“Who is it who decides that one man should live and another should die? My life wasn't worth any more than his, but he's the one who's buried, while I get to enjoy at least a few more hours above the ground. Is it chance, random and cruel, or is there some purpose or pattern to all this, even if it lies beyond our ken?”

American and Italian author

Christopher James Paolini is an American and Italian author. He is best known for The Inheritance Cycle, the fantasy series that began with Eragon and continued with Eldest, Brisingr, and Inheritance. His later work includes The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm, a short story collection set in the same world, and Murtagh, the first book in a follow-up duology. He also wrote his first science fiction novel, To Sleep in a Sea of Stars, published in 2020. He lives in Paradise Valley, Montana, where he wrote his first book.