Christopher Paolini has been featured in the March issue of wildly popular “Rolling Stone” magazine as one of four pop culture figures profiled, alongside the likes of Paul McCartney (The Beatles) and Danny McBride! The spread, which takes up almost five pages of the magazine, features an incredible photo of Christopher in his home state as well as an in-depth look at the man behind the series and the family which helped contribute to the book’s success.
The article is available in print everywhere magazines are sold, and we also have a summary of some of the article’s key (and extremely interesting) details and revelations available after the break, accompanied by two incredible photos from the issue. Keep reading for more!
The article contains a whole host of new information on Paolini and his family, including the role the entire Paolini family plays in the behind-the-scenes workings of the cycle, Christopher’s struggle with a then-undiagnosed thyroid disorder, a rune-encrypted journal, and more! Below are the article’s highlights:
- Similar to the recent New York Times feature on Christopher, the Rolling Stone article goes into detail on the dragon decor Christopher has chosen to line his office with, including “a dragon coffee table, a dragon side table, a dragon sconce, a dragon shelf, a dragon clock, a dragon mirror, a dragon lamp, a dragon letter holder, a dragon bench and a dragon head mounted outside the door”
- Christopher bought himself a three-and-a-half-foot broadsword made of high-carbon Damascus steel and etched with an elaborate calligraphic design, accompanied by a black leather sheath, as a gift to himself for finishing Book 4. The sword was purchased from the only custom sword store in NYC. “I hope never to have to duel, but if I do, I would trust my life to this sword.”
- Christopher is quick to credit his family, whom have helped tremendously with all of the work that goes in to creating and curating such a successful series. “Paolini repeatedly emphasizes that he’s spearheading a team effort, with Mom fielding fan mail, Dad turning ‘the financial wheels,’ and sister acting as girl Friday, and all four editing.” (Girl Friday is defined as: “a female employee who has a wide range of duties, usually including secretarial and clerical work”)
- “According to Paolini, he and Angela, a petite woman with intelligent dark eyes and a fantastic nest of dark, springy curls, have their own near-telepathic bond, not unlike Eragon and his dragon.”
- “A set of djembe drums rests against one wall. ‘Who plays the drums?’ I ask. ‘Oh, we all do,’ Paolini says with a shrug.”
- The Paolini family watches a movie or television show together each night while eating dinner. The night before the Rolling Stone reporter’s visit, the family had watched Il Bidone, following the film up with “Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon”.
- The article details the family’s time with CUT before leaving the church to forge a new life in Montana. The family’s experiences with CUT can be found as minor influences throughout the Inheritance cycle.
- Christopher discusses the two forges and the underground lair, similar to a Hobbit hole, that he created out of boredom after graduating from high school (through American School, a distance learning home schooling program) before beginning work on Eragon.
- Christopher had been accepted to Reed college but chose to defer attending in favor of promoting Eragon (then still self-published)
- Christopher keeps a journal which he has encrypted “in runes”
- “The writing of Inheritance was excruciating for [Christopher]. He was mainlining coffee and chocolate, grinding out only 350 words a day. It turns out he was suffering from an undiagnosed thyroid disorder, and he still seems drained from the ordeal.”
