Cover Roulette: Eragon

I did my first cover roulette post a while ago for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and it was so fun I wanted to do another! Luckily I found another popular book that has had many different editions made, and I wondered…

What other awesome covers have I missed?

Alright, I know, I know I’m talking about Christopher Paolini a lot. But it’s because what he writes is fantastic, and was personally formative for me growing up. I’m dying of happiness reading To Sleep In A Sea of Stars right now (releasing Sept. 15), and wanted to do a cover tribute to the book that really introduced me to the joy of dragons and epic adventures and fantasy.

Eragon.

Let’s begin.

The cover I know

This is the cover I came to know very very well. It was the cover I pulled off my shelf many times to read it again. It’s still the most immediately related in my mind to the idea of “dragons.”

2008 Russian: with doodles!

Alright, this seems a bit more whimsical than I would expect for this book or for Russians. I see maybe a fairy and a gnome in those doodles, as well as an angry sun. I can’t immediately think of how any of those would relate to this book…

2006 Persian: coy Saphira

This super close up of the dragon Saphira with the extreme black vignette makes her look shy. Like she’s hiding a bit out of sight, just coming out enough to say hi.

That is not who Saphira is. 😂

2007 Italian: wrong color?

I’m really intrigued by this one, because Saphira is blue. That’s why her name is Saphira — for sapphire. So why is this dragon cover red? A later book in the series has a red dragon and cover, so this seems confusing. Is the dragon in the Italian version red?? I have questions for Italian readers!

2018 Spanish: oooOOOOooh

Ahhhh, this is a beauty. It looks so classy and elegant! It looks as a book about saving the world and training dragons and sharing magic with elves should!

2002 English: WHAAAAT?

So apparently this cover was the first cover released. And also this book was published in 2002. Neither of which I knew. EVERYTHING FEELS LIKE A LIE!!! Now I’m confused: did I read this when it first came out when I was in second grade?? Or did I not read it until years later when I was a little older? I genuinely have no idea. I was an advanced reader, but still…

Oh also the cover looks cool. 😅

2009 Swedish: master of mood

This looks so dark and amazing. I love the way Saphira and Eragon are perched in a misty mountaintop, with a hazy city in the distance. This moment feels so tense and promising excitement and risk soon to follow. 10/10 would pick up this book.

2019 German: she’d be happy

Saphira, that is — she’d be happy, because this cover makes her look like an absolute badass! The long twisty horns, the defined scales, the spread wings… and of course, the backlit clouds all around her. Don’t mess with Saphira.

Why does it say “Roman” in the O? Is the character name in this actually “Roman?” That would be confusing.

2005 Serbian: action! adventure!

Here Saphira is more of an Asian-style dragon, with the really long body. Eragon looks startlingly normal, which is actually really on point with him in the book. I love the action of this moment, with Saphira protecting Eragon as he rushes forward to do something daring and foolhardy!

2005 Ukranian: a cozy children’s story

This cover looks like the babyface version of Eragon. Saphira is cute as heck down there, with her sparkly eyes and chubby cheeks! And Eragon and the castle have this look to them, like you would see in a classic “save the princess” type fairy tale. This seems like gross misrepresentation. 😂

2018 Spanish: Excelsior!!

I get a King Arthur feel from this one, but you know… with dragons. It’s probably the drama of the sword glowing by the sun. Also, Saphira is almost bird-like in this one! It’s a pretty cool take on the style.

What’s your favorite?

Honestly, I love so many of these covers. They all feel fitting for the story in their own way. And even if the covers were hideous, I know how amazing the story inside is so I’d be buying them anyway!

But still… my favorites are the fancy gilded Spanish one and the dark and moody Swedish one. The bright and striking German one is a runner up, though! This is making me want to go buy more copies for my soon-to-be personal library. 😍