Inheritance

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Kvetha Fricaya. Greetings, Friends.

What a long road this has been. It’s difficult to believe that the end has finally arrived. Many times, I doubted whether I would ever finish this series. That I did is due in no small part to the help and support of a great many people.

I do not exaggerate when I say that writing Inheritance has been the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. For a variety of reasons-personal, professional, and creative-this book presented more of a challenge than any of the previous ones. I’m proud to have completed it, and I’m prouder still of the book itself.

Looking back on the series as a whole, I find it impossible to sum up my feelings. The Inheritance cycle has consumed twelve years of my life-nearly half of it, to date. The series has changed me and my family, and the experiences I have had as a result would take another four books to recount. And now to let it go, to say goodbye to Eragon, Saphira, Arya, Nasuada, and Roran and to move on to new characters and new stories … It’s a daunting prospect.

I don’t intend to abandon Alagaesia, however. I’ve put too much time and effort into building this world, and at some point in the future, I will return to it. That may not occur for another few years, or it might happen next month. At the moment, I can’t say. When I do return to it, I hope to address a few of the mysteries that I left unresolved in this series.

Speaking of which, I’m sorry to have disappointed those of you who were hoping to learn more about Angela the herbalist, but she wouldn’t be half so interesting if we knew everything about her. However, if you ever meet my sister, Angela, you can always try asking her about her character. If she’s in a good mood, she might tell you something interesting. If not … well, you’ll probably get a funny quip nevertheless.

Right, then. Onward to the thanks:

* * *

At home: both my mom and my dad for their constant support, for their advice, and for taking a chance on Eragon in the first place. My sister, Angela, for being a wonderful sounding board for ideas, helping with editing, once again allowing me to write her as a character, and providing invaluable support during the last quarter of the manuscript. I’m in your debt, Sis, but then you knew that. Also, Immanuela Meijer for keeping me company when I was dealing with a particularly difficult section.

At Writers House: Simon Lipskar, my agent, for his friendship and all he’s done for the series over the years (I promise to start writing books a bit faster now!); and his assistant, Katie Zanecchia.

At Knopf: my editor, Michelle Frey, for her continued trust and for making all of this possible. Seriously, without her, you wouldn’t be holding this book. Her assistant, Kelly Delaney, for making Michelle’s life easier and also for helping to pull together a synopsis of the first three books. Editor Michele Burke for her keen eye on the story and, again, helping to get this book published. Head of communications and marketing Judith Haut, without whom few people would have heard of this series. Also in publicity, Dominique Cimina and Noreen Herits, both of whom have been of great help before, during, and after my various tours. Art director Isabel Warren-Lynch and her team for their beautiful design on the cover and interior (and also their work on the paperbacks). Artist John Jude Palencar for providing such a wonderful series of covers; this last one is a great image to end on. Executive copy editor Artie Bennett for his expertise in punctuation and words small, hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian, abstruse, and coined. Chip Gibson, head of the children’s division at Random House. Knopf publishing director Nancy Hinkel for her immense patience. Joan DeMayo, director of sales, and her team (huzzah and many thanks!). Head of marketing John Adamo, whose team has continually amazed me with their creativity. Linda Leonard and her team in new media; Linda Palladino and Tim Terhune, production; Shasta Jean-Mary, managing editorial; Pam White, Jocelyn Lange, and the rest of the subsidiary rights team, who helped the Inheritance cycle become a worldwide publishing phenomenon; Janet Frick, Janet Renard, and Jennifer Healey, copyediting; and everyone else at Knopf who has supported me.

At Listening Library: Gerard Doyle, who does such a great job of giving voice to my story (I’m afraid I gave him a bit of a challenge with Firnen); Taro Meyer for her subtle and moving direction of his performance; Orli Moscowitz for pulling all the threads together; and Amanda D’Acierno, publisher of Listening Library.

Also, thanks to fellow author Tad Williams (if you haven’t, go read the trilogy Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn; you won’t regret it) for giving me the inspiration to use a slate mine in the chapters on Aroughs. And to author Terry Brooks, who has been both a friend and a mentor to me. (I highly recommend his Magic Kingdom of Landover series.)

And thanks to Mike Macauley, who has set up and run one of the best fan sites out there (shurtugal.com) and who, with Mark Cotta Vaz, wrote The Inheritance Almanac. Without Mike’s efforts, the community of readers would be much smaller and poorer than it is now. Thanks, Mike!

A special mention goes to Reina Sato, a fan whose reaction upon encountering escargot for the first time led me to create the snalgli on Vroengard. Reina, the snalgli are for you.

As always, my final thanks go to you, the reader. Thank you for staying with me through this story; I hope the stars shine brightly over you through the rest of your life.

And … that’s it. I have no more words to add to this series. I have said what needed to be said. The rest is silence.

Se onr sverdar sitja hvass.

Christopher Paolini

November 8, 2011