Happy 32nd birthday, Christopher!

By Mike Macauley November 17, 2015 Christopher Paolini 21 Comments

Today marks our favorite author’s 32nd birthday, and what better of a way to celebrate than with a Saphira cake?

saphira birthday cakeChristopher first wrote Eragon when he was just 15 years old. It’s hard to believe that 17 years have passed since he first brought Alagaësia to life! This is just one of many interesting facts about the author…

  • Christopher was homeschooled for his entire education and graduated from high school at 15 – the same year he wrote the first draft of Eragon
  • Christopher applied to and was accepted by Reed College but chose to defer his attendance to promote the self-published version of Eragon
  • Christopher and his family first published Eragon in 2002 through their small company, Paolini International, LLC.
  • Christopher’s books have sold over 35 million copies in fifty-three countries
  • Christopher sat atop the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher Weekly bestseller charts for each of his books
  • Christopher was awarded a Guiness World Record for being the “youngest author of a bestselling book series” (awarded on January 5, 2011)
  • Christopher is colorblind, which influenced the unique way Saphira sees the world
  • Christopher based the early version of Eragon off of himself (and initially named Eragon “Kevin”)
  • Christopher based Brom off of his father, Kenneth, and based Angela off of his sister
  • Christopher has traveled the world in the decade since Eragon was released by Random House in 2003! He’s visited North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia! He’s currently in Edinburgh, Scotland, and regularly shares photos and updates on Twitter!
  • Christopher is hard at work on a sci-fi novel, which will be his first release following the publication of Inheritance in 2011!

Tell us: How old were you when you first read Eragon? Leave your answers as well as a happy birthday wish for Christopher in the comments!

  • VarunNovel-ty

    I’m 14(same when I started) n i read the whole series over the summer break! It’s probably the best series I’ve ever read n Im so hooked up I feel as if I was myself in alagaesia n I knew all the characters…can’t wait for the fifth book n more on alagaesia n it’s wonders! Made my summer 😉
    Best wishes,
    Christopher-elda xD

  • Joshua Hamilton

    HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS??????? I was 11 when I first read it, I love reading, and have just read the seris for the second time, by the way, I like the name you gave Eragon’s second sword,also, why did you kill off Oromis?? he was awesome. I am twelve by the way.

  • Amelia Shadeslayer

    I WAS 14 (I AM STILL 14) AND I READ THE SERIES IN 5 DAYS WITHOUT STOPPING AND NOW I AM READING IT AGAIN FOR THE SECOND TIME OMG ERAGON IS MY LIFE AND I REALLY WANT BOOK 5 TO BE REALLY GOOD AND I WANT ARYA AND ERAGON TOGETHER OK I’M DONE ILY U ALL

  • Random Inheritance Fan

    I was 11, and right now i’m currently reading Eldest for the first time. BEST SERIES EVER!

  • A tiny meme

    I think that was actually two years ago and I didn’t read it but listened to the audio book. English is my second language so whenever a book uses too many descriptions I get really lazy when I read something. Too much sentence clutter and I’m out. Audio books all the way. 🙂

  • James Hardy

    I was 8 when I first read Eragon, in third grade. Since then, I have continued to read the Inheritance Cycle, and I just finished the books for the seventh time. Happy birthday, Christopher, and thank you for bringing this series into my life.

  • Baycohn

    Elrun ono un sé ono waíse ilia, Christopher-elda.

  • Ethan

    And I almost forgot to mention how in Eragon’s descriptions Angela seems to fit one of the criteria for each race also how she is welcome among them all even the Urgal’s

  • Ethan

    When Nasuada was captured and brought to Galbatorix he was talking about a seer to her and how it was a mix between all the races in Alagaesia (Urgal, Dwarf, Elf and human). This would explain how Angela is so powerful and why the Helgrind Priest feared her name when she whispered it to him, but there has never been any noticeable evidence before until now. If you go to the 3 book Brisingr and open up to page 257 when Angela is foreseeing the 2 mysterious females future with the dragon knuckle bones. Right after Eragon Blesses them and the one woman sais thanks to him she turns to Angela and sais “train hard, strike first, Seer” SEER is the bold word here and this is evidence of what Angela really is and the truth so go check it out yourself on page 257 and that is what Angela the Herbalist really is one of the most unsolved mysteries in Eragon has been discovered

    • Amelia Shadeslayer

      On which page is Galbatorix telling Nasuada about the Seer?

  • Ethan

    Angela is a seer

  • Ethan

    I finally know what Angela The Herbalist is

  • Jarrett H.

    Happy Birthday Christopher Paolini.
    I read the whole series this year, about a month or two ago. I am 15 years old. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. I read the books in a span of about a month. It is my favorite series. The books are amazing.

  • Daniel Phillips

    i must have been 22. my little brother got me the movie edition of eragon for christmas. honestly i read half of the first chapter and hated it. the character ‘the shade’ sounded stupid (without context as to what he was). fast forward a year or so and i picked it back up thinking ‘my awesome brother got this for me, why havent i read it yet?’ being the first chapter in his first book may be why i didnt like it so much, but after that i was hooked. after i finished it i checked to see if book two was out. i bought it and started reading it in the checkout line, and did not stop for three days. thank you for an epic adventure. Ilia agaeti Christopher-elda!

    • Random Inheritance Fan

      Yeah, the first chapters in books are usually always bad

  • Johan Ludike

    Mate Congrats on another birthday. Hope you have a wonderful year until the next one.
    I read Eragon when I was in high school which was lent to me from a friend, still enjoying it till this day

  • Maria Rn

    Happy birthday Christopher! I started reading Eragon only a month ago, and so far I love the story. The best books I’ve ever read! I’ve never been obsessed with a book before at such a degree. Thank you for the series.

  • Assassins Forever

    You can just change the color to make it your favorite dragon XD Green Fírnen, Red Thorn, Gold Glaedr, Black Shurikan ( But we don’t really like him do we :P)

  • zypzaex

    Happy Birthday!!! The Inheritance Cycle is seriously one of the best series’ that I’ve ever read. Thank you so much!

  • Saphyra04

    Happy Birthday Christopher!! You opened my eyes to the wonderful view of the world on the back of a dragon, and I have never looked back! Best wishes to you, and I hope you enjoy your next year on Earth (or wherever you choose to live in your next book)!

  • Gisele Braathen

    Eragon was like the first book I´ve read,when I was 10 years. And Happy Birthday Christopher!You are the best writer of the world.