Eldest is the second novel in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini and the sequel to Eragon. Eldest was first published in hardcover on August 23, 2005, and was released in paperback in September 2006.^[1] Eldest has been released in an audiobook format,^[2] and as an ebook.^[3] Like Eragon, Eldest became a New York Times bestseller.^[3] A deluxe edition of Eldest was released on September 26, 2006, including new information and art by both the illustrator and the author.^[4] Other editions of Eldest are translated into different languages.^[5][6]

Eragon is the first novel in the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini. After writing the first draft for a year, Paolini spent a second year rewriting and fleshing out the story and characters. His parents saw the final manuscript and in 2001 decided to self-publish Eragon;^[1] Paolini spent a year traveling around the United States promoting the novel. By chance, the book was discovered by Carl Hiaasen, who got it re-published by Alfred A. Knopf. The re-published version was released on August 26, 2003.