Alright. Is it just me, or do most fantasy/sci-fi (emphasis on the fantasy though) books seem to copy Tolkien in some form or another? Mind you, I love the basic idea....the unassuming underdog undergoes (hee hee! alliteration!
) Herculean trials and emerges stronger than any thought possible and Voila! the day is saved! It's simply classic and I love to rehash things that I already like.
I remember that one of the first books I read after finishing the trilogy for the first time was Terry Brooks'
The Sword of Shannara. It was a wonderful book, and his style reminds me somewhat of Tolkien, only less cryptic if you know what I mean. But from the very first chapter, it's impossible to escape the fact that the plot is almost identical to LOTR. Brooks is imaginative in creating his own world, which although similar, is still different in key ways, such as his portrayal of elves, dwarves, humans, and the like. His later books in the series branch off into different (although all with an underlying theme that is nearly the same) storylines and plots and his other series, such as
A Knight of the Word are completely different from his
Shannara series and in another world altogether from Tolkien's work.
I was just wondering what other people think about this; do books nowadays seem only to remake what's already been done by Tolkien? Or are they just doing what's been done for thousands of years? And also, what books have you read that are similar to Tolkien's work and what are entirely new or groundbreaking as far as the fantasy genre goes?