In the fourth part of our five-part Reddit AMA recap, Christopher discusses Eragon as a TV show, Grey Folk in Book 5, what the Menoa Tree really meant, a timetable for Book 5, and much more!
Last month, Christopher took to the popular internet community Reddit to host an AMA, or “Ask Me Anything,” allowing readers of the r/Fantasy sub-Reddit to submit questions for the author to answer!
We released what we then believed to be a three-part series recapping the incredible amount of questions and answers from the event… but Christopher surprised us by returning two weeks later to answer an additional eighty questions! We’ve compiled two more posts, bringing the series total to five, the first of which was released yesterday.
Here’s a summary of what you may have missed in the first three recaps:
- Part one: new details on the original ending of Inheritance, Book V hints, a surprise appearance from author Brandon Sanderson, and much more!
- Part two: unpublished ending of Inheritance, the gender of his upcoming scifi novel’s main character, his favorite video games, heaps of writing advice, and more!
- Part three: a future Alagaësia story following Angela, deleted Eragon/Arya romance scenes, his ideal involvement in a movie reboot, when he’ll tackle Book V, and more!
- Part four: the power of true names, Eragon’s gold flower appearing in the future, Angela’s backstory in Book 5, progress editing his sci-fi novel, and more!
And now, on to part five!
BOOK 5 AND FUTURE ALAGAESIA STORIES
u/dragoncockles asked: “I know youve said that youd like to revisit alagaesia at some point in the future either for a sequel or prequel. Is there any news on when that some point may be? Should we expect new material to closely follow the more familiar characters, or will we see stories from a different, more outside point of view?”
u/ggvcxth123 asked: “Correct me if I’m wrong – the Menoa Tree told Eragon to go… so she had probably meant that she wanted him to leave Alagaesia, right?”
u/RastionalMayhem asked: “What can you tell us about your new book and when can we get it?”
u/SirLordBoss asked: “Would you ever revisit the world of Eragon, maybe continue it? I’d love to see the series continued, maybe far further ahead in time, and see old characters again, seeing an older queen Nasuada, Dwarf and Urgal Dragon Riders, a far older, stronger, ans wiser Saphira and Eragon… Maybe even find out what’s the deal with Angela! Is there a chance that might happen in the future?”
u/Zarnyil asked: “Do you have any plans for/will the grey folk play a larger roll in book 5?”
u/MawashiKaitenGeri asked: “I saw you speak in New Zealand a fair few years ago and you mentioned the possibility of a book of Angela’s life story. Is this still possible?”
MOVIES
u/n00RBERG asked: “Do you want a movie adaption of the Books about Eragon? If you do, do you have a plan for it?”
u/flint_the_albatross asked: “Are you interested in ever turning the Inheritance Cycle into a movies/TV series? Regardless of whether or not the original Eragon movies was good (strong feelings from some people there), it would be cool to see the entire series on the big screen.”
GENERAL INHERITANCE CYCLE
u/gcmarinho asked: “I have a question about the Renegades. How did the elves react on having another elves helping Galbatorix and how was the proportion of the renegades being elves/men?”
u/Hergrim asked: “1) There are a few times where the Varden are forced to storm towns due to a lack of supplies. Is this by any chance influenced by the writings of Engels (Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army) or some similar author (Bachrach, Pyor, etc) who detail just how little in the way of supplies a premodern army could carry?
2) The Varden seem to be wholly lacking in terms of a siege train. Was this a deliberate logistical choice (i.e. they could move faster without it/they didn’t have one due to their role as rebels), or was it purely a stylistic choice (i.e. storming towns is much more interesting to write and read than a proper siege)?
3) As you wrote your books over a long period of time, you must have ended up with a great deal of knowledge from your research during the time you were writing that you didn’t have at the start. Looking back, are there any fights or battles that you would have written differently knowing what you do now? If so, how would you write them today?”
u/renegadealchemist asked: “Seeing how Eragon has developed from boy to man to legend and the final choice he eventually made at the end of Inheritance, really got me wondering was that the decision you had envisioned him taking from the start, when you first started writing the plans for Eragon? Was the basic plot line kept the same or did you adapt as you went along(as you matured as a writer and how the characters developed)? Also I can’t tell you how eagerly I await Book 5, whatever it may be. As an eager fan I would love to know a timescale on when that will be released, I know that you are busy with your sci-fi project, but do you have an estimate?”
u/ErDiCooper asked: “My favorite part about your books is how you managed to make the dragons simultaneously massively powerful but ALSO compelling characters that were able to stand on their own. I’ve seen some people wondering how to make characters that are like, objectively super powerful also compelling members of a main cast and I was wondering if you’d like to share your process on that!”
u/theladylala asked: “1. Would you ever go back to Eragon’s world? 2. What was your process for creating the different languages? 3. What character’s death do you regret writing? 4. What advice would you have for a novice fantasy writer who’s struggling to develop logical plot points for her story, and is getting frustrated?”
u/ispayne asked: “When Eragon found Galbatorix’s stash I assumed that he’d use them to arm the new generation of riders. However, as the pact was modified to accept dwarves and Urgals, and the swords were made for human and elf anatomy. What i’m getting at is how would Eragon give dwarves or Urgal riders weapons? would he have to forge new weapons by melting down the old swords? Brightsteel battleax perhaps…?”
u/greengryphon aksed: “Was Roran’s final encounter with Birgit in any way inspired by Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?”
u/orchidguy asked: “I was at one of your first book showings way back when in the Livingston Library, and one memory that really stands out for me is when you were drawing a map of the Alegaësia region while you were describing the setting, then boom! The whole map was a dragon. Any chance that you have a video of that anywhere?”
u/Kfa_cantante asked: “In Brisingr at the Menoa tree, does Linea take Eragon’s fate, and does that make it possible for Eragon to return to Alegaesia?”
u/thebishop8 asked: “Way back in the first book, Yazuac was slaughtered by Urgals, but later we found out Durza was controlling the Urgals, and Galbatorix controlled Durza. So why did the Urgals kill a village under Galbatorix’s rule if they indirectly served him?”
u/KellyDPalmer asked: “We all know that Angela is inspired by your sister, your father was the inspiration for Brom and you named an Elvin ship after your mother…did anyone else in your life get an homage in the series?”
u/little_lord-Galby asked: “1. Is Raugmar the Black or Belgabad larger? Also, where is Raugmar the Black? (It was mentioned he flew to the north never to be seen again) 2. Was Oromis an exceptional Rider or just a normal Elf Rider with lots of experience? 3. Is the position of Leader of the Dragon Riders hereditary or are they elected? 4. Brom mentions to Eragon there are many ways to equal the speed of an elf but says none are available to him yet. What are those methods? 5. What happened to the fairth of Eragon’s mother? 6. How many Dragon Riders where present right before the Fall? 7. Also, how many dragons?”
u/Lakinther asked: “Why did Islanzadi have to die?”
u/haylee345 asked: “1. It’s been a few years since I last read the books, but I can’t think of any human magicians I like. They’re all kind of crazy. I can’t imagine any of them leading a revival of scholarship and magical knowledge, especially with the distrust of magic and history of betrayals. Eragon will obviously be focusing on other things. I can see Nasuada encouraging more profitable magic industry. Can you give any hints of the state of magic post Inheritance?
2. What is Orrin trying to do? Why science? Is it really just a hobby? Is he trying to find alternatives to magic? Will we see him establishing universities to further education?
3. Why is it so difficult for elves to have children?
4. Will more rider swords be made? Other magical weapons?
5. Any hints about Book 5? How far in the future will it be?
6. What would a werecat dragon rider be like?
7. Can elves and dwarves have babies? Elves and humans? Dwarves and urgals? Urgals and humans?What about once they become Riders? Some interesting romance opportunities?”
u/NoSenseofRhythm asked: “Which of your characters is your least favorite? (By the end of the series I had a hard time not empathizing with any of them, at least a little. Are any of them truly, plainly, awful?) Also, are there any aspects of the books that you, as a writer, feel you didn’t execute as well as you would have liked?”
MISC INFO AND WRITING ADVICE
u/bakateddy asked: “If you were stranded on a desert island and had to take 3 albums with you, which would they be? Feel free to split them between a “get hyped” album, a “chill out” album, a “lullaby bed” album, or even a “just can’t get enough of it/I work to this” album.”
u/PsychoPebble asked: “What are your opinions on the following? A Song of Ice and Fire (George R.R. Martin) The Shattered Sea Triology (Joe Abercrombie) The Shadow Campaigns (Django Wexler) Also, do you think that Eragon has aged well considering you wrote it when you were so much younger, and so long ago?”
u/MaxN24 asked: “What is your writing process? Do you outline your books — chapter outlines, etc.? What is your writing routine? Do you have a set amount of words you write?”
u/DeleriumTrigger asked: “I’ve read that you take a lot of inspiration from the places you’ve lived – what other geographical places that you’ve been to have influenced your writing the most?”
u/9ABS9 asked: “Can you expand on your notekeeping? Like did you have a notebook filled or a bunch of post-it notes? Were they organized by the events or by the characters?”
u/smplmn92 asked: “Have you read any of the fanfiction sequels for your books? Some of them are really good”
u/towehaal asked: “What are some of your favorite books from your childhood years? And how did they inspire your work?”
u/silent_shade asked: “How did you tackle the arduous task of pulling ideas out of your head and shaping it into a new? How do you stay inspired when you rapidly run out of ideas and drive? And do you write any short stories for practice? Anything you can share?”
u/CheshireMoon926 asked: “Was it hard for you to be a young author? Were there any challenges that seemed as daunting as the Beor Mountains, or as scary as the Spine? Also, I know this might be a touchy subject, or a question already answered but: What did you think of the movie adaptation of your book?”
u/TigerEyeLionHeart asked: “When did you know you were going to be a writer, and how did you even begin to come up with such developed characters?”
u/PlatypusViral asked: “I’ve been trying to hammer out the details on how magic works in my world and was curious how easy/difficult it was for you to create your system.”
u/TheOneGuyWhoEatsYou asked: “Did writing the books ever emotionally affect you as it has to a lot of us here?”
u/DragonsAreFurriesToo asked: “Any tips for writing fantasy novels? World building, language building, etc?”
u/blaster_dragon: “Any plans to branch out into other genres besides sci-fi and fantasy?”
