Order of Book Series
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Christopher Paolini Books in Order

Christopher Paolini has written 10 books, published between 2002 and 2023. The first book is Eragon (2002) and the newest is Murtagh (2023). Publication order is the reading order below. 5 of the 10 books listed here are in the Inheritance Cycle series, which has its own page: Inheritance Cycle books in order.

Books
10
Published
2002–2023
Confirmed
8 of 10 titles
Pages on record
3,470 in 7 of 10 books
Reading time
58–87 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,470 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 10 titles with a page count on record.

See all 10 books in order Printable Christopher Paolini checklist
Photo of Christopher Paolini, author

Dragons and magic carry Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle, which opens with Eragon (2002) and continues through Eldest, Brisingr and Inheritance. Murtagh returns to the same world, as do The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm and Eragon's Guide to Alagaesia. To Sleep in a Sea of Stars starts the Fractalverse, a science fiction strand. Ten titles make up the catalogue, long ones at a median of 528 pages.

Eragon, a fifteen-year-old boy, becomes a Dragon Rider after finding a dragon egg in the mountains. With his dragon Saphira, he learns the Ways of the Rider from Brom, a storyteller and former Dragon Rider. Paolini was 19 when the first book in the series was published.

How many Christopher Paolini books are there?

Christopher Paolini has 10 books, released between 2002 and 2023. They include 3 series and 1 title listed outside any series.

Christopher Paolini Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 10 Christopher Paolini books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Eragon by Christopher Paolini, book 1 of the Inheritance Cycle (2002)
  2. Cover of Eldest by Christopher Paolini, book 2 of the Inheritance Cycle (2005)
  3. Cover of Brisingr by Christopher Paolini, book 3 of the Inheritance Cycle (2008)
  4. Cover of Eragon's Guide to Alagaësia by Christopher Paolini (2009)
  5. Cover of Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, book 4 of the Inheritance Cycle (2011)
  6. Cover of The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm by Christopher Paolini, book 1 of the Tales From Alagaesia series (2018)
  7. Cover of Fractal Noise by Christopher Paolini, book 3 of the Fractalverse series (2023)
  1. 1
    EragonInheritance Cycle #12002 · 528 pages · confirmed 2/4
    2002528
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    EldestInheritance Cycle #22005 · 679 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005679
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    BrisingrInheritance Cycle #32008 · 784 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008784
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Eragon's Guide to Alagaësia2009 · 32 pages · confirmed 3/4
    200932
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    InheritanceInheritance Cycle #42011 · confirmed 3/4
    2011–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The Fork, the Witch, and the WormTales From Alagaesia #12018 · 281 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2018281
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    To Sleep in a Sea of StarsFractalverse #12020 · 880 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2020880
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    UnityFractalverse #22021 · confirmed 2/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Fractal NoiseFractalverse #32023 · 286 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2023286
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    MurtaghInheritance Cycle #52023 · confirmed 3/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Christopher Paolini series in order

Each series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Christopher Paolini books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Tales From Alagaesia in order

1 book
  1. 1. The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm

Standalone books

1 book

1 Christopher Paolini title here is not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Christopher Paolini books in order?

You only need to read Christopher Paolini books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Christopher Paolini

Start with the first book of the Christopher Paolini series you want to read: Inheritance Cycle starts with Eragon (2002) and Fractalverse starts with To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (2020). The earliest catalogued title overall is Eragon (2002).

What is the newest Christopher Paolini book?

Murtagh (2023) is the newest Christopher Paolini book released so far.

Is there a new Christopher Paolini book coming?

No next Christopher Paolini book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Christopher Paolini has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Christopher Paolini. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Literaturpreis der Jury der jungen Leser2005Won

Christopher Paolini at a glance

Paused
No new Christopher Paolini title has appeared for 3 years. The last was published in 2023.
Release pace
Christopher Paolini books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,470 pages across the 7 of 10 books with a recorded length, a median of 528 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Christopher Paolini books, 4 of 10, were published in the 2020s.

What the Christopher Paolini books are about

8 of the 10 Christopher Paolini books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: dragons is tagged on 6 of 8. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.