t how it goes down in Inheritance. It’d be nice if Eragon did something major on his own for once.
EEEEK.
sounds like a whole lot of eldunarya to me. Eragon has already inherited a legacy, maybe this time he gets to be the keeper of this particular vault. or are we just talking about galbatorx’s stash of eldunari. nothing else then those two make sense really. let’s just say that there is a lot to speculate about.
That’s exactly what i was thinking. I think that the vault of souls will be Eragon’s inheritance because the complete title is Inheritance OR The Vault of Souls. Which points to the Vault of Souls belonging to either a previous rider possibly the first Eragon or a family member(Brom). That is only if my theory is correct.
wait, first of all, Brisingrs “subtitle” was the seven promises of eragon shadeslayer and saphira bjartskular… and the book really did not really describe greatly about the seven promises… so what makes the vault of souls subtitle so shocking?
It’s shocking because it means the Vault of Souls will undoubtedly play a fairly large part in the Book. Simply because Brisingr did not address the seven promises, we know they were in there, and we can (hopefully) look forward to them being addressed in Inheritance. My point is, there has always been much speculation over the Vault of Souls/Rock of Kuthian, and the fact that the VoS is featured as a subtitle opens up a lot more speculation about what exactly it is/could contain, and how that will affect Eragon/Inheritance as a whole.
Just so you know. The seven promises are addressed in Brisingr, they are just not listed directly. I counted them once but I don’t remember them all now but they are things like how Eragon promised to return to Ellesmera, he promised to heal Elva, he promised to help Roran free Katrina, he promised the Menoa tree payment for the brightsteel, etc. Some of the promises were made in Eldest but they were fulfilled in Brisingr.
IT LOOKS HUGE!!!! I can’t wait
fantastic,
Do you know when the book will be available in France with french translation ?
thank you for all your information
Most excellent 🙂
VERY exciting news!!
Sorry to those of you who were expecting a podcast today. I toyed with the idea of releasing both, but I didn’t want to release the podcast when there was such big news released. The podcast is already recorded, edited, and its post is written up and scheduled to go live tomorrow (Friday) morning for you to all listen to!
Should we go ahead and start on the next chapter, or wait until tomorrow after the podcast? Or does it really matter?
Doesn’t really matter — your call!