NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Christopher Paolini will have new adventures out this fall from Alaga毛sia and the world of Eragon, featuring the Dragon Rider Murtagh.
Random House Children鈥檚 Books announced Wednesday that Paolini's 鈥淢urtagh,鈥� a standalone novel that takes place a year after the events of his blockbuster 鈥淚nheritance Cycle,鈥� will be published Nov. 7 with an announced first printing of 2 million copies. According to Random House, the novel is an 鈥渆pic journey into lands both familiar and untraveled鈥� as Murtagh and his dragon Thorn confront a 鈥渕ysterious witch.鈥�
鈥�'Murtagh' is the novel I鈥檝e been waiting to write for over 13 years," Paolini said in a statement.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a deep dive into the life of our titular character and his dragon, Thorn. Here you鈥檒l find mystery, magic, and revelations as Murtagh attempts to answer some of the deepest questions in the land, as well as those of his own life,鈥� he said. "I鈥檝e had a ridiculous amount of (sometimes devilish) fun writing MURTAGH, and I can鈥檛 wait for readers to experience it for themselves. Welcome back to Alaga毛sia!鈥�
Paolini, 39, had yet to turn 20 when his debut novel 鈥淓ragon鈥� made him one of the world's most popular fantasy writers. His four 鈥淚nheritance鈥� books 鈥� 鈥淓ragon,鈥� 鈥淓ldest,鈥� 鈥淏risingr鈥� and 鈥淚nheritance鈥� 鈥� have sold more than 40 million copies, according to his publisher.
To mark the 20th anniversary of 鈥淓ragon,鈥� Alfred A. Knopf House is releasing an illustrated version of the book on the same day 鈥淢urtagh鈥� comes out. New paperback editions of the 鈥淚nheritance" novels will be published April 25 by Knopf, which, like Random House, is part of Penguin Random House.
Another new Paolini book, 鈥淔ractal Noise,鈥� will be released May 16 by Tor Publishing Group.
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This story corrects the release date for new paperback editions of the 鈥淚nheritance鈥� novels to April 25.
The Associated Press
