<P> The landscape in Eragon is based on the "wild territory" of Paolini's home state, Montana . He said in an interview: "I go hiking a lot, and oftentimes when I'm in the forest or in the mountains, sitting down and seeing some of those little details makes the difference between having an okay description and having a unique description ." Paolini also said that Paradise Valley, Montana is "one of the main sources" of his inspiration for the landscape in the book (Eragon takes place in the fictional continent Alagaësia). Paolini "roughed out" the main history of the land before he wrote the book, but he did not draw a map of it until it became important to see where Eragon was traveling . He then started to get history and plot ideas from seeing the landscape depicted . </P> <P> Paolini chose to have Eragon mature throughout the book because, "for one thing, it's one of the archetypal fantasy elements". He thought Eragon's growth and maturation throughout the book "sort of mirrored my own growing abilities as a writer and as a person, too . So it was a very personal choice for that book ." Eragon's dragon, Saphira, was imagined as "the perfect friend" by Paolini . He decided to go in a more "human direction" with her because she is raised away from her own species, in "close mental contact" with a human . "I considered making the dragon more dragon - like, if you will, in its own society, but I haven't had a chance to explore that . I went with a more human element with Saphira while still trying to get a bit of the magic, the alien, of her race ." Paolini made Saphira the "best friend anyone could have: loyal, funny, brave, intelligent, and noble . She transcended that, however, and became her own person, fiercely independent and proud ." Saphira's blue tinted vision was in turn inspired by Paolini's own color - blindness . </P> <P> Paolini added in archetypal elements of a fantasy novel like a quest, a journey of experience, revenge, romance, betrayal, and a "special" sword . The book is described as a fantasy, and Booklist observed: "Paolini knows the genre well--his lush tale is full of recognizable fantasy elements and conventions". Kirkus Review called the book a "high fantasy"; other reviewers have compared it to other books of the fantasy genre, such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, and in some instances stated Eragon's plot is too similar to those other fantasy novels . </P> <P> A shade named Durza, along with a group of urgals, ambushes a party of three elves . After he and the urgals kill the other elves, Durza attempts to steal an egg carried by one of the female elves, but is foiled when she causes it to vanish . Infuriated, he renders her unconscious with a ball of fire and abducts her . </P>

How many pages are in the eragon series