17 replies to this topic

[Vortigern]

Not that I expect any of you to unfamiliar with this, as fantasy nerds like I assume everyone here is, but I wanted to make sure it's clear in everyone's mind that LotR is awesome, and you should probably read it again. Also, you should come join the RPG that's currently being started in the RPG Frontier (http://forums.revora...?showforum=1898).

By the way, I'm curious to know what other people think of it. I've found a few people who haven't actually liked it at all, which has literally five seconds ago set me wondering. What do you lot think of it? Is it worth the hype and the fame? The films? The franchise? The fangirls?

[mike_]

Me, personally? I think that they're a staple of the modern "fantasy" genre.
Let's face it - Elves, Dwarves, Orcs. None of these were ever combined in a realistic setting with the multiple languages, culture, and history that Tolkein used.
Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my family that I know for a fact has successfully read anything written by Tolkein -.-
Cheers,
-mike

[Vortigern]

I agree. Tolkien it was who created the fantasy creatures as we know them. Before him elves were more like what we think of as pixies nowadays, and CS Lewis' dwarfs are entirely dissimilar, apart from the height. And, I believe Orcs were a creation entirely Tolkien's own, that has since been stolen for any number of fantasy games and books, Warhammer and Warcraft being the most famous ones. Tolkien was also the first person to really create an entire world in such minute detail, with history, language, religion, culture, and everything a real society has. Apart from possibly HP Lovecraft and the Hyperboreans... They had most of that lot too. But Tolkien did it better.

[some_weirdGuy]

yep

im pretty sure he invented orcs, and whenever i see orcs used in a fantasy it feels kinda weird for me, as i know(or i think) its sorta stealing...

[Mathijs]

Tolkien was a great writer for sure, but I feel alot of youngsters get stuck in the fantasy genre due to him... there's alot to enjoy in the wonderful world of fiction, too.

[Vortigern]

Well, fiction is such a wide-ranging umbrella term, and fantasy seems the most obvious form. And then people confuse fantasy and science-fiction, which irritates me no end. Fiction, though, can include everything from soap opera scripts to high fantasy, as long as it's not real. That's all it is.

[Mathijs]

Actually, fiction is considered to be a genre different to fantasy or sci-fi. Maybe I should name it differently though, I mean Realistic Fiction.

http://en.wikipedia....literary_genres That should show you what I mean...

[Vortigern]

Well, yes, that really opens it up a bit... But, as I said, fantasy is still the most obvious fictional genre. It's also one of the more fun genres to read, for me at least. Or a decent crime thriller, that's always nice. But reading is about escaping your reality. There's no point doing that if you just escape to one that's pretty much the same.

[Mathijs]

Where to begin...

A fictional genre is certainly not the same as the genre of fiction, elves are fictional but you won't ever find them in fiction.

Reading isn't as much escaping your reality as entering the reality of someone else. Who said it had to be dull and boring? The sense of human suffering in ''The Brothers Karamazov'' by Dostojevsky is deep, powerful and very, very touching. It really made me think about life and all the terrible things that can be part of it. ''Norwegian Wood'' by Haruki Murakami is a story of loss, love and melancholy, and the fear of slowly forgetting memories of a memorable past. I'm not ashamed to admit there were tears in my eyes after finishing it. ''The Catcher in the Rye'' by J.D. Salinger tells the perfect tale of teenage angst and anxiety leading to a point of a psychological breakdown. There are so many touching novels of fiction to read, and none of them are boring or dull. It takes real skill and talent to be able to reach and touch a reader through reality.

Edit: As you can see I am very passionate about these kind of novels.

Edited by Matias, 18 August 2008 - 01:34 AM.

[Puppeteer]

I liked the Lotr Trilogy, but I absolutely loved the Silmarillion, and particularly the story that came with it, the Ainulindale. It was so powerful and innovative...
PS: Matias I must try and find The Brothers Karamazov, sounds like a good book. I'm slightly tiring of generic sci-fi and King's/Koontz's horror, thus am looking for books like these...

Edited by Puppeteer, 21 August 2008 - 09:37 PM.

[CIL]

Tolkien left a real impression on modern society. Not everyone can appreciate that.

[{IRS}Athos]

Am I late? *of course I am*

I've read "Catcher in the Rye," "Frankenstein," and parts of "Crime and Punishment," in addition to a couple of shorts by Chekhov. Although they moved me, they didn't inspire me like Tolkien's works did. Of course, I guess that Romantic era fiction (Frankenstein) is more about moving the soul than inspiring the mind, but I still prefer Lord of the Rings. *no insult to the Classics, of course.*

[mike_]

Trying Tried to read Frankenstein twice, but Shelley just couldn't capture my attention /:

[{IRS}Athos]

Say, that reminds me of a Frankenstein side-writing I did imitating her style...

[mike_]

What style?

[segwayrulz]

The books were far greater than the movies, even though they werent too bad.
But there are far more fantasy books out there that I believe are superior to it.

[DIGI_Byte]

Here's a question about LOTR,

I saw this in family guy and they pointed out a plot hole.
Why didn't Gandalf use the eagle and just carry Frodo and the ring to mount doom? After all the eagle DID pick them up from there.

know any possible reasons?

serous ones, not - " 'cause Gandalf ran out of 'flyby' points.".

[Rawlo]

because there was an extraudinarily powerfull sorceror, controlling 9 wring wraiths, who all had winged mounts. in short, eagles didn't stand a bloody chance. once the ring was destroyed, no sorceror, no ring wraiths, no evil flying things to kill the eagles, so they where fry to fly wherever they liked