Paolini, in his first
public reading of Brisingr,
in New York City.
Photo: Lisa Berg.

 

 

 

Brisingr (Knopf), the long-awaited third volume in Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance cycle, arrived last Friday night, September 20, at midnight. In a record for Random House Children’s Books, the book sold 550,000 copies in its first day. 

Random had printed 2.5 million copies of Brisingr, the largest-ever first printing for the division. First-day sales for the title were four times that of Eldest, second in the cycle, which pubbed in August 2005. RHCB president Chip Gibson said the numbers for Brisingr “far surpassed our projections.” More than 2,500 bookstores held midnight parties.

Random House U.K., which published the novel simultaneously, reported first-day sales of more than 45,000 copies, “Brisingr is by far and away the fastest-selling book we’ve ever published,” said children’s sales director Helen Randles. The company also called it the fastest-selling children’s book in Britain this year.