What was Galbatorix's tax policy?

What was Galbatorix's tax policy?

Since as I recall in the book he spent his first century of rule holed up in isolation, I imagine he didn't personally have one.

The author knew jack shit, and that is why there was a tax policy, and it was meme level. Oppressive tyrant and his oppressive taxes take everything and leave you to starve. If I recall correctly.

What, in contrast, was the Varden's tax policy?

I'm pretty sure he didn't tax at all/taxed very lightly.
They didn't see him as a bad ruler because of taxes.
They saw him as a bad leader because he slaughtered the main source of law and order, imposed a massive monarchy/dictatorship, went to war with just about everyone, and then fucked off into his castle for about a century to try and figure out the secret to reality.
Sure, he was a tyrant, but in the end he had convinced himself he was doing the right thing.
His problem wasn't greed, or desire for omnicide.
He just had a twisted idea of what would be best for the world.

Daily reminder that Galbatorix did nothing wrong.

>eragon
>dragon
>literally one letter up the alphabet

>Only three soldiers remained alive. Arya was grappling with two of them some distance away while the third and final soldier fled south along the road. Gathering his strength, Eragon pursued him. As he narrowed the gap between them, the man began to plead for mercy, promising he would tell no one about the massacre and holding out his hands to show they were empty. When Eragon was within a arm's reach, the man veered to the side and then a few steps later changed direction again, darting back and forth across the countryside like a frightened jack-rabbit. All the while, the man continued to beg, tears streaming down his cheeks; saying that he was too young to die, that he had yet to marry and father a child, that his parents would miss him, and that he had been pressed into the army and this was only his fifth mission and why couldn't Eragon leave him alone? "What have you against me?" he sobbed. "I only did what I had to do. I'm a good person!"
"Why are you doing this? You're a monster!" screamed the man. With an expression of pure terror, he made an attempt to dash around Eragon and return to the road. Eragon overtook him in less than ten feet, and as the man was still crying and asking for clemency, Eragon wrapped his left hand around his neck and squeezed. When he relaxed his grip, the soldier fell across his feet, dead.

Well, since the books literally end ten minutes after they change from a revolutionary movement being sheltered by other countries into a real country, I imagine that didn't have one either within the contents of the book.

lolwut
His taxes weren't bad at all.
What was bad was his gestapo tier police/military, who would do anything anywhere to anybody in the name of the empire.
Not to mention his attempts to restrict information.

...

What is the context of this?

>what about second bailout?
Kek

Context was they were alone in hostile territory, and if they left him alive they'd be caught and killed. Might've also been some magic shit about not wanting to leave memories/evidence of them being there.

I seem to recall protagonist had a good old breakdown over the morality of it that night, requiring a good deal of reassuring from his beau.

Of course, the fact that this passage comes relatively shortly after he goes to great lengths to keep a different person alive makes it a bit incongruous, but the circumstances were fairly different.

As a sidenote here: the Drakengard and Eragon settings are highly compatible and I would actually be kind of interested in a crossover.

In Eragon, the "magic language" can be spoken by anyone, however you can only say the truth in it. This means you can force people to swear fealty in it, and they will be forced to obey you.
Most of the BBEG's soldier's were forced to make such an oath.
So essentially, no matter what that guy said he'd do, he'd still tell his superiors about it.
And they were deep in enemy territory, all alone, so Eragon had to kill him, or risk him and his main love interests deaths/capture.

While the reasoning is pragmatic, the way it's written paints Eragon as pretty ruthless. Which doesn't feel like the kind of person Tortellini wanted to write.

Was Roran /ourguy/?

read
The soldier was essentially a slave to his superior's will.
Besides, it does get expounded on later, with Eragon hating himself for doing it.
>Big, Buff, hammer wielding badass who, as nothing more than a peasant, stood toe to toe with some of Galbatorix's finest planners/fortresses/warriors and still whooped ass.
He's everyone's guy, easily one of the more likable and relatable characters.

I'd read the shit out of a drakengard book, but it would have to be written by an author that understood the esoteric and hopeless nature of the setting and its source material.

Of course it fucking does. It's in the last book I believe, the point where Eragon's meant to be facing some difficult moral questions- whether to kill, what to do with his enemies, etc. The enemy soldier is exaggeratedly innocent and helpless to give those decisions extra gravity and meaning.

And, again, of course it does- it stripped out the context. I'm pretty sure the very next sentence is something like 'Eragon retched onto the ground, feeling horrible about what he'd done', then three paragraphs later they're debating the necessity of the act.

I'm not saying that when I went back to read the book I found it perfect or without glaring flaws.

Roran should have gotten that hammer enchanted or some shit, he earned it.
The element of surprise and some actual brains can do more than a lot of magic, that's for sure.
Also
>Eragon literally deleted the secret to the magic language from his head
WHY
HE COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH FUCKING GOOD WITH THAT.

"Fairest man and ruggedest elf" what kinda bullshit half-elf agenda's getting pushed

>Roran should have gotten that hammer enchanted or some shit, he earned it.

Roran was a big guy for you and me

The hell's wrong with a cross-breed looking like a cross-breed?

1. He did get a few enchantments, but I think he felt sentimental about the hammer.
2. I don't remember that bit.
I do think he did a few things, but eventually decided he would avoid using it, so he could avoid becoming another Galbatorix.

Yeah he went and removed all of Galbatorix's enchantments, and then he deleted it

>The enemy soldier is exaggeratedly innocent and helpless to give those decisions extra gravity and meaning.

Sounds a little ham-fisted if you ask me.

>elf bitch has green magic
>gets the green dragon egg
SUCH A TWIST
TOTALLY DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING FROM A MILE AWAY

It should have been Roran's.
Why did best boy have to get such shit loot from his mighty quest, not counting his wife as loot obviously.

Oh it absolutely fucking is.

How is the series?, one of my friends read It and loved It, and another One hated It.

What is good about It?, what is shit?

If you can stomach fanfiction, than you can stomach Eragon

Roran is the only redeeming quality of the entire series.

It was a book written by a very young author, and it is very clear what other series he read and saw that lead up to his ideas for the series.

Best for those seeking an introduction to fantasy, perhaps.

Tried reading it, put it down pretty quickly.

The storyline for the first half is as generic a Hero's Journey quest as you can get, to the point where claiming Tortellini just wrote an unofficial Star Wars novelization is a pretty common joke.

It suffers from some serious purple prose issues, and occasionally you reach points where you're pretty sure Paolini had just discovered a new word he thought was cool (like "thew").

Worldbuilding is pretty generic, with milquetoast human kingdoms, Not!Orcs, and Elf forests with silly names.

People say it gets better in the second half of the series but I never got that far.

Honestly. Looting a qt redhead waifu is good enough.

Definitely written by a young author. It's not bad it's just definitely best enjoyed by younger audiences.

I was 12 in 2002 when Eragon came out. Absolutely loved it.

15 in 2005 when Eldest came out. Even better than the first.

18 when Brisingr came out, it was pretty good but there's something about it that's not quite hitting the spot anymore. I can't even remember if he fucked that elf...if not that's probably what killed it for me.

The fourth one I don't think I even read, it is on my shelf over there though.

Depends how much of a sperg you are about fantasy. Eragon is great kiddy stuff, may not hold your attention if you are an adult or turbosperg.

Give it a go though, I'd recommend that much.

well he had to loot it back after dick ass monster thiefs stole her in the first place, which is why I don't count her in the loot

when Brisingr came out it's pace felt MUCH slower, it was basically a second training arc and you end up looking forward to what Roran's doing more than Eragon, by FAR.

This is pretty much me. Might finish it on a rainy day when bored.

I've found as I've gotten older fantasy in general just does not hold my interest like it used to. I don't know if it's because fantasy in general just isn't that good or if I've just always been a sci-fi fan. Or both.

I dunno try asking Veeky Forums

It's not fuckoff horrible, but it's not really a masterpiece either. I've forced myself through much, much worse, but also read much, much better.

It's good youth fantasy. Twelve to mid teens, I'd say. After that, readers start getting a better hold on nuance see whats left unsaid.

Honestly, for a first publish book, it's damn good. Especially written by someone so young. It does read like a bog-standard D&D game, though.

>Veeky Forums
>knowing shit about fantasy books
>not coming to Veeky Forums first when it comes to fantasy literature
Look at this fucking newfag

Yeah that was boring as fuck. It's a shame he was becoming a better writing just as he got to the most boring part of the series. So much detailed description of a fucking boring boot camp with those two old cunts.

Yeah this thread has inspired me too. Will probably forget about it by nightfall tonight though.

Face it senpai, fantasy is for nerds. Us alpha males prefer to LARP as fascist warriors serving the God Emperor in the Border Pat-...Space Marines...sorry no heresy I swear.

Eragon is literally what made me stop reading for a few years after middle school

That was pretty much me as well. I read them well through middle school, but then I started reading Ranger's Apprentice instead which I found was a lot more intriguing and enjoyable. By the time I was in 8th grade I was starting A Song of Ice and Fire which was just sort of the last nail in the coffin. Once Inheritance came out I just couldn't be bothered anymore.

Loot is loot user.

Veeky Forums is full of people that like to circlejerk about the same few books and dismiss fantasy with the same fervor usually reserved for western material making its way onto /a/.

>Veeky Forums is full of people that like to circlejerk about the same few books
LOL

Chronicles of Amber has been my go-to fantasy series since I was about 13. So, twenty years of it. Re-read it several times and will most certainly do so again. Eragon wasn't all that impressive to me, even as a young teen, but it's not bad.

It has to written well, and in the right spirit.

I dunno, I came back to Redwall and Howard Pyle after picking them up as a kid, and they're still as fresh as ever.

Part of that might be Brian Jaqcues' lavish descriptions of feasting and song, though. Howard Pyle does the same thing, but with clothes and !!!CHIVALRY!!! bleeding through the page.

Have you read John C. Wright's Moth and Cobweb books? That's some top-shelf material, man.

>Have you read John C. Wright's Moth and Cobweb books?

No. I'm just about to finish the book I'm reading right now though (Nexus), so I guess I'll have to look into that.

you mean the books you read as a little 'un?

Why talk about shit-tier fantasy books when god-tier fantasy books exist?

>loved the first
>was too poor to buy the next two
>it's been so long I don't feel like starting again now and I probably won't enjoy it any more having grown up

:(

Oh shit thank you for reminding me these exist and I enjoyed them
>How to do a summoner right

Motherfucker I still reread them, go download that trilogy right the fuck now

>all of the covers are le happy merchant
Who is this mad artist?

I've got the prequel, but never read it. Is it any good?

Heroes of the valley was pretty cash, too.

I've read all kinds of fantasy until I've read Terry Pratchett. After him most other writers seem pretty terrible and generic when it comes to fantasy.

>installs the varden as the absolute rulers, even going as far to magically bind the people and the land to them
>they're the good guys so it's okay XD
>in the end he fucks off to some northern island
>leaves his elf waifu forever for some ??? reason
>doesn't even get past 1st base after 3 books
was very disappointing desu

This and Artemis Fowl were GOAT YA fantasy books

Yessir.

As these guys have said, the Inheritance series is basically "baby's first fantasy," meant for younger readers who haven't really read any of the genre before. The elves are your default elves, the dwarves are your basic dwarves, the story is nothing special and stays fairly simple with the Hero's Journey and the evil king and brave rebels and whatnot, though occasionally there are some genuinely clever moments.

I do find it funny that, for a supposedly cliched story, it doesn't have the "dwarves and elves are dying out to be replaced by man" thing.

>AF
There were only ever three books in that series and you can't tell me otherwise.

We both know it's otherwise

Agreed

But everything after was so fucking BAD

their eyes teleported and swapped eachother! it's a metaphor for their eternal, forbidden, unrequited love that is never actually spelled out in the series, ever!

>Time travel
>Arty got magic
>Atlantis curse
JUST

Opal Incident was cash and you cannot convince me otherwise.

There was hot offscreen dragon sex going on at least. Anyway, as I recall, he left because he was too powerful or something, which was contrived as hell.

But then again the entire fourth book was contrived as hell, so what would you expect.

I myself like to think they shagged at some point after the end of the book. Just because he's off on that island doesnt mean she can never visit. After all she has to come for dragon rider training at some point.

Leaving aside Butler's tiny head, the artist for those graphical novels got Holly so fucking wrong.

you mean she isn't a metrosexual midget?

Originally it was only supposed to be 3 books, but his vision for the story got stuck in that awkward length of 3.5 books, so he had to get rid of a bunch of content or add in more for another book.

She's meant to be a brown-skinned red-head.

That has to half of Veeky Forums's waifu checklist right there

>Evil Empireā„¢ chasing after a Rebel Princessā„¢ and her entourage
>the Princess has a round blue McGuffin that may lead to the Empire's downfall
>the Princess manages to send the McGuffin away right before she's captured

>the McGuffin was sent to an old Magical Knight, living in exile after his ancient order was destroyed, but it is instead found by a young naive Farm Boy living with his uncle
>SPOILER ALERT: the Farm Boy's father was an agent of the evil emperor, and the magical knight is secretly keeping watch over the kid
>the Empire tracks the McGuffin to the farm boys farm, and kills his uncle
>the Magical Knight takes the farm boy on as his apprentice, and they go off in search of the Rebellion

>along the way they have some adventures
>they meet a scoundrel rogue
>they rescue the Rebel Princess from the clutches of the Empire
>the Magical Knight dies :(

>eventually, they find their way to the Rebellion
>unfortunately, the Evil Empire followed them there
>they fight
>the Farm Boy saves the day
>yay

Star Wars is great.

I loved the part where Obi-Wan was Luke's father

Jorje's taking up R.R. from Tolkien instinctively makes me hate him and I'm pretty meh on LotR

It was presented in that way during the first book. well most of the books actualy.

You forget to mention the "Luke! i am your brother!" moment.

...

It's a decent fanfic.

No, he got fucking forever friendzoned. Eragon simply gave up because the girls would never love him.
Yet the entire book is set up with her flirting and shit and him chasing her. Fucking Eragons a cuck, and then fucks off up river in the very end of the book.

>tried remembering why their's only 3 books
>remember what happened to certain characters in the authors proposal for a 4th book
>remember his idea for the fifth
Right.
3 Books.
4 if you want to feel edgy and full shadowrun.

Seeing old, soft, goody-goody Artemis go up against his hardassed younger self was great, you can't convince me otherwise.

I actually think The Lost Colony has a pretty fucking baller ending for the series. It's right before Artemis turns full goodguy and has the most effective human villain since Arty himself.

The portrayal of krakens in Time Paradox is fucking fantastic lore, which the series really always had even in the shit books.

Villain was only alright, if you ask me. Pretty cool concept and story though.
I finished on that one, never read the further ones. Someone mind giving me a run down or are they just too bad?

Did anyone else read the short story of Holly's induction exam that?

Atlantis Complex was a really weak book (and Vinyaya was way too cool to go out the way she did), but it really wasn't helped by the fact that it's the first time outside a novella you hear of Turnball

>Time Paradox
Arty's mom gets sick with a magical disease, the same one that took Holly's mom. Arty blames himself for healing her with magic he got at the end of book 5 and potentially advancing it. The only cure for the disease is in the brainjuice of a lemur, the last of which young Arty sold to get money to look for his dad with. They go back in time to rescue the lemur and not one but TWO Opal Kobois are involved. It's dumb. Fairies are apparently able to be disabled by dunking them in pure animal fat. Lots of sexual tension between Arty(who aged up slightly during the time travel) and Holly(who aged down to "adolescence") and the two kiss once. As previously mentioned, krakens are badass and THE EXTINCTIONISTS were hammy and ridiculous.

>Atlantis Complex
Due to guilt and probably magic, Artemis develops a magical psychosis that manifests in a second personality, Orion, who has a massive hardon for Holly. Thrall runes of absolute domination, which are pretty cool. Arty wants to save the world to make amends, stuff goes down, etc. Root's brother, Turnball? Is the villain and get a pretty decent end. He did it all for love.

>Last Guardian
Artemis' disease has been cured and he wants to help the environment again, Colfer's green message getting even more painfully forced. Koboi (and her past self Koboi) literally use paradox logic and the remaining clone-Koboi and kill the younger version as a magical EMP that destroys all technology on Earth and tries to awaken the LAST GUARDIANS, which are ancient badass warriors meant to raze humanity one day when released. They also just so happen to have been slumbering under Arty's house. Arty ends up sacrificing himself but had a gambit planned, whereby his consciousness would survive on the magic of the world and be reinserted into an advance-grown clone of his. The series is tied to an end with the implication that it has all been a story told to the new Artemis to reawaken his memories.

All in all, eh, 6/10

>Colfer's green message getting even more painfully forced.
And holy shit was it forced before then.

>THE EXTINCTIONISTS
admittedly they were fucking hilarious despite their retardation

I genuinely loved them, they were so fucking stupid yet so fucking good.

1-3 were good, they had an actual arc and shit
4 was alright, Artemis is at his best when he's being a smug asshole
5 was a bit disjointed but still had some nice progression, and the ending made for some cool potential drama
Which 6 totally wasted, and I got bored with the "Opal again" thing, despite the good bits, like ruthless young Artemis, Butler as an opponent (though really he should have been scarier) and time travel not being done terribly. Also the Extinctionists being hilarious.
7 was hit and miss, but the villain was cool, and Orion was pretty funny.
8 had badass bits, but Opal yet again and the apocalypse shit was terrible.

Wait, wait... are we saying that the only problem with this extract is that it makes the protagonist look ruthless, not that it's poorly written?

Because the influence of these authors is still felt in the genre

>Root's brother, Turnball

Ah yes. Root's brother the Australian Prime Minister.

Yes, I know it's Turnbull but that book got a lot funnier now

I honestly don't remember them.

Goofy caricatures of filthy rich hedonists/fur wearing misanthropes whose greatest kick is killing off the last of a species personally, whose rationale is 'they're stealin muh oxy-jens, kill everything not human'

...isn't that a type of toxic mage in Shadowrun? Purifiers or something?

They sound like captain planet villains, which is not a bad thing.